Thursday, January 21, 2010
Robinson Crusoe: A Synopsis
"...the mighty river Orinoco in the mouth of which river, as I thought afterwords, our island lay; and that this land which I perceived to the west and north-west, was the great island Trinidad, on the north point of the mouth of the river."
"I saw here an abundance of cocoa trees, orange, and lemon trees and citron trees..."
With only leftover remnants of his previous civilization courtesy of a shipwreck, Crusoe must come face to face with nature against a man accustomed to civilization. Crusoe almost instantly feels basic survival instincts manifest themselves as he climbs into a tree to prevent attack from wild animals. It isn't long before Crusoe becomes anxious to start building and begins to re-establish the so called "order" and civilization he is accustomed to as he forces his way on nature and begins to manufacture actual dwellings like a hut and a tent.
Island Survival Kit
“…more intent upon getting at the ship, where I hoped to find something for my present subsistence.”
Robinson Crusoe’s story essentially shows how a man can survive on an island with the only supplies salvaged from his ship. These items collectively create Crusoe’s Island Survival Kit which enables him to live quite comfortably for 28 years.
“Then it occurred to me again, how well I was furnished for my subsistence, and what would have been my case if it had not happened, which was a hundred thousand to one, that the ship floated from the place where she first struck, and was driven so near the shore that I had time to get all things out of her. What would have been my case, if I had been obliged to have lived in the condition in which I at first came on shore, without necessaries of life, or necessaries to supply and procure them?”
The following images list the items and resources that Crusoe obtained from the shipwrecks and from the island itself:
The following list is compilation of the items that Crusoe fabricates from the materials he has salvaged from the shipwrecks and gathered from the island:
Robinson Crusoe’s story essentially shows how a man can survive on an island with the only supplies salvaged from his ship. These items collectively create Crusoe’s Island Survival Kit which enables him to live quite comfortably for 28 years.
“Then it occurred to me again, how well I was furnished for my subsistence, and what would have been my case if it had not happened, which was a hundred thousand to one, that the ship floated from the place where she first struck, and was driven so near the shore that I had time to get all things out of her. What would have been my case, if I had been obliged to have lived in the condition in which I at first came on shore, without necessaries of life, or necessaries to supply and procure them?”
The following images list the items and resources that Crusoe obtained from the shipwrecks and from the island itself:
The following list is compilation of the items that Crusoe fabricates from the materials he has salvaged from the shipwrecks and gathered from the island:
Apartment in the Tree
Name: Apartment in the Tree
Location: A couple miles up the shore from where he was shipwrecked.
Purpose: Crusoe is shipwrecked on the island and with no materials and equipment to work with; he must find a temporary shelter that will protect him from the weather and the possible threat of wild animals on the island.
Size and Scale: Crusoe describes his first house as a “thick bushy tree like a fir, but thorny…”. As the island was loosely based on Tobago, the sapodilla tree is a semi-evergreen tree indigenous to the area and is quite possibly the location of Crusoe’s first home. They tend to grow up to 10-15m in height.
Timeline: Crusoe stays at the tree only for the first night on the island. He moves on to a new shelter the next day. Sapodilla trees have a relatively short life span with its peak growth at 20 years.
“I went to the tree, and getting up into it, endeavoured to place myself so as that if I should sleep I might not fall; and having cut me a short stick, like a truncheon, for my defence, I took up my lodging”
Location: A couple miles up the shore from where he was shipwrecked.
Purpose: Crusoe is shipwrecked on the island and with no materials and equipment to work with; he must find a temporary shelter that will protect him from the weather and the possible threat of wild animals on the island.
Size and Scale: Crusoe describes his first house as a “thick bushy tree like a fir, but thorny…”. As the island was loosely based on Tobago, the sapodilla tree is a semi-evergreen tree indigenous to the area and is quite possibly the location of Crusoe’s first home. They tend to grow up to 10-15m in height.
Timeline: Crusoe stays at the tree only for the first night on the island. He moves on to a new shelter the next day. Sapodilla trees have a relatively short life span with its peak growth at 20 years.
“I went to the tree, and getting up into it, endeavoured to place myself so as that if I should sleep I might not fall; and having cut me a short stick, like a truncheon, for my defence, I took up my lodging”
Hut with Tent
Name: Hut with tent
Definition: A crude or makeshift dwelling or shelter.
Location: Crusoe makes his way up a stream in search of a new location for his inhabitation. He docks when he reaches a flat area of land on the right side of the stream. Crusoe decides to situate his new shelter a little farther off the stream to enable him to stay along the same coast where he landed.
Purpose: Crusoe moved from his old shelter to explore and find a better site which could still protect him from the weather and wild animals. Now that he salvaged some goods from the wreck, he also needed suitable storage and shelter to protect them from spoiling or getting ruined. Again, the house is simply a temporary shelter until he can get rescued and/or better materials and more time to create a more permanent home.
How it is made: Crusoe simply salvages materials from the shipwreck to create his home using three seaman’s chests, a carpenter’s chest and casks which are stacked to make up the wall while planks are combined to form a roof. A tent is also built a day later when he manages to salvage some poles and a sail from the wreckage.
“I went to work to make me a little tent, with the sail and some poles which I cut for that purpose; and into this tent I brought everything that I knew would spoil, either with rain or sun ; and I piled all the empty chests and; casks up in a circle round the tent, to fortify it from any sudden attempt, either from man or beast.”
“I barricaded myself round with the chests and boards that I had brought on shore, and made a kind of a hut for that night's lodging”
Size and Scale: The hut/tent is just big enough for himself, a chest of perishable goods and a couple muskets.
Timeline: Crusoe builds the hut on the second night and on the third he builds the tent.
Narrative: Typically huts are used for nomads as temporary shelters made up of indigenous materials to the land.
Definition: A crude or makeshift dwelling or shelter.
Location: Crusoe makes his way up a stream in search of a new location for his inhabitation. He docks when he reaches a flat area of land on the right side of the stream. Crusoe decides to situate his new shelter a little farther off the stream to enable him to stay along the same coast where he landed.
Purpose: Crusoe moved from his old shelter to explore and find a better site which could still protect him from the weather and wild animals. Now that he salvaged some goods from the wreck, he also needed suitable storage and shelter to protect them from spoiling or getting ruined. Again, the house is simply a temporary shelter until he can get rescued and/or better materials and more time to create a more permanent home.
How it is made: Crusoe simply salvages materials from the shipwreck to create his home using three seaman’s chests, a carpenter’s chest and casks which are stacked to make up the wall while planks are combined to form a roof. A tent is also built a day later when he manages to salvage some poles and a sail from the wreckage.
“I went to work to make me a little tent, with the sail and some poles which I cut for that purpose; and into this tent I brought everything that I knew would spoil, either with rain or sun ; and I piled all the empty chests and; casks up in a circle round the tent, to fortify it from any sudden attempt, either from man or beast.”
“I barricaded myself round with the chests and boards that I had brought on shore, and made a kind of a hut for that night's lodging”
Size and Scale: The hut/tent is just big enough for himself, a chest of perishable goods and a couple muskets.
Timeline: Crusoe builds the hut on the second night and on the third he builds the tent.
Narrative: Typically huts are used for nomads as temporary shelters made up of indigenous materials to the land.
Country house
Name: Country house
Location: Crusoe explores the island by heading northwest of his sea-coast house into a more heavily wooded area with plentiful resources such as fruit trees and fresh water.
Purpose: Crusoe finds the land to be beautiful and a more suitable home as there is an abundance of food in the forests. However, Crusoe does not want to remove his old shelter because he would lose the seashore house as a place to look out for ships heading down the coast. Instead, he builds the country house as a second home where he will live during the dry season.
“...to inclose myself among the hills and woods, in the centre of the island, was to anticipate my bondage, and to render such an affair not only improbable, but impossible; and that, therefore, I ought not by any means to remove.”
