The Architectural Structure of Tiananmen Square

The architecture of Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square is located on the traditional central axis of Beijing, which is composed of two parts: the tower and the tower. It is dignified and imposing. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Tiananmen Square was the main entrance of the imperial city, with five gates and nine towers, with a height of 33.87 meters. After renovation in 197, it reached 34.7 meters.

Gate Tower

(1) The Tiananmen Gate Tower is a traditional double-eaved hilltop building in China, that is, it is composed of four inclined top surfaces, one straight ridge, four vertical ridges, four ridges (the lower end of the vertical ridge is folded), and the upper parts of inclined planes on both sides are turned into vertical triangular walls, forming a mixed form of two-slope and four-slope roofs. Therefore, it is known as "eight eaves and nine ridges". The gate tower is a wooden structure, and under the cornices of the main hall are ordered bucket arches and beams. Bucket arch is unique in the traditional wooden frame system in China, and it is a wooden component with the characteristics of warping, arching and arching, which is composed of bucket-shaped wooden bow crossbars. Liang Fang is divided into forehead Fang and eaves Fang. Below the bucket arch is the forehead Fang with colorful paintings and golden dragon patterns on it. The components between columns are called eaves Fang, and there will be golden dragon and seal patterns.

(2) The main building of the tower is divided into upper and lower floors. The upper floor is a towering tower with double eaves and a yellow glazed tile roof. It is nine meters wide from east to west and five rooms deep from north to south, which symbolizes the dignity of the emperor. There are 36 rhombic doors and windows on the front. Most of the wood used in the tower is nanmu, and there are 6 red lacquer wood columns with a diameter of 92 cm in the main hall, which bear most of the gravity of the roof building. Arranged neatly, there are algae wells and beams on the top of the column, painted with auspicious colorful paintings of Jinlong and dragon patterns. The 36 doors and windows on the front are in the traditional rhombic pattern of China, the ceiling caisson on the roof is painted with dragon patterns, and the beams criss-crossing the halls are painted with golden dragons and seals; Seventeen quaint large palace lanterns, the largest of which is called the main lantern, have eight faces, with a total height of 6 meters, a diameter of 2.8 meters and a weight of about 45 kilograms; The remaining 16 lamps are six auxiliary lamps, each 6 meters high, 2.2 meters in diameter and weighing about 35 kilograms. There is an umbrella lamp in the corner of each lamp. The ground is covered with all the gold bricks, covering an area of about 2 square meters. The front and vertical ridges of the roof are decorated with kisses, immortals and animals.

(3) The lower floor is a scarlet podium with a height of 13 meters, surrounded by low walls capped with glazed tiles, and the lower part is a beautifully carved white marble pedestal with a height of 1.59 meters. The pedestal is a red pier with a height of more than 1 meters, which is made of big bricks weighing 43 kilograms each. There are white marble railings and fences around the base of the tower, carved with lotus vase patterns.

city platform

The total area of the city platform is 4,8 square meters, and there is a stairway with a length of 1 steps on the east and west sides for going up and down the tower, commonly known as "Ma Dao". There are also five arched doorways. The middle doorway is the largest, with a height of 8.82 meters and a width of 5.25 meters. Only the emperor can enter and exit. There are five gates under the city gate, and the largest gate in the middle is located on the central axis of Beijing Imperial City. In the past, only the emperor could enter and exit from this gate. There is a huge portrait of Mao Zedong hanging above the middle doorway, with two large slogans on both sides.

Overview of Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square, located in the center of Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, at the southern end of the Forbidden City, faces Tiananmen Square, the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao, the Great Hall of the People and the National Museum of China across Chang 'an Avenue, covering an area of 4,8 square meters, attracting worldwide attention for its outstanding architectural art and special political status.

