preface
On the national emblem of the People's Republic of China, there is a majestic building that has become an important part of its pattern, that is, the 600-year-old Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
Tiananmen Square was founded during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, and the name was changed to Tiananmen during the Qing Dynasty, Tiananmen Square has always been a palace square during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and it is also a royal forbidden place where "the government offices are lined up and the government troops are listed".
Today's Tiananmen Square, 880 meters long from north to south, 500 meters wide from east to west, with an area of 440,000 square meters, can accommodate 1 million people to hold a grand gathering, and is the largest city square in the world. After the founding of New China, Chairman Mao put forward many valuable suggestions on the reconstruction of the square.
Tiananmen Square was rebuilt and surrounding residents faced demolition
After the peaceful liberation of Peiping in 1949, the social economy was in a period of recovery, and in the days of welcoming the founding of New China, the Beiping Municipal People's Government faced the current situation of Tiananmen Square and mobilized the masses from all walks of life in the city to carry out a major cleaning of Tiananmen Square.
You know, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Tiananmen Square was still a place of overgrown weeds, and during the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was still a "T" shaped square. After the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing in 1900, a military parade was held in Tiananmen Square, which became a place for the Eight-Nation Alliance to herd troops and horses.
Figure | Map of Tiananmen In the Ming and Qing dynasties
They burned the Zhengyang Gate, shelled Tiananmen Square, and wantonly trampled on China's sovereignty. In 1911, the Xinhai Revolution was successful, the Qing Dynasty collapsed, and a year later, the Great Qing Gate was changed to the "Zhonghua Gate", and the royal forbidden land that had been closed for hundreds of years was lifted.
At that time, the Thousand Steps Corridor had been demolished and the East-West Avenue in front of Tiananmen Square had been opened, so that the people did not have to take detours to and from the East-West City, although the traffic jam was alleviated, but such a transformation was not ideal.
Figure | Tiananmen Square around 1930
Before the founding of New China, the citizens of Beiping spontaneously came to the square to carry out a cleanup.
Although the Thousand Steps Corridor no longer exists, and ordinary people can also pass freely, at that time it still retains the "T" shape pattern of the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, and the narrow square is overgrown with weeds, potholes, dirty water everywhere, and there are many artemisia grasses, which are more than one person tall.
In order to usher in the birth of New China, in mid-August 1949, Beijing held the first meeting of representatives of the whole community and made a decision to renovate Tiananmen Square, in order to ensure the smooth convening of the founding ceremony, the transformation of the square must be completed in September.
At that time, tens of thousands of people participated in the project, mainly from the surrounding residents and many students, although there was no official document on the news that the founding ceremony was to be held in Tiananmen Square, but there were already rumors at that time, and everyone was fighting day and night for this task.
Figure | Before the founding of New China, everyone was cleaning up
According to the data, there are more than 6,000 students in various schools in Beiping who voluntarily came to Tiananmen Square to participate in voluntary labor, and everyone also set off a labor competition, filling a big pit for every 20 people, and filling in more than 300 pits in total. The students laughed and sweated, and cleaned Tiananmen Square very clean.
In this cleaning, not only the obstacles on the square were removed, but also the stone road facing north and south of the square was renovated, and the area cleared out was 54,000 square meters, which could accommodate 160,000 people.
Before the founding ceremony, at the first plenary session of the Chinese Political Consultative Conference, it was decided to build a monument to the people's heroes in the capital Beijing in order to commemorate the people's heroes who died in the People's Liberation War and the People's Revolutionary War. In the year since, the renovation of Tiananmen Square has been underway.
In the spring and summer of 1950, in order to greet the first anniversary of the founding of New China, Premier Zhou Enlai entrusted the Beijing Municipal People's Government to renovate Tiananmen Square, and this heavy responsibility was pressed on the head of Beijing Mayor Peng Zhen, and it was not simple to renovate Tiananmen Square.
Peng Zhen considered the current situation of the square, synthesized Premier Zhou's suggestion, and moved the stone lion in front of Tiananmen Square to the north, a pair of Chinese watches weighing more than 20,000 kilograms were moved 6 meters to the east and west, and a pair of stone lions moved north to the bank of the Jinshui River with relative spread, which greatly increased the width of the road in front of Tiananmen. At the same time, on the east and west sides of the Jinshui River in front of the Tiananmen Tower, vip viewing platforms and ordinary viewing platforms were added.