How it is made: Crusoe describes building a bower which is a rustic dwelling made out of leaves and brushwood. He surrounds it with a double hedged fence using stakes that would later grow into trees. The growth of the stakes comes as a pleasant surprise to Crusoe who immediately recognizes the excellent shading and defensive barrier provided by the growing tree wall. Crusoe does not recognize the tree, though he refers to it as "osier-like wood". Upon further research into the vegetation of Tobago and other Caribbean islands, our group strongly believes that the tree species described would have closely resembled the Bursera Simaruba ("Gumbo-limbo"), which is frequently used as living fencing because of its rapid growth rate and because it is easily transplanted1. Crusoe later employs this fence technology for the outer wall and surrounding forest barrier around his sea-coast house.
The tree walls create a very secure dwelling but require a ladder to climb over the hedge. As time passed the trees grew and provided shade during the hot season. He eventually builds a tent as well and continues to furnish when he has extra time. He also creates another area for his animals. The following image shows the country house in it's early form, one year after Crusoe's arrival on the island:
The following image shows the country house after 4 years, once the stakes have grown into trees.
“Under this I had made me a squab, or couch, with the skins of the creatures I had killed, and with other soft things, and a blanket laid on them, such as belonged to our sea-bedding, which I had saved, and a great watch-coat to cover me”
“Adjoining to this, I had my inclosures for my cattle, that is to say, my goats. As I had taken an inconceivable deal of pains to fence and inclose this ground, I was so uneasy to see it kept entire, lest the goats should break through, that I never left off till, with infinite labour, I had stuck the outside of the hedge so full of small stakes, and so near to one another, that it was rather a pale than a hedge, and there was scarcely room to put a hand through between them. Afterwards, when those stakes grew, as they all did in the next rainy season, they made the inclosure strong like a wall, indeed, stronger than any wall.”
Size: The enclosure including the hedge grows out to 25 yards in diameter.
Timeline: Crusoe begins building the country house in August of the first year. He continues to make improvements throughout his stay on the island. The first version of his country house was made in approximately a month’s time.
Narrative: In the middle ages a cottage was often accompanied with a barn as well as a small plot of land. In the modern day, a cottage usually refers to a vacation home or a summer residence typically in a rural location.
Location: Crusoe explores the island by heading northwest of his sea-coast house into a more heavily wooded area with plentiful resources such as fruit trees and fresh water.
Purpose: Crusoe finds the land to be beautiful and a more suitable home as there is an abundance of food in the forests. However, Crusoe does not want to remove his old shelter because he would lose the seashore house as a place to look out for ships heading down the coast. Instead, he builds the country house as a second home where he will live during the dry season.
“...to inclose myself among the hills and woods, in the centre of the island, was to anticipate my bondage, and to render such an affair not only improbable, but impossible; and that, therefore, I ought not by any means to remove.”
How it is made: Crusoe describes building a bower which is a rustic dwelling made out of leaves and brushwood. He surrounds it with a double hedged fence using stakes that would later grow into trees. The growth of the stakes comes as a pleasant surprise to Crusoe who immediately recognizes the excellent shading and defensive barrier provided by the growing tree wall. Crusoe does not recognize the tree, though he refers to it as "osier-like wood". Upon further research into the vegetation of Tobago and other Caribbean islands, our group strongly believes that the tree species described would have closely resembled the Bursera Simaruba ("Gumbo-limbo"), which is frequently used as living fencing because of its rapid growth rate and because it is easily transplanted1. Crusoe later employs this fence technology for the outer wall and surrounding forest barrier around his sea-coast house.
The tree walls create a very secure dwelling but require a ladder to climb over the hedge. As time passed the trees grew and provided shade during the hot season. He eventually builds a tent as well and continues to furnish when he has extra time. He also creates another area for his animals. The following image shows the country house in it's early form, one year after Crusoe's arrival on the island:
The following image shows the country house after 4 years, once the stakes have grown into trees.
“Under this I had made me a squab, or couch, with the skins of the creatures I had killed, and with other soft things, and a blanket laid on them, such as belonged to our sea-bedding, which I had saved, and a great watch-coat to cover me”
“Adjoining to this, I had my inclosures for my cattle, that is to say, my goats. As I had taken an inconceivable deal of pains to fence and inclose this ground, I was so uneasy to see it kept entire, lest the goats should break through, that I never left off till, with infinite labour, I had stuck the outside of the hedge so full of small stakes, and so near to one another, that it was rather a pale than a hedge, and there was scarcely room to put a hand through between them. Afterwards, when those stakes grew, as they all did in the next rainy season, they made the inclosure strong like a wall, indeed, stronger than any wall.”
Size: The enclosure including the hedge grows out to 25 yards in diameter.
Timeline: Crusoe begins building the country house in August of the first year. He continues to make improvements throughout his stay on the island. The first version of his country house was made in approximately a month’s time.
Narrative: In the middle ages a cottage was often accompanied with a barn as well as a small plot of land. In the modern day, a cottage usually refers to a vacation home or a summer residence typically in a rural location.
Notes:
1. "Bursera simaruba," Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bursera_simaruba (accessed January 21, 2010)
Sea-Coast House
Name: “Tent and Cave” or “Sea-Coast House” or “Castle”
Location and Site: The sea-coast house is located near the shore, roughly one mile north of Crusoe’s previous site, that of the “Hut” and “Tent”.
When Crusoe sets out from his first tent to find a better location, he describes his main priorities for his site: “I consulted several things in my situation which I found would be proper for me : first, Health and fresh water, I just now mentioned ; secondly, Shelter from the heat of the sun; thirdly, Security from ravenous creatures, whether man or beast; fourthly, A view to the sea, that if God sent any ship in sight, I might not lose any advantage for my deliverance, of which I was not willing to banish all my expectation yet.”
“In search of a place proper for this, I found a little plain on the side of a rising hill, whose front towards this little plain was steep as a house-side, so that nothing could come down upon me from the top. On the side of this rock there was a hollow place worn a little way in, like the entrance or door of a cave ; but there was not really any cave or way into the rock at all.” Crusoe sets up a tent “on the north-north-west side of the hill, so that I was sheltered from the heat every day, till it came to a west- and by-south sun, or thereabouts, which in those countries is near the setting.”
The Purpose: The sea-coast house serves as Crusoe’s primary dwelling for the majority of his 28 years on the island. The dwelling and its uses develop continuously throughout this time as Crusoe adapts to living on the island and reacts to various events, such as finding a human footprint and rescuing Friday. Crusoe's preoccupation with security and protecting himself from "savages" leads him to view all his dwellings as defensive fortifications. This is especially true for the sea-coast house where he invests the most time into constructing walls, doors and weapon arrangements. The parallel uses of the sea-coast house include shelter from the elements and storage of his possessions and provisions.
Timeline: Crusoe first discovers the sea-shore house site and establishes a tent in his second month on the island (November 1659). The following image shows a plan of the sea-coast house at 3 months, consisting of a double layer tent propped up against a cliff and an excavated cavern:
Within one and a half years, Crusoe has dug a tunnel and built a fence and roof of timber stakes and beams, as shown in the image below:
After three years he plants the outer tree wall. These stakes quickly grow into a wall of trees, offering shade, camouflage and defensive protection within just three more years, as shown in the image of the sea-coast house at 6 years:
After finding the footprint (and thereby suddenly confirming the presence of others on the island), Crusoe is initially terrified and responds by digging out more of the cave and reinforcing the outer tree wall with mounds of soil. He also arranges his muskets at firing holes in the outer wall. As new people are added to his colony (Friday in the 24th year and Friday’s Fater and the Spaniard in the 27th year), Crusoe adds tents accordingly. The plan below shows Crusoe's "castle" in its final form, just before he leaves the island. The drawing shows a second tent for Friday and the heavily reinforced outer tree wall. (Friday's Father and the Spaniard share a tent farther beyond the outer wall.)
