Listen to Liang Sicheng, or not in Beijing now
Beiping in 1949 was completely different from the cityscape of Beijing today. At that time, Beijing was surrounded by an undulating ancient city wall, which was an ancient brick wall"concave"The glyph, originated in the Yuan Dynasty, was formed in the Ming Dynasty, and continued to be used until **, which has a history of hundreds of years.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was a widespread controversy over whether these architectural treasures should be preserved. Among them, Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin advocated the protection of the ancient city wall.
Represented by Guo Moruo and Wu Han, they believe that they should be demolished. This controversy over the existence and abandonment of the ancient city wall ultimately affected the historical appearance of the ancient capital of Beijing.
Beijing is a city with an ancient history, and how to protect the famous buildings and cultural relics is a long-term and constantly improving proposition. In 1948, the People's Liberation Army had formed a heavy encirclement of Fu Zuoyi's troops, and the fate of Beijing was undecided.
At this time, the Communists sent people to persuade Fu Zuoyi to revolt peacefully, and at the same time secretly contacted the architect Liang Sicheng, hoping that he could provide a map to protect important ancient buildings.
So, at the home of Liang Sicheng in Tsinghua Garden in Beiping, he met with a guest representing the siege troops of the People's Liberation Army, and contributed his professional knowledge to the protection of the cultural relics and monuments of Beijing.
Liang Sicheng's heart is full of worries, but he is well aware of his mission as an architect, and he hopes to use his knowledge and experience to contribute to the preservation of the ancient city of Beijing.
Liang Sicheng was worried about the fate of the ancient city of Beiping, and paid close attention to the battle situation every day. When he learned that the cadres of the People's Liberation Army had come to ask for help, he was overjoyed and immediately took out the "Brief List of National Architectural Cultural Relics" collected by himself and his students, marked the location of key cultural relics in Beiping in detail, and made a military map of Beiping.
This map was brought back to Xibaipo and hung on the wall of the command post, which became an important basis for the besieging troops to comprehensively protect the cultural monuments of Beiping. Under the firm instructions of the People's Republic of China, the ancient city of Beiping has been well preserved and has become a glorious example of comprehensive protection of cultural monuments.
FigLiang Sicheng Liang Sicheng burst into tears, the stone in his heart finally landed, and he sighed: "Communists, it's amazing!" From this incident, it is not difficult for us to see what kind of architect Liang Sicheng is.
He was not only a knowledgeable architect, but also an architect who was deeply fascinated by classical Chinese architecture. He deeply loves those majestic ancient buildings, and is willing to give all hope and energy to protect them.
It is gratifying that at the beginning of 1949, Fu Zuoyi led the troops to surrender, Beijing was peacefully liberated, and the cultural relics and monuments of Beijing were spared the destruction of the war and completely welcomed the birth of New China.
This is exactly what Liang Sicheng is looking forward to, and it is also what he foresees.
Fig**Chairman in Beijing: an ancient city with profound historical and cultural accumulation In March 1949, the Communist Party of China was about to move to Beijing, and the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in the canteen of Xibaipo, Pingshan County, Hebei Province.
The construction of the city of Beijing became an important topic of the meeting, and the chairman pointed out in the report: "The people's power can only be consolidated if the production of the city is restored and developed, and the city of consumption is transformed into a city of production." ”
At that time, Beijing went through the vicissitudes of time and years of war, from the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Beijing city wall was damaged to varying degrees in the continuous war, but until the eve of liberation, the city wall was still basically intact.
As the capital, Beijing's planning and construction is different from other cities, and it must take into account many factors such as old and new urban areas, culture, politics, and economy.
Beijing is a unique city. Fu Zuoyi once said to Xu Beihong: "Beiping is a world-famous cultural ancient city, with many magnificent ancient buildings, I hope Fu Zuoyi can take into account the overall situation and respect public opinion when building the army." ”
Therefore, it is very important to do a good job in the planning and construction of Beijing.
