Chapter 11 Chapter 10 A Glimpse of Beijing: The Culture of the Capital

The capital is not only the political and economic center of the country, but also the cultural center of the country.There are the highest institutions of learning and various specialized schools in the country, as well as a national library with a rich collection of books and various academic research institutions.There are many literati and scholars here, as well as various artists and scientists. The literature and art are prosperous, and the cultural life is richer than other cities. Many important scientific and technological achievements in ancient times were produced here. In ancient times, education was divided into two types: official schools run by the government and private schools run by the people.Schools set up by the government existed before the Qin Dynasty, but at that time the objects of education were limited to the children of nobles, and the number of students was relatively small.During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, cultural and educational institutions at all levels began to improve, and Taixue, the highest institution in the country, was established in the capital, which is equivalent to today's university.In the Tang Dynasty, in addition to Taixue, various specialized schools such as Guozixue, Guangwenguan, Simenxue, Law, Calligraphy, and Mathematics were set up in the capital, usually with two to three thousand students, and Guozijian was set up to govern it.Since then, successive dynasties have set up Guozijian and various specialized schools in the capital.

In addition, there are local prefectural and county schools in the capital city, as well as private schools established by the people called family schools, guild halls, book clubs, etc. to educate the children of common people.In Lin'an in the Southern Song Dynasty, there were even one or two private schools in every mile lane, and the sound of reading aloud could be heard everywhere. The selection and appointment of officials is an important part of the politics of the past dynasties.During the Warring States period, there were two main ways for countries to select officials. One was "military merit", that is, to promote brave people in combat;King Yanzhao built a golden platform and hired wise men from all over the world.The state of Qi set up the Jixia Academy in Linzi, the capital city, and recruited hundreds of wise men from all over the world, and gave them generous treatment.In addition to the king, the great nobles of some countries, such as Lord Mengchang of Qi State and Lord Chunshen of Chu State, also raised a large number of soldiers. Some of these nobles lived in the capital city, and some did not live in the capital city, but the capital city is undoubtedly the most concentrated The place.

After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the imperial examination became the main way to become an official, attracting countless scholars.The imperial examinations are generally divided into several levels, and the final examinations are held in the capital.In the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian personally set the exams in the Luoyang Palace, setting a precedent for the so-called "Palace Examination" in the imperial examination.The Song Dynasty formally established the palace examination system, and stipulated that courses should be opened every three years, and about two to three hundred Jinshi would be admitted each time.Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, going to Beijing to rush for the exam and get a title on the gold list has become the dream goal of countless literati.In the Tang Dynasty, there were at least 10,000 people who entered Beijing every year for the exam.At that time, the number of candidates for various disciplines was small, only a few dozen to one or two hundred people each year.In the Northern Song Dynasty, the number of Jinshi increased, sometimes as high as seven or eight hundred, and the number of people who went to Beijing to take the exam greatly exceeded that of the Tang Dynasty.Every year of the imperial examination, these literati and bachelors who came from all over the world to take the examination added a lot of cultural atmosphere to the capital.

The number one scholar who became famous in the imperial examinations entered the Imperial Academy as usual, and was responsible for editing, and the second and third placers, Tanhua, were assigned to edit.Some of the other candidates were awarded Shu Ji Shi, who entered Shu Changguan to study, and after the three-year period expired, some of them were also awarded the editor or review of the Imperial Academy.Since the Tang Dynasty, Hanlin scholars have been the emperor's close servants, serving as servants of literature, and participating in the compilation of national history, real records and daily life notes, which is very honorable.Because of this measure, the top candidates in the imperial examinations almost had to live in the capital for several years first.

Having the largest national library in the country is an important sign that the capital is the national cultural center.As early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, the royal family of Zhou and the vassal states all set up historians, who not only recorded the political affairs that took place in the country, but also preserved government books and archives.Not long after the Western Han Dynasty established the capital of Chang'an, three library buildings, Shiqu Pavilion, Tianlu Pavilion and Qilin Pavilion, were built in Weiyang Palace. After that, new library buildings were built, and people were sent to visit books all over the country to enrich the National Library. Knowledgeable scholars Liu Xiang and Liu Xin collated and sorted it out.Although the Han Dynasty was after the burning of books by Qin Shihuang, many books were still collected. By the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the collection reached more than 30,000 volumes.

