Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
(house built around a courtyard). The
si-he-yuan
has structures facing the center on
all four sides, with the principal one, called the
zheng-fang
, on the north.
The
si-he-yuan
is, in fact, the “cell” of traditional Chinese city structure. If the
streets and alleys defi ned by rows of
si-he-yuan
are arranged in a certain pattern and
surrounded by a wall, a city is formed. The emperor's palace in the national capital
was simply a grand
si-he-yuan
, or a collection of them, surrounded by a palace wall
and referred to as the Gong Cheng or Imperial City. The Imperial City was supposed
to have a dominant position, at the center of the city's primary north-south axis, and
this central location symbolized the center of the cosmos. Also, according to ancient
custom the “Tai Miao” could only be built in the nation's capital.
China is an agrarian nation, and the “She-ji Tan” was an important symbol of the
emperor's authority. As for the market, it was a necessity of city life. All these basic
elements of the city were clearly set forth in the
Book of Artifi cers
. Of all the written
works concerning the construction of the capital city which have been passed down
from antiquity, this is the earliest and most important, and had the greatest infl uence
on the actual design of the ancient capitals.
Of the several imperial capitals in Chinese history, the last built was Beijing, or
more specifi cally, that part of modern Beijing referred to as the “Old City,” and it is
the actual design of this city that comes the closest to expressing the ancient prin-
ciple of “palace in front, market in back, ancestral temple on right, altar of soil and
grain on left.” After the foundation of New China, the capital was re-established in
Beijing, with its center in the Old City, and work commenced to build a “people's
capital” for the new socialist era. Thus, the redevelopment of Beijing's Old City
plan became an urgent task. In order to fully understand the nature of this task, it is
necessary to examine the plan of Beijing's Old City in some detail.
2.2
Early Planning and the Rise of Dadu City
Although Beijing is an ancient city with a history spanning 3,000 years, it has
been in its present location only since the establishment of Dadu City by the
Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) in the thirteenth century. The previous location was
in what is now the southwest suburbs of the city. The last and largest city built
in this old location was Zhongdu, the capital of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234).
The establishment of Zhongdu marked the beginning of Beijing's emergence as
a national political center.
To the northeast of Zhongdu City there was a scenic area with a natural lake,
which was utilized by the Jin emperor. The lake was expanded on its southern part
and two islands were created and an imperial retreat, called the Tai-ning Palace
(Palace of Great Tranquility) was built (Fig.
2.1
). In the year 1215, the army of the
Mongolian leader Genghis Khan swept down from the north, occupying Zhongdu
City and razing the Imperial Palace. But Tai-ning Palace outside the city was spared.
Forty-fi ve years later, Genghis Khan's grandson, Kublai Khan, in order to consoli-
date his rule over China, decided to establish his capital in Zhongdu. But the
