Chapter 11 3. Axial spine

As Beijing is "the middle of the world", another joint point is the "backbone", that is, there is a central axis of the city that passes through the imperial palace and runs through the north and south, just like the backbone of Beijing.In the construction of Beijing, there was a central axis first, followed by the city of Beijing, and the imperial palace was on this central axis, with the front coming out and the back leaning, forming climaxes on the central axis. The central axis is the meridian. "Ci Hai · Meridian" article: "All the circles on the earth that pass through the plane of the earth's axis and the ground are cut, that is, all longitude circles are the great circle of the earth. They intersect at the north and south poles and are divided into two equal parts. Semicircle, such a semicircle is called the meridian. The direction of the meridian indicates the local north-south direction, so it is also called the 'meridian'." Zi, the first place in the Earthly Branches, also refers to the north from 11 to 1 o'clock in the evening; noon, the seventh place in the Earthly Branches , 11-13 pm, also guide.The Beijing City of the Ming Dynasty followed the central axis of the capital city of the Yuan Dynasty, which was the first core element determined in the planning and design.That is to say, the central axis should be determined first, and then the city of Beijing should be built later.As the famous architect Mr. Liang Sicheng said: Beijing's unique magnificent order is produced by the establishment of this central axis.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yongdingmen, Zhengyangmen, Damingmen (Daqingmen), Tiananmen (Chengtianmen), Duanmen, Meridianmen, Taihemen (Fengtianmen) were lined up on this central axis from south to north. , Huangji Gate), Qianqing Gate, Shenwu Gate (Xuanwu Gate), Di'an Gate (Bei'an Gate) and other 10 most important city gates, running through the palace city, imperial city, inner city and outer city; On the central axis, stand the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Fengtian Hall, Huangji Hall), Zhonghe Hall (Hua Gai Hall, Zhongji Hall), Baohe Hall (Jinshen Hall, Jianji Hall), Qianqing Palace, Jiaotai Hall, Kunning Palace, that is, the front three palaces and the back three palaces, a total of 6 majestic palaces. The buildings in the whole city are symmetrically unfolded with the central axis as the baseline. The emperor's throne is placed on the central axis.These great buildings, with shape and volume, balanced and symmetrical, dense and dense structure, magnificent and harmonious, high and low, orderly, between yin and yang, neither exciting nor following, constitute a unique and beautiful picture in the world, and at the same time form The climax of Beijing's central axis.

Open the map of Beijing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and you can clearly see such a phenomenon: in the south of the imperial palace, there are three building layouts facing south and facing south, with a "convex"-shaped building layout. It shows the majestic momentum of forward development. The first "convex"-shaped layout protrudes southwards relying on Miyagi.It is adjacent to the Wufeng Tower of the Meridian Gate in the north, passes through Duanmen, and looks at the majestic Chengtianmen (Tiananmen) in the south. The east and west sides are surrounded by a red wall or veranda.A group of symmetrical buildings are arranged on the two wings: Zuozu - Taimiao (today's Beijing Working People's Cultural Palace) for sacrificing ancestors, and Right She - Sheji Altar (today's Zhongshan Park) for offering sacrifices to She (land) and Ji (five grains).The former is the continuation of life.Be grateful to ancestors, because without ancestors, there will be no descendants; the latter is the maintenance of life.Be grateful for the land and the food it grows, because without land and food, there is no life for Zhaomin. According to the regulations of Ming and Qing Dynasties, "Zuozu Youshe" is all within Miyagi.From the perspective of social ethics, this layout reflects the reverence for life and nature; from the perspective of architectural layout, this layout not only highlights the majestic momentum of Miyagi and the supremacy of the emperor, but also shows the society of the proud son of heaven. responsibility.