The ancient city wall of Beijing is a symbol and historical witness of the city of Beijing. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the relevant departments began to conduct a detailed investigation of the ancient city wall, and wrote a special report, put forward a plan for repairing the city wall, and reported to the city.
In April, ** and Xu Bing approved the Municipal Construction Bureau to begin preparations for the restoration of the city wall. In May 1949, the Beijing Municipal Urban Planning Commission was established, responsible for the planning and construction of Beijing, with the directors successively being *** and Peng Zhen, and the deputy directors being Liang Sicheng and Xue Zizheng.
At the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, ** stood on the tower of Tiananmen Square and announced the founding of New China to the world. Liang Sicheng was invited to attend the founding ceremony, was deeply inspired, and was determined to contribute to the planning and construction of the capital in the future.
1.Liang Sicheng and Chen Zhanxiang offered suggestions for the construction of the capital Beijing 2Liang Sicheng and Chen Zhanxiang offered advice, and advocated that the historical and cultural city should not be damaged 3In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, two views diverged on Beijing's urban construction 4Liang Sicheng and Chen Zhanxiang suggested that the administrative center should be set up in the western suburbs to promote "the interests of the old and the new, taking into account the ancient and the modern, and balancing development" 5Liang Sicheng called for the protection of historical and cultural cities with practical actions.
For a long time, the question of the preservation and demolition of Beijing's ancient city walls has been debated. Leaders think deeply about this. In 1953, the Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China set up a planning group, which comprehensively considered the suggestions of Soviet experts and Liang Sicheng and others, and finally completed the "Key Points on the Draft Plan for the Reconstruction and Expansion of Beijing" (hereinafter referred to as the "Key Points").
In the "Key Points", the expansion plan of Tiananmen Square was determined, starting from the original East Three Gates in the east to the original West Three Gates in the west, which would need to be expanded to about double to triple the existing 11 hectares, and build high-rise buildings around it as an administrative center.
This means that the location of Beijing's administrative center has been determined. However, the question of the fate of Beijing's ancient city walls is still very serious. In the "Key Points", the first capital city plan of New China was proposed, which emphasized an important principle of Beijing's construction plan: Beijing's construction must serve the people, production and working people.
The new document emphasizes the most important principle of Beijing's planning, that is, it must serve the people, production and working people, and clarifies the location of Beijing's administrative center.
On the day of the National Day, ** stood on Tiananmen Square to inspect the mass procession, and he carefully observed that the number of workers in the procession was not large. However, the working class is the hero of the revolution and the master of the country.
Therefore, ** asked Liu Ren, the second secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee: "Does the capital need to be relocated?" This question made Liu Ren deeply shocked and began to think. The construction of the capital should not only take into account historical buildings, but also the broad masses of the people.
The leaders of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee pondered repeatedly and finally formed a preliminary opinion: Beijing should be built into a big industrial city, so it is necessary to change the urban layout, adhere to the construction policy of serving the first, production and working people, and dismantle the ancient city walls that are at risk of collapse, may endanger people's lives and safety, obstruct traffic, and affect production and work.
FigLooking at the ancient city wall of Beijing, it makes people think deeply: how should the ancient city wall of Beijing be preserved? People from all walks of life have expressed their opinions. Liang Sicheng advocated the preservation of the ancient city wall, and its renovation and utilization.
He believes that the ancient city wall of Beijing is the most valuable example in the world, and it is also a masterpiece of art. He advocated that while retaining the original urban style, the moat outside the city should be repaired, the city tower and corner tower could be opened up as an exhibition hall, a reading room, and a refreshment shop, and the top of the city wall could be planted with flowers and grass, and a pavilion could be built on the enemy platform.
Liang Sicheng's idea was to transform the old city wall into a special and unique "three-dimensional park around the city" in the world.
FigThe figure of the camel caravan crossing the ancient city wall has caused people to debate whether the ancient city wall should stay or not. Guo Moruo believes that the ancient city wall as a fortification has lost its historical value after the country has been stabilized, and it is recommended to demolish it to meet the needs of the new era.