The following section of the castle shows the large timber and straw roof over Crusoe's tent, as well as the extensive shading provided by the outer tree wall:
Size and Scale: Crusoe’s sea-shore house begins as a small tent pitched against a cliff, just large enough for himself and the perishable provisions he’d salvaged from the shipwreck. Crusoe spends much of the next 28 years expanding his sea-shore house, or “castle” as he later calls it, to include a cave with multiple rooms, three tents (Crusoe’s, Friday’s and that of the Spaniard and Friday’s Father), a 10 yard radius fence-wall thatched over with beams and straw, and an outer 18 yard radius tree wall built up with earth. Crusoe has furthermore planted a dense surrounding forest and maintains crops and pastures throughout the east end of the island.
How is it made?: Crusoe’s dwellings are hand crafted using his limited collection of salvaged and handmade tools. He excavates the cave using a shovel fashioned from hardwood and then supports the cave roof using posts and boards. His inner wall consists of two rows of stakes which are filled in between with pieces of cable and smaller stakes. This inner wall is reinforced with an outer dirt wall. His outer wall and outer forest employs a local tree species that is easily transplanted and grows very rapidly (likely the Gumbo-Limbo, as discussed in the country house post). Crusoe discovered this tree and its effectiveness as a living defensive barrier while constructing his country house.
The following drawing shows construction details from the sea-shore house section above. The first details show the double tent construction using lashed stakes and beams to support the canvas and tarpaulin layers:
The following details show the foundations and simple stacking connection of the fence wall and the timber thatched roof over the inner tent area:
Architect, Author: Daniel Defoe wrote this novel in 1719.
Narrative Summary: The sea-shore house represents an ideal English colonial development. From its humble beginnings as a tent to its culmination as an impenetrable castle of timber and earth, the development of Crusoe’s dwelling traces Crusoe’s immense efforts to domesticate his island.
Bibliography: Defoe, Daniel. The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Edited by J. J. Grandville and John D. Watson, London and Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers, 1884.
Posted by Andrew Ashbury
Location and Site: The sea-coast house is located near the shore, roughly one mile north of Crusoe’s previous site, that of the “Hut” and “Tent”.
When Crusoe sets out from his first tent to find a better location, he describes his main priorities for his site: “I consulted several things in my situation which I found would be proper for me : first, Health and fresh water, I just now mentioned ; secondly, Shelter from the heat of the sun; thirdly, Security from ravenous creatures, whether man or beast; fourthly, A view to the sea, that if God sent any ship in sight, I might not lose any advantage for my deliverance, of which I was not willing to banish all my expectation yet.”
“In search of a place proper for this, I found a little plain on the side of a rising hill, whose front towards this little plain was steep as a house-side, so that nothing could come down upon me from the top. On the side of this rock there was a hollow place worn a little way in, like the entrance or door of a cave ; but there was not really any cave or way into the rock at all.” Crusoe sets up a tent “on the north-north-west side of the hill, so that I was sheltered from the heat every day, till it came to a west- and by-south sun, or thereabouts, which in those countries is near the setting.”
The Purpose: The sea-coast house serves as Crusoe’s primary dwelling for the majority of his 28 years on the island. The dwelling and its uses develop continuously throughout this time as Crusoe adapts to living on the island and reacts to various events, such as finding a human footprint and rescuing Friday. Crusoe's preoccupation with security and protecting himself from "savages" leads him to view all his dwellings as defensive fortifications. This is especially true for the sea-coast house where he invests the most time into constructing walls, doors and weapon arrangements. The parallel uses of the sea-coast house include shelter from the elements and storage of his possessions and provisions.
Timeline: Crusoe first discovers the sea-shore house site and establishes a tent in his second month on the island (November 1659). The following image shows a plan of the sea-coast house at 3 months, consisting of a double layer tent propped up against a cliff and an excavated cavern:
Within one and a half years, Crusoe has dug a tunnel and built a fence and roof of timber stakes and beams, as shown in the image below:
After three years he plants the outer tree wall. These stakes quickly grow into a wall of trees, offering shade, camouflage and defensive protection within just three more years, as shown in the image of the sea-coast house at 6 years:
After finding the footprint (and thereby suddenly confirming the presence of others on the island), Crusoe is initially terrified and responds by digging out more of the cave and reinforcing the outer tree wall with mounds of soil. He also arranges his muskets at firing holes in the outer wall. As new people are added to his colony (Friday in the 24th year and Friday’s Fater and the Spaniard in the 27th year), Crusoe adds tents accordingly. The plan below shows Crusoe's "castle" in its final form, just before he leaves the island. The drawing shows a second tent for Friday and the heavily reinforced outer tree wall. (Friday's Father and the Spaniard share a tent farther beyond the outer wall.)
The following section of the castle shows the large timber and straw roof over Crusoe's tent, as well as the extensive shading provided by the outer tree wall:
Size and Scale: Crusoe’s sea-shore house begins as a small tent pitched against a cliff, just large enough for himself and the perishable provisions he’d salvaged from the shipwreck. Crusoe spends much of the next 28 years expanding his sea-shore house, or “castle” as he later calls it, to include a cave with multiple rooms, three tents (Crusoe’s, Friday’s and that of the Spaniard and Friday’s Father), a 10 yard radius fence-wall thatched over with beams and straw, and an outer 18 yard radius tree wall built up with earth. Crusoe has furthermore planted a dense surrounding forest and maintains crops and pastures throughout the east end of the island.
How is it made?: Crusoe’s dwellings are hand crafted using his limited collection of salvaged and handmade tools. He excavates the cave using a shovel fashioned from hardwood and then supports the cave roof using posts and boards. His inner wall consists of two rows of stakes which are filled in between with pieces of cable and smaller stakes. This inner wall is reinforced with an outer dirt wall. His outer wall and outer forest employs a local tree species that is easily transplanted and grows very rapidly (likely the Gumbo-Limbo, as discussed in the country house post). Crusoe discovered this tree and its effectiveness as a living defensive barrier while constructing his country house.
The following drawing shows construction details from the sea-shore house section above. The first details show the double tent construction using lashed stakes and beams to support the canvas and tarpaulin layers:
The following details show the foundations and simple stacking connection of the fence wall and the timber thatched roof over the inner tent area:
Architect, Author: Daniel Defoe wrote this novel in 1719.
Narrative Summary: The sea-shore house represents an ideal English colonial development. From its humble beginnings as a tent to its culmination as an impenetrable castle of timber and earth, the development of Crusoe’s dwelling traces Crusoe’s immense efforts to domesticate his island.
Bibliography: Defoe, Daniel. The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Edited by J. J. Grandville and John D. Watson, London and Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers, 1884.
Posted by Andrew Ashbury
Cave
Name: "cave" or "grotto" or "vault"
Location
Found in a rock face behind low-lying brush or trees. Located somewhere inland where the forest becomes more dense.
The Purpose
The purpose was an additional place of defence. It also acted as a place of alternative storage where Crusoe could place a portion of his weapons and gun powder. Crusoe believed that the savages would not be able to find it because of its hidden nature. He also believed that if they did come across it, they would likely not enter it because it was very dark -while standing at the entrance it is nearly impossible to know what lies within it.
Size and Scale
Crusoe describes it as being not very big -about 12 feet across and about 6 feet tall in the first cavity. There is a passage that is at the back of the first cavity leading to an additional "vault" that is said by Crusoe to be "almost ten yards." It is presumably around 3 feet high because Crusoe is forced to go on his hands and knees in order to pass through it. The final cavity or "storage space" has a 20 foot ceiling. There is no mention of the horizontal dimensions, but he seems to quite like it and describes it as an ideal storage space. One could assume it is a comfortable space -possibly the size of a bedroom? The following image shows the cave as described by Crusoe:
How it is Made
Crusoe states that it is made entirely by natural causes: "no hands have ever been employed in making it but those of mere nature." As a result it is natural looking and is somewhat round/square. He states that unlike other caves the walls are not moist making it even more ideal and he also mentions that there is "small loose gravel" which covers the "flat floor" of the final cavity.
