On August 1, 1952, the construction of the Monument to the People's Heroes in Beijing began.
The design of the monument was presided over by the famous architect Mr. Liang Sicheng.
**The chairman personally attended the groundbreaking ceremony, and he also shoveled soil to lay the foundation stone for the monument.
By May 1, 1958, the Monument to the People's Heroes was officially completed, and the construction period took nearly six years.
Nowadays, as long as the students who have traveled to Beijing (or from TV), they can see the Monument to the People's Heroes standing in front of the East and West Chang'an Avenue, which is so majestic and majestic.
This monument is also the largest monument in China to date.
However, in the more than 60 years since the completion of the Monument to the People's Heroes in 1958, many people have not understood:The orientation of the Monument to the People's Heroes does not conform to the Chinese tradition of sitting north and facing south, so why sit south and face north?
In fact, the reason why the Monument to the People's Heroes changed its original design orientation is closely related to the eight characters of ***.
Of course, an "unconventional" proposal made by the Prime Minister when he was approving the design plan ultimately became a key incentive for the Monument to the People's Heroes to change its direction.
So, ** and *** two great men, why did they change the direction of the monument to the "unconventional" sitting south and facing north?
In order to commemorate the revolutionary martyrs who died in China's revolutionary struggles since 1840.
On September 30, 1949, on the eve of the founding ceremony, the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference made a resolution: Construction of a monument to the people's heroes in the capital Beijing.
Although a resolution was passed to build a monument to the heroes, where was the monument built in Beijing?The CPPCC members all have different opinions.
Some comrades proposed: Can be built in Beijing's Dongdan Square. Dongdan Square is a relatively large square in Beijing, which is a commercial center, which can make it easy for tourists from all over the country to visit Beijing to pay homage to the Monument to the People's Heroes.
Some comrades proposed to erect a monument at Babaoshan in the western suburbs of Beijing for the following reasons:: The revolutionary martyrs are already martyrs, and Babaoshan is going to establish a revolutionary martyrs memorial.
It was built there to commemorate other martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country in the future.
There are also comrades who advocateThe Monument to the People's Heroes was built in Tiananmen Square, the largest square in Beijing, and the Monument to the People's Heroes should have been built here.
In addition, Tiananmen Square is the political center of China, and the construction here makes the monument more solemn and increases the people's admiration for the people's heroesThe monument to the Heroes of the Soviet Union was built on Red Square.
Therefore, under the "one-sided" foreign policy at that time, many comrades believed that they should learn Xi from the Soviet Union and build a monument to the heroes on the largest square in the capital of Beijing.
Fortunately, many CPPCC members have been arguing endlessly about the location of the People's Heroes Monument, and everyone has different opinions.
** After some careful consideration, the Prime Minister put forward his opinion"Tiananmen Square is the birthplace of the May Fourth Movement, and it is also a place of admiration for the people of the whole country and the world, so the Monument to the People's Heroes should be built in Tiananmen Square. ”
Most of the CPPCC members were reminded of the glorious years in their memories.
So everyone agrees with the opinion put forward by the Prime Minister that the Monument to the People's Heroes should be built in Tiananmen Square.
The question of the location of the monument was thus completely settled.
After deciding to erect a monument in Tiananmen Square, the First Chinese Political Consultative Conference immediately decided that at 6 p.m. on September 30, 1949, Chairman ** led all CPPCC members to Tiananmen Square to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the monument.
Since it's a ritual, it has to have a theme.
The leaders of the Communist Party of China and democrats spoke enthusiastically again on how to "concisely and comprehensively summarize the theme of the monument".
At this time, ** said: "The monument to the people's heroes was erected to commemorate the dead and inspire the living. ”
**I agree with this sentence very much.
Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) all believe that although the words spoken are only eight words, they have highly summarized the significance of establishing a monument to the people's heroes.
Since the pearl and jade are in front, everyone should not clumsily continue to throw bricks and jade.
In accordance with the eight-character monument theme of "commemorating the dead and inspiring the living" proposed by the People's Heroes, the groundbreaking ceremony of the People's Heroes Monument was successfully held.
