Why is there russian cuisine in Harbin?

The Historical Origin of Harbin and Russia

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On Sun Island, an old Manchu man sitting on a stone told me with great interest that he was 84 years old this year. From the moment he can remember, his memory records the earth-shaking changes that have taken place in this city. He said that Harbin is a city with many cultures. Historically, * * * has experienced three major cultural waves. For the first time, during the Qing Dynasty, a large number of royal families moved to spread the Manchu banner culture. The second time, a large number of people from Russia and European countries migrated, bringing western European culture. The third time, in the process of the Eastern Expedition, a large number of immigrants from Shandong and other places moved to Harbin, bringing with them the traditional culture of Confucius and Mencius in China. It is the blending of these three cultures that inspires the creativity of this city.

The old man seemed to meet a bosom friend and kept talking when he opened his mouth. He went on to say that when he was young, he heard from his grandfather that Sino-Russian relations had a long history and tradition. It can be said that the earliest exchanges between the two countries can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty in the 4th century13-/KLOC-0. At that time, there were already a group of Russian businessmen shuttling between China and Russia, and many of them later simply lived in China. 19-20th century is the most frequent period of exchanges between the two countries. The Russian czar government attached great importance to Russia's influence in the Far East, and also wanted to take this opportunity to strengthen Russia's influence in China, so it decided to build a railway connecting Russia's Far East and the interior of China.

At this point, the old man paused and didn't speak for a long time, as if he had walked into distant history. The old man sighed and told me seriously. I still remember the expression on my grandfather's face when he told me about it. 1896 On May 22nd, China and Russia signed a secret treaty on establishing an alliance and building a railway in the Middle East. With the signing of this treaty and the construction of the Middle East Railway, a large number of experts, railway engineers and architects from Russia and other countries came to Harbin and other cities one after another. At that time, the railway was in great need of people, especially those who knew the techniques of wood processing, construction and brick burning. At first, the only people who moved to the northeast were railway workers and their families. Later, various professionals began to settle in this city.

The Middle East Railway was built in 1898. Since then, the prototype of Harbin has been formed. The name "Harbin" comes from Manchu. At that time, it was pronounced as "Hao Bin", which means "net drying fields", because that place was desolate at that time, with swamps and many small islands. At first, Harbin was a small village for brewing white wine. Later, because more and more people came and needed a relatively fixed living environment, Harbin began to expand and become a big town. Later, there were hospitals, schools, hotels and factories …

The development of Harbin is amazing, and the speed of development can be compared with some cities in the western United States. Later, not only railway-related workers and technicians came to Harbin, but also many people came to find jobs or do business. Due to the increasing population in Harbin in the early 20th century, there are indeed many employment opportunities. According to statistics, there are many people from Eastern Europe, western Russia and Central Asia, such as Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Yugoslavia, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Jews from all over the world. Harbin was a truly international city at that time. People of all colors could be seen on the streets, not only from Europe and China, but also from Australia, India and Africa. Expatriates from more than 30 countries once lived here, and 16 countries set up consulates in Harbin. Harbin's foreign flavor may be left over from that era.

The old man finally told me that Harbin is a very tolerant immigrant city. Harbin has been a multi-ethnic city since its founding. Russian overseas Chinese have never encountered open racial discrimination and religious conflicts since they came to Harbin. Because foreigners who come to Harbin are developing the city with China people, and everyone can find their own career, the possibility of conflict is relatively small. Although Harbin is a multi-ethnic city, almost every ethnic group is engaged in different undertakings, which is naturally formed by history.

In order to meet the needs of multi-ethnic religious beliefs, they began large-scale construction, and successively established dozens of churches with different styles, including the Church of Our Lady (The Church of Our Lady's Good News), the Church of St. Sofia, the Church of Our Lady's Rest, and the Church of Aleksev. 1922 Harbin orthodox church and Harbin parish were formally established. Since then, there have been more activities of Orthodox institutions in Harbin, not only religious activities, but also the issuance and publication of their own religious books. These publications are sold not only in Harbin, but also in Europe and the United States. All these ethnic associations and clubs in Harbin have added many colors to Harbin's cultural and spiritual life: various ethnic festivals, customs and traditions. In Harbin at that time, residents of all countries maintained their own national characteristics, and people lived very friendly lives. The story of the old man taught me a lot, and I seem to have learned a lot, which gave me a new understanding and understanding of my childhood and youth.

