The beginning and end of Beijing's
"Forbidden City" reconstruction plans
Wang Jun
On October 14, 2005, Zheng Xin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture and President of the Palace Museum, published an article "Looking Back, Inspection and Prospect - Written on the 80th Anniversary of the Founding of the Palace Museum" in Guangming Daily, disclosed: "In the early 1960s, someone proposed that the Forbidden City was vast and sparsely populated. It's backward construction, it should be right.
It was transformed; in the early stage of the Cultural Revolution, there was also an absurd and terrible 'rectification plan' in the Forbidden City.
For these little-known historical facts, the article has not been elaborated, but it is already surprising: how did such a thing happen?
A confusing nightmare
Zheng Xi's book "Eighty Years of the Palace Museum" was released in October 2005. It mentions other topics covered in an article of the same name.
"Build an east-west road inside the Forbidden City and transform the Wenhua Hall and Wuying Hall into entertainment places" was the renovation concept that was put forth in the early 1960s.
The "rectification plan" for the "Cultural Revolution" calls for "erecting two large placards in front of the Taihe Hall, one east and one west, the Taihe Hall, which is more than 18 meters high in ancient height, and using it to overwhelm the 'king spirit'; the Taihe Hall's throne should be moved down and sealed; the statue of a farmer with guns should be shaped on the throne, with the muzzle aimed at the overthrown emperor." The emperor's temporary resting spot, which was neutral and served as a place of repose before to the Taihe Hall ceremony, was transformed into a "people's lounge." Additionally, all the palaces and doorways that symbolized feudal consciousness were destroyed. The 'People's Lounge' has been set up, the projects in these plans have been completed, and the rest have been overlooked since they are too busy to handle them.
He analyzed: "The architecture of the Forbidden City is magnificent and magnificent, and most of the Forbidden City is a treasure, so the Palace Museum was established. But the Forbidden City is also a feudal palace. In the minds of many revolutionaries who oppose the overthrow of the imperial system by feudalism, there is always a shadow that lingers: is it right to value the Forbidden City so much? Is the protection of the Forbidden City consistent with the anti-feudal purpose?
Jing Hengyi, a member of the National Government, proposed in 1928 to "abolish the Palace Museum and auction or remove all items of the Palace respectively," claiming that the museum was engaged in "the study of how to equip the palace and the things used by the emperor." The palace is only Tianzi's first reverse production. "Isn't it preparing to be the emperor in the future and set up a preparatory office for the ceremony in advance?" one may ask. It is appropriate to auction reverse production. Hengyi's suggestion sparked a contentious debate before the National Government sent a letter requesting reconsideration to the Central Political Conference. Ultimately, the plan was rejected.
"Yet Jing's perspective has not vanished." Since the People's Republic of China was established, this line of thinking has never stopped and is frequently articulated in a variety of ways. Treating our history and traditions with respect remains its fundamental aspect. Though the state values the Palace Museum highly, many people are still astounded by the relationship that exists between the palace, the emperor, and the "feudal" class.
"The Forbidden City will start to be rebuilt"
In September 1958, the Beijing Master Plan (Draft) stated: "The Forbidden City will start to be rebuilt."
The "Planning Instructions" specifically proposes: "Organize Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Zhongshan Park, Cultural Palace, Jingshan, Beihai, Shichahai, Jishuitan, Qiansanmen moat and other places, demolish some houses, expand the green area, and make it a large garden in the city center, and enjoy the joy of millions of people at the festival. The place.
In 1959, the Beijing Municipal Urban Construction Commission proposed that "Tiananmen Square and some buildings in the Forbidden City" could be protected, and "the Forbidden City should be transformed into a mass cultural and rest place".
Previously, Mao Zedong delivered a speech at the Nanning Conference and the Supreme State Council in January 1958: "I feel uncomfortable with the houses in Beijing and Kaifeng." "The walls of Nanjing, Jinan and Changsha have been demolished very well, and the old houses in Beijing and Kaifeng should all be turned into new houses."
