Chapter 7 a door of beijing

Beijing has many gates. When you open the map of Beijing, your first impression may be Mendo in Beijing.Although most of these gates have "vain names" (the doors were torn down), the "vain names" are also "immortal".There are a few old Beijingers who don't remember these doors. Even outsiders who have never seen them will know their names, and even have a vague feeling.Because most of the main roads in the central area of ​​Beijing are named after these gates (plus the directions of east, west, north, south).For example, Qianmen Street, Qianmen West Street, Qianmen East Street, Fuxingmenwai Street, Inner Street, South Street, North Street, Jianguomenwai Street, Inner Street, South Street, North Street, Fuchengmenwai Street, Inner Street , South Street, North Street, Chaoyangmen Outer Street, Inner Street, South Street, North Street, Xizhimen Outer Street, Inner Street, South Street, North Street, Dongzhimen Outer Street, Inner Street, South Street, North Street, Deshengmen Outer Street, Inner Street, East Street, West Street, Andingmen Outer Street, Inner Street, East Street, West Street, and Chongwenmen East Street, Xuanwumen West Street, Guang’anmen Inner and Outer Streets, Guangqumen Inner and Outer Streets etc.So some people say that when you arrive in Beijing, if you want to find a place, you must first find the door.If you know which door you are around, and which door the place you are looking for is near, then you will never get lost.Moreover, when you ask for directions in Beijing, Beijingers often say that you are near a certain gate or go to a certain gate.Therefore, although we can no longer see many gates in Beijing, we are not "unfamiliar" with Beijing's gates, on the contrary, they are kind of friendly.

As a matter of fact, many Chinese first get to know Beijing through the gates of Beijing, especially through two particularly famous gates.These two gates are Tiananmen Square and Daqianmen. "I love Beijing Tiananmen, the sun rises on Tiananmen" is a song that almost every new Chinese is familiar with; and those who have never been to Beijing have at least seen Daqianmen on a cigarette pack.I remember when I was a child, Daqianmen was still a kind of expensive cigarette.Those who can smoke Daqianmen cigarettes are mostly rich or have some status.It is also a matter of face to be able to collect Daqianmen cigarette boxes.Of course, to be able to go to Beijing, see Tiananmen Square and Daqianmen with your own eyes, and take a picture in front of them is even more a dream.

If Tiananmen is the symbol of new China, Daqianmen is the facade of old Beijing. In 1984, in his preface to the Chinese translation of an important Swedish scholar’s ​​work, Professor Hou Renzhi recalled with excitement the feeling he had when he first saw Daqianmen (Zhengyangmen) half a century ago: "When I walked out of the station with the crowd in the twilight, the majestic Zhengyangmen tower and the thick city wall suddenly appeared in front of my eyes. In a flash, I seemed to suddenly feel a kind of historical reality. From then on, A seed full of vitality is buried in my heart."

This is a very real and very deep feeling.Only those who are particularly sensitive to Chinese history and Chinese culture can feel this way, and can deeply realize what the city gates of Beijing mean to the city of Beijing and the culture it represents.It is no wonder that the important book written by Professor Hou Renzhi as the preface - (The Walls and Gates of Beijing), the author of the book, Swedish scholar Xi Renlong, said that the reason why he wrote this book was because of the city gates of Beijing. In Xi Renlong's view, Beijing's history and culture are inseparable from its gates and walls. These gates and walls are "full of traces and records of the past", and will be destroyed at any time. Tell us those ancient and magical stories.

Xi Renlong is a foreigner.However, his feelings are so connected with ours.I am sure that although Xi Renlong is a rigorous scholar, and although he has done a lot of research and research work, without this feeling, his book could not be written so vividly, so moving, and it is impossible Written so deeply. We must feel this way.Only with this feeling can you enter Beijing and understand Beijing. Because Beijing is a city, and it is a real city. The history of Beijing as a city is very long The city of Beijing was originally called "Ji" or "Jicheng".Now we can at least be sure that it was once the capital of the Yan State, and its site was located in the northwest corner of what is now Beijing. It was destroyed by Qin Shihuang's army in 221 BC.Around AD 70, the Eastern Han Dynasty built a new city called "Yan" in the southwest corner of today's Beijing, and it was renamed "Youzhou" during the Three Kingdoms period.In 938 A.D., Yelu Deguang, Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty, upgraded Youzhou to "Nanjing", also known as "Yanjing", as one of his four accompanying capitals.In the first year of Jin Zhen (1153 A.D.), he defeated the Jin people of the Liao Kingdom and designated Yanjing as the political center of the northern China they occupied, which was the capital of Jinzhong.More than a hundred years later, that is, in 1272 AD, Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty who unified China, decided to use this place as the center of his huge empire. This is the Yuan Dadu.So far, China's capital has finally changed from "facing east and backing west" to "facing south from north".In the long years since then, except for short-term changes, this pattern has basically not been broken.