The layout of the second "convex" shape protrudes southwards relying on the imperial city.Chengtianmen (Tian'anmen) in the north, Damingmen (Daqingmen) in the middle, Zhengyangmen (Qianmen) in the south, Chang'an Left Gate in the east, Chang'an Right Gate in the west, and a wide imperial road in the middle, with east-west direction on both sides. There are 110 thousand-step corridors, 110 each, facing north, 34 corridors each, 288 in total, connecting eaves and ridges, forming a huge courtyard in front of the palace, enclosed by red walls.Outside the red walls on both sides (approximately west of Zhengyi Road, east of Shibei Hutong, south of Chang'an Street, north of Qianmen Street), there are symmetrically arranged the main government offices of the central government: Zuo Wen—the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Rites, The Ministry of War, the Ministry of Industry and the Hanlin Academy, etc., and the military forces on the right - the five armies of the Central Army, the Left Army, the Right Army, the Front Army, and the Rear Army, and Jinyiwei, etc., are all on the east and west sides of the Qianbu Corridor and near the imperial city.This layout further highlights the majestic momentum of Miyagi and the supremacy of the emperor, and also shows the characteristics of centralized office in the central business district.

Here is the current Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square is 880 meters long from north to south and 500 meters wide from east to west. It covers an area of ​​440,000 square meters and can accommodate 1 million people.I remember that before the founding ceremony of New China, Tiananmen Square was overgrown with weeds and litter.Students, soldiers, and cadres went to the square to pull weeds.When the founding ceremony of New China was held on the "October", the yellow land on the square was clean and level.Later, with the development of the city, the red wall in front of the palace square was demolished and expanded to become today's Tiananmen Square.The west of Gongqian Square was expanded to build the Great Hall of the People; the east was expanded to build the National Museum; the south was expanded to be close to Zhengyangmen (Qianmen), adding to the grandeur in front of Tiananmen Square.

The third "convex"-shaped layout protrudes southwards relying on the inner city.From Zhengyangmen (Qianmen) to the south, to Yongdingmen, the most important buildings on both sides are "left heaven and right earth" - the Temple of Heaven is on the east, and the altar of mountains and rivers is Xiannongtan on the west.These two groups of buildings, Heaven and Earth, Qian and Kun, correspond to each other and are symmetrical to each other.This layout further highlights the majestic momentum of Miyagi and the supremacy of the emperor, and also shows the mysterious color of the correspondence between heaven and earth, and the interaction between heaven and man.

The above three "convex"-shaped spaces are grandly unfolded along the central axis in the south of the palace, with climaxes one after another, which not only highlights the grandeur of the palace, but also extends the openness of the city axis. There are "three protrusions" in front of the Forbidden City, as mentioned earlier, and "three bulges" in the back. The following introduces: The first "reliance" is Jingshan.On the north side of the palace, soil was piled up to form the 49-meter-high Wansui Mountain (also known as Meishan Mountain, renamed Jingshan Mountain in Qing Dynasty), which absorbs the palace spirit and forms the first base of the palace.In the 16th year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1751), five pavilions were built on the five peaks of Jingshan Mountain - Wanchun in the middle, Guanmiao and Zhoushang on the left, Jifang and Fulan on the right, which added beautiful scenery and created We appreciate the Forbidden City today and provide a place to climb high and look far.

The second "reliance" is the Bell and Drum Tower.The passage on the central axis stretches for nearly 8 kilometers from south to north. It stops here, gathers the city spirit, and forms the second wall of the imperial palace. The third "reliance" is the north city wall.The north wall of the inner city does not open the city gate in the middle, and then guards the city spirit, forming the third wall of the imperial palace. The "three leanings" to the north of the Forbidden City are still grandly unfolding along the central axis, with successive climaxes.It not only retains the majestic momentum of the imperial palace, but also raises the spatial height of the city axis.

The central axis is not only the backbone of Beijing city, but also the soul of Beijing city.This central axis is 3,100 meters from Yongdingmen to Zhengyangmen, 4,648 meters from Zhengyangmen to the Bell Tower, and 7,748 meters in length. It used to be 15 miles, but now it is about 7.8 kilometers.On the central axis, Zhengyang Gate highlights "positive"—center is positive, and positive is neutral; Tiananmen Square highlights "safety"; Taihe Gate highlights "harmony". and". "Zhongzheng Anhe" is the soul of traditional Chinese culture, embodies the essence of Chinese culture and the spirit of the Chinese nation.