In the following years, the renovation of Tiananmen Square has been underway, but it has not been satisfactory to everyone. Until November 1954, Peng Zhen demolished the east-west red wall in the middle of Tiananmen Square, and then changed all the air lines on the square to underground cables, and after several years of transformation, the square area was 113,000 square meters, which could accommodate 300,000 people.
Figure | Early design drawings
Finally, the floor plan went to Premier Zhou, Zhou Enlai looked left and right, always felt that it was not good enough, simply showed the floor plan to Chairman Mao, Chairman Mao also felt bad after reading it, Chairman Mao's opinion is that the significance of Tiananmen Square should not be underestimated, too small can not be done.
According to Chairman Mao's meaning, it is too small to do, then if the square is expanded, the surrounding residents can only be demolished. At that time, combined with the opinions of the leaders, Peng Zhen summed up four points.
First, Tiananmen Square is a symbol of state power, and the square should be surrounded by the main leading organs of the state, making it a political center.
Second, around Tiananmen Square, there should be a group of relatively tall and majestic buildings that will become the center of the city.
Third, Tiananmen Square is the central square for the people's political activities and mass gatherings on the mainland, and it should be large enough.
In 1956, Peng Zhen personally took his reform opinions to Zhongnanhai and reported them to Chairman Mao. Chairman Mao said that the assembly square of our country with a population of 600 million is too small to be good, and the width of Tiananmen Square goes from the red walls on the east and west sides of Tiananmen Square to the south, until the moat, and the east and west sides of the square are 500 meters wide. According to this opinion, the Beijing Municipal Government demolished the palace wall on the square, laid concrete square bricks, replaced all the elm and locust trees in front of Tiananmen Square with oil pine, and increased the area of the square by 10,000 square meters. Until 1958, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to build the National Day Project in Beijing to welcome the 10th anniversary of the founding of New China.
To this end, Chairman Mao personally urged the transformation of Tiananmen Square, and the residents around Tiananmen Square had to face the choice of being demolished.
Chairman Mao: Can it accommodate 1 million people?
In the middle of 1958, after listening to Peng Zhenxin's opinions on reform, Chairman Mao clearly instructed that the transformation of Tiananmen Square should reflect the characteristics of the mainland's long history, vast land and vast resources, and large population.
Peng Zhen immediately understood that Chairman Mao had repeatedly stressed the need to be large enough, that is, to expand the square as much as possible. After receiving Chairman Mao's instructions, Zhou Enlai also personally supervised this work, and Zhou Enlai said: It is necessary to embody the theme idea of "the people are the masters of their own affairs" and the spirit of the times, and at the same time give detailed and clear instructions on the planning of the square, the design of buildings, from the guiding ideology to the artistic conception. He proposed: "We must use all the essence of ancient and modern China and abroad for our own use, and the reason why the Chinese people are great is because we can absorb all the good things in the world." ”
At that time, there was a problem that there were large areas of houses and buildings on the east and west sides of Tiananmen Square, and the leaders of Beijing Municipality issued a proposal, hoping that Beijing citizens would actively cooperate in the demolition work.
Figure | Residents around Tiananmen Square
Most of the residents living here at that time were from the end of the Qing Dynasty, and many of the courtyards were very valuable, but in the face of renovation projects, they had to be relocated. At that time, the people were very supportive of the government's work, and in just over a month, the residents on both sides had all completed the relocation.
Zhou Enlai had exchanged views with Chairman Mao earlier, and Zhou Enlai told Chairman Mao that we should make Tiananmen Square as big as possible. Chairman Mao asked Zhou Enlai if a square of 1 million people could be built. Zhou Enlai synthesized Peng Zhen's planning plan and felt that there was no problem.
Figure | Zhou Enlai then introduced Chairman Mao to the planning map
Fast forward to October, Deng Xiaoping personally went to check the model of the National Day project and listened to the reports of Zhao Pengfei, the leader of Beijing Municipality, and others.
