Old Beijing Architecture · Glazed Tiles

Author: Tian Xutong/Hou Fang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Beijing is a cultural ancient city rooted in over 3,000 years of history. Since the Jin Dynasty, when it became the capital of a feudal dynasty, it has had a history of more than 700 years as a capital. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the city was built from earthen brick walls into a magnificent convex-shaped city surrounded by blue brick walls. The layout of the old Beijing city is quite complete. Historical records state: "In the Yongle era, Beijing was established as the capital, and Beiping was renamed Shuntianfu. The construction of the capital city covered an area of 40 li around it, with nine gates." The southern part was the outer city, and the northern part was the inner city. Centered around the main buildings of the Imperial Palace—Taihe Hall, Zhonghe Hall, and Baohe Hall—a north-south axis was formed, stretching from Yongding Gate in the south to the Bell and Drum Towers in the north. According to the traditional custom of "left for ancestors and right for earth gods," the left side was the Imperial Ancestral Temple (now the Working People's Cultural Palace), and the right side was the Altar of Land and Grain (now Zhongshan Park). In the four cardinal directions, there was the Temple of Heaven to the south, the Temple of Earth to the north, the Temple of the Sun to the east, and the Temple of the Moon to the west. Additionally, the buildings where emperors and princes played, temples, shrines, royal gardens, and mausoleums not only occupied vast areas and were grand in scale but also featured exquisite materials and layouts. Their roofs were covered with colorful glazed tiles and delicate glaze decorations. Against the backdrop of the gray siheyuan-style houses of officials and commoners, these buildings stood out, showcasing the unique beauty of traditional Chinese architecture and symbolizing the inviolable status of imperial power as divinely granted.