Tiananmen Square is the main entrance of Beijing Imperial City in Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was built in the 15th year of Yongle in Ming Dynasty (1417). It was originally named as "Chengtianmen", which means "to inherit heaven's luck and be ordered by heaven". The designer is Kuai Xiang, an imperial architect in the Ming Dynasty. In the eighth year of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty (1651), it was renamed Tiananmen Square. It consists of two parts: the tower and the tower. It has the Sumi seat of white marble, with a total height of 34.7 meters. The Tiananmen Gate Tower is 66 meters long and 37 meters wide. There are five gates under the city gate, and the largest gate in the middle is located on the central axis of Beijing Imperial City. In the past, only the emperor could enter and exit from this gate. There is a portrait of Mao Zedong hanging above the middle doorway, with big slogans of "Long live the Chinese people and the country" and "Long live the great unity of the people of the world" on both sides.

On October 1th, 14th year of the Republic of China (1925), the Palace Museum was established, and Tiananmen Square began to open to the public. On October 1, 1949, the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China was held here, which was designed into the national emblem and became a symbol of the People's Republic of China. In 1961, the People's Republic of China and the State Council were declared as one of the first national key cultural relics protection units.

characteristics of the city gate

a portrait of Mao Zedong hangs above the central doorway of Tiananmen Square, with large slogans of "Long live the Chinese people and the country" and "Long live the great unity of the people of the world" on both sides. The hanging portrait of Mao Zedong is elegant, which is the representative work of traditional architectural art in China.

cultural relics

(1) wooden box in Jin Sinan

The Tiananmen Gate Tower is made of wood except for the brick-concrete base. In the 196s, when the reconstruction team counted the ridge tiles at the highest ridge tile in Tiananmen Square, it was unexpectedly found that there was a Jin Sinan wooden box hidden in the yellow glazed ridge tile, and the glazed tile was changed to 6 cm thick and 8 cm wide. After the workers chopped it up, a 3 cm square wooden box was exposed, on which a pair of exquisite carved patterns of Erlong play beads were clearly revealed. The wooden box was crisp after the workers pricked it with a crowbar. There is a thumb-sized ruby and cinnabar hidden in the wooden box. In addition, there are multicolored grains, such as soybeans, sorghum, black beans, millet and corn. Some of the items are indistinguishable, and everything in Jin Sinan's wooden box was later turned over to the state treasury.

(2) Shells

When the shell of Tiananmen Gate was demolished, a worker took out a complete shell with a diameter of 9.5 cm and a height of about 45 cm, and the headquarters immediately instructed the public security department to take it away together with the surrounding soil for research. Later, in the demolition, six shells with the same specifications were successively fired, and these seven shells were always a mystery.

status value

Tianan Panorama Gate was the place where emperors issued imperial edicts in Ming and Qing dynasties. Known as the "imperial edict issued by the golden phoenix", Tiananmen Square should be opened in case of major celebrations such as the new emperor's accession to the throne and wedding, and the emperor's parents entering the palace. Only when offering sacrifices to heaven, land and grain every year can you enter and leave through this door. In addition, major ceremonies such as the wedding of the emperor, the flag-offering when the generals went out to war, the road-offering when the royal family marched, and the autumn trial of the punishments were also held here. At the same time, it is also a place for the "Golden Temple".

The Tiananmen Gate Tower is a rare masterpiece in ancient architecture, with its steady appearance and beautiful curves. Its ingenious structural layout and exquisite construction technology have condensed the wisdom and great creation of the working people in China for thousands of years, and concentrated on their superb architectural level and artistic expression. It is not only a brilliant masterpiece in the history of ancient palace architecture in China, but also a symbol of the long history of Chinese civilization.

After p>1949, Tiananmen Square has become a symbol of modern China and has been designed into the national emblem. Tiananmen Square, with its heavy historical connotation of more than 5 years, highly concentrated ancient Chinese civilization and modern civilization, is also a symbol of new China and an unparalleled political attention and longing, and has become a place that people of all ethnic groups in the world and China yearn for.

traffic information

① take Beijing metro line 1 and get off at Tiananmen east on bus No.1, No.5, No.1, No.2 and No.52.

② take beijing subway line 2 and get off at the front door of bus No.9, No.17, No.22, No.44, No.59, No.66, No.67, No.69, No.71, No.12, No.673, No.93, No.622, No.68, No.91, No.2, No.4 and No.BRT1.