This weekend, it is better to take your children to see the "city" of the central axis of Beijing.

Recently, the central axis of Beijing has been on the hot search. With the operation of Beijing Metro Line 8, the "underground central axis" has finally realized the connection of the north and south sections of the Ditan line. On the occasion of the New Year in 2022, the "One Yuan 'Middle' Beginning" - 2022 Beijing Central Axis Special Exhibition was also officially opened at the Beijing Dongcheng Cultural Development Research Institute. From now until January 24, 2022, parents and students will be invited to approach the central axis through exhibitions, salon lectures, interactive experiences, etc., and jointly imagine the future vision of the protection of the central axis and the old city of Beijing.

[ Interpretation of the "central axis" ]

Read the city of Beijing from the central axis

Some people say, "If you don't understand the central axis of Beijing, you can't understand the city of Beijing." In the article "Beijing - The Incomparable Masterpiece of Urban Planning", he praised: "An 8-kilometer-long, longest and greatest north-south central axis in the world, runs through the whole city." Beijing's unique magnificent order was born from the establishment of this central axis. ”

The central axis of Beijing is the symmetrical axis of the east-west symmetrical layout of the buildings in Beijing since the Yuan Dynasty and the Ming and Qing dynasties, extending to the bell and drum towers to the north and yongding gate to the south, with a total length of 7.8 kilometers, covering about 65% of the area of the old city of Beijing, this urban axis has both magnificent royal buildings, as well as quaint residential courtyards and important modern buildings, and the Taimiao Temple, Sheji Altar, Temple of Heaven, Xiannong Altar, etc. around the central axis are basically preserved. This central axis brings together the essence of the ancient urban architecture of the imperial capital and also witnesses the changes of the city of Beijing.

In 2012, the central axis of Beijing was included in the preliminary list of China's declaration of world heritage, and since 2017, the application for the central axis of Beijing has begun to be comprehensively promoted, and in August 2020, the "Three-year Action Plan for the Protection of the Central Axis of Beijing" was issued, and the protection of the central axis has entered the fast lane, and the protection and dissemination of various styles is actively carried out. On the evening of December 29, 2021, in the Arrow Tower of Beijing Zhengyangmen, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Heritage and Tencent jointly launched the "Digital Axis, Lighting Up Civilization - The Launching Ceremony of the 'Digital Axis' of the Beijing Central Axis", announced the official launch of the "Cloud Central Axis" Mini Program, and invited more members of the public to help beijing central axis application.

There are 19 heritage sites on the central axis, and the "central axis on the cloud" connects all the points to show the historical changes of Beijing in the past 750 years, forming a cultural heritage IP matrix... On the "Central Axis of the Clouds", the public can start from Yongdingmen and go north through the Ruins of Yongdingmen Royal Road, Tianqiao South Avenue, Qianmen Street, Zhengyang Gate, Tiananmen Square Complex, Waijinshui Bridge, Tiananmen, Duanmen, Forbidden City, Jingshan, Di'anmen Inner Street, Wanning Bridge, Di'anmen Outer Street to Bell and Drum Tower, panoramic views of the central axis of Beijing with a total length of about 7.8 kilometers, appreciate the gentle and open pattern on both sides of the central axis, and deeply understand the "Fang Jiu Li, Next To the Three Doors" recorded in the "Examination Worker's Record". The nine longitudes and nine latitudes of the middle school, the nine tracks of the tu, the left ancestor and the right society, facing the back market, the city towards the first husband."

At the same time, the public can also learn more about the detailed information and progress of the central axis landmarks, central axis changes, central axis stories and other detailed information and progress of the central axis in the Mini Program; stroll through the ancient buildings on the central axis in the central axis map, deeply understand the style of the royal palace, understand the knowledge of royal sacrifices and state etiquette; and also receive the first batch of public welfare NFT (digital collection) "Beijing Swift" of the Beijing Central Axis Application Project in the collection column to participate in the application activities.

The ancient ideological and cultural implications behind the central axis

Shi Ning (Cultural Scholar)

Since the 2022 Beijing Central Axis Special Exhibition is called "the beginning of the one yuan 'middle'", we should start from this "middle" word and explore the origin of the ancient central axis, which is the root of all the ancient capital construction in later generations.

The origin of the central axis is very closely related to astronomy, and it is summed up in eight words called "like the heavens set the capital, the law and the heavens rule". The ancients always habitually associated the changes in the heavens with the blessings and misfortunes of the world, so that the ancients built the capital city according to the arrangement of the stars in the sky as a reference. The Palace City where the Emperor lived must imitate the Purple Micro Star where the Emperor of Heaven resided in the "Middle of Heaven", so the Forbidden City was established in the "Middle of the Earth" (in the middle of the World). This kind of centering is not only the concept of point, but also the concept of linearity. That is to say, just south of the imperial palace, it is necessary to open up a royal road to the emperor's throne, that is, the "road to heaven". Only if this imperial path is centered and points to the south and north, it is considered to be in line with the heavenly path.

As the core of Beijing's central axis, the Forbidden City itself has many places related to the concept of "Zhong". For example, the three plaques of the three halls of the Forbidden City are closely related to "Zhong". The text of these three plaques was quoted by the Qianlong Emperor from the Book of Shang. The plaque of the Taihe Hall is "Jianji Suiyou", and "Jianji" is the establishment of the highest principle. "Building" means standing, "pole" is middle, and "building pole" means standing in the middle. "Suiyi" is to conform to the law. Taken together, it means that the Son of Heaven undertakes the mission of the emperor and the heavens and the common people, and must not only inherit the heavens and establish the law, but also care for the people and conform to the road. The plaque of the Zhonghe Hall is "Allowing to Hold On", which means that the words and deeds of the Son of Heaven should conform to the impartial Path of Zhongzheng. The plaque of the Bohol Hall is "Emperor Jianyou Pole", which means that the Son of Heaven must guard the "Pole" and keep the "Middle". The king must have the middle way to establish government affairs. Confucianism regards "inner saint and outer king" as the highest goal of life struggle, and one of the important links is "right mind and self-cultivation". How to achieve righteousness and self-cultivation? Quite simply, only the body and mind can be centered and independent. So are the people, and so are the cities. Therefore, in the eyes of the ancients, it is an extremely good quality. The central axis is the embodiment of the right path of the country.

In this way, the central axis is also the system and norms for the construction of a country's capital. It is both an invisible code of etiquette and a physical axis of buildings; it is both an ideological concept and a geographical concept. We understand the central axis, not only to look at the specific building in front of us, but also to understand the meaning of the more grand ancient thought and culture behind it.

Text: Wang Xiaoai

Editor: Zhang Qiuying

Editor: Hao Bin

Final Judgement: Wang Yu, Su Jinzhu, Bao Danhe

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