Center and upright—Beijing is in the center of the country, Miyagi is in the center of Beijing, and the three halls are in the center of Miyagi.The city of Beijing was built according to the theory of the square shape of the capital city.Centering corresponds to symmetry, and most palaces, altars and temples in Beijing are also symmetrical.On both sides of the central axis, from south to north—Tiantan and Xiannongtan, Taimiao and Shejitan, Wenhua Hall and Wuying Hall, East Sixth Palace and West Sixth Palace, Dong'anmen and Xi'an Gate, Donghuamen and Xihua The gates are all symmetrical from east to west, and those that are symmetrical from north to south, such as the front three halls and the last three palaces, the hall of Zhonghe and Jiaotai hall, Tiananmen and Di'anmen, etc., are all symmetrically arranged in order to achieve architectural balance and harmonious concept.

Peace and peace—centered and symmetrical, emphasizing peace and harmony. As far as "an" is concerned, the south gate of the imperial city was Chengtianmen in the Ming Dynasty and Tiananmen in the Qing Dynasty; the north gate of the imperial city was Bei'anmen in the Ming Dynasty and Di'anmen in the Qing Dynasty.The word "An" is highlighted on both the sky and the earth.The six gates of Tian'an, Di'an, Dong'an, Xi'an, Chang'an Zuo, and Chang'an Right, the six gates of the imperial city, all highlight "an".These six "safety" reflect people's wishes and expectations: personal well-being, family well-being, personal peace, natural well-being, social well-being, and world peace.The society of Jijiangshan emphasizes harmony.

As far as "harmony" is concerned, the three main halls outside the palace city were Fengtian Hall, Huagai Hall, and Jinshen Hall in the early Ming Dynasty, highlighting "heaven"; after Jiajing rebuilt the three halls, they were renamed Huangji Hall and Zhongji Hall in turn. The hall and Jianji hall highlight the "pole".After the reconstruction of the three main halls in the early Qing Dynasty, they were successively renamed the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Zhonghe, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, emphasizing "harmony".This change from the "heaven" of theocracy, to the "extreme" of monarchy, and then to the "harmony" of society reflects that although the imperial society is developing slowly, its ideology is constantly improving.There are also two gates leading to Donghua and Xihua from the courtyard in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Zuoshun Gate on the east (later changed to Huiji Gate, renamed Xiehe Gate in Qing Dynasty), and the west Youshun Gate (later changed to Jimen Gate, renamed in Qing Dynasty) Xihe gate) - in short, the three halls of Taihe, Zhonghe, and Baohe and the three gates of Taihe, Xiehe, and Xihe all highlight "harmony".These six "harmony" reflect people's wishes and expectations: personal harmony, family harmony, mutual respect, natural harmony, social harmony, and world peace. However, "Zhongzheng Anhe" can only be an idea in the imperial era, and it is actually impossible to realize. In general, during the eighteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, the palace city, imperial city, and great city were built, with a central axis running through the north and south, demonstrating the concept of "Zhongzheng Anhe".On the central axis: there are "three convex" in the south, with a profound artistic conception, which is the beginning of the stroke; in the middle, there is Miyagi, which is magnificent and magnificent, and is the climax;Located on this central axis, the Ming and Qing imperial palaces are not only the center of Beijing, but also the center of the world. Before the imperial palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, through Chengtianmen (Tiananmen), Damingmen (Daqingmen) and Zhengyangmen (Qianmen), you can see the atmosphere and pattern of the palace city.Beijing is indeed the land of prosperity, the land of danger, the land in the middle, and the capital of emperors. A central axis, the meridian, runs through the palace city, the imperial city, the inner city and the outer city.On the central axis, Miyagi has "three protrusions in the front and three leans in the back", which runs through the concept of "Zhongzheng Peace" and embodies the soul of traditional Chinese culture.