Opening this pop-up book is like inviting a condensed city of Beijing into your living room.
I had always felt that if I wanted to truly experience Beijing, I had to walk in the alleys, listen to the sound of pigeon whistles, and taste bean juice.
But the journey is long and the time is limited, especially with children, it’s always hard to enjoy everything.
It wasn't until I came across this book "Opening Beijing" that I realized that I didn't have to go out. I could touch the blue bricks and gray tiles of the city gate building with my fingertips, extend my eyes into various places in the standard courtyard house, and even "hear" an authentic Beijing dialect floating on the page.
Only when you "tear down" a city gate with your own hands can you understand the importance of "nine gates and nine carriages"
I used to hear people say "nine inside and seven outside, seven imperial cities and four", and I always thought it was a jingle.
In the book, city gates such as Desheng Gate and Anding Gate are presented in a three-dimensional structure. When the child turned the pages, I truly realized that the reason why troops were dispatched through Desheng Gate was because it symbolized "victory with an open flag", while the reason why troops were sent out was to pass through Anding Gate in order to pray for "a peaceful and prosperous age."
It turns out that behind every city gate, there are ancient people’s beautiful expectations for their family, country and world.
A saying called "nine gates and nine cars", it is not only a traffic rule, but also a vivid image of the economy and culture at that time, and it is also an excellent presentation of military strategy.
In the book, when the small mechanism is pulled, the scene of different vehicles entering and exiting the city gate is shown. This scene has become vivid and lifelike. Compared with the dry text explanation, it is much more interesting.
Get into the three-dimensional courtyard and see the "rules" brick by brick
As for where the soul of Beijing is, I think it is hidden in the courtyard houses.
The book restores a standard layout of a courtyard house in old Beijing. Not only can you see the location of the main room, the side rooms, and the reverse room, but there is also a small mechanism hidden in it. With a slight lift, you can appreciate the appearance of the courtyard when the lights are on at night. It is extremely warm.
Moreover, what adds to my knowledge is that the author elaborates on the "rules" involved in the construction of courtyard houses and expresses them.
For example, the gate is opened at the southeast corner. This position corresponds to the "Xun" position in the Bagua, which means abundant wealth. The screen wall cannot face the gate. This is not only to block the line of sight, but also contains the emphasis on "hiding the wind and gathering Qi".
The child asked while playing, and I also got to know the architectural wisdom of our ancestors again.
Turn "intangible cultural heritage" and "time-honored brands" into games and learn culture while having fun
What surprised me most in the book were the intangible cultural heritage hidden in the corners and the stories carried by time-honored brands.
Turning the page to the leaf where Tongrentang is located, the ancestral motto engraved on the door, "No matter how complicated the preparation, do not dare to save labor, no matter how expensive the taste, do not dare to reduce material resources." is clearly visible. Next door, people riding on rickshaws who come to consult doctors, and many people crowded inside the medicine shop, these details are created to be real and vivid.
Behind every time-honored brand is a legend of private entrepreneurship.
The book comes with a special volume called "I Tell You About Beijing". This special volume has more than 40,000 words. It talks about the origin of Beijing, its intangible cultural heritage, and its food, and answers many questions that I didn't realize before.
What is even more interesting is the decryption handbook called "Inheritance of Beijing Rhythm of the Forbidden Ancient Capital". This handbook was created by Paper Puzzle Label. There are 16 puzzles in it. These puzzles are closely linked together. It can take you on a treasure hunt in the cultural space of "Old Beijing", making it difficult for children to stop playing. At the same time, knowledge is also memorized unknowingly.
An in-depth tour without leaving home will give you a better understanding of Beijing than just a quick tour
Some people always say that it is not easy to go to Beijing.
In fact, even if you go there, if you don’t have enough background knowledge, it’s easy to understand it half-understood.
In order to restore the 16 real scenes, the creator of this book visited each location at least three times, and this kind of care can be felt in every three-dimensional structure.
It uses more than 500 parts to build a "mini Beijing". You can explore this "mini Beijing" repeatedly and open it at any time.
It exists so that people who want to travel to Beijing can have an excellent preview guide to make the journey feel more friendly and warm. For those who yearn for Beijing, it presents a place where dreams begin. And for those of us parents who plan to tell our children about the culture of old Beijing, it is like a cultural museum that can be held in the palm of our hands.
After all, when we watch "Opening Beijing", what we see is not only the diversity and tolerance of Beijing culture, but also the majesty contained at the foot of the imperial city, and the atmosphere of the world that rises from the fireworks in the alleys.
If you haven't bought "Opening the Forbidden City" in the same series before, you might as well buy two books together this time.
One book is the kind that can "move the Forbidden City into your home," while the other book is the kind that can "welcome the city of Beijing into your home." It allows children to get in touch with the prosperity of a country with a long civilization while turning the pages of the cubic book. It also allows us, as adults, to find a sense of proximity and belonging to traditional culture in our busy lives.
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