Tiananmen Was originally named "Chengtianmen", which has the meaning of "inheriting the fortunes of heaven and being ordained by heaven". Tiananmen Square is the lintel of Beijing's Forbidden City, and people from all over the world can visit this magnificent building when they come to Beijing. However, regarding the designer of Tiananmen, whose surname is unknown to nine of the ten. The design genius was only 18 years old when he designed Tiananmen. How did he accomplish every miracle in the Forbidden City? Who the hell is he? In this article, let's explore the legendary past of the design genius of the Forbidden City.
Since its completion, Tiananmen Has gone through more than 600 years. No matter how the dynasties change, Tiananmen has always stood firm in the long river of history, carrying the expectations and development of generations of people. Time goes back to the Yongle years of the Ming Dynasty, when Zhu Di, the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, usurped the throne and became emperor in Nanjing, becoming the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty. In order to resist the invasion of the Mongol tribes in the north, Zhu Di decided to move the capital to Beijing. It didn't take long for him to summon skilled craftsmen from all over the country to build a palace for him in Beijing.
Zhu Di
In the Ming Dynasty, there was a carpenter named Kuǎi Fu, who was originally from Jiangsu and was very good at local carpentry craftsmanship. During the Ming Dynasty, with excellent craftsmanship, he was summoned to the palace and became the "carpenter head" who was in charge of building the imperial palace. Kufu also participated in the construction of the Forbidden City in Nanjing, and can be said to be a highly qualified master builder.
Ku had a son named Ku Xiang. Blue is better than blue, and his son Pu Xiang has learned the lifelong craftsmanship taught by his father since he was a child, and at a young age, the carpenter's craftsmanship is even better than his father. Ku Xiang is still a craftsman who knows how to innovate, he did not stick to his father's craftsmanship constraints, and created his own way of craftsmanship. Ku Xiang's drawings will have their own set of understanding methods, and even Old Father Ku Fu can't help but marvel when he sees them.
According to historical records, When Ku Xiang was eighteen years old, he was able to hold a pen and draw a dragon with both hands at the same time. After a stroke of the dragon snake, the drawings drawn by the left and right hands are superimposed, almost exactly the same. It is amazing that a young man can have such a skill. Because of this, after KuFu told the old man to return to his hometown, he asked his son Ku Xiang to take over the position of "carpentry head". But if you can have such achievements at such an age, it is inevitable that you will be looked at by people.
When Ku Xiang was 18 years old, he received the task of building the imperial palace by Ming Chengzu. Because of his skills far exceeding his peers, he was jealous of the traitorous villain, and someone gave him a big problem. How will the young Pu Xiang deal with this big problem? At that time, Ku Xiang had just succeeded his father as the "Head of Carpentry", and before he could gain a foothold, he received a request from the emperor to design the gate of the new imperial palace, the Chengtian Gate. Ku Xiang is born sensitive to data such as building dimensions and has strong computing power.
After receiving the task, he probably figured out the architectural pattern he wanted to design in his mind, calculated the corresponding architectural data in his mind, and it didn't take long to complete the design of the drawing. In less than a month, Ku Xiang built a set of models from the drawings and presented the model to Zhu Di. The carpenter is the housekeeping skill of Ku Xiang, and the models he creates are exquisite, and the models alone reveal a magnificent atmosphere. Zhu Di was very happy when he saw it, and decided to build according to this model.
Just as Zhu Di was preparing to approve the imperial pen, the eunuch behind Zhu Di was instructed by the forces behind him to obstruct it. The eunuch blew the wind in Zhu Di's ear and said, "Your Majesty, the gate of this imperial palace is the dignity of the imperial court, not only to look majestic and atmospheric, but also to be mighty and solemn." ”
After listening to the eunuch's words, Zhu Di felt that there was some truth, and he signaled the eunuch to continue. The eunuch saw that Zhu Di had listened to the words, paused, and said flatteringly: "In the previous dynasties and dynasties, hundreds of dragons have always been carved to show the majesty of the royal family. But the fortunes of my Ming Dynasty are prosperous, and the hundred dragons are not enough, and it must be a thousand dragons to be commensurate with the majesty of the Son of Heaven, so as to show my great power and make the princes and officials fear loyalty. ”
This series of horse ass shots Zhu Di was overjoyed. Zhu Di also wanted to see how much ability this passed down craftsman genius really had. He immediately ordered that Pu Xiang find a thousand true dragons to decorate the palace building, and those who violated the order, beheaded!
After receiving the will, Ku Xiang stabilized his mind, silently bowed down and retreated, returned to his home and sat quietly, falling into contemplation. Hearing that the old father of the imperial decree was already distraught at this time, he was frightened and took three steps and made two steps to his son's side. Ku Fu regretted in his heart that he let his son come to this muddy water, where to find a thousand true dragon decorations? Isn't this the son's life?
