Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
It should be noted that of all the capital cities built in the feudal dynasties in
China, the Dadu City of Yuan Dynasty is the one built according to the standards
closest to that set by “the Way the Craftsmen Build the City.” Certainly this was
directly related to the main designer of the city Liu Bingzhong (Liu Kan). Liu was
a practically-minded person and well versed in classics. He had lectured in the Zijin
College at the eastern foot of the Taihang Mountain, where the famous astrologist
and expert on water conservancy Guo Shoujing studied under him. Before the
establishment of Yuan Dynasty, Liu had been ordered by Kublai Khan to design on
the northern shore of the Shandian River on the upper reaches of the present Luan
River, Kaiping City (called Shangdu City later), whose remains can still be found
today. This achievement won Liu the recognition of Kublai Khan, so the latter
bestowed him the name “Bingzhong” (Adherence to Loyalty). In 1260 A.D., Kublai
Khan entered and got stationed in Zhongdu, which had developed from a primitive
settlement. Seven years later he decided to build a new city around the Tai-ning
Palace (an imperial summer retreat in the lake district) to the northeast of Zhongdu
City, and he again appointed Liu in charge of the task. Guo Shoujing was also rec-
ommended to participate and made great contribution especially to water conser-
vancy and excavation of the Grand Canal.
It is necessary to point out that the shape of the Great Capital was rectangular with
the north-south walls longer than the east-west walls, rather than square as prescribed
in “The Way the Craftsmen Build the City.” This was out of necessity to fully utilize
the watercourses. Another discrepancy was that residential palaces in the “Grand
Inner Portion” (predecessor of the Forbidden City) did not lie at the geometric center
of the capital but slightly south of it, though it was still situated on the axis line in the
plan, which also fi tted into the doctrine of “to choose the middle.”
From the construction of Dadu of Yuan Dynasty to the supplement of outer walls
in the middle ages of the Ming Dynasty, the surface plan of this city had underwent
several alterations, and thus become vastly different from the ideal described in the
classics, but the basic concept the city was trying to express was still the same.
Moreover, it had been more prominent, especially owing to prolonging the axis line
twice. Therefore, the following part will be devoted to the discussion of the design
of the axis line and the concept beneath.
4.2.2.2
Implications of Axis Line Design and Its Historical
and Cultural Background
The artistic effect that the axis line rendered in the layout of the Old City of Beijing
has been highly appreciated by city planners home and abroad, while its implica-
tions and historical and cultural background are to be further explored.
In another paper “Reformation of the Old City of Beijing”
4
by the author, it is
recorded that Kublai Khan decided to build the new capital before the founding of
Yuan Dynasty and the geometric center of the plan of the capital was fi xed on the
4
City Planning
, 1983, no. 1.