Mao said this when he mentioned Zhang Xiruo twice. On May 1, 1957, Mao solicited the opinions of Zhang Xiruo, a political scientist and Minister of Education, on his work. Zhang summed up his usual feelings as "good joy, quick success, contempt for the past, and superstition in the future" and put it up in person.
"'Good joy to return', what is the great achievement, whether it is the great joy of the counter-revolution or the great joy of the revolution. It's not big, isn't it so small?" Mao said at the Nanning meeting, "China's revolution, such a big cooperative, such a big rectification, are all great achievements, and they don't like merit. Have you liked it?' Be eager for quick success and quick profit. Don't work hard. Do you want to pass? It's not good for the people. Is it harmful? Isn't it good to despise the past, despise the little feet, and despise the braids?
Mao set the tone: "Antiques should not be bad, nor too good. Beijing demolished the archway, made a hole in the gate, and also cried. This is a political issue.
On April 14, 1958, Zhou Enlai sent a letter to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to convey the spirit of the executive meeting of the State Council, proposing that "according to the instructions of Chairman Mao, the urban landscape of Beijing should be completely changed in the next few years." After that, Beijing quickly formulated a plan to complete the reconstruction of the old city for about ten years, and the "Forbidden City should start reconstruction" was immediately proposed.
Tao Zongzhen, the architect of the Beijing Municipal Urban Planning Administration, recalled the speech of a leader of the bureau at that time: "He said, why can't it exceed the ancient times? Tiananmen Square can demolish and build the State Council building to give a powerful blow to the feudal and backward things!"
"At that time, Peng Zhen said that the Forbidden City was built for the emperor. Can it be changed into a central government office building? Have you ever thought about it? The technician drew a few strokes casually and didn't take it seriously. During the Cultural Revolution, this matter was found out. Some people said that you were going to build a palace for Liu Shaoqi. In fact, what Peng Zhen said is actually what the chairman said. Zhou Yongyuan, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Urban Planning Administration, made such an explanation to the author before his death.
(and did not enter the palace)
Zhang Xiruo, who made Mao Zedong angry, once took the People's Liberation Army cadres to ask Liang Sicheng, an architect and professor of Tsinghua University, to draw a map of Beiping cultural relics when he was forced to attack the city on December 18, 1948.
The day before this, Mao personally drafted a telegram from the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China to the General Committee of the Pingjin Campaign, demanding full attention to the protection of the Beiping Industrial Zone and cultural monuments.
On January 16, 1949, Mao again drafted a telegram from the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China on the protection of cultural monuments in Peiping, which mentioned the Forbidden City: "This In the second siege, a precise plan must be made to avoid destroying the Forbidden City, universities and other famous and valuable cultural monuments. On January 31, 1949, Beiping was peacefully liberated, and the capital planning was launched immediately. Liang Sicheng, who participated in the planning work, disagreed with the Soviet experts invited to Beijing to guide the work. Liang Sicheng and Chen Zhanxiang, an urban planning expert, jointly proposed that the central administrative region should be built in the western area outside the ancient city in order to achieve balanced development between the old and the new. Soviet experts proposed that the central administrative region should be built in the central area of the ancient city and start the reconstruction of the ancient city. Mao supported the latter.
Ancient buildings such as city walls, towers and archways in Beijing have begun to be demolished one after another. In August 1952, the left gate of Chang'an and the right gate of Chang'an on the east and west sides of Tiananmen Square were demolished. In May 1956, the Beijing Municipal Planning Bureau and the Beijing Municipal Road Engineering Bureau repaired Zhushi Street (now East Fourth West Street and Wusi Street) to the north entrance of Beichang Street, and demolished the Xili Pavilion and archway in front of the Dagao Xuan Hall, the north doorway of the Forbidden City and The east-west houses and the increasingly fierce demolition of the ancient city finally led to Zhang Xiruo confess his opinion to Mao Zedong in 1957.