The groundbreaking ceremony was presided over by ***, who delivered a speech on behalf of the presidium of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, once again emphasizing the "commemoration of the dead and inspiration of the living".
**After the speech, all CPPCC members took off their hats and mourned for the revolutionary martyrs.
** Read the inscription aloud in Tiananmen Square, pick up the shovel with your own hands, dig the first shovel of soil, and all the CPPCC members followed with the shovel to shovel the soil.
At this point, the foundation stone of the Monument to the People's Heroes was officially laid.
However, at that time, New China was in ruins, and the leaders had too many things to deal with.
In addition, the construction of the Monument to the People's Heroes is not an overnight thing, and it is necessary to plan various details as a whole, including the theme of the monument and the specific construction plan.
In order to build a monument to the people's heroes, it is proposed to establish a committee for the construction of the monument to the people's heroes.
Beijing Mayor Peng Zhen served as the chairman of the committee, and Zheng Zhenduo and Liang Sicheng served as vice chairmenMr. Liang Sicheng is the main person in charge of the Monument to the People's Heroes.
**Specifically presentedAfter the construction committee comes up with a preliminary plan, it will also solicit the opinions of the leaders of the Communist Party of China, and pay special attention to soliciting the opinions of democratic parties and democrats. ”
Next, the construction committee solicited a wide range of design proposals for the Monument to the People's Heroes from all over the country.
** Painstakingly summoned representatives of many democratic parties and democrats to Beijing to discuss with them the relevant plans for the construction of a monument to the people's heroes.
Under the personal investigation of ***, the construction committee carefully selected eight from the more than 240 design proposals collected.
After much deliberation, everyone unanimously agreed to Plan No. 7.
The monument in this plan is erected in Tiananmen Square, which is square in shape and has a construction area of about 3,000 square meters.
The monument is divided into three parts: the stele body, the vajra seat, and the pedestal.
From the ground to the top of the monument is 3794 meters, 4 meters higher than Tiananmen Square opposite the monument24 meters.
The pedestal is divided into two layers, surrounded by white marble railings, and the lower Donkey Kong seat is made of white marble, with a waist height of two meters.
**Very happy with this design solution.
Later, it was unanimously approved by the leading comrades of the Communist Party of China, democrats of various democratic parties, and design experts, and was highly evaluated.
The overall design plan was decided, and it was submitted to *** for approval, and there was no opinion at all.
At that time, *** also jokingly said to ***"Enlai, you are not a professional designer, but why can you come up with such a good overall plan like a master who has worked on the construction site for many years?"”
The Prime Minister just smiled and waved his hand and didn't say anything more.
** Quick-witted, coupled with years of dedication to the liberation of the Chinese nation, experienced many arduous struggles, and has a high admiration for the martyrs who sacrificed.
Because of this, ** has a deep understanding of the theme of the monument to the people's heroes.
He also found time out of his busy schedule to study many design options and some basic knowledge of architecture.
Combined with the research of experts and scholars, such a very good overall plan was proposed.
On August 1, 1952, the construction of the Monument to the People's Heroes officially began, and the construction committee immediately began to organize the creation of the monument relief.
**Among the candidates who were reported, it was determined that Liu Kaiqu would be asked to preside over the design of the monument relief.
At the beginning of 1953, he sent three urgent telegrams in the name of ***, and seconded Comrade Liu Kaiqu, then chairman of the Shanghai Artists Association, dean of the East China Branch of the Hangzhou ** Academy of Fine Arts, and vice mayor of Hangzhou, to work in Beijing.
After receiving the telegram, Liu Kaiqu immediately went to Beijing to serve as the head of the design department and the sculpture group of the Monument to the People's Heroes.
After the sculpture group began to work, **proposed:"Comrades, don't be in a hurry to create things right away, but first study Xi have a comprehensive understanding of the history of the Chinese revolution.
It is also necessary to go out and walk more, to observe some other places in the motherland where the reliefs have been left, to fully absorb the nutrients, to refer to the latest foreign creative achievements, and only after preparing all the work before creating, so that we can get twice the result with half the effort. ”
Under the organization of ***, the sculpture team read the history of Xu ** and modern history books.