Hua Nangui, a civil engineering expert, also put forward suggestions for demolishing the ancient city wall from the aspects of urban planning, eliminating the gap between urban and rural areas, and economic benefits. This issue has aroused widespread concern from all walks of life, and there are different opinions from all sides, including those who advocate retention, transformation and utilization, and those who advocate demolition.
The issue of the preservation and disposal of Beijing's ancient city wall has become the focus of attention for a while.
Liang Sicheng was a man with a deep love for historical and cultural architecture, and he was particularly concerned about the issue of Beijing's ancient city walls, for which he did not hesitate to argue with others. At an office meeting, he resolutely opposed the proposal of Wu Han, then deputy mayor of Beijing, to demolish the old city wall, and Wu Han ruthlessly criticized him.
Liang Sicheng felt extremely hurt by this, and even cried bitterly on the spot. In a later conversation with ***, he also expressed his dissatisfaction with Wu Han and another leader because they did not attach importance to the protection of the city tower.
Lin Huiyin: The ancient city walls carry the memories of our ancestors, and we should do our best to protect them. Our goal is to build Beijing well, but we have different starting points and different ideas, but we need to find a common understanding to jointly protect these precious cultural heritages.
Wu Han, I'm sure you have the same idea, let's work together!
Although the picture shows the ancient city wall of Beijing, at that time, the majority of people advocated the demolition of the ancient city wall. Taking into account various factors such as economy, security and the masses, in 1957 the leaders of Beijing expressed their opinions on the issue of the city wall.
Zhang Youyu said: "I think it can be demolished in batches in a planned way, but it doesn't have to be done on a large scale all at once. Zheng Tianxiang said: "I agree, but it must be demolished in a planned way and split into a road." ”
Liu Ren, who was deeply shocked by the question, said: "I agree with Comrade Zheng Tianxiang's opinion. Peng Zhen instructed: "I advocate the demolition of Beijing's city walls." ”
In March 1958, the People's Leader *** said at the Chengdu Conference: "To dismantle the city wall, Beijing should be on a par with Tianjin and Shanghai." ”
Liang Sicheng's persistence: protecting historical culture and economic developmentLiang Sicheng has always adhered to his beliefs, and he believes that history and culture cannot be destroyed. Once, the prime minister made a special trip to Liang Sicheng, hoping to persuade him to support economic construction, but Liang Sicheng resolutely disagreed with the demolition of historical and cultural buildings.
He used vivid metaphors to describe the beauty of historical and cultural buildings to Prime Minister ***, hoping to be understood and supported. However, the situation could not be changed, and the historical and cultural buildings were eventually demolished, which Liang Sicheng regretted.
Although everyone's starting point is different, they are all for the motherland and the people, but in such a situation, Liang Sicheng's persistence seems a little lonely.
In September 1958, the "Explanation of the Overall Plan of Beijing" clearly pointed out: "Carry out a fundamental transformation of the old city of Beijing and break the restrictions and shackles of the old city on us." ”
This determined the final result of the nine-year-long problem of demolition of Beijing's ancient city wall. Since then, the demolition of the city wall has been carried out in an orderly manner. In 1950, the archway of East Public Security Bureau Street and Ministry of Justice Street was demolished; In May 1953, the towers of Chaoyang Gate and Fucheng Gate and the urn city were demolished; In 1954, the Di'anmen Gate on the central axis was demolished; In 1957, the Yongding Gate Tower was demolished ......Beginning in 1958, most of the city walls and towers were demolished.
The collapse of the city wall made Liang Sicheng regretful and heartbroken.
Mr. Liang Sicheng has invested great enthusiasm and energy in the cause of protecting the ancient buildings of Beijing. We were impressed by his deep love for architecture, determination and perseverance.
Even though the ancient city wall no longer exists, through the construction of the Yuan Dadu City Wall Ruins Park and the Ming City Wall Ruins Park, we can let people appreciate the charm of ancient buildings.
We firmly believe that different historical periods bring different historical choices, each with its own unique features. If Mr. Liang Sicheng's suggestion had been adopted at that time, the city of Beijing today might have taken on a completely different appearance.