Timeline
Shaped over hundreds or thousands of years. It will last as long as nature allows it to.
Narrative Summary:
One of the most primitive forms of habitation and burial which date back to some of the first humans to ever inhabit the earth.
Location
Found in a rock face behind low-lying brush or trees. Located somewhere inland where the forest becomes more dense.
The Purpose
The purpose was an additional place of defence. It also acted as a place of alternative storage where Crusoe could place a portion of his weapons and gun powder. Crusoe believed that the savages would not be able to find it because of its hidden nature. He also believed that if they did come across it, they would likely not enter it because it was very dark -while standing at the entrance it is nearly impossible to know what lies within it.
Size and Scale
Crusoe describes it as being not very big -about 12 feet across and about 6 feet tall in the first cavity. There is a passage that is at the back of the first cavity leading to an additional "vault" that is said by Crusoe to be "almost ten yards." It is presumably around 3 feet high because Crusoe is forced to go on his hands and knees in order to pass through it. The final cavity or "storage space" has a 20 foot ceiling. There is no mention of the horizontal dimensions, but he seems to quite like it and describes it as an ideal storage space. One could assume it is a comfortable space -possibly the size of a bedroom? The following image shows the cave as described by Crusoe:
How it is Made
Crusoe states that it is made entirely by natural causes: "no hands have ever been employed in making it but those of mere nature." As a result it is natural looking and is somewhat round/square. He states that unlike other caves the walls are not moist making it even more ideal and he also mentions that there is "small loose gravel" which covers the "flat floor" of the final cavity.
Timeline
Shaped over hundreds or thousands of years. It will last as long as nature allows it to.
Narrative Summary:
One of the most primitive forms of habitation and burial which date back to some of the first humans to ever inhabit the earth.
5 Steps to Civilization
Hunting and Food Gathering: This includes going in tribes and finding food, and finding a shelter that is adaptable to different environments. Some equipment that can be used at this stage are bows and arrows, and food baskets.
Relevance: Robinson Crusoe begins by finding a shelter in a tree then progresses but at first he is focusing on getting a shelter and some food to survive.
“As for food, I yet saw not which way to supply myself, except that I had seen two or three creatures like hares run out of the wood where I shot the fowl.”
Food Production:
At this stage animals are domesticated and agriculture begins. Once flexible shelter is tested, here is where the permanent home begins and farming takes place. The population may also increase. Some props include seeds and fenced animals.
Relevance: Crusoe starts to grow corn and grapes as a way of gathering food, and he also fences off a place to keep his goats.
“Accordingly, I dug up a piece of ground, as well as I could, with my wooden spade, and, dividing it into two parts, I sowed my grain.”
Surplus:
There is an overstock of supplies such as food or cattle. The excess is then put away for emergency or traded. The population continues growing.
Relevance: Crusoe stocks away corn and rice that he can save for periods when it is not the growing season.
“...with fourteen or fifteen great baskets, which would hold five or six bushels each, where I laid up my stores of provision, especially my corn, some in the ear cut off short from the straw.”
Division of Labour:
Farming is not the main job and people spread out into other jobs such as craftsmanship. Skills are developed and trading takes place. Some props include tools, clay pots and trade products.
Relevance: Crusoe starts to learn crafts such as making pots, working on canoes/boats, making different garments out of goat fur/skin, and he slowly develops his way of living comfortably on the island.
“Chapter XXV.—Becomes A Potter, Miller, And Baker”
The Rise of Cities:
Population is at large and people are working as a community, establishing government and social structures. Cultures slowly develop and focus is on literature, technology, politics, religion and education.
Relevance: Crusoe finds Friday, teaches him to read and puts clothes on him. He tries to make a little civilization and once he rescues Friday's father and a Spaniard he begins to. He gives them living space and gets them to help him out.
Relevance: Robinson Crusoe begins by finding a shelter in a tree then progresses but at first he is focusing on getting a shelter and some food to survive.
“As for food, I yet saw not which way to supply myself, except that I had seen two or three creatures like hares run out of the wood where I shot the fowl.”
Food Production:
At this stage animals are domesticated and agriculture begins. Once flexible shelter is tested, here is where the permanent home begins and farming takes place. The population may also increase. Some props include seeds and fenced animals.
Relevance: Crusoe starts to grow corn and grapes as a way of gathering food, and he also fences off a place to keep his goats.
“Accordingly, I dug up a piece of ground, as well as I could, with my wooden spade, and, dividing it into two parts, I sowed my grain.”
Surplus:
There is an overstock of supplies such as food or cattle. The excess is then put away for emergency or traded. The population continues growing.
Relevance: Crusoe stocks away corn and rice that he can save for periods when it is not the growing season.
“...with fourteen or fifteen great baskets, which would hold five or six bushels each, where I laid up my stores of provision, especially my corn, some in the ear cut off short from the straw.”
Division of Labour:
Farming is not the main job and people spread out into other jobs such as craftsmanship. Skills are developed and trading takes place. Some props include tools, clay pots and trade products.
Relevance: Crusoe starts to learn crafts such as making pots, working on canoes/boats, making different garments out of goat fur/skin, and he slowly develops his way of living comfortably on the island.
“Chapter XXV.—Becomes A Potter, Miller, And Baker”
The Rise of Cities:
Population is at large and people are working as a community, establishing government and social structures. Cultures slowly develop and focus is on literature, technology, politics, religion and education.
Relevance: Crusoe finds Friday, teaches him to read and puts clothes on him. He tries to make a little civilization and once he rescues Friday's father and a Spaniard he begins to. He gives them living space and gets them to help him out.
"I worked to make this room, or cave, spacious enough to accommodate me as a warehouse, or magazine, a kitchen, a dining-room, and a cellar."
“During the long time that Friday had now been with me, and that he began to speak to me, and understand me, I was not wanting to lay a foundation of religious knowledge in his mind. I began to instruct him in the knowledge of the true God.”
source: http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:-ui8ATwtHnIJ:users.d-web.com/catc/rh/5%2520Steps%2520to%2520Civilization.doc+steps+to+civilization&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&client=firefox-a
Colonialism and Exploration
Colonialism- Reasons for Practice
Crusoe's creation of an ideal civilization is based on the only society he knows of, colonial England.
1. Profits- Crusoe leaving plantation to smuggle slaves, Crusoe constantly exploring the island for materials/wealth
2. Expand Power of Mother City- Crusoe building multiple houses
3. Escape Persecution from Mother City- Building of Castle- protection from "savages"
4. Convert Indigenous Population- Crusoe converting Friday
Interest in exploration led to England's discovery of Central America and the Caribbean islands. Similarly, Crusoe finds himself on the island because of his love of sailing and adventure. The idea of colonial expansion can be seen on a smaller scale by examining the building of his home from a small tent in a cave to a walled fortress with large acres of farm land. On a larger scale, Crusoe develops multiple posts which include his country house, sea shore house and cave that protect distinct areas of the island.
Crusoe's creation of an ideal civilization is based on the only society he knows of, colonial England.
1. Profits- Crusoe leaving plantation to smuggle slaves, Crusoe constantly exploring the island for materials/wealth
2. Expand Power of Mother City- Crusoe building multiple houses
3. Escape Persecution from Mother City- Building of Castle- protection from "savages"
4. Convert Indigenous Population- Crusoe converting Friday
Interest in exploration led to England's discovery of Central America and the Caribbean islands. Similarly, Crusoe finds himself on the island because of his love of sailing and adventure. The idea of colonial expansion can be seen on a smaller scale by examining the building of his home from a small tent in a cave to a walled fortress with large acres of farm land. On a larger scale, Crusoe develops multiple posts which include his country house, sea shore house and cave that protect distinct areas of the island.