Since then, successive dynasties have inherited the practice of the Western Han Dynasty, using state power to search for books across the country, establish a national library, and send scholars to conduct comparisons and collations.Especially in the early stages of feudal society such as the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty, the National Library played a significant role in promoting academics.At that time, there were very few private collections of books, and only the court collected a large number of books. The rich collection of books in the National Library was not only for the emperor and his close officials to read, but also provided convenience for some scholar-officials.Two historical masterpieces written in the Han Dynasty, Sima Qian's "Historical Records" in the Western Han Dynasty and Ban Gu's "Hanshu" in the Eastern Han Dynasty, both made full use of the collections of the National Library of China when writing.Relying on its rich collection of books, the Tang Dynasty set up a history museum, creating a precedent for the official history of previous dynasties.The Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties all used the collections of the National Library to compile voluminous books and series.The largest series of books in my country, "Siku Quanshu", compiled in the Qing Dynasty, was compiled by a large number of literati organized by the government, using the rich collection of books in the National Library.

The invention and popularization of paper is conducive to the spread of culture, and the woodblock printing technique popularized after the Tang Dynasty greatly facilitates the printing and publishing of books.After the Five Dynasties and the Tang Dynasty, the Confucian classics known as the "Nine Classics" were engraved in Guozijian, creating a precedent for engraving and printing large volumes of Confucian classics and historical works with the power of the state.Most of the engraving and printing activities organized by the state were carried out in the capital. In addition, because the number of intellectuals was the highest among all cities, the private engraving and printing industry in the capital was also very prosperous, and it was often one of the main centers of the national printing industry.Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, was one of the three major printing centers in the country. Both the official printing industry and the private printing industry were very developed.In the Southern Song Dynasty, Hangzhou’s government-run printing industry was hosted by the imperial court and Lin’an Prefecture. In addition to publishing books, it also printed banknotes—Jiaozi.Private engraved books are more developed, and there are nearly 20 well-known and testable engraved book shops inside and outside Hangzhou.At that time, public and private engraved books in Hangzhou were not only famous for their quantity, but also ranked first in the country for their quality.The engraved block fonts are neat, the knife is smooth, the paper is firm and white, and the ink is light and fragrant. Some Song edition books still have a fragrance of ink.In the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing was one of the printing centers of the country. The "Yuan Shi" compiled in the early Ming Dynasty and the book compiled by the famous pharmacologist Li Shizhen were all printed and published in Nanjing.

In order to meet the entertainment needs of emperors, princes, relatives, and high-ranking officials, a large number of entertainers under the management of specialized institutions of the imperial court have been concentrated in the capital in the past dynasties.Artists from all over the country also regard the capital as a big stage for fighting skills and come to perform.In the Tang Dynasty, there were as many as 10,000 artists performing songs, dances and music in Chang'an and Luoyang.Some songs and dances often require dozens or even more people to participate in the performance. For example, the Libu Dance Troupe needs 60-180 people.Solo dancing is also very popular.In the Palace of Li Yu, Empress of the Southern Tang Dynasty, there was a dancing girl named Bite Niang. She was light and good at dancing. She bound her feet with silk and was as small and curved as a hooked moon. She could dance on a six-foot-high gold lotus.According to legend, women's foot binding began at this time.

For the rulers, the relatively elegant entertainment such as music, singing and dancing was not enough. Many emperors also liked folk entertainment.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty once recruited performers of folk acrobatics, magic, and drama to hold a conference in Luoyang. There were wonderful programs such as Huanglong Bian, double dance and walking rope, wrestlers carrying a tripod, pole dancing, Shenao blowing mountains, and magic people spitting fire. .Every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Emperor Yang of Sui would set up a theater in Duanmenwai Street to entertain foreign envoys and businessmen.The surrounding area of ​​the theater is 16 or 17 li, and the accompaniment band is more than 10,000 people.

