The word "Hutong" was first used in Yuanqu. For example, in the works of Guan Hanqing, one of the "Four Masters of Yuan Dynasty", we can see the figure of "Hutong" (in Guan's masterpiece "One Knife Meeting", there is a saying of "bloody Hutong")

Shot at Luban Hutong, 20 13, 12. Image source: Internet copyright belongs to the original author.

Its source is Mongolian, not standard Chinese. Moreover, although "Hutong" is very old, it was handed down orally, and it was not until the Republic of China that it was marked on the street in the form of words.

The hutongs in Beijing have gone through years of tempering and washing, and now many of our hutongs have disappeared, but when there are many hutongs, it can be said that there are 3600 famous hutongs and countless unknown hutongs. In these large and small hutongs, there are one interesting historical story after another. Maybe a famous person in history lived in a small yard. This is also the charm of Beijing Hutong, which witnessed the cultural and historical changes in Beijing.

The hutong we are going to talk about today is located near Longxugou, Chongwen District, Beijing. Everyone should be familiar with Longxugou, because Mr. Lao She has a play called Longxugou. Yes, Lao She's works reflect the story of Longxugou, and the fate of several characters in a courtyard reflects the changes of the times.

At that time, the people who lived in Longxugou were small people, and the hutongs we talked about were mostly ordinary people, mainly from craftsmen. These craftsmen also have a sense of belonging in this hutong, because there are temples of their ancestors in this hutong. The craftsman temple is Luban Temple, and the name of this hutong is Luban Hutong.

Speaking of Lu Ban, I also want to say a few words with my feet. Lu Ban is a character. Until now, we are still using the saw ruler invented by Lu Ban. Moreover, Lu Ban is an all-rounder. Woodworking and civil construction are ancestors, and weapons manufacturing is also a good hand. Not only Lu Ban, but also his wife is very creative. It is said that the earliest inventor of the umbrella was Lu Ban's wife.

Luban Temple in Luban Hutong is not very imposing. In fact, it is a place where some guilds hold activities such as ancestor worship, and it is also a base for industry gathering and industry management. Therefore, there are some courtyards in front of the entrance of Luban Temple, which are specially used to organize parties and exchanges. These courtyards are Lubange. By the way, Luban Hutong was originally called Lubanguan Hutong, but it was changed to Luban Hutong in the 1960s and 1970s.

In short, Luban Hutong is not what it used to be, and there is very little information about Luban Hutong, so I can only write so much. This is the general content of Luban Hutong, hoping to give you a preliminary understanding. In short, hutong culture can still be excavated a lot.