Jicheng, Youzhou, Liaoyanjing, Jinzhongdu and Yuandadu, these majestic towering castles that were once glorious, have long been "blown away by the west wind, leaving no trace." What people can remember now is actually Ming Dynasty The city of Beijing in the Qing Dynasty; the city of Beijing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties is a "city of cities" composed of three layers of "city" inside and outside.The inner circle of this "City of City" is the "Miyagi" commonly known as "Forbidden City".The middle circle is the "Imperial City", with a circumference of 18 miles and four gates, namely Tian'anmen, Di'anmen, Dong'anmen and Xi'anmen.Its periphery is the "capital city", which is divided into inner and outer cities.The inner city wall has a circumference of 46 miles and has nine gates.The middle is Zhengyang Gate, the tallest and most majestic.In the past, it was the "main gate" only for the emperor to enter and exit.On the east and west sides of Zhengyangmen are Chongwenmen and Xuanwumen, also known as "Hadamen" and "Shunzhimen", also known as "Jingmen" (the gate of light and prosperity) and "Death Gate" (the gate of exhaustion and ominousness). Everyone can pass through the Jingmen Gate, but most of the death gates go through the funeral procession. The two north gates are Deshengmen and Andingmen, also called "Xiumen" (the gate of nobility) and "Shengmen" (the gate of abundance). Once out of the city from Shengmen, I went to the Temple of Earth to pray for a good harvest, and I also prayed for the stability of the dynasty and the prosperity of the country and the people, so it is called "Andingmen". The triumphant army will return to the city from the Xiumen class to declare that the emperor's holiness has finally defeated the enemy. That's why it's called "Deshengmen". The two gates to the east are Dongzhimen and Chaoyangmen (Qihuamen), which are also called "Shangmen (the gate of trading) and "Dumen" (the gate of rest).There used to be rippling rivers and rows of willows on the bank, which is undoubtedly a good place for transportation and leisure.The two gates to the west are Xizhimen and Fuchengmen (Pingzemen), also known as "Opening the Gate" and "Jingmen". It is disturbing. In short, these city gates have some special meanings and symbols. Therefore, when old Beijingers talk about them, they always talk about them.

The nine gates of Zhengyang, Chongwen, Xuanwu, Desheng, Anding, Dongzhi, Xizhi, Chaoyang and Fucheng are the gates of the capital in the strict sense.Therefore, the "capital garrison commander" in the Qing Dynasty was called the "admiral of the nine gates"; and the southernmost Zhengyang gate among the nine gates was the main gate and the front gate of the inner city of the capital.It is the most important city gate in Beijing.To the north of it are the heavily fortified imperial city and palace city, and the resplendent palace and palace, which are beyond the reach of ordinary people.To the south of it is the gateway of Beijing City, which has the largest transportation center and commercial center.The whirling willows, gorgeous archways, busy shops and noisy markets there were once "one of the most beautiful and attractive street scenes in Beijing".It is also a huge intermediate link between the emperor's forbidden garden and the common people's market, so the common people call Zhengyangmen "Daqianmen".

In fact, the real "front door" should be Yongdingmen.It is the main entrance of the outer city of the capital. The outer city built in 1553 was originally intended to surround the inner city. Later, due to insufficient funds, only the southern side was built. As a result, the entire capital became a "convex" shape.The outer city of the capital has a circumference of 28 li and seven gates.In the middle of the south end is Yongding Gate, on the left and right sides are Zuo'an Gate and You'an Gate, on the east and west sides are Guangqu Gate and Guang'an Gate, and at the junction of the northeast and northwest corners with the inner city, there are two more gates, namely Dongbianmen and Dongbianmen. West Gate. "Seven outside, nine imperial cities and four inside", if you add the moat surrounding the outer city and the Great Wall on the mountains outside the city, the city of Beijing can be said to be "open to all sides, as solid as gold".In addition, there were the left and right Chang'an Gates (also known as Qinglong Gate and Baihu Gate) on Chang'an Avenue outside Tian'anmen.During the period of the Republic of China, Heping Gate (beginning to be called Xinghua Gate), Jianguo Gate (beginning to be called Qiming Gate) and Fuxing Gate (beginning to be called Chang'an Gate) were newly opened.These are the gates.As for those mid-door and small-door players who are not likely to be able to get on the "table", there are countless.

This is Beijing, and this is the city of Beijing.In other words, the so-called "Beijing City" is actually composed of these "walls" and "gates".Among them, the "door" is obviously more important than the "wall".Without walls, a city is not a city, but without gates, a city is a dead city.To the city, the gate is not only the entrance and exit, but also the location, function and meaning.It can be said that mastering Beijing's "ya" is almost mastering Beijing. Among the invitations to Beijing, the most important one is of course Tiananmen Square.

