Romantic Encounter and Urban Space

Abstract

All civilisations have traditions for choosing a fortunate site for a city and symbol systems for relating the city and its various parts to the gods and to the forces of nature.” From my experiences of living in a historical Chinese city – Beijing – for most time of my life, and of conducting archaeological fieldwork in several Chinese historical cities, I dare say, no matter which site people chose, the city of the non-human life, including plants, animals, fairies, monsters, and the dead, they always predated the city of the living people. In one sense, the city of non-human life is the forerunner, almost the core, of every living city. This proximity with the non-human life, whose living space was invaded and occupied by human being, has haunted urban culture throughout its historical development. This proximity with the non-human life constitutes part of a historical city’s heterogeneous and palimpsestic character.