Seal of friendship: Dongsiwutiao Hutong
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Hutong seal of approval
Apart from this beautiful doorway, something else captured my attention. On the west side of the lane, it was an entrance tattooed with exclusive calligraphies. In contrast to the red door, these white painted characters were quite dazzling, stimulating the curious passer-by to pop in for a look.
Inside, I found 40-year-old Sun Dongyao, the painter of the eyecatching words on the door. As a person born into a seal-making family, Sun has been passionate about carving since he was a child, when he used to turn fi rewood into small models of spears and pistols.
Unfortunately, he picked up dysentery and the medicine he took badly affected his mind. In spite of this, he has still worked on his seal-making, which he blessfully considers peaceful work. Guo Shurong, Sun's 70-year-old mother, said that he was always willing to carve for visitors free of charge. Yet my curiosity still lay with the peculiar "tattoo" on the door. "As more people came to visit, I decided to put a note out for them to identify easily," Sun explained, "but since the note was often stolen, I decided to paint the door instead!"
Sun and his family have lived here since the 1940s, longer than many old residents in the lane. They are still squeezed into two 12 squaremeter rooms, eking out their lives on a small social security pension.
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