the changes of the times often give rise to peculiar existence. In the 196s and 197s, Kowloon Castle gradually grew into the most densely populated residence in the world. At that time, Taiwan Province and Baodao Village, which were across the sea, were experiencing its last years. * * * At the same time, they are all displaced people or short-term or long-term residences, all built on the dark wounds of the times. Looking back now, they have become a wonder that time has left us that we can no longer see.
the prosperity and decline of the Kowloon walled city
The Kowloon walled city originated in the Song Dynasty when it was invaded by foreign countries, and then in the Qing Dynasty, it just became the witness of foreign invasion. First, when Japan occupied Hong Kong, it became a camp for street sleepers, with more and more street sleepers and growing walled cities. Later, Japan surrendered, and Hong Kong was also called a British colony. Strangely enough, Kowloon Castle Village, the only one, was designated as the yamen of the Qing government. This is probably due to the complicated life experience of the walled city, or it may be due to the more complicated residents in this walled city. The British government is unwilling to take care of this hot potato, and the Manchu government has no time to take care of it.
in the 194s, the British government had a plan to enter the walled city for rectification, but it met with strong resistance from the residents of the walled city on the day of implementation, and finally had to give up. After this battle, the British government ignored the walled city for the next twenty or thirty years. With the founding of New China, refugees from South China poured into Kowloon City in large numbers. In this short period of time, the walled city was more apt to "breed" than to grow.
1.9 million people per square kilometer-this is an unprecedented population density. Of course, the unverifiable actual data and the poor and dirty living environment can't make this figure into the Guinness Book of Records. However, the number of people in Kowloon Castle has actually increased to such an extent. All kinds of people from south to north gather here. The anarchic autonomy has made this place a hotbed of illegal activities such as drug trafficking, prostitution and gambling. The most "famous" pornographic places, casinos, opium dens, heroin halls and dog meat canteens are everywhere. Black market doctors have become accustomed to haunt here, and the circulation of counterfeit goods has become a matter of course.
The children were not taken good care of in the city village, but many of the teenagers at that time later became important people who influenced the development of Hong Kong. In addition to harboring these wanton acts in anarchy, the legend of those who are loyal to the liver, righteous and courageous, righteous and benevolent is often circulated here. Perhaps it is precisely because of both good and evil that it became the magical place written by later creators.
The creators love the walled city. In fact, it is more because they have never seen the hardships of the real walled city life, the shortage of water and the difficulty in cleaning the food. It is just a stunt of "anarchy". Although it can lead to many magical stories, it can also read the bitter years of ordinary people. The displaced people live here, and those who have no way out are dying here. However, the unique atmosphere in the walled city does not make people lose hope.
The residents of the walled city believe that they have their own spirit, so that when the British Hong Kong government finally made up its mind to demolish the walled city in the 198s, many old residents were reluctant to move away for a long time, as if they had left the walled city, and this spirit left them. However, the wheel of the times is always rolling forward, and the dark sorrow is just a mark that is neither deep nor shallow.
the formation and disappearance of the family village
In the most prosperous era of the Kowloon walled city, another settlement of displaced people across the Taiwan Strait is experiencing its gradual disappearance. The memories left by the village as soon as possible may be more of the village as soon as possible dishes or called the village as soon as possible food, but of course, the village as soon as possible is not just that.
Family Village is a house built by Kuomintang troops and their families who fled to Taiwan Province in 1949. Compared with the grotesque monster of Kowloon Castle, the villages as soon as possible are distributed all over Taiwan Province. According to a rough estimate, there are 886 places in Taiwan, most of which are located near Taipei and Kaohsiung.
Family village is not just the residence of displaced people. As a group of houses where outsiders are stationed, it is always inseparable from the word "homesickness" when it comes to family village. The "hometown" that can't go back and the "reality" that can't be integrated have left the first generation of residents in Taiwan Province in a long-term hesitation. The reason why the village as a family gave birth to a large number of delicacies may be that the residents of the village as a family were attached to their hometown. However, the military families and refugees born in the north and south of the mainland supported each other in the era of lack of materials, and at the same time, they combined and reshaped the delicacies of their hometowns, which led to the village as a family cuisine we see today.
In addition to dishes, there are all kinds of literary works. Later, there are even TV works to spread or commemorate the unique culture of the village, such as Richie Jen's Song of Lao Zhang and Wang Weizhong's Story of Time. In an earlier era, Bai Xianyong brought the village to many of his works.
the second generation, who grew up in the family village, did not bear too many vicissitudes of their parents, but inherited their homesickness. When they grew up in their family village, they experienced the most severe white terror in Taiwan Province, such as all the minor songs from their hometown could not be sung, and the popular songs of that era even required to be forcibly changed-the olive tree in Chyi Yu was banned from singing because it mentioned "Don't ask me where I come from", "My hometown is far away" and "Why I wander".
On the other hand, in the plight of poor materials, when their parents supported the vigorous development of handicrafts in Taiwan Province, these children grew up, tempered by hardships and influenced by idealism, and became the main force and hero of Taiwan Province's social take-off. Celebrities such as Brigitte Lin, Teresa Teng, Hu Huizhong, Richie Jen, etc. also came out of their villages.
Being away from home keeps displaced people busy looking for a place to live, but after they really find a place to live, they need to firmly take root in a new land. City village and family village are the habitats of displaced people. Their different styles all imply the sadness that cannot be erased in the years, but they also leave their spirit and imprint. This indelible indomitable spirit may be the greatest treasure left to us under the dark sorrow of the times.
Everyone knows the sea of Tom Chang, but they don't know that this song named "China in My Heart" is included in the album of the same name. Many children who grew up in their villages later became political dark blue factions and staunch supporters of the reunification of the motherland. The feelings of their hometown still flow in their blood after many years.