There is still about a month to go before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, in addition to ice frolic, there is a special presence related to the Winter Olympics in the Forbidden City, that is, the Arrow Pavilion! The Arrow Pavilion was a place where martial arts tests and archery competitions were held in the ancient imperial palace. Some of the Winter Olympic elements in the Forbidden City will also be arranged near the Arrow Pavilion.
Jianting Pavilion (Source丨The Palace Museum official website)
At first glance, the Arrow Pavilion was thought to be a small pavilion, similar to the Well Pavilion and the Monument Pavilion, but in fact, it was not, the Arrow Pavilion was a pavilion built on the East Auxiliary Line that did not resemble a pavilion. With a construction area of 430 square meters, it is the size of 35 standard rooms, and it is the largest pavilion in the Forbidden City and the largest pavilion building in Beijing.
Why is the Arrow Pavilion so big?
Why is the Arrow Pavilion so big? This has to start from the function of the arrow pavilion. The Arrow Pavilion was the place where the Wuke Hall was tested in the Qing Dynasty.
The test of martial arts is divided into two games, step-by-step shooting and riding shooting, the rifle shooting target is a step monkey, eighty steps apart, and the riding target is a felt ball, thirty-five steps apart. Test takers each receive three bows and nine arrows with different pulling forces. Finally, according to the results of the target, the ranking of the officials, the head name of the champion, the second name of the list eye, the third name of the tanhua.
When Wu Ke was in the temple examination, in addition to the supervising minister who had to be on the scene, the emperor was also present. Therefore, the arrow pavilion will be built very large, the pavilion built a large Kowloon throne, although it is a pavilion, but the overall architectural style is similar to a treasure hall.
There is also a small Easter egg here, that is, there are several brothers and wives who are also held in the Arrow Pavilion, and the banquet for the civil and military officials has also been held in history. It can be seen that the big building of the arrow pavilion is not wasted at all.
"Qianlong Emperor Shooting Hunting Map" axis (Image source丨The palace museum official website)
Among the many emperors, the Qianlong Emperor was particularly "favored" for the arrow pavilion, in ancient times, riding archery was a magic weapon to defend the country and consolidate the Jiangshan Sheji, and the Qianlong Emperor even obtained the yellow coat given by the Kangxi Emperor by virtue of his excellent riding and shooting skills.
It is said that Qianlong was only twelve years old at that time, and he followed the emperor Kangxi to read the shooting, and he was even hit by five arrows, yang Mengtian yu jia, kind face great joy, and was given yellow coats.
However, with the stability of society, life is rich. The princes and nobles gradually turned away from the riding and archery and equestrian skills that had helped them settle down. This made the Qianlong Emperor very angry, and specially issued an edict requiring the children of the Eight Banners to learn ancient training from time to time, be skilled in riding and shooting, and engraved on the stele and placed on the east side of the throne in the inner chamber of the Arrow Pavilion.
(Image source 丨 CCTV documentary "Forbidden City 100" screenshot)
On the inscription, there are words such as "dress language, follow the old system", "practice acting courageously, always practice riding and shooting", and warn future generations to "always abide by the law". The meaning of the four words "forever upholding the law and abiding by the law" is very far-reaching, and at that time, it played a role in warning future generations, asking them to always remember that the world was beaten down on horseback, and not to waste a body of riding and shooting kung fu because of greed and comfort.
At the same time, these four words are also applicable today, no matter what the situation of the Winter Olympic Games, we will adhere to the Olympic spirit. Only by keeping this original intention, the significance of the Winter Olympics will be even greater.
If you go to the Forbidden City next time, you must go to see the Arrow Pavilion, read the edict written by the Qianlong Emperor, and admire the largest pavilion in the Forbidden City!
bibliography:
1. Wang Mingzhen, "Arrow Pavilion of the Forbidden City", Beijing Archives, No. 8, 2004
2. Wang Dianying, "Ji Jian Ting", Forbidden City, October 1981
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