Mao Zedong had a relationship with the Forbidden City. Yi Peiji, a teacher at Hunan Provincial First Normal School in his early years, became the president of the Palace Museum in 1929. In December 1919, Mao Zedong led a delegation to Beijing to petition the expulsion of Hunan warlord Zhang Jingyao, who lived at the foot of the Forbidden City.
In April 1954, Mao Zedong climbed the wall of the Forbidden City three times in four days.
On the afternoon of April 18, 1954, Mao took a bus to Shenwumen of the Forbidden City, from Dongdeng Road to the Shenwumen Tower, along the city wall to the northeast corner tower to the south, through the Donghua Gate and the southeast corner tower, to the Meridian Gate, from the Wumen Tower to the city wall, back to Zhongnanhai.
On the afternoon of April 20, Mao took a bus to the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, climbed the Meridian Gate Tower, visited the exhibition of cultural relics unearthed in the historical museum there, and went down to the tower and returned to Zhongnanhai.
On the afternoon of April 21, Mao took a bus to Shenwumen of the Forbidden City. He went west along the city wall from the Shenwu Gate Tower on Xideng Road, and went through the northwest corner tower, Xihua Gate and southwest corner building to the Meridian Gate.
After three routes, the Chairman just took a detour on the wall of the Forbidden City. This is the only record of Mao Zedong's three times to the Forbidden City, and these three times he only climbed the wall and did not enter the palace.
How does Chairman Mao feel about walking slowly on the wall? Did he think of the plan to rebuild the Forbidden City? Why didn't he walk in the Forbidden City?
No one knows the inside story.
"Plan to remove dross buildings"
In October 1952, the Beijing Municipal Government held a meeting to discuss the project. Liang Sicheng recorded the opinion of a speaker in his notebook: "I don't agree with the central government in Tiananmen."
In July 1953, the Beijing Municipal Construction Department and the district committees expressed their opinions on urban planning. Most of the people advocated the demolition of the city wall, believing that the Forbidden City was enough to protect antiquities, and proposed that "the main organs of the Central Committee are distributed in the inner ring, extending the Party Central Committee and the Central People's Government to the south of Tiananmen Square, and losing the Forbidden City. Build high-rise buildings in the back and around it, forming a pressure.
In 1955, Liang Sicheng's architectural ideas were criticized. He Zuoxu, who was working in the Central Propaganda Department at that time, published a critical article in the magazine Learning, saying: "Why is the urban construction of the old Beijing city without even any shortcomings? For example, the city walls of Beijing have greatly hindered the traffic in the suburbs and in Beijing, so that we have to open up many gaps in the city wall. For example, there is a large Forbidden City in Beijing, so that pedestrians have to take a detour, and the traffic is very inconvenient.
The "three-year difficulties" in the "Great Leap Forward" period forced Beijing's plan to rebuild the Forbidden City in 1958 and complete the reconstruction of the old city in about a decade. However, during this period, the Palace Museum put forward a "plan to remove dross buildings" - while implementing the repair and finishing of ancient buildings step by step, it also began to plan the reconstruction project to prepare for the clean-up and demolition of some "dross" buildings in the courtyard that do not reflect the "people's nature".
The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture put forward a request: "(1) If it can be used temporarily, it may not be demolished; (2) Select a few typical places to retain the houses and duty rooms where the palace servants (eunuches, maids, etc.) lived in the past, and mark the text description, so as to compare with the emperor's luxury life and level the audience. Level education; (3) When dismantling indoor walls, attention should be paid to the safety of buildings; (4) materials that can be used, attention should be paid to protection when demolition, and should be properly preserved and used after demolition; (5) Demolisted buildings should be taken.
The implementation of the plan is that "a number of dross buildings such as Jiangxuexuan Shed, Yangxing Zhai Shuan, Jihui Pavilion, Luqi, Jianfumen, Huifeng Pavilion, etc. will be demolished within a year."
The reconstruction plan was brought up again.