Deng Xiaoping believed that in the early days of the founding of New China, the scale of Tiananmen Square at that time was relatively small, and it was difficult to shoulder the heavy responsibility of celebrating the first tenth anniversary of the founding of New China.
In addition, the width of the square, from Tiananmen Square to Zhengyang Gate, the length of the square from north to south is 880 meters, which is actual. The key to the design of the scale of the square is the determination of the width. In the process of research, some people have proposed several design schemes of 350 meters, 400 meters and 500 meters, and finally determined to be 500 meters wide.
The plan was to start preparations in October 1958, start construction in January 1959, and complete the project in September to ensure the smooth holding of the 10th Anniversary.
Figure | In 1958, Chairman Mao inspected the planning model in Fortress Garden, from left: Peng Zhen, Chairman Mao, Li Fuchun, Wan Li, and Zhou Enlai
In December of that year, the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting in Fengzeyuan, Chairman Mao's residence, to review the National Day project, and Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Chen Yi, and other leaders attended the meeting.
Zhou Enlai made a brief introduction to Chairman Mao, first of all, to preserve the Zhengyang Gate, and then to demolish the Zhonghua Gate, in addition to the two sides of the square are divided into the Revolutionary Museum, the History Museum, and the Great Hall of the People, whose height is in harmony with the whole of the square.
According to Zhao Pengfei, a leader of Beijing Municipality, he recalled:
On that day, when everyone came to Fortress Garden, Premier Zhou asked Chairman Mao to come out to see the plan, and after Chairman Mao arrived, he asked what the contents of each of the buildings in the square were, and Premier Zhou introduced them one by one. After reading the plan, Chairman Mao went back to the bedroom without taking a stand, and Premier Zhou followed him into the room, and everyone waited in the conference room. Soon, Premier Zhou came out of Chairman Mao's room and told everyone that the plan had been approved.
After Chairman Mao decided on this plan, the municipal government immediately began to organize forces and fully devote themselves to construction. At that time, the masses in Beijing were united in their hearts, and tens of thousands of people successively threw themselves into the construction, but at that time, there were no labor costs, no car and horse fees, and no food expenses, and the construction site was often crowded with people.
From January to September 1959, after months of day and night struggle, the ancient Tiananmen Square changed dramatically at an alarming rate.
In addition, the Monument to the People's Heroes was completed at that time, and the east side was the Museum of the Chinese Revolution and the Museum of Chinese History; on the west side was the Great Hall of the People, which symbolized the supremacy of people's rights. The Museum of the Chinese Revolution, the Museum of History of China, the Great Hall of the People and the Monument to the People's Heroes have formed a political and cultural activity center that the people of all ethnic groups in the country yearn for, and a majestic and imposing "People's Square" is presented to the world. On October 1, 1959, the ceremony for the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China was solemnly held in the newly renovated Tiananmen Square.
The remodeling of Tiananmen Square not only changed the pattern of the entire square, but also completely transformed Tiananmen square from the southern gate of the inner courtyard of the imperial palace of the feudal dynasty to the main body of Tiananmen Square. At the suggestion of Chairman Mao's "Million Square," Tiananmen Square was "reborn" for the first time.
Major renovation: the establishment of chairman Mao's memorial hall
After the tiananmen square was basically completed in 1959, it was changed several times, but there were no major adjustments until 1976.
On September 9, 1976, Chairman Mao died in Beijing, and the whole country mourned.
After Chairman Mao's death, an important question was put before everyone, how to deal with Chairman Mao's body.
According to Chairman Mao's wishes before his death, he hoped to be cremated, but Hua Guofeng believed that although the cremation of the remains was Chairman Mao's last wish, Chairman Mao's status was very important in the hearts of the people of the whole country and even in front of the whole world.
Is it possible that, like Lenin's body, it will be preserved forever so that future generations can look at it?
Figure | Hua Guofeng
As soon as this idea was put forward, many leaders felt that it was okay, and many ordinary people had never seen Chairman Mao in their entire lives, and if chairman Mao's body was preserved forever and allowed to be admired by generations, this would undoubtedly be a good thing for the Chinese people and for Chinese history.