The Evolution of Crusoe's Character
“I was now landed, and safe on shore, and began to look up and thank God that my life was saved, in a case wherein there was, some minutes before, scarcely any room to hope. I believe it is impossible to express to the life what the ecstasies and transports of the soul are when it is so saved…For sudden joys, for griefs, confound at first.”
“…having been excessively fatigued, I fell fast asleep, and slept as comfortably as, I believe, few could have done in my condition, and found myself the most refreshed with it that I think I ever was on such an occasion.”
“I smiled to myself at the sight of this money. 'O drug !' said I, aloud,' what art thou good for ? Thou art not worth to me—no, not the taking off the ground ; one of those knives is worth all this heap. I have no manner of use for thee ; even remain where thou art, and go to the bottom as a creature whose life is not worth saving.' However, upon second thoughts, I took it away, and wrapping all of it in a piece of canvas…”
“I consulted several things in my situation which I found would be proper for me : first, Health and fresh water, I just now mentioned ; secondly, Shelter from the heat of the sun; thirdly, Security from ravenous creatures, whether man or beast; fourthly, A view to the sea, that if God sent any ship in sight, I might not lose any advantage for my deliverance, of which I was not willing to banish all my expectation yet…”
“And this put me in mind that I wanted many things, notwithstanding all that I had amassed together; and of these, this of ink was one, as also spade, pick-axe, and shovel, to dig or remove the earth; needles, pins, and thread. As for linen, I soon learned to want that without much difficulty.”
“…there was scarcely any condition in the world so miserable, but there was something negative or something positive to be thankful for in it. And let this stand as a direction from the experience of the most miserable of all conditions in this world, that we may always find in it something to comfort ourselves from, and to set, in the description of good and evil, on the credit side of the account.”
"...sowed the rest of my seed in February, a little before the vernal equinox ; and this, having the rainy months of March and April to water it, sprung up very pleasantly, and yielded a very good crop. But having part of the seed left only, and not daring to sow all that I had, I had but a small quantity at last, my whole crop not amounting to above half a peck of each kind."
"I cannot express what a satisfaction it was to me to come into my old hutch, and lie down in my hammock-bed. This little wandering journey, without a settled place of abode, had been so unpleasant to me, that my own house, as I called it to myself, was a perfect settlement to me compared to that; and it rendered everything about me so comfortable"
"It might be truly said, that I now worked for my bread. It is a little wonderful, and what I believe few people have thought much upon, namely, the strange multitude of little things necessary in the providing, producing, curing, dressing, making, and finishing this one article of bread."
“I finished my fourth year in the place, and kept my anniversary with the same devotion, and with as much comfort as before. I entertained different notions of things; I looked now upon the world as a thing remote, which I had nothing to do with, no expectation from, and indeed no desires about: in a word, I had nothing indeed to do with it, nor was ever likely to have.
I might have raised ship-loadings of corn, but I had no use for it, so I had tortoises or turtles enough, but now and then one was as much as I could put to any use. I had timber enough to have built a fleet of ships. I had grapes enough to have made wine, or to have cured into raisins to have loaded that fleet when they had been built.
But all I could make use of was that which was valuable to me. I had enough to eat and to supply my wants, and what was all the rest? If I killed more flesh than I could eat, the dog must eat it, or the vermin: if I sowed more corn than I could eat, it must be spoiled. The trees that I cut down lying to rot on the ground, I could make no more use of them that for fuel-and that I had no occasion for but to dress my food.
In a word, the nature and experience of things dictated to me, upon just reflection, that all the good things of this world are no further good to us than as they are for our use; and that, whatever we may heap up to give others, we enjoy only as much as we can use, and no more.”
“…having been excessively fatigued, I fell fast asleep, and slept as comfortably as, I believe, few could have done in my condition, and found myself the most refreshed with it that I think I ever was on such an occasion.”
“I smiled to myself at the sight of this money. 'O drug !' said I, aloud,' what art thou good for ? Thou art not worth to me—no, not the taking off the ground ; one of those knives is worth all this heap. I have no manner of use for thee ; even remain where thou art, and go to the bottom as a creature whose life is not worth saving.' However, upon second thoughts, I took it away, and wrapping all of it in a piece of canvas…”
“I consulted several things in my situation which I found would be proper for me : first, Health and fresh water, I just now mentioned ; secondly, Shelter from the heat of the sun; thirdly, Security from ravenous creatures, whether man or beast; fourthly, A view to the sea, that if God sent any ship in sight, I might not lose any advantage for my deliverance, of which I was not willing to banish all my expectation yet…”
“And this put me in mind that I wanted many things, notwithstanding all that I had amassed together; and of these, this of ink was one, as also spade, pick-axe, and shovel, to dig or remove the earth; needles, pins, and thread. As for linen, I soon learned to want that without much difficulty.”
“…there was scarcely any condition in the world so miserable, but there was something negative or something positive to be thankful for in it. And let this stand as a direction from the experience of the most miserable of all conditions in this world, that we may always find in it something to comfort ourselves from, and to set, in the description of good and evil, on the credit side of the account.”
"...sowed the rest of my seed in February, a little before the vernal equinox ; and this, having the rainy months of March and April to water it, sprung up very pleasantly, and yielded a very good crop. But having part of the seed left only, and not daring to sow all that I had, I had but a small quantity at last, my whole crop not amounting to above half a peck of each kind."
"I cannot express what a satisfaction it was to me to come into my old hutch, and lie down in my hammock-bed. This little wandering journey, without a settled place of abode, had been so unpleasant to me, that my own house, as I called it to myself, was a perfect settlement to me compared to that; and it rendered everything about me so comfortable"
"It might be truly said, that I now worked for my bread. It is a little wonderful, and what I believe few people have thought much upon, namely, the strange multitude of little things necessary in the providing, producing, curing, dressing, making, and finishing this one article of bread."
“I finished my fourth year in the place, and kept my anniversary with the same devotion, and with as much comfort as before. I entertained different notions of things; I looked now upon the world as a thing remote, which I had nothing to do with, no expectation from, and indeed no desires about: in a word, I had nothing indeed to do with it, nor was ever likely to have.
I might have raised ship-loadings of corn, but I had no use for it, so I had tortoises or turtles enough, but now and then one was as much as I could put to any use. I had timber enough to have built a fleet of ships. I had grapes enough to have made wine, or to have cured into raisins to have loaded that fleet when they had been built.
But all I could make use of was that which was valuable to me. I had enough to eat and to supply my wants, and what was all the rest? If I killed more flesh than I could eat, the dog must eat it, or the vermin: if I sowed more corn than I could eat, it must be spoiled. The trees that I cut down lying to rot on the ground, I could make no more use of them that for fuel-and that I had no occasion for but to dress my food.
In a word, the nature and experience of things dictated to me, upon just reflection, that all the good things of this world are no further good to us than as they are for our use; and that, whatever we may heap up to give others, we enjoy only as much as we can use, and no more.”