With the prosperity and development of the urban economy, folk entertainment to meet the needs of the lower class citizens has also developed.Both Kaifeng in the Northern Song Dynasty and Lin'an in the Southern Song Dynasty had large and fixed entertainment venues called Wazi, also known as Washe or Wasi.This is a comprehensive playground with a large scale, some of which can accommodate thousands of people.There are more than 50 tiles in Kaifeng, and there are as many as 24 tiles in Hangzhou.There are many kinds of tricks performed in Wazi, including acrobatics, singing and dancing, circus, folk art, and martial arts. Various arts include many types of performance forms.For example, the performances in Hangzhou Beiwa include history lectures, scriptures, novels, sumo wrestling, joe sumo wrestling, stick puppet, water puppet, movie, drama, miscellaneous class, singing, singing, singing Zhugong tunes , dancing fan music, using sticks, beating hard, kicking, playing casually, pretending to be a scholar, telling jokes, learning rural dialects, reciting business riddles, teaching birds, pretending to be gods and ghosts, etc., making people dizzy.According to records, Beiwa is crowded with people every day and is very lively.Inside and outside the Washe, in order to meet the needs of spectators, various grocery retail stores, wine and food stores have also been opened.

In addition to Wazi, some monasteries have also become places where a variety of performers show off their skills on the day of fairs and temple fairs.In addition, there are some tricksters who walk around the streets and do open-air performances in the open spaces at the end of the streets and alleys. They are called "Luqi people". Talking, puppets, acrobatics, acrobatics, and movies are the most attractive of all forms of entertainment.Talking can be divided into novels, talking about cavalry, talking about scriptures, and telling history books. Among them, novels and history telling are mostly based on the life of citizens and popular historical and contemporary themes. People are very popular.The base text for novels and history-telling is called Huaben or Pinghua, which had a great influence on the literature of later generations.The famous novels in ancient my country have a significant and direct relationship with the storybooks, and many stories in the popular short story collections of Ming and Qing Dynasties, such as , , and , are adapted from the storybooks of the Song Dynasty. After the Song Dynasty, drama art continued to develop, and new forms and new creations continued to emerge.The Northern Song Dynasty perished, and the theater artists who originally lived in Kaifeng lived in the south of the Yangtze River and northern China.For example, the Zhugong tunes of talking and singing stories were spread in Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, and Zhongdu, the capital of the Jin Dynasty, respectively. On this basis, two opera centers in the north and the south were formed.Zaju was the most important form of drama in the Yuan Dynasty. Daducheng, the capital city, was the center of Zaju in the north in the early Yuan Dynasty. Most of the writers of Zaju lived in Dadu at that time, and Dadu was also an important performance place.After the middle of the Yuan Dynasty, it gradually developed to the south. Performances in Beijing, the capital of the Qing Dynasty, were quite prosperous.The Qianlong period was the heyday of the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Qianlong liked to watch operas, so the court often staged dramas.In addition to the inner court opera troupe formed by eunuchs, the imperial court often recruited folk artists from other places to perform in Beijing.In addition to the palace, there are also many places where opera troupes perform in Beijing, which are called "tea gardens" and "tea houses". Before and after Qianlong, there were more than a dozen tea gardens in the outer city.In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Peking Opera was formed on the Beijing stage, and then gradually developed into the largest opera in the country. The capital is also a gathering place for painters, sculptors, writers, scholars, famous doctors and scientists.Their great inventions and immortal works, such as Sima Qian's "Historical Records" in the Western Han Dynasty, Zhang Heng's seismograph and armillary sphere in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Su Song's water transport instrument platform in the Song Dynasty, Li Jie's "Building French", Sima Guang's, and Yuan Dynasty Guo Shoujing's "Shi Shi" "Calendar", Cao Xueqin's works in the Qing Dynasty were all or partly completed in the capital.Many poems by poets such as Li Bai, Du Fu, and Bai Juyi in the Tang Dynasty were written in Chang'an, the capital city at that time.The rulers of the Northern Song Dynasty established a painting academy in Kaifeng to recruit talents from all over the country.The immortal famous painting "Surfing the River During the Qingming Festival" that has been handed down is the work of Zhang Zeduan, a painter of the Academy of Painting. In the spiritual world of ancient people, religion occupies an extremely important position.Due to the lofty status of the capital city and the importance attached by the rulers, missionaries often propagate teachings, develop believers and build temples in the capital city first.The legend about the introduction of Buddhism to my country in our country is related to Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty.It is said that Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty sent people to Tianzhu (now India) to