Chinanews client, Beijing, March 27th (Song Yusheng, Wang Shibo, Xu Jing) "We are about to conduct archaeological excavations in the Zhengyangmen area." On March 25th, Lu Zhouxiang, director of the National Heritage Center of Tsinghua University, reporter of Chinanews.com Such a news was revealed.
So, what is the past of Zhengyangmen in Beijing, which is now called the "Qianmen"?
What cultural relics may be found in the archaeological excavations that are about to begin?
Data map: Zhengyangmen.
Hu Jinxi photo source: CTPphoto
Zhengyang Gate of Ming and Qing Dynasties
Zhengyangmen was built during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty.
In the eighteenth year of Yongle (1420), the southern city wall of Beijing expanded from the first line of Chang'an Avenue to the first line of Zhengyangmen.
Today, what people call "Qianmen" also came into being, but at that time this city gate followed the name of the South Gate of Yuan Dynasty Imperial Palace and was called "Lizhengmen"; it was not renamed until the first year of Ming Zhengtong (1436). "Zhengyang Gate".
During these 600 years, Zhengyangmen has not been static.
For example, in the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court built an arrow tower just south of Zhengyangmen.
Zhengyang Gate and its arrow tower are in an arc-shaped urn city.
In addition, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were many fires at Zhengyangmen.
In the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1900), when the Eight-Power Allied Forces entered Beijing, Zhengyang Gate and the Arrow Tower were severely damaged.
The towers that people see today were rebuilt in the 32nd year of Guangxu (1906) on the basis of the remaining base site and the style of the two towers in Chongwen and Xuanwu.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the south of Zhengyangmen became a prosperous area of Beijing.
Because the Jinghan Railway and Jingfeng Railway have stations on both sides of Zhengyangmen, this has become a distribution hub for Beijing's passenger and freight transportation.
At that time, near the front door, rickshaws, platoon carts, and horse-drawn carriages flowed endlessly, and many businesses gathered in Dashilan along Qianmen Street, and they were bustling all day long.
Later, Xirenlong, a Swedish scholar who studied the traditional city of Beijing, described the gate, which has witnessed hundreds of years of history, as “one of the most important monumental buildings with historical value in the capital”.
Data map: Zhengyang Gate, Qianmen.
Hu Jinxi photo source: CTPphoto
Demolition and reconstruction
However, even such a building has not been able to avoid the fate of being rebuilt and partially demolished in modern times.
In modern times, the railway station near Qianmen has caused a sharp increase in traffic here, and traffic jams caused by city gates and city walls have occurred from time to time.
After the Revolution of 1911, Zhu Qiqian, who was then the head of the Ministry of Interior of the Beiyang Government and supervised by the Kyoto Municipal Office, proposed the reconstruction plan of Zhengyangmen, which once again changed the appearance of this city gate.
He proposed to dismantle the east and west moon walls of Zhengyangmen Wengcheng separately, and "rebuild the road with the address of the moon wall to facilitate entry and exit."
It can be seen that this demolition and reconstruction is not unrelated to the current traffic situation near the front door at that time.
Xi Renlong believes that the new plans and ideas are "especially related to urban transportation."
In 1915, the Zhengyangmen reconstruction project was officially launched, and the German architect Roquege was responsible for the project.
It is worth noting that there are data showing that Beijing insisted on maintaining the "old glory" of related buildings during construction.
On the other hand, after the renovation and design of the Zhengyangmen Arrow Tower, Western-style window voucher covers and end wall decorations were added.
Data map: Looking at Qianmen Arrow Tower from Qianmen Street.
Photo by Mai Xiangyun Image source: CTPphoto
In December of that year, the project was accepted.
Xi Renlong described the reconstructed Qianmen area in this way: "The walls of the urn city have been completely demolished, and the originally closed open space has been turned into an open field. The majestic arrow tower stands alone at the southern end of the rectangular field." He wrote in the book, After the reconstruction, the square in front appeared too westernized, "not in harmony with the architectural style of the tower".
Since then, Zhengyangmen has undergone many renovations, but the overall pattern has not changed much.
As old as old
Just in January this year, the renovation project of Zhengyangmen Arrow Tower has started.
Right now, archaeological excavations in this area are about to start.
On January 9th, the construction site for the protection and repair of the arrow tower at Zhengyang Gate in Beijing. Scaffolding and fences have been erected and the project is in progress.
This repair construction will refurbish and reinforce the roof, wall, city platform and other components of the house.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Jia Tianyong
So, what are the discoveries of this archaeology?
Lu Zhou, director of the National Heritage Center of Tsinghua University, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Chinanews.com that in the past, the Zhengyangmen Bridge south of Zhengyangmen would be a focus of excavation.
"If we can find the Zhengyangmen Bridge this time, we will reveal it again."
He told reporters that the team is currently considering whether to restore Zhengyangmen Bridge and a section of the inner moat as an urban landscape.
"Because we feel that this so-called sense of spatial rhythm surrounded by mountains and water is expressed through these landscapes."
On January 9th, the construction site for the protection and repair of the arrow tower at Zhengyang Gate in Beijing. Scaffolding and fences have been erected and the project is in progress.
This repair construction will refurbish and reinforce the roof, wall, city platform and other components of the house.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Jia Tianyong
But at the same time, he emphasized that "repairing the old as the old" is not about restoring these sites to the state at a certain point in history, but about the historical changes that the entire Zhengyangmen has experienced over the past 600 years.
"We do not seek to be a city that has to be set, or a street in Ming and Qing Dynasties. We still hope to present, experience multiple eras, and then jointly form a value complex." He said.
(Finish)
Reference materials: "Beijing's City Walls and Gates", "Ten Opinions on Ancient Chinese Architecture", "History of the Vicissitudes of Zhengyangmen", "The Reconstruction of Zhengyangmen in 1915 to Promote Beijing's Urban Modernization"