He successively went to Yungang Grottoes, Tianlongshan Grottoes, Taiyuan Jin Temple Colored Sculptures, Kaifeng, Xuzhou, Jinan and other places to inspect the ancient Chinese carving art.
In the end, the monument sculpture group created dozens of works that reflect the history of the Chinese revolution in the past 100 years.
**From these more than 10 works, eight reliefs of major historical themes such as the burning of opium in more than 100 years of people's struggle, the Wuchang Uprising, the "May Fourth" Movement, the Nanchang Uprising, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the liberation of the whole country were selected.
The relevant plan has been determined, and the relevant departments have been particularly emphasized"The selection and construction of the monument to the people's heroes must be very strict, the materials selected must be the best in the country, and the construction technology must be excellent. ”
In the most critical selection of the stone stele, the name of the first nationwide collection.
After the document was issued, many alternative stones were reported from all over the country, all of which were excellent materials for making monuments.
The construction committee sent staff to these places to inspect one by one, and repeatedly compared and selected them, and in 1957, selected a large granite stone quarried from the golden summit of Fushan Mountain, Qingdao.
With the relief and the stele stone already made, the final step is to engrave the inscriptions on the front and back of the Monument to the People's Heroes.
This is a particularly important work, and if the inscription is not engraved well, the project will be in vain.
**Explicitly required at this time"Before the inscription is engraved, the craftsman must be carefully selected, and the inscription must be enlarged into a specimen according to the dimensions of the monument.
Only when the preparations are done well and foolproof, can the engraving be carried out on the main body of the monument. ”
In addition, after listening to the opinions of all parties, it was agreed that the monument should be carved in Yin.
It took nearly six years for the Monument to the People's Heroes to be completed in April 1958.
After receiving the report on the completion of the Monument to the People's Heroes, he immediately conveyed it to the others and other leading comrades.
** It was decided to hold the inauguration ceremony of the Monument to the People's Heroes on May 1, 1958 in Tiananmen Square.
This day is also a holiday for working people all over the world, and the majestic "March of the Volunteers" and "The Internationale" sounded in Tiananmen Square.
Party and state leaders walked to the monument to the people's heroes, and with a heavy heart, took off their hats and bowed to the monument, remembering the martyrs who sacrificed for the Chinese revolution.
The Monument to the People's Heroes stands in Tiananmen Square.
Walking all the way from East and West Chang'an Avenue to Tiananmen Square, you can see the tall and majestic monument in the distance.
However, according to Chinese tradition, whether a monument or a house is built, the front side is generally facing south, and the back side is facing north, that is, sitting north facing south.
The original design of the Monument to the People's Heroes was also based on this tradition, that is, the front side was facing south.
However, when discussing the design plan, many experts, scholars and democratic parties pointed out that there are many political rallies in Tiananmen Square, and there are many tourists in normal times, and most of them enter the square directly from the east and west Chang'an Avenue, and the first thing they see at the monument is the north side of the monument.
In this way, the eight characters of the people's heroes immortalized by **, if they are designed in the direction of sitting north and facing south, then they are all on the front of the monument (facing south).
Tourists also have to go around Chang'an Avenue, only
You can see the eight big characters on the monument, so it is better to change the direction of the monument, that is, to sit south and face north that does not conform to the convention.
Because New China has just been founded, many experts and scholars still have some old ideas, believing that the construction of monuments is a top priority and must be done in accordance with Chinese traditions.
The monument "sits in the south and faces north", which seems to be highlighting the eight big characters.
However, once the monument is changed to sit south and face north, it is not only inconsistent with Chinese tradition, but also makes visitors not know whether the monument is **front** or back.
Therefore, the two opinions could not be disputed.
One side believes that it should be in accordance with the Chinese tradition, that is, to sit in the north and face south;The other side believes that tradition should be abandoned and the south should be replaced by a north-facing sitting.
The monument construction committee did not dare to make an arbitrary decision, and at the end of 1954, it gave these two opinions back to *** for his decision.
**After careful consideration, it was determined that the north side of the monument is the front of the monument.
He patiently worked with the experts and scholars who disagreed"Since we build a monument to honor the dead and inspire the living, it's important that we let people see the front of the monument at first glance.