Brief Introduction to Kowloon
- Kowloon Walled City, Hak Nam (translates as "Black Forest"), the City of Darkness
Topography
- Lion Rock hill to the North, and Kowloon Bay just at the South (as according to rules of feng shui that ensure harmony in a city)
Infrastructure
- Spaces are on average maximum of 4 feet wide, thus allowing only occasional bikes and not vehicles for travel in streets and alleys
- Only two buildings in the entire city have elevators
- Horizontal circulation: buildings were located in such close proximity that the rooftops could be used for circulation as well; corridors often connected stairwells in up to four adjacent buildings
- Inorganic waste transferred to rooftops; up until the 1970s, when the Kai Fong Association invited the Hong Kong government to help with garbage disposal, organic waste drainage consisted only of open drains at the edge of the already narrow streets
- Only 8 government standpipes existed by 1987 (with the first being installed in 1963): 1 of these was actually within the city while the remaining 7 stood at the perimeter--these provided potable water
- By 1987 there were 67 functioning wells
- Property owners chose to drill their own deeper wells, as the more shallow water table accessible to existing wells had been contaminated by heavy metals and oils from the drastic construction taking place as well as the accumulating organic waste that had seeped through the soil over years of poor drainage
- Electric pumps delivered well water to water tanks on rooftops; a random network of narrow pipes transferred this water supply to homes—although plumbing was chaotic, sewer system and water supply were not confused
- Electricity was stolen from the mains
- The Post delivered to the city; postmen themselves assigned numbers to doors
Land Use
- Site of criminal activity: opium dens, gambling dens, brothels, stronghold for Triads
- But also legitimate businesses: textile factories, toy plants, food plants, etc.
- The Salvation Army directed schools and kindergartens
- Doctor and dentist clinics in steady supply (properly educated in China, but simply lacked license to practice)
- Temple at heart of city
- Social atmosphere: mahjong tables set up every afternoon; caged pigeons on rooftops; traditional Chinese instruments practiced in alleys
Size/Scale
- Built area of 26304m2
- Population of 33000 at its peak
Architect/Author
- The authors of the buildings were the residents themselves, who would often purchase an existing hut and hire a contractor to demolish and rebuild a multi-storey building
- Thus heights and materials varied, but all units were jammed right against one another
- The only building restraint was the height restriction necessitated by landing and departing planes at nearby Kai Tak Airport
- One building was an imitation of an early Hong Kong municipal housing block
Other Notes
“It was also, arguably, the closest thing to a truly self-regulating, self-sufficient, self-determining modern city that has ever been built” (9 City of Darkness)
“What fascinates about the Walled City is that, for all its horrible shortcomings, its builders and residents succeeded in creating what modern architects, with all their resources of money and expertise, have failed to: the city as ‘organic megastructure’, not set rigidly for a lifetime but continually responsive to the changing requirements of its user, fulfilling every need from water supply to religion, yet providing also the warmth and intimacy of a single huge household.” (13 City of Darkness)
The Story of Kowloon's Walled City
The Beginning
The land in which the Kowloon Walled City used to sit was originally from the very beginning a customs station since the Song dynasty. Things began to drastically change however following the First Opium Wars in which the need to militarily defend Kowloon was a high priority and was subsequently turned into a fort in the late 1800's. In 1898 however, with the lease of Hong Kong's New territories, the fort was engulfed in British occupied space and in 1899, the Chinese officials were ousted from the fort. The British side however could not gain full control over the city and the Chinese side had more important things to worry about than a piece of land that was so far away from the mainland. Thus was how the context of the Kowloon Walled City was estalished. There was neither British nor Chinese rule over the area and the residents prevents any sort of ousting from the British government. This haven of sorts led to the first stage of the development of the city: The Three Vices
The Three Vices(1948-1987)
Demolition (1987-1994)
The 1984 Joint Declaration helped improve relations between the British and Chinese which allowed for the British to exercise full jurisdiction over the city before 1997.
Following two years of secret talks, a surprise announcement was made at 9:00 on the morning of January 14, 1987 by the Hong Kong government declaring the Walled City would be torn down and turned into a park before 1997. At exactly the same moment, the New China News Agency's Hong Kong branch made a similar announcement and expressed full support. Fifteen minutes later the Foreign Office in Beijing echoed the New China News Agency's.
Simultaneously, members of the Hong Kong government's 1200 survey and mapping department accompanied by police swept across the Walled City to determine the occupancy, ownership, and size of all the property in the area. This choreography was to prevent residents from artificially increasing their land speculation by bringing in objects of value. The government also preemptively stationed guards at all eighty-three entrances. The total compensation value given to residents payed by the government was HK$2.3 billion.
The garden (1994-)
By the end of 1987, the government had approved the funds necessary to resettle the inhabitants and to redevelop the area. The last 20 residents were evicted in July 1992. In April of the following year, demolition had begun and in 1994, the government began to build a garden on the site of the old fort. The garden, designed by the Hong Kong's government's Architectural Services Department, had three goals in mind: to provide a place for people to relax, to use the garden to teach visitors about Chinese culture, and to preserve the spirit of the Walled City.
The garden was built as an imitation of an early Qing dynasty garden in the lower Yangzi River style. The symbolic value of the lower Yangzi style represented the highpoint of pre-Opium War Chinese cultural and economic development. It was during the early Qing that Chinese territorial control reached its greatest extent (including the imperial control over Guangdong and the region around Hong Kong). The early Qing is also significant as it was the last great period of Chinese cultural development, free of Western influence. The ASD consciously rejected the Lingnan style of the southern China which better represented it which might have suggested an East-meets-West hybrid. The garden makes reference to a happier and more peaceful time while erasing the decidedly impure history of the Walled City itself, which was so bound up in the anti colonial struggle of the mid-nineteenth century. It also symbolized the impending return to the People's Republic at large and the design is widely reputed to be the home of China's most elegant gardens
The land in which the Kowloon Walled City used to sit was originally from the very beginning a customs station since the Song dynasty. Things began to drastically change however following the First Opium Wars in which the need to militarily defend Kowloon was a high priority and was subsequently turned into a fort in the late 1800's. In 1898 however, with the lease of Hong Kong's New territories, the fort was engulfed in British occupied space and in 1899, the Chinese officials were ousted from the fort. The British side however could not gain full control over the city and the Chinese side had more important things to worry about than a piece of land that was so far away from the mainland. Thus was how the context of the Kowloon Walled City was estalished. There was neither British nor Chinese rule over the area and the residents prevents any sort of ousting from the British government. This haven of sorts led to the first stage of the development of the city: The Three Vices
The Three Vices(1948-1987)
The vice industries began in the late 1940's and through the 50's and 60's. During this period the triads, 14K and Sun Yee on had taken over the area due its lawlessness. The prohibition of opium smoking and brothels in Hong Kong led to a rush of the prostitution and drug industries into the Walled City where they were beyond the reach of the law. Many other establishments came into being too under the rule of the Triads including dog meat stalls, gambling halls, opium dens and other illegal practices. There was a lot of permeability between the residents inside the Walled City and the neighborhoods of Kowloon. A lot of Walled City residents worked outisde of the city's confines while others worked inside the city.
There were also a lot of legitimate businesses operating inside the city from butchers and bakers to dentists. Many of the reasons a lot of businesses came into the city was due to the low operating costs from low rent, no need for a permit and most of all no inspectors or codes that needed to be closely followed which allowed for the industries to work more freely.
During the late 1960's and 1970's, people began to enter the city in masses post-war and when the surrounding housing prices were on the rise. Everyone was trying to escape the chaos that was happening in mainland China and took refuge in the sole place where they could be left alone.
The increase in population posed a severe water problem as there were only two wells in the city which had to support all its thousands of residents, and on top of that, these wells were under heavy urban pollution. The solution was to have piping that tapped into the main waterline illegally and pipe it along the walls of buildings and the ceilings of alleyways to their respective houses. The business, operated by the Triads, resulted in leaky, shaftily connected pipes chaotically twisting and turning all throughout the city to not only support the residents, but also the restaurant, factories and workshops. The British government, in the later stages of the Wallled City eventually installed a couple of wells accessible to the city along with introducing electricity into the city which was a formidable task due to its density.
Police raids began occuring in the late 1960's and early 1970's to attempt to flush out the traids. The problem was the police force was so corrupt at the time that officers were more likely to compete with triad bosses for protection money rather arrest them. This was fixed after the establishment of the INdependent Commission against Corruption in 1974. A regular patrol square was assigned to the city in 1980 and the presence began to restrict the vice industries within the city.