In 1964, the Report on Beijing's Urban Construction mentioned the reconstruction plan of East and West Chang'an Street, and the reconstruction plan of the Forbidden City was put up again and studied. Opening up an east-west road in the Forbidden City is only one of the plans.
Wu Han, Vice Mayor of Beijing, changed the construction of the Forbidden City in his article "Talking about Beijing City":
The historical development of Beijing City tells us that neither the city construction, the political center, the street layout, the height of the house, etc. are immutable. The opposite conclusion is that it must be changed. We must have such a historical understanding so that we can not be shrouded in the shadow of our predecessors and move forward in a healthy way.
In 1964, after six design units came up with a plan, Beijing held an exhibition, and the reconstruction plan of the Forbidden City was exhibited in the internal room. Several schemes are internally discussed and do not form decisions and facts. Liu Ren, the Second Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, looked at the reconstruction plan of the Forbidden City and left with a smile.
During the exhibition, Wu Han listened to the guests in the Oriole Hall in the Summer Palace, and some city leaders and planners were present. During the banquet, Wu Han talked about the Forbidden City and quoted the scriptures, saying that the Forbidden City has been changing since ancient times. Pu Yi also sawed off the threshold of the Forbidden City for cycling.
The Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture of Tsinghua University in January 1965, the Collected Collection of Discussion on Teaching Thoughts (1) included an article entitled "Analyzing the Architectural Art of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square from a Class Perspective", saying that "the Forbidden City has no 'people's nature'" and "Today, the working people are the masters, and the Forbidden City is no longer feudal rule. The palace of the class has become the wealth of the people, so we also transform it and use it to serve today's socialism.
The article lists the views of the "working people" on the Forbidden City: "It's empty and loose, with a broken chair on the stage and looking at the 'greasy'! It's more tiring than marching!" What we are not interested in is just not suitable for our needs." With a stack of big wood, they can build fifty rooms. It can only build one room, and it can't stay for a few people!" It occupies such a large space, and it is still in the middle of the city." In the past, some of us were scared by the architectural style of the Forbidden City and fell at the feet of the feudal emperors, and we still haven't got up yet." Such a big country should have a good center.
"Smash the Forbidden City!"
In 1966, the "Cultural Revolution" broke out, and the reconstruction plan of the Forbidden City was listed as the "crime evidence" that the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China wanted to give Liu Shaoqi the palace.
In the reconstruction plan, the Forbidden City did not have peace. On May 23, 1966, the clay sculpture "rent collection house" exhibition opened in the Shenwumen Tower, and then moved to the Fengxian Hall of the Forbidden City to continue the exhibition. For this reason, from June to July 1966, the I-shaped hall of Fengxian Hall was changed to a square. The statue of Mao Zedong was hung in the Fengxian Hall. The silk furnace used for the sacrifice of ancestors in the Qing Dynasty in front of the hall was considered to be inconsistent with the content of the exhibition and was demolished.
On August 3, 1966, eleven clay statues and a pair of clay-shaped horses in the Forbidden City God Temple were destroyed. On August 16, except for the "rent collection house" exhibition, all other parts of the Forbidden City were closed and closed.
The marble door plaque of the Palace Museum is covered by paper, and the ink pen book "Blood and Tears Palace" is three words; on the brick wall outside the Shenwu Gate, "Burning the Forbidden City!!!" Smash the Forbidden City!" The big-character newspaper is posted.
The "rectification plan" of the Forbidden City was immediately released. The forehead of the door of Shunzhen Gate, Tianyi Gate, Wenhua Hall and Qianlong Garden was removed, and the throne of Zhonghe Hall was demolished.
Other projects of the "rectification plan" have not been implemented, that is, they encountered the tide of "criticizing the bourgeois reactionary line". In May, they entered the Palace Museum and led the staff of the military propaganda team to criticize the "black line" and implement the "red line". In a blink of an eye, they became the object of criticism and struggle. In October, they had to withdraw from the Forbidden City, "the rectification party The case is over.