He comforted his son, and even blamed himself a little: "Son, how can these thousand true dragons be found?" It's all the fault of the Father, and you shouldn't be allowed to enter the palace. Otherwise, please ask Your Majesty for the Father's advice, and see if there is room for this matter to turn around? ”
Qu Xiang withdrew his mind from his contemplation, and he pressed his father with both hands to comfort him: "Father, there is still a chance that this matter can be accomplished." The real dragon is untraceable, I should let it go. ”
Seeing that his son was so confident, Kufu was half-convinced, how did the son find this thousand true dragons?
From the date of construction of Chengtianmen, in less than three years, this grand project is about to be completed. The construction speed of Chengtianmen is extremely fast, and the construction quality is quite high. The walls of the doors are made of tenon and tenon bones, which are firm and beautiful. Ku Xiang was in charge of the construction of the entire project, but he did not covet anything from it. None of the buildings cut corners. The craftsmen under Ku Xiang and Qu Xiang maintained a high wind and bright festival together, and went all out to carry out this grand building to the end.
It is precisely with such a simple construction that the Chengtian Gate and even the entire Imperial Palace City can stand for six hundred years without falling, becoming an architectural miracle at home and abroad.
The delivery date was soon approaching, and the overall building of Chengtianmen was basically completed, but the crowd did not see a thousand real dragons, but only a thousand dragon head drains. This thousand dragon heads surround the abutment, and the dragon heads are carved from white jade. All this was built by the workers according to the meaning of Ku Xiang.
On the day of acceptance, I still didn't see the so-called true dragon appear, and everyone felt that Ku Xiang was more fierce this time, and there were already many villains secretly stealing joy. Ming Chengzu Zhu Di and the eunuch came to watch together, and the eunuch pretended to be angry and blamed Ku Xiang and said, "Where is this thousand true dragons?" ”
Standing in front of the crowd, Ku Xiang calmly said, "Don't be impatient with your father-in-law, the true dragon will arrive soon!" ”
It was the height of summer, the weather was relatively hot, and the sun was shining on the ground, almost roasting the stones on the ground. After a few moments, the air pressure became lower and lower, and the distant sky suddenly converged on a large cloud, and the dark clouds quickly reached the top of everyone's heads. A strong wind blew through, accompanied by lightning and thunder in the sky. Suddenly, a heavy rain condensed and fell from the sky. As soon as the cool rain hit the hot stones on the ground, it steamed up layers of water vapor.
The water vapor is so strong that the spout faucet seems to come alive. From a distance, it looks like a thousand dragon heads dancing with the clouds, and the scene is extremely spectacular. The rainstorm came and went quickly, and in a few moments, the dark clouds receded and the clear sun sky returned, as if the true dragon had also left with the dark clouds, and everything on the ground returned to its original state, not even a little water.
Everyone had long been immersed in the intoxicating scene just now, and Zhu Di looked up and smiled heartily, admiring Ku Xiang's brilliant plan. Zhu Di shouted, "Reward! The eunuch woke up from the shock. Zhu Di publicly bestowed on Ku Xiang the title of "Ku Lu Ban".
The Ming Dynasty Imperial Palace was successfully completed and became a magnificent complex rarely seen by human beings. The various states of the Ming Dynasty heard the news and rushed to pay tribute and congratulations, and paid tribute to many gifts. One of the gifts is a precious piece of wood. This piece of wood is said to have originated from a thousand-year-old tree. Fan Bangguo, in order to show his loyalty, sent a hundred envoys to escort this piece of wood and pay tribute to Zhu Di. Zhu Di looked at the piece of wood and decided to make it a threshold. But just as construction was being prepared, the piece of wood was inexplicably sawn off by more than a foot.
This can be difficult for everyone, this piece of irregular wood, how to make a threshold? After pondering carefully for a moment, he suddenly came up with an idea, so he asked the carpenter to saw off this piece of wood for more than another foot. Sawing off another foot? Such a precious wood, not handled well, how to make a difference? The carpenter boldly sawed off more than a foot according to Ku Xiang's instructions. Ku Xiang picked up the sawn wood, turned around to find the tool, divided the wood into two by three, and cut the wood into two slots.
On the surface of the groove, an iron knife was used to carve out two exquisite peonies. On top of the peony, there was another lion with a mouth holding the pearl of the night. Good flowers and beasts of prey, look unique, very atmospheric. Unexpectedly, after a pair of hands of Ku Xiang, he really made this piece of wood into a threshold and made it magnificent. The sill design is clever and can be disassembled and assembled at any time to facilitate the passage of horses and cars. This living threshold was also given the name "King Kong Leg" by Zhu Di, which became another masterpiece of Ku Xiang.