seek Buddhism in the seventh year of Yongping (AD 64), and returned to China in 10 years, so he established the White Horse Temple in Luoyang.Although this legend may not conform to historical facts, the role of Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty, in the introduction of Buddhism to China is objective.Kumarajiva, an eminent monk in the Kucha Kingdom during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, translated many Buddhist classics and had 3,000 disciples, which is of epoch-making significance in the history of Chinese Buddhist scripture translation.After Kumarajiva entered China, the places of activity were Liangzhou and Chang'an, which were the capitals of Later Liang and Later Qin respectively.There are many similar examples. The dynasties of the past dynasties mostly advocated a certain religion, especially Buddhism, and built a large number of temples and pagodas in various places.In the capital city at the foot of the Son of Heaven, there are many temples and pagodas, and there are many monks, Taoists and other people engaged in religious activities, often ranking first in the country.Buddhism flourished during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.Jiankang, the capital of Houliang, has more than 700 large temples, and there are often about 10,000 monks and nuns.After the capital was moved to Luoyang in the Northern Wei Dynasty, a large number of Buddhist temples were built, with a maximum of 1367 temples, and the number of monks and nuns can be imagined.Other religions introduced from abroad in ancient times, such as Manichaeism, Nestorianism, and Zoroastrianism in the Tang Dynasty, and Christianity, Islam, and Judaism in the Yuan Dynasty, all had the most believers and the most prosperous temples in the capital at that time.Therefore, the capital is often also the religious center of the country. Most of the temples and pagodas built in the capital in the past dynasties integrate the essence of architecture, sculpture, painting and other arts, reflecting the artistic achievements of that era.The Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda in Chang'an City of Tang Dynasty were famous in ancient and modern times, and they still attract tourists from home and abroad.The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a pavilion-style brick pagoda with a solid structure and majestic momentum, while the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, which is symmetrical with it, is exquisite and delicate.The Yungang Grottoes in Datong and the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, which represent the achievements of ancient sculpture in my country, were excavated when the Northern Wei Dynasty successively capitalized in Datong and Luoyang. In the Daqian cultural landscape in the capital area, the cemetery (also known as the mausoleum) is a very special part.The rulers of the past dynasties, except the Yuan Dynasty, which followed the Mongolian system of deep burial and no tombs, had no mausoleums. After the death of emperors, queens and their families, all other dynasties had to build huge mausoleums and tombs for worship, sacrifice and worship. The building is the cemetery.The Mausoleum of the First Emperor in the Qin Dynasty, the Maoling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, the Qianling Mausoleum of Emperor Gaozong and Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty, and the Ming Tombs of the Ming Dynasty, these tombs that people are familiar with are a small part of the ancient cemetery.In order to facilitate the protection and sacrifice of future emperors, ancient cemeteries are generally built in the Gyeonggi area where the capital is located.Among the imperial mausoleums of the Western Han Dynasty, except for the Ba Mausoleum of Emperor Wen and the Du Mausoleum of Emperor Jing, the other nine mausoleums are all horizontally arranged on the five tombs of Xianyang on the north bank of the Weishui River.In the Tang Dynasty, because the mausoleum was built on the basis of the mountain, the cemetery was built on the mountain at the northern edge of the Guanzhong Plain.The cemeteries of the Northern Song Dynasty are concentrated in the southeast of the Yiluo River in Gongyi City, Henan Province, not too far to the west of the capital Kaifeng.The cemetery of the Ming Dynasty is located in the Ming Tombs in the north of Beijing.In the Qing Dynasty, Dongling was located in Zunhua City, Hebei Province, and Xiling Mausoleum was located in Yixian County, Hebei Province, respectively in the east and west of Beijing. Because the emperors of all dynasties were quite superstitious and implemented the etiquette system of "death is like life and death", the cemetery is generally designed according to the palace pattern of the emperor before his death, and planned according to the needs of the ritual system at that time. Countless manpower and material resources were spent on construction. The system is majestic and strict, reflecting the emperor's requirements of being glorious and extravagant during his lifetime, and still extremely honorable after his death.In the cemeteries of the past dynasties, in addition to the tombs and imperial mausoleums where emperors and empresses are buried, there are also many ground buildings for sacrifices and for the souls of the tomb owners.For example, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were sleeping halls for worship and sacrifice, side halls for the souls of the tomb owners to play, and sleeping palaces and other ground buildings for the souls of the tomb owners to live and eat.The main buildings of the Tang and