On May 26, 1967, Premier Zhou Enlai sent a battalion from the Beijing Garrison to the Palace Museum to implement military protection to protect the Palace and cultural relics from direct destruction.
In 1970, five rooms in front of the Qin'an Hall of the Forbidden City were demolished (restored in 2005).
In July 1971, the Palace Museum reopened. The museum compiled the Introduction to the Forbidden City and printed the "Quotations of Chairman Mao": "You see, for thousands of years, the palaces of those feudal emperors were not strong? The crowd came together and fell down one by one.
On March 27, 1973, due to the need of Luoyang White Horse Temple to receive Prince Sihanouk, according to the instructions of the superiors, all the cultural relics of the Great Buddha Hall of the Cining Palace of the Forbidden City were transferred to Luoyang White Horse Temple and have not been returned so far. When carrying cultural relics, the architectural paintings of the Great Buddha Hall of Cining Palace were destroyed.
In 1972, the East Building of the Beijing Hotel, which was designed with a height of more than 100 meters, was built on the east side of the Forbidden City. During the construction, it was found that it constituted a peep into the South China Sea, and the height of the East Building was reduced to 876 meters. On February 10, 1974, with the approval of the State Council, five obstructive buildings began construction on the north and south sides of the Xihua Gate of the Forbidden City. The following year Completed on November 22.
Previously, it was suggested that the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City should be raised to act as a shield, which was rejected by Zhou Enlai.
Zhou Enlai proposed that the height of the old city of Beijing should not exceed 45 meters.
"Lu Dingyi rushed and angrily protected the Forbidden City!"
"Lu Dingyi protected the Forbidden City and made great contributions!" Referring to the reconstruction plan of the Forbidden City that year, Xie Chensheng, a consultant of the China Society for the Protection of Cultural Relics, said.
Wang Yeqiu, then director of the Cultural Heritage Bureau, was notified by the meeting of the Central Propaganda Department that the topic was to discuss the reconstruction plan of the Forbidden City. Wang Yeqiu became angry as soon as he heard it and refused to attend. Xie Chensheng recalled, "Later, when he saw me, he regretted it and said that he really should attend that meeting!" I thought that the meeting held by the Central Propaganda Department had been set, but it turned out to be a meeting to protect the Forbidden City. Lu Ding gave the plan to it!"
What Lu Dingyi left out was the plan to open a road in the Forbidden City. This road is planned to cross from Xihua Gate to Donghua Gate, and the two halls of Wenhua and Wuying will be used as entertainment places. Xie Chensheng said, "The plan was proposed by Beijing. The two major reasons for reconstruction are that the Forbidden City is 'the land is vast and sparsely populated, and the feudalism is backward'."
At this meeting, Lu Dingyi was furious. Lu Dingyi said,
"'feudal backward', the Forbidden City is feudal backwardness. If it is not feudal backward, how can it be called the Forbidden City? The land is vast and sparsely populated. What's wrong with leaving a place for the people to visit and rest? In my opinion, don't light the light bulb in the Forbidden City for 10,000 years. Our cadres above the department level of the Central Propaganda Department are all 'Royalists'!"
At that time, the opinion of two central leaders was to dismantle the Forbidden City to repair the road, but Lu Dingyi's advice made the Forbidden City safe.
On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Palace Museum, Lu De, the son of Lu Dingyi, wrote in Beijing Daily:
"Regarding the protection of the Forbidden City, my father said: In the 1950s and 1960s, in order to carry out construction, Beijing needed to demolish some ancient buildings. Some experts and scholars disagree, and some have cried bitterly about it. We reported this situation to the Chairman (Mao), who said: 'These old and young people, when the subjugated slaves (Note: when Japan invaded and occupied Beijing) they did not cry, and demolished several archways, they would cry?!' No one dares to reflect this kind of thing easily in the future. It seems that in order to protect the Forbidden City, my father took a great political risk in the early 1960s."
***
(Extracted from Reading Library 0602, May 2006 edition of Tongxin Publishing House)