When you walk into Tiananmen Square, you can see the front of the monument at first glance and see the eight inscriptions of ***, which is the most important meaning of the monument.
We should proceed from reality and not affect the role of the monument because of the orientation. Besides, there are many monuments in other countries in the world that face north, or even west and east, so why do we in China have to abide by the old tradition and not change it?”
** persuaded the comrades who insisted that the front of the monument face south, and in this way, the plan for the construction of the monument facing north was decided.
In other words,If there is no pattern on the monument or the eight characters inscribed on it, it may be agreed that the monument will be set to sit in the north and face south.
As his old man said: If tourists from all over the world can see the reliefs on the monument at a glance from the east and west Chang'an Avenue, as well as the eight characters of the people's heroes immortal inscription, then the construction of the monument will become a little meaningless.
If those people's martyrs had spirits in heaven, they probably didn't want to see their descendants arguing over the direction of the monument.
They even have to stick to old traditions, which is not in line with their vision of breaking with the old system and embracing the new world.
On June 9, 1955, Chairman ** personally wrote an eight-character inscription for the center stone of the People's Heroes Monument: "The People's Heroes Are Immortal".
The inscription of "the people's heroes are immortal" was written in a total of three pieces.
The eight big characters on the monument we see today are rearranged by many experts, scholars and democrats at that time from the three characters written by *** himself.
It not only fully retains the charm of calligraphy, but also makes these eight characters look so flawless.
In addition, at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Monument to the People's Heroes, the inscription of the Monument to the People's Heroes was read.
This inscription, engraved on the back of the monument, was drafted by *** and written by ** himself.
According to the staff's recollections, since 1954, the first thing ** did when he got up every morning was to copy the inscription.
He wrote more than 50 times, and finally selected the one he was most satisfied with, and after getting to the construction site, he asked for the opinion of Liu Kaiqu, the leader of the monument carving group.
Liu Kaiqu said to ***"Prime Minister, I only saw your inscription before, and I have never seen you write so many words and such neat calligraphy works. ”
What Liu Kaiqu doesn't know is that in the Communist Party, the calligraphy skills of ** and *** are relatively famous.
In order to write the inscription well, ** take time out of your busy schedule to practice Xi writing again.
He first practiced writing each word in these inscriptions Xi, copied them repeatedly, then compared and pondered, and then practiced Xi coherent writing.
When it was written more than 50 times, the prime minister wrote down the entire inscription, which was already completed in one go.
Just the practice Xi before writing the inscription, ** took nearly eight days.
When he received the praise from Comrade Liu Kaiqu, he still said modestly"Look at it again, if it doesn't work, rewrite it, or let other comrades who are better at calligraphy write." ”
When the comrades of the monument construction committee got the inscription written by ***, they decided to use gilding.
The inscription on the Beijing People's Heroes Monument we see now is that the craftsman first engraved the inscription to the body of the monument, and then gilded it.
All the golden characters share **132 taels, pouring *** painstaking efforts, and also showing the feelings of the Chinese people remembering the people's heroes for generations.
When the red cloak on the Monument to the People's Heroes was pulled down, the gilded characters on the inscription monument shimmered in the sun.
The efforts of party and state leaders, as well as the efforts of countless experts, scholars, craftsmen and artists, are all condensed on this monument to commemorate the people's heroes.
It has now been 65 years since the inauguration of the Monument to the People's Heroes.
According to folklore, 60 years have been a good thing. In the vicissitudes of time, the Monument to the People's Heroes has gone through an unusual cycle of times.
This monument of honor and disgrace records the Chinese nation, and its construction process and connotation contain many little-known stories.
The annual Qingming Festival is a day for people to express their sorrows, and the Monument to the People's Heroes standing in Tiananmen Square** is a holy place for the country and the people to express their sorrows to millions of martyrs.
For the independence of the country, the liberation of the nation, and the happiness of the people, countless martyrs stood up and fought bravely.
It is difficult to express our admiration and nostalgia for these martyrs in a thousand words.
Future generations have nothing to repay, they can only start from me, better build New China, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will be just around the corner.