Song cemeteries are the upper palace and the lower palace. The former is used for worshiping or holding sacrificial ceremonies in the upper mausoleum, and the latter is mainly for the daily life of the soul of the tomb owner.In addition, there are various large-scale figures and animal sculptures in front of some cemeteries. There are murals and many funerary objects in the tombs. Sports is one of the main ways to enhance physical fitness, and it is also an important part of daily entertainment.The rulers of the past dynasties paid attention to eating, drinking, having fun, and indulging in sensuality, and naturally they would not ignore the fun brought by sports and sports competitions. Therefore, sports activities in the capital are generally more prosperous than other places, especially in the Western Han and Tang Dynasties, which valued sports. protrude. According to records, after Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, moved his father to Chang'an, in order to avoid his homesickness, he also moved his neighbors in his hometown to Chang'an.Subsequently, Cuju (an ancient football game with a solid ball) in Xuzhou, Liu Bang's hometown, was also introduced to Chang'an, entered the court, and was deeply loved by emperors, nobles and common people.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was also a frequent visitor to the Cuju field. After he pacified the Western Regions, he gathered Hu people who were good at this skill in the Ligong Palace in Gyeonggi for viewing at any time.In the outskirts of Chang'an, where rich and powerful families are concentrated, idle young people often gather in groups to hold Cuju competitions. The emperors of the Tang Dynasty not only liked to watch sports games, but also directly participated in sports activities.The talented Tang Taizong was not only a good archer, but also an advocate of the most popular polo sport in the Tang Dynasty (a sport of hitting and chasing a ball on horseback).Tang Zhongzong Li Xian, Xuanzong Li Longji and some emperors in the late Tang Dynasty were all enthusiastic polo lovers.Tug-of-war, swing, go, jiaodi (similar to wrestling), rowing, archery, etc. are all popular sports activities in the court of Tang Dynasty.What is good at the top must be practiced at the bottom. Sports are very popular in Chang'an City, and the masters gather, which promotes the development of sports in the whole country. The superior position of the political center and the ethnic composition of the five parties make the capital a center of national cultures, northern and southern cultures, and even cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.In the capital city, you can not only see the exotic atmosphere brought by the merchants from the South China Sea in the Western Regions, the aggressive habits brought by the grassland and forest peoples, and the Chu language brought by the southern scholars, but also the wedding and funeral customs, clothing, and diet of various places. Cooking, religious beliefs, and social mores are just in varying degrees.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many guild halls from important prefectures and prefectures in other provinces appeared in the capital, which became the stronghold for people from all over the country to set up camp in the capital, promoting cultural diversity and exchange and integration.Mottled, bizarre, and different customs, similar to vocabulary that reflects the coexistence of multiple cultures, are often common language used by people in different periods to discuss the cultural characteristics of the capital. The ancient capital was first of all a political center, a society of emperors and bureaucrats, and everything revolved around the axis of political power, with a strong political color.Although most of the ancient cities were the seat of state, government, and county offices, and many aspects of the city were also related to politics, the color of politics was far less than that of the capital city.Since the Opium War in 1840, some former small towns along the coast of my country have developed into modern industrial and commercial cities.Comparing the two, it can be seen that the biggest difference between the two is that the former is a political central city full of political color, while the latter is an economic center with a strong industrial and commercial atmosphere.As far as Beijing, the last imperial capital, is concerned, even social life is full of political overtones.Most of the store numbers in Beijing have plaques inscribed by dignitaries of the court.The origin and naming of certain dishes, and the names of certain streets and alleys are all related to a certain bureaucrat or a certain government.The lifestyle and entertainment of the royal family, bureaucrats, and scholar-bureaucrats promoted the development of Beijing architecture, gardens, and even special crafts such as cloisonne, jade, carved lacquer, enamel, and stone carvings, and even the development of goldfish breeding, calligraphy and painting, bookstores, theaters, and tea houses. Rise is also related to it.The romantic affairs of the royal family and high-ranking officials have become a topic that Jing Xiaomin in the capital city likes to talk about after dinner and tea.This atmosphere of official culture in social life is undoubtedly in stark contrast with the majestic and majestic Forbidden City of the capital, the imperial spirit that stands above hundreds of millions of people, the bureaucratic army commanding and condescending, and the erosive luxury that is in stark contrast to the lives of the lower classes. is very proportionate.