Imperial City, Beijing
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The Imperial City (Chinese: 北京皇城; pinyin: Běijīng Huángchéng; lit. 'Beijing Imperial City') is a section of the city of Beijing in the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the Forbidden City at its center. It refers to the collection of gardens, shrines, and other service areas between the Forbidden City and the Inner City of ancient Beijing. The Imperial City was surrounded by a wall and accessed through seven gates and it includes historical places such as the Forbidden City, Tiananmen, Zhongnanhai, Beihai Park, Zhongshan Park, Jingshan, Imperial Ancestral Temple, and Xiancantan.[1]
Construction
In the Yuan dynasty, Beijing was known as Dadu, and the Imperial City formed the centre of the city. In 1368, the Ming armies conquered Dadu, and changed its name to "Beiping" (the two characters meaning "north" and "peace" or "pacified"), with the capital moved to Nanjing. Because the Imperial City was untouched by battle, most of the Imperial City survived the war; however, in 1369, the Hongwu Emperor ordered that the Imperial City, a remnant from Mongol Yuan rule over China, be demolished.
In 1370, the Hongwu Emperor's fourth son
In 1399, Zhu Di launched a coup d'état and ascended to the throne to become Yongle Emperor in 1402. In 1403, the name of Beiping was changed to Beijing (literally "the Northern Capital"), and in 1406 a plan was drafted to move the capital to Beijing.
In 1406, construction of the Forbidden City began, copying the layout of the existing palaces in Nanjing. The new imperial palace was placed in the site of Yuan palace. Earth dug up from construction of the moat were used to construct Jingshan Hill to the north of the imperial palace.
On the basis of the Yuan Imperial City, the area was expanded to encompass the lakes of Zhongnanhai and Beihai and a significant area beyond.
Ming dynasty
The Imperial City centres on the Forbidden City. To the west of the Forbidden City are the Zhongnanhai and Beihai, which were surrounded by imperial gardens and collectively known as the Western Park or Xiyuan.
To the north of the Forbidden City is Jingshan Park contains Jingshan Hill and Shouhuang Hall.
To the south of the Forbidden City are the Imperial Shrine of Family or
There are seven gates in the walls of the Imperial City. To the south is the Great Ming Gate (later renamed the Great Qing Gate, Gate of China). Behind the Great Ming Gate was the Chengtianmen Gate, (later renamed the Tian'anmen, "Gate of Heavenly Peace"). To either side of the Chengtianmen were the Left Chang'an Gate and the Right Chang'an Gate. To the east was Dong'anmen Gate ("Gate of Eastern Peace"); to the west was the Xi'anmen Gate ("Gate of Western Peace"). To the north was Bei'anmen (later renamed the Di'anmen, "Gate of Earthly Peace").
Also housed in the Imperial City were a number of service buildings for the imperial palace, warehouses, Taoist temples, and a palace for the Imperial Grandson.
Qing dynasty
After the fall of the
Republic of China to present
After the fall of the
In 1912, during a coup by warlord
In 1949, the
The area to the west of Beihai Park were occupied by the Department of Defence, with a large office building now dominating the park skyline. Most of the temples in the Imperial City were occupied by units of the People's Liberation Army. Some of these buildings remain occupied and are in severe disrepair.
In recent decade, the Beijing municipal government has restored several of these temples, and established a park around the remaining sections of the Imperial City wall. Plans were drawn up to gradually move out institutions occupying various historical buildings. In 2004, a 1984 ordinance relating to building height and planning restriction was renewed to establish the Imperial City area and the northern city area as a buffer zone for the Forbidden City. In 2005, a proposal was released to include the Imperial City and Beihai as extension items to the Forbidden City as a World Heritage Site.
See also
References
- ^ The Imperial City Art Museum China Through A Lens
External links