An old man surnamed Zhang plays with his partner. I wonder when he was together. His dreamlike memories gave me a new impression of Harbin: on the night of Harbin in the 1920s, the confusing neon lights filled the city with attractive dreams and showed exotic flavor everywhere. He described the past scene like this: At that time, neon windows of commercial buildings and restaurants flashed all night on both sides of Central Street. Russian advertisements are dazzling. The streets are full of China women and foreign women, wearing "Blagi", fur coats, boots and curly hair. In the "Alcazar" restaurant, Greek-style columns are supported in the box, and diners lean against the bar in the fountain to watch the songs and dances performed on the rotating stage; In the fantasia restaurant, the gypsy melody shows the sadness that singers make a living by selling their family wealth and don't know where to go. During the day, jingling trams shuttle back and forth in the street; Buses with "Old Ba Du" cigarette advertisements paraded through the city; Horseshoe carriages carrying Russian ladies come and go in the street. In the streets of winter, coachmen sit on Russian-drawn sledges to solicit business; Russian children play "Labda" (Russian baseball) in the snow, or closely surround the stalls of vendors in China and stare at hawthorn cakes and Sugar-Coated Berry for a long time. Walking along the central street are young Russian women pushing strollers, priests with bibles and beards, businessmen looking for business and boring drunkards.

Belarus fell in love with French sentiment. Strive to take Paris as an idol and create a European cultural atmosphere. 1922, Russian overseas Chinese in Harbin imitated France and held the first beauty contest. Model performances are often held in the lobby of Madill Hotel. At that time, Russian artists often performed in the central street under heavy snow. This kind of performance that can spread art and get a little charity at the same time can still be seen in Russia.

The most influential is the clothing culture. China businessmen took off their robes and jackets, threw away their melons and hats, put on their suits and ties, boarded shiny leather shoes and slung their purses to do business with Russian businessmen. In winter, they don't forget to put on their Russian tweed coats and lead the ladies with Russian silver fox necks to attend the "parties" held by the upper class. Generally, young and middle-aged women are generally optimistic and boldly accept "Blagi" (Russian: skirt). This was quite avant-garde in China in the 1920s and 1930s.

This uncle Zhang continued to tell me that his home used to be in Waisi Street, which is the auxiliary road of Central Street-now Red Street. At that time, there were more "Russians" living in his building than people in China. Only five households in his unit are from China, and the others are foreigners. Later, Sino-Soviet relations deteriorated 1960. Most people went to the United States, Australia and other places, and some people returned to China. The remaining few people stayed in Harbin for various reasons. He also said that at that time, China called Russians "Russians" and hybrids "Russians".

Yes, until now, I can still hear people keep this name. Some transliteration such as "Blagi" and "Hello Dro" (Russian: bucket) are still used by foreigners. There are countless examples like this in Harbin, which shows the profound influence of Russian culture on Harbin.

Today, Harbin's special foods: sausages and Italian bars are all made in Europe. Not long ago, my sister who worked in Beijing took her colleagues to Harbin for a trip during the winter vacation. When my colleague left, she said to me, "I have only heard of the beauty of the snow in Harbin. The main reasons for coming to Harbin this time are skiing and watching the world of ice and snow. But after I came, I felt that the harvest was particularly great. " She said: "Harbin is a distinctive city. This city has aura, characteristics, special cultural background, distinctive buildings and streets. It's really beautiful. Harbin is beautiful, not only the buildings are foreign, but also the people in Harbin are foreign. Harbin women's unique body characteristics, coupled with bold and avant-garde fashion, are even more beautiful. Harbin's clothing can be said to be avant-garde in the whole country, even Dalian and Guangzhou are slightly inferior.

As a local, I blush because of my praise. When he left, his father brought each of them a present, a few pounds of sausages and two big lollipops. Not much money, but very distinctive. Dad said that although it is not worth much money, on the one hand, it represents our mind and can't be bought anywhere else. On the other hand, it represents the characteristics and special culture of Harbin.

There are endless stories between Harbin and Russia. I grew up in Harbin for more than 20 years and felt this way for the first time. Maybe it's "I don't know the true face of Lushan Mountain, but toward which corner of the mountain". My thoughts wander in the long history of hundreds of years, and returning to today's modern Harbin can be said to be the product of the combination of history and present. High-rise buildings are mixed with European-style buildings a hundred years ago, and I suddenly have an idea: the infiltration of European cultural heritage and Russian thinking and the conflict of local culture are the unique temperament of Harbin city-aura, foreign flavor and atmosphere.