明清城市的坊巷与社区──兼论传统文化在城市空间的折射

明清时期，由坊、街、巷组合而成的城市地域空间仍保持着其古老的样态，但坊制却经历了由盛到衰的演变，曾经对城居者的居住环境与范围进行限定的坊制已不复存在，坊仅仅是城市社区单位的名称而已。走出了封闭的居住空间的城居者，在若干个坊的基础上又形成了不同等级与层次的人文社区，其中每个人文社区都有着使其得以凝聚的共同文化。城市社区中的街巷不仅在一定程度上展示着时代的风格及社会经济的发展状况，而且街巷的外观建筑、名称及其内里空间更是折射出带有社区差异的文化特征。

Lanes, Blocks, and Communities in Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty

During Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty cities of lanes, streets and alleys appeared to have remained what they were in older times. But actually the lane system that once restricted the living environment and living space of the city dwellers had experienced a history of rise and fall, and was no longer there. What was left was but names to identify locations. Once out of the confined living closure city dwellers formed various communities on the basis of social class. Each community maintained an established culture as agglomerating ties among its residents. In this sense, the streets and alleys in cities not only manifested the social style of the time and traces of economic development, but also mirrored the specific cultural features of each one presented in its architecture style, names of the places, and the inside structure as well.