If he only had excellent craftsmanship, Ku Xiang was not surprising. What really makes everyone feel admired is that he can have such high achievements at such a young age, but he is not proud of his achievements, but he is sincere and humble, not arrogant and impatient.
Ku Xiang was praised by Zhu Di for his participation in the construction of the imperial palace. He still did his job down-to-earth, did not covet power and fame, and always pursued more exquisite architectural craftsmanship. With his outstanding skills and down-to-earth craftsman attitude, Ku Xiang was promoted all the way, and before He retired, he once sat in the position of the left attendant of the Ministry of Works, and his official position was highly valued by the imperial court.
However, in the palace, there are constant storms of right and wrong, and in vanity fair, there are scheming and deceitfulness everywhere, even if it is Ku Xiang, who is immersed in the craftsmanship, he cannot escape the jealousy of the villain. Ku Xiang chose an opportunity, wrote to the emperor, and begged the old man to return to his hometown. In this way, Ku Xiang retreated bravely and returned to his hometown, Wu County.
After returning to his hometown, Ku Xiang still did not abandon the craftsmanship in his hands. His pursuit of craftsmanship has become one with himself. In his later years, He Devoted himself to the architectural development of Xiangshan in Wu County. Many craftsmen heard that the imperial court had returned to a ministry of works, and they rushed to ask questions about craftsmen. No matter who came to ask questions, Ku Xiang would answer his questions without hesitation. The craftsmanship of the craftsmen around Xiangshan is becoming more and more sophisticated.
Under the influence of Ku Xiang, the overall architectural level of Wu County has gradually improved qualitatively. The craftsmen spontaneously formed the "Xiangshan Gang" organization. The craftsmen in the Xiangshan Gang often gather together to exchange crafts, exchange recent experiences with each other, and improve each other's craftsmanship. They have different styles, including carpenters, craftsmen, stone carvers, and painting and painting. The Xiangshan Gang has had an important impact on boosting the development of architecture in Jiangnan.
All these achievements are obviously due to the participation of Xuan Xiang. Born in Wu County, Pu Xiang has had his own unique understanding of Jiangnan architecture since childhood. After returning to his hometown, With the experience of being an official in the imperial court and the experience of craftsmanship, Ku Xiang once again integrated with Jiangnan architectural ideas to form a new architectural insight. Pu Xiang had seen a lot in the palace, and had seen all kinds of paintings, glass gold bricks, and carved patterns, and he injected his understanding of various works into the craftsmanship of the Xiangshan Gang.
Under the leadership of Ku Xiang, the Xiangshan Gang has been changing and developing, and has been continuing for hundreds of years, Shi Youyun: "Jiangnan carpentry craftsmen are out of Xiangshan", which can be glimpsed. Xiangshan inherits the architectural characteristics of Jiangnan, and integrates the magnificent and atmospheric architectural style of the north to form its own unique "Su Pai" style. Subsequently, the Xiangshan Gang endured, and the works of the Children of Xiangshan spread all over the world and became a postcard of Chinese architectural civilization.
Xiangshan Gang adheres to the spirit of ingenuity of craftsmen and inherits a century-old civilization. As the originator of the Xiangshan Gang, Mr. Ku Xiang dedicated all his energy in his later years. The architectural achievements of southern Jiangsu and even the whole country may be inextricably linked to this originator. The thing is whisked away, and the merit and name are hidden deeply. Later generations did not write much ink on the deeds of this ancestor, and even his name rarely appeared in historical records.
The story of Ku Xiang is also mostly passed down by word of mouth. During his lifetime, He built royal buildings and devoted himself to the development of the construction craftsmanship of the imperial court at the age of 84. After The Death of Qu Xiang, the imperial court gave him the supreme courtesy of "giving three generations and two sons of Yin". The Chengtianmen Gate, which he was responsible for building, or today's Tiananmen Square, has become a landmark building for generations of Chinese people.
He was not only responsible for the construction of the Beijing Imperial Palace, but also the Beijing Xiyuan Temple, namely the Beihai, Zhonghai, Nanhai, and Yuling Tombs, which he was responsible for supervising. Nowadays, in the search for the character of Pu Xiang in history, in addition to the sporadic written records in the history books, there are also very few character images. Preserved in the Museum of Chinese History, there is a map of the Palace City of the Ming Dynasty. In the miyagi map, there is a person standing in front of the Chengtian Gate, and according to historians, this person is most likely the builder of the Chengtian Gate - Ku Xiang.
In the history of China, it is precisely because of such ingenious and great figures as Pu Xiang that the architectural works that have been handed down today have been handed down today. They are also like historical monuments, which have always inspired us modern people to uphold our original intentions, study skills, and silently contribute to the motherland.
Source: Today's Headlines