There was also an formation of community within the city. A Kaifong (neighborhood welfare association) was established and strived to help obtain better living conditions within the Walled City. They paid for lighting and signage, was the main form of communication between the British government and the Walled City and they fostered a sense of community among residents through social gathering and events.
There were also a lot of legitimate businesses operating inside the city from butchers and bakers to dentists. Many of the reasons a lot of businesses came into the city was due to the low operating costs from low rent, no need for a permit and most of all no inspectors or codes that needed to be closely followed which allowed for the industries to work more freely.During the late 1960's and 1970's, people began to enter the city in masses post-war and when the surrounding housing prices were on the rise. Everyone was trying to escape the chaos that was happening in mainland China and took refuge in the sole place where they could be left alone.
The increase in population posed a severe water problem as there were only two wells in the city which had to support all its thousands of residents, and on top of that, these wells were under heavy urban pollution. The solution was to have piping that tapped into the main waterline illegally and pipe it along the walls of buildings and the ceilings of alleyways to their respective houses. The business, operated by the Triads, resulted in leaky, shaftily connected pipes chaotically twisting and turning all throughout the city to not only support the residents, but also the restaurant, factories and workshops. The British government, in the later stages of the Wallled City eventually installed a couple of wells accessible to the city along with introducing electricity into the city which was a formidable task due to its density.Police raids began occuring in the late 1960's and early 1970's to attempt to flush out the traids. The problem was the police force was so corrupt at the time that officers were more likely to compete with triad bosses for protection money rather arrest them. This was fixed after the establishment of the INdependent Commission against Corruption in 1974. A regular patrol square was assigned to the city in 1980 and the presence began to restrict the vice industries within the city.
There was also an formation of community within the city. A Kaifong (neighborhood welfare association) was established and strived to help obtain better living conditions within the Walled City. They paid for lighting and signage, was the main form of communication between the British government and the Walled City and they fostered a sense of community among residents through social gathering and events.
Demolition (1987-1994)
The 1984 Joint Declaration helped improve relations between the British and Chinese which allowed for the British to exercise full jurisdiction over the city before 1997.
Following two years of secret talks, a surprise announcement was made at 9:00 on the morning of January 14, 1987 by the Hong Kong government declaring the Walled City would be torn down and turned into a park before 1997. At exactly the same moment, the New China News Agency's Hong Kong branch made a similar announcement and expressed full support. Fifteen minutes later the Foreign Office in Beijing echoed the New China News Agency's.
Simultaneously, members of the Hong Kong government's 1200 survey and mapping department accompanied by police swept across the Walled City to determine the occupancy, ownership, and size of all the property in the area. This choreography was to prevent residents from artificially increasing their land speculation by bringing in objects of value. The government also preemptively stationed guards at all eighty-three entrances. The total compensation value given to residents payed by the government was HK$2.3 billion.
The garden (1994-)
By the end of 1987, the government had approved the funds necessary to resettle the inhabitants and to redevelop the area. The last 20 residents were evicted in July 1992. In April of the following year, demolition had begun and in 1994, the government began to build a garden on the site of the old fort. The garden, designed by the Hong Kong's government's Architectural Services Department, had three goals in mind: to provide a place for people to relax, to use the garden to teach visitors about Chinese culture, and to preserve the spirit of the Walled City.
The garden was built as an imitation of an early Qing dynasty garden in the lower Yangzi River style. The symbolic value of the lower Yangzi style represented the highpoint of pre-Opium War Chinese cultural and economic development. It was during the early Qing that Chinese territorial control reached its greatest extent (including the imperial control over Guangdong and the region around Hong Kong). The early Qing is also significant as it was the last great period of Chinese cultural development, free of Western influence. The ASD consciously rejected the Lingnan style of the southern China which better represented it which might have suggested an East-meets-West hybrid. The garden makes reference to a happier and more peaceful time while erasing the decidedly impure history of the Walled City itself, which was so bound up in the anti colonial struggle of the mid-nineteenth century. It also symbolized the impending return to the People's Republic at large and the design is widely reputed to be the home of China's most elegant gardens
A timeline of the Walled City
Shown below is the development over time of the plan and an elevation of the Walled City
Colonial Development in Hong Kong
British and Japanese Colonial Development in China
Light Grey: Asia
Dark Grey: China (or other colonial occupation)
Dark Grey: China (or other colonial occupation)
Red: Japanese occupation
Blue: British occupation
1842
1895
1931
1943
1997
British and Japanese Colonial Development in Hong Kong
1860
1899
An axonometric of a standard house in the Walled City
The flat of Law Yu Yi, a retired maid who lived with her daughter-in-law in the Walled City.
A standard inventory of household objects
The items listed below are the most common objects that are possessed by the residents of the Walled City.
A View into the Culture of the Kowloon Walled City
The residents of the Kowloon Walled City were a hardworking, gregarious people who expressed concern for many issues that arise from everyday existence such as the pressing concerns of education and living conditions. The overall cultural character of the city was one of a tight nit community were residents would help each other as much as possible. An important aspect of the cultural component of the city was the rooftops of the buildings. The rooftops served as a social gathering place. It would be a place of relaxation or repose for the older members of the community while children would use it as a playground. It was a place for everybody.
Perhaps the most important social oasis was the Yamen. Located in the very heart of the city, the Yamen served as a kind of community centre. There were also several religious institutions in the city. During its zenith, it was home to the Fuk Tak and Tin Hau Temples that served believers of Buddhism, Taoism and various Animalist adherents.
Culture in the Walled City Continued: The Yamen
Along with the city's rooftops, the Yamen was the most important social gathering spot for the Walled City's residents. The city's community centre, the Yamen was a three hall structure. Some uses for the Yamen included a home for the aged, a home for widows and orphans, a school, and a clinic. In 1996, the Yamen was preserved and restored to remind people of its historical past. The Yamen is today one of the only vestiges of one of the truly miraculous aspects of human civilization that was destroyed by the working machine of a nation reestablishing its dominance over the territory
Life in Kowloon Walled City
General City Descriptions
- Streets are narrow paths squashed between the walls of hastily constructed buildings which were constantly growing taller to accommodate the endless influx of immigrants
- As the city grew upwards, it pushed light further out until it was engulfed in darkness
- The air was damp and still, polluted with rancid smells from slimey sewers, the sickly sweet odor drifting from the many opium dens, and the stench of thousands of people crammed together in a confined space.
- Finding work outside the city was discouraging because no one trusted people from the Walled City and they couldn’t produce any qualifications.
- There are a few primary schools in the walled city
- Taking Opium or heroin was common in the walled city
- People set up Squatter shacks wherever they found space
- Multiple families lived together crammed in one-room dwellings. Some even had to sleep in shifts because there were too many people to lie down at the same time.
- A blue film theatre, twelve foot by twelve, drew customers for its fifteen minute sessions which sometimes included a live lesbian show.
The life of Dai Pan
- At age 6, he moved to Kowloon with a friend of his grandfathers
- Lived in 1 room of a large building with another family
- He came home to see his new dad smoking a pipe then passing out for hours.
- He enjoyed strolling the streets and making friends with scurrying rats and playing games with floating rubbish
- Memories of China eventually faded and he didn’t know any better, Kowloon was what he knew to be life.
- He met twelve to thirteen year old prostitutes who were sold by their parents of boyfriends
- When he roamed the streets, he always saw bodies lying in the streets near the drug dens, with needle scars all over their arms from the injection of heroin
- He loved this dark place. He hated what was happening inside but he wanted to be nowhere else
- He joined the triads and became a ‘sai lo’
- He even found somewhere new to live: he moved into a room with his gang brothers in a different but no less filthy, building.
