Turd Factory Road: A Brief History of Bizarre Hutong Names

When people talk about Beijing, the humble, meandering hutongs are as iconic as the Great Wall and Forbidden City. From the Yuan Dynasty until today, these whimsical alleys have played witness to the ebb and flow of the capital's history, and many of their names have been changed along with shifts in the community, the city, and cultural values at large. So today, I'm going to lead you on a virtual walk through a long, winding hutong that connects us to the past, and find out how we ended up with the hutong world we know today.

First thing's first, the word 胡同 hútòng hutong was written as 衚衕 hútòng back in time, which sheds a bit of light on its meaning as the character is similar to that of street 街 jiē. As for its origin, however, scholarly debates have been waged for ages. A common opinion is that the word hutong is a phonetic translation of the Mongolian word ᠬᠤᠳᠳᠤᠭ（hvdvm), which means "the well," a popular place for community gatherings in ancient times. Meanwhile, another group of researchers insists it's a natural result of changing the pronunciation in Chinese since a similar description appeared before Khan ever sat on the throne.

Either way, Beijing's hutong names are predominantly inspired by four factors: location (东四十条 dōng sìshí tiáo The Tenth Alley of Dongsi，烂泥胡同 lànní hútòng Muddy Hutong), the shape of the hutongs (猪尾巴胡同 zhū wěibā hútòng Pig Tail Hutong，鸡爪胡同 jī zhǎo hútòng Shoulder Pole Hutong), famous individuals who lived there (王寡妇斜街 wáng guǎfù xié jiē Widow Wang Bypass，宋姑娘胡同 sòng gūniáng hútòng Miss Song Hutong，汪太医胡同 wāng tàiyī hútòng Wang the Imperial Doctor Hutong), and whatever industry impacted the nearby community (养蜂夹道 yǎng fēng jiádào Beekeeping Alley，阴阳胡同 yīnyáng hútòng Fortune Teller Hutong，棺材胡同 guāncai hútòng Sugar Mill Hutong). And some other ones based on the incidents that happened within the alley like 鬼门关胡同 guǐménguān hútòng The Hell‘s Gate Hutong, where the sons of a guilty minister were arrested before got executed. However, commensurate with the various power shifts over the past centuries, many of the names have been altered to meet the needs of a new era.

Although some hutongs have been lucky enough to acquire elegant names, such as the famous 百花深处胡同 bǎihuā shēn chù hútòng 100 Flowers Hidden Deep Hutong, the vast majority of names are casual and straightforward. Likewise, many hutongs that had a name considered to be vulgar would adopt a new one, which tends to have a similar pronunciation as its former. For example, 梅竹胡同 méi zhú hútòng Plum and Bamboo Hutong was once called 母猪胡同 mǔ zhū hútòng Sow Hutong, while 晓教胡同 xiǎo jiào hútòng Morning Class Hutong is a more civilized adaptation of its original name 小脚胡同 xiǎojiǎo hútòng Little Feet Hutong. And 烟袋斜街 yāndài xié jiē the famous alley that connects to Houhai used to be called 燕代斜街 yāndài xié jiē Alley of Yan Dynasty's Descendants, which the Qing Dynasty's rulers were quick to do away with for obvious reasons.

And yet, among all of the bizarre hutong names, one that reigns supreme has to be 粪厂胡同 fèn chǎng hútòng Turd Factory Hutong because by the end of the Qing Dynasty, fen chang hutong did in fact claim one of Beijing's turd factories. Oh, sorry... did you want some context? Okay... Before the invention of the flush toilet, nightmen would go around to all the neighborhoods collecting excrement, which they would then dump at a centralized treatment plant, where it would be dried and turned into manure for farmers. And while it sure as hell doesn't sound like an enjoyable career, running a turd factory was actually a pretty lucrative business, such that folks even fought for the right to collect poops from upper-class neighborhoods since it was believed that better food resulted in better... ahem... product. Incidentally, fen chang hutong was located near some affluent neighborhoods, however, if you search a map today, you won’t be able to find it. As they say, money talks, and during the reign of Kuomintang, a famous Peking Opera actor purchased a home in the hutong and wrote to the mayor suggesting the government give the hutong a new name, a name that still stands today, 奋章胡同 fèn zhāng hútòng. And in classic hutong renaming fashion, the new title shares a similar pronunciation to the old one but a much more respectable meaning – creating music diligently.

Following the reign of Kuomintang, China underwent its next social upheaval, the Cultural Revolution, and so too did the hutongs undergo some serious rebranding. For obvious reasons, the names based on traditional culture and bureaucratic systems were considered part and parcel of a toxic feudal legacy, hence, a series of more politically correct names were imposed on the streets of the capital.

红 hóng Red, 人民 rénmín People, 公社 gōngshè Commune, 反帝 fǎn dì Anti-Imperialism, 反修 fǎn xiū Anti-Revisionism, and other such words steeped in political ideology were commonly used during this period. For example, 东交民巷 dōngjiāomínxiàng Dongjiaomin Alley transformed into 反帝路 fǎn dì lù Anti-Imperialism Road, 豆角胡同 dòujiǎo hútòng became 红到底胡同 hóng dàodǐ hútòng Red to the Core Hutong, while 八宝楼胡同 bā bǎo lóu hútòng turned into 灭资胡同 miè zī hútòng End Capitalism Hutong. These newly christened names did make Beijing a "red city," however, they also brought a fair share of chaos and inconvenience. That is until the 1980s when the hectic political campaign was swept away with the sands of time and most of these places' names readopted their original titles.

In a city that boasts thousands of years of history but continues to evolve at lightning speed, it's understandable that some street names can’t keep up. However, as the trademarks and guides of a city, these names bear the cultural legacy passed on from generation to generation, deeply embedded in peoples' memory. After all, at the end of the day, no matter what their names, we still need them to guide us home.

Images: 老北京网，搜狐，雪花新闻，文学城论坛