Tiananmen is a symbol of Beijing. As long as Beijing is mentioned, we Chinese, especially New Chinese and Japanese, will first think of Tiananmen Square.For every newcomer to Beijing, the first place to see is almost Tiananmen Square.Indeed, in China, is there another gate that can be closely linked with Beijing like Tiananmen Square, and has a pivotal position in the historical picture scroll and political life of the Chinese people, playing an irreplaceable role that attracts worldwide attention and reveals The "May 4th Movement", which opened the first page of China's new culture, erupted in Tiananmen Square.The founding of the People's Republic of China was also announced by Chairman Mao Zedong on the Tiananmen Gate.Many major political events of this century were staged on the square in front of Tiananmen.In the minds of every Chinese who loves the motherland and respects history, Tiananmen Square cannot but be respected.

The location of Tiananmen Square is also very special.The most prominent feature of Beijing's urban planning and urban construction in the Ming and Qing Dynasties was that an 18-mile-long north-south central axis ran through the city.Its southern starting point is Yongding Gate; its northern end is the Bell and Drum Tower outside Di'anmen.From south to north, there are Yongdingmen, Zhengyangmen (Qianmen), Zhonghuamen, Tiananmen, Duanmen, Wumen, Shenwumen, Dianmen, etc. Tiananmen is just in the middle of this central axis.It is the main entrance of the "imperial city" in the middle of the three cities of Beijing, Huang and Gong.Outside the gate, the North-South Avenue is the "Royal Road", and the East-West Avenue is the "Sky Street". There is no doubt about its importance and special status.If we say that the gates of Beijing are the "gates of entry" for us to interpret Beijing, then Tiananmen Square is the "gate of gates". In fact, even in the feudal era, Tiananmen's status was extraordinary. Tiananmen Square was originally called Chengtianmen, but it was changed to Tiananmen after Renrenguan in the Qing Dynasty.But no matter whether it is "Fengtian Chengyun" or "Respecting Heaven and Peaceful People", as the main gate of the imperial city, it is a symbol of the national line, the national prestige, and the national power.In fact, Tiananmen Square has always been the place where feudal dynasties held state ceremonies.At that time, if the emperor wanted to issue an edict, he would use it as a treasure in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.The imperial edict after using the treasure should be placed in the "cloud disk", and the Tiananmen Gate Tower will be presented in a colorful pavilion, and handed over to the imperial edict to read it out, and all civil and military officials will line up to listen at the south of Jinshui Bridge.After the promulgation of the edict, the edict was lowered from the tower with a wooden golden phoenix in its mouth, handed over to the Ministry of Rites to transcribe, and the edict was announced to the world, which is called "the edict issued by the golden phoenix".It can be said that since then, Tiananmen Square has been expected by everyone for its unusual and special status. However, the square at that time was much smaller than it is now, only 11 hectares, smaller than the Great Hall of the People (covering an area of ​​15 hectares), which is now a supporting building of Tiananmen Square.There is nothing surprising about this either.Because the country did not belong to the people at that time, the number of people who were eligible to celebrate such a grand ceremony and kneel at the Tiananmen Gate to listen to the imperial edict was extremely limited.There are 11 hectares of land, which is completely enough, and it is enough to make the local government offices and small border towns dwarf. After the founding of New China, the people became the masters of the republic. Such a "small land" is obviously not enough. In 1949, in order to hold the founding ceremony, the founders of New China expanded and repaired the square. In 1959, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, a large-scale renovation was carried out: all three red walls were demolished, the east and west wings were expanded into thoroughfare avenues, and the Revolutionary History Museum and the Great Hall of the People were separated from the east and west sides of the square (taken from "Zuo Zu You She" " meaning), the Monument to the People's Heroes stands in the center and is open to the masses.In the past, the royal restricted area, which was exclusively used by emperors and strictly forbidden to common people, has truly become a "people's square". As a result, Tiananmen Square has become the largest and most unparalleled grand square in the world.It covers an area of ​​54 hectares and can accommodate 500,000 people for group activities.Everyone who has been there is amazed by her solemnity, solemnity, majesty and broadness.Compared with her, the so-called squares in many western cities have to be called "intersections".Beijing's "bigness" is best reflected in Tiananmen and Tiananmen Square. The north and south of Tiananmen Square are Zhengyang Gate, Zhonghua Gate and Meridian Gate respectively. Meridian Gate is the main gate of Miyagi, Zhengyang Gate is the front gate of the capital, but Zhonghua Gate is not a city gate.This is a brick and stone structure building with a single eaves on the top of the mountain. It is the same as the Dahongmen of the Ming Tombs and Qing Dongling Tombs. The head changes the king's flag".Because Zhonghuamen County is the real "national gate".What is the name of our country, what is it called.In