- His survival came to depend upon his Triad activities
- He inevitably got hooked on drugs
- He later got arrested and began to turn to god for protection and guidance
- Streets are narrow paths squashed between the walls of hastily constructed buildings which were constantly growing taller to accommodate the endless influx of immigrants
- As the city grew upwards, it pushed light further out until it was engulfed in darkness
- The air was damp and still, polluted with rancid smells from slimey sewers, the sickly sweet odor drifting from the many opium dens, and the stench of thousands of people crammed together in a confined space.
- Finding work outside the city was discouraging because no one trusted people from the Walled City and they couldn’t produce any qualifications.
- There are a few primary schools in the walled city
- Taking Opium or heroin was common in the walled city
- People set up Squatter shacks wherever they found space
- Multiple families lived together crammed in one-room dwellings. Some even had to sleep in shifts because there were too many people to lie down at the same time.
- A blue film theatre, twelve foot by twelve, drew customers for its fifteen minute sessions which sometimes included a live lesbian show.
The life of Dai Pan
- At age 6, he moved to Kowloon with a friend of his grandfathers
- Lived in 1 room of a large building with another family
- He came home to see his new dad smoking a pipe then passing out for hours.
- He enjoyed strolling the streets and making friends with scurrying rats and playing games with floating rubbish
- Memories of China eventually faded and he didn’t know any better, Kowloon was what he knew to be life.
- He met twelve to thirteen year old prostitutes who were sold by their parents of boyfriends
- When he roamed the streets, he always saw bodies lying in the streets near the drug dens, with needle scars all over their arms from the injection of heroin
- He loved this dark place. He hated what was happening inside but he wanted to be nowhere else
- He joined the triads and became a ‘sai lo’
- He even found somewhere new to live: he moved into a room with his gang brothers in a different but no less filthy, building.
- His survival came to depend upon his Triad activities
- He inevitably got hooked on drugs
- He later got arrested and began to turn to god for protection and guidance
Triad structure
Triads are Chinese secret societies, which had degenerated into criminal gangs. The triad gang that took charge in KWC was one of the most active and notorious triad societies in Hong Kong, the 14K. Another gang known as the ‘Ging Yi’ operated in KWC but the two did not clash aslong as neither infringed upon the other gangs territory. The two gangs even controlled the periodic police activity in the walled city at that time. The Triads knew about absolutely everything that happened in the walled city and if you were not one of them, you were vulnerable to every kind of threat. This motivated more of the youth to give their oath and become a ‘sai lo’. A ‘Sai lo’ is a younger brother to a more experienced gang member. By becoming a member, you receive protection in return for absolute obedience. Another benefit to joining the triads is the potential to make money by running errands for the Triad-run gambling dens and opium ‘divians’, or by selling tickets for the blue film theatre. At street level, triads make money by various illegal means and command fear by employing blackmail and violence. Triad members who stand at the 40 street entrances guarding this territory are known as watchmen and the give advance warnings of suspicious strangers or the appearance of police. 
Triad Hierarchical Structure
o The heirarchial structure of the triad societies dictates the responsibilities of each member as well as the statues and earning power.
o Each member has an associated name and code number.
‘489’ or ‘Mountain master’ The highest rank or the boss | |||
‘415’ or ‘White Paper Fan’ | ‘426’ or ‘Red Pole’ The actual power of triads lies at the ground level of the hierarchy. Usually, a triad "official" ("Red Pole") leads a group of 15 active members, and wields aggression on a turf. | ‘432’ or ‘Straw Sandal’ | |
‘49’ or ‘Sai Lo’ The lowest rank of the triads and is a younger brother attached to an elder brother known as a ‘Dai Lo’ | |||
Water Shortages in the Walled City
The increasing population during the 1960's put a huge strain on the water supply and in itself caused a multitude of problems. Since the buildings in the Walled City were so densely packed and were built without thought for piping, it was impossible to for the water to be piped in underground and through the city by the government. Water was tapped into the main water line outside of the city to individual homes and factories through corroding and leaky pipe lines built by the Triads. These pipes scaled all the walls of buildings and hung above all the alleyways creating a damp, dirty environment. Other businesses also physically went outside the city with buckets to collect water for paying customers but lost its popularity as buildings got higher and higher. Eventually the Hong Kong government installed 8 stand pipes for the city of which only one was inside the city. There would be long lines throughout the day for this one stand pipe where people would wash their hair, vegetables and dishes. Personal pipes also used the stand pipe which was periodically connected to replenish the small storage tanks of food industries.
Entrepreneurs took advantage of this and property owners started drilling wells on their own land in order to profit from water sales. By the time the clearance was announced in 1987, Government surveyors assessing compensation claims identified 67 working wells owned by some 40 suppliers. The more recent drilling had to drill more than 100 metres below the surface, as shallower sources had been depleted. Water was usually first pumped up to rudimentary storage tanks on the City roofscape and from there, a twisted congestion of pipes ran downward branch off to their customers. Monthly charges were anywhere between $50 and $70 per household. There were however many problems. Pressure and pumping difficulties meant that many pumps would only be turned on at set times to replenish tanks which meant only a few hours' supply. The biggest drawback with the well-water was that much of it was undrinkable. It was impregnated with the usual seepage of urban and industrial pollutants and was not even fit to boil. Well water was also inevitably contaminated by human waste which was exited the City via open drains and seeped into the ground. Drinking and cooking water still had to be carried from the standpipes.
Since construction in the city was also linked to the Triads, newer buildings had provision for water supply in order to for them to gain more customers. Once a household was connected to a particlar supplier, there were clear rules of business-client behaviour. Residents would generally pay on time for fear their water would be cut off or their pipes damaged. Whoever would oppose the Triad's monopoly would be blackmailed and attacked.
Those involved in the clearance are reluctant to admit how extensive the main water supply was tapped, but it is unrealistic to assume that 33,000 people and 700 businesses could have been supplied by 67 ground wells alone. The decision was made that it was better to turn a blind eye since to close down the illegal supplies would have caused unnecessary hardship for the residents and bring increased resentment.
Entrepreneurs took advantage of this and property owners started drilling wells on their own land in order to profit from water sales. By the time the clearance was announced in 1987, Government surveyors assessing compensation claims identified 67 working wells owned by some 40 suppliers. The more recent drilling had to drill more than 100 metres below the surface, as shallower sources had been depleted. Water was usually first pumped up to rudimentary storage tanks on the City roofscape and from there, a twisted congestion of pipes ran downward branch off to their customers. Monthly charges were anywhere between $50 and $70 per household. There were however many problems. Pressure and pumping difficulties meant that many pumps would only be turned on at set times to replenish tanks which meant only a few hours' supply. The biggest drawback with the well-water was that much of it was undrinkable. It was impregnated with the usual seepage of urban and industrial pollutants and was not even fit to boil. Well water was also inevitably contaminated by human waste which was exited the City via open drains and seeped into the ground. Drinking and cooking water still had to be carried from the standpipes.
Since construction in the city was also linked to the Triads, newer buildings had provision for water supply in order to for them to gain more customers. Once a household was connected to a particlar supplier, there were clear rules of business-client behaviour. Residents would generally pay on time for fear their water would be cut off or their pipes damaged. Whoever would oppose the Triad's monopoly would be blackmailed and attacked.
Those involved in the clearance are reluctant to admit how extensive the main water supply was tapped, but it is unrealistic to assume that 33,000 people and 700 businesses could have been supplied by 67 ground wells alone. The decision was made that it was better to turn a blind eye since to close down the illegal supplies would have caused unnecessary hardship for the residents and bring increased resentment.
Kowloon Walled City
These are the section of the buildings right before it was demolished. It comes from this book
I also came across this thread on a site that I found extremely useful. Images, facts, newspaper articles, videos--it's all in there. Unfortunately some (if not most) of the images are down, but the good news is that the thread is still on-going.
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