Immediately afterward, Hua Guofeng convened an emergency meeting in Zhongnanhai to discuss the matter, and finally unanimously approved that the body of Chairman Mao should be retained permanently, and that the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall should be built and opened to the public so that everyone could come to Beijing to pay respects to Chairman Mao's remains.
This idea confirmed that the embalming of the remains would not be a problem according to the current technology, and what was important was that where should the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall be built?
At that time, everyone had several suggestions to build chairman Mao's memorial hall in Xiangshan or Beihai. There are two reasons for this.
First, before the founding of New China, Chairman Mao lived in Xiangshan for a period of time, where Chairman Mao discussed the great plan for the founding of the country with other leaders, and he also liked this place very much, and he repeatedly told his daughter Li Min that the scenery here was beautiful.
Second, in Traditional Chinese Culture, pay attention to the roots of deciduous leaves, and the cemetery is generally in a quieter place, Fragrant Mountain and Beihai, there are mountains and mountains, which is just in line with this idea.
Although these sounds very good, Hua Guofeng believes that although it is reasonable, it is not realistic.
First of all, this is not in line with Chairman Mao's idea of "protecting heritage", Xiangshan and Beihai have a large number of ancient buildings and landscapes, Chairman Mao came to Beijing and ordered the protection of ancient buildings, and in the future open to the outside world, it is bound to be a sea of people, so it is not good.
Another point is that the distance between Xiangshan and other areas and the center of Beijing is too far, and it is very inconvenient for the masses to come to Beijing to pay respects, even if the highway is built.
Finally, Hua Guofeng believed that the idea of the ancient "mausoleum" should be abandoned, and the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall should be built into a modern memorial hall and built in the city center. So, where is the best place to build? Hua Guofeng pointed to the map and suggested that it be built on Tiananmen Square.
Chairman Mao had specially supervised the construction of Tiananmen Square before his death, and as soon as this idea was put forward, it was immediately unanimously approved by everyone; there was Tiananmen In the north and Zhengyang Gate in the south, in the center of the square was the Monument to the People's Heroes and chairman Mao's Memorial Hall, and in the east and west there was the Museum of the Chinese Revolution History (now the National Museum of China) and the Great Hall of the People.
This is also fully in line with Chairman Mao's wishes during his lifetime.
Figure | Groundbreaking ceremony
After the adoption of this resolution, on November 24, 1976, the groundbreaking ceremony of Chairman Mao's Memorial Hall was solemnly held in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, and Hua Guofeng personally laid the foundation for the memorial hall and delivered an important speech.
From may 1977, when the official construction began, it took only 6 months for chairman Mao's memorial hall to be completed quickly, and this major battle was the same as the cleaning of Tiananmen Square by the citizens of Beijing in that year.
On August 20, Chairman Mao's body was secretly transported from the protection room and smoothly transferred to the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, and then the central authorities broadcast a good news to the whole country that on the first anniversary of Chairman Mao's death, the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall will be opened to the public.
Figure | Chairman Mao Memorial Hall
On September 9, 1977, chairman Mao's memorial hall was officially opened to the public, and on the first day, it was crowded with people, and countless people rushed to Beijing with infinite nostalgia for Chairman Mao, just to see his old man's home, including children of several years old, young people who had just started a family, and elderly people, and everyone's remembrance of Chairman Mao turned into deep tears.
At the end of the 1990s, Beijing carried out several constructions of Tiananmen Square, and after the construction of Tiananmen Square, it was wide and spectacular, symmetrical and neat, and the buildings were harmoniously integrated, which can be called a square with significant national characteristics. Through the spectacular ancient and modern buildings, we can clearly see the continuation of the long history and culture of the Chinese nation and the beautiful prospects for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the new era.
When night falls, the lanterns are first illuminated, and Tiananmen Square will show a solemnity and quiet beauty that is different from the day, and the splendid lanterns always embellish the square beautifully and movingly.
Now, chairman Mao has been dead for more than forty years, the people's longing for Chairman Mao has never stopped, whenever we come to Tiananmen Square, we can't help but think of his old man's home, especially when we see the statue of Chairman Mao hanging on Tiananmen, as if we saw him standing on the city tower, waving his hand at us, his kind appearance, as if in front of us.