the Ming Dynasty, it It is called "Daming Gate"; in the Qing Dynasty, it was called "Daqing Gate"; in the period of the Republic of China, it was called "Zhonghua Gate".The method of changing the name is also very simple: turn over the stone plaque engraved with the name of the gate, and engrave the words again, and the "Daming Gate" will become "Daqing Gate". Unfortunately, people in the Republic of China also wanted to use this kind of province. When using a good way to save labor and materials to replace the door plaque, they found that Nurhachi's descendants had already used this clever trick, so they had to give up the idea of ​​"reversing history" and re-carved a wooden plaque and hung it under the eaves. After the founding of the People's Republic, in order to express gratitude and respect to the revolutionary martyrs, a Monument to the People's Heroes was established in Tiananmen Square.The monument was built in front of Tiananmen Square inside the Zhonghua Gate.As Jiang Shunyuan said in the article "The Vicissitudes of Tiananmen", this just corresponds to a line of Marshal Chen Yi's poem: "This head should hang to the gate of the country." More than 20 years later, in 1976, on the site of the Zhonghua Gate, the " Chairman Mao Memorial Hall".So far, the entire Tiananmen Square has been "changed from the old to the new."The National Gate has been dismantled, the Meridian Gate has retreated, and the Qianmen Gate has become old. The People’s Square has replaced the Royal Palace City as the center of Beijing, and the new central axis composed of East-West Chang’an Avenue and its extensions runs across the east and west, which seems to symbolize Beijing. opening up and taking off. The story of Zhonghua Gate (or Daming Gate, Daqing Gate) could not tell us more clearly what kind of significance the gate has for a city, especially a capital city.It is not only a passageway for entry and exit and a gateway for defense, but also a symbol—a symbol of the state and power.Therefore, in the Qing Dynasty, except Zhengyangmen, the other eight gates were divided into eight banners: the yellow flag of Deshengmen, the yellow flag of Andingmen, the white flag of Dongzhimen, the white flag of Chaoyangmen, the red flag of Xizhimen, and the red flag of Fuchengmen. Chongwenmen Zhenglan Banner, Xuanwumen Xianglan Banner.The Eight Banners are in charge of the eight sects, which not only means sharing the world, but also has the intention of restraining each other. Indeed, "A country with thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, the city has nine gates and one gate, and there are no walls and gates. It is not easy to call it the capital. Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty was the same as Beijing, and there were three cities: Beijing, Huang and Gong. The difference is that the palace city is not in the imperial city. , and in the north of the imperial city. These three cities have twelve gates in the capital city, three gates in the east, west, north and south; seven gates in the imperial city, three in the south, three in the east, two in the west, and no gates in the north; The main gate of the palace city in Beijing in the Ming Dynasty was also called Chengtian Gate, presumably inherited from the Tang Dynasty), and the two gates on the north, the main gate is Xuanwu Gate, where Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty launched a coup. In the capital city of Luoyang in the Han Dynasty, there were two almost identical palaces in the north and south. There are four gates, and the names of the gates are the same, that is, South Suzaku, North Xuanwu, East Canglong and West White Tiger, while the capital city has twelve gates. Kaifeng, the capital of Song Dynasty, also has three gates. The outer capital city is called Luocheng, also known as Guocheng. Because of its earthen construction, it is also called Tucheng, with thirteen city gates and seven water gates, a total of twenty gates; the inner capital city is also called Old City or Que City, with ten gates in all around, and the south gate is Zhuque Gate; Miyagi is Da Nei, also known as the Imperial City, with six gates, the middle of which is the Qianyuan Gate. Kaifeng City has a total of thirty-six gates, almost an ancient capital with the most gates. Lin’an (Hangzhou), the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, only has two The inner city is also called Zicheng, which has four gates, where the inner city is located; the outer city is also called Luocheng, which has thirteen gates, which are not symmetrical. The characteristic of Hangzhou city gates is their name , is not as elegant and solemn as the ancient capital of the north, but more beautiful in the mountains and rivers. "Wait the tide and hear the sound of the clear waves, and the Yongjin pond will make peace", these two poems include the names of the five city gates of Hangzhou. Ming Dynasty Nanjing, the capital of the early days, was extremely large in scale, with a total of four cities inside and outside. Outer Guocheng had a circumference of 180 miles and sixteen gates; Yingtianfu City had a circumference of 67 miles and was the largest city in China at that time (the second was Beijing). , is also the largest city in the world (the second is Paris), with a total of thirteen city gates; in addition, there are six gates in the imperial city and twelve gates in the palace city, which add up to more than Kaifeng. Obviously, these cities are also composed of "walls" and "gates". This is a very typical type of city in China. Their secrets are the secrets of Chinese culture. Of course, it is also the secret of Chinese cities.