"Chongwen Xuanwu is in the west and east, and Shenjing has a good weather. At the end of the early Ming and Qing dynasties, although the clouds will still be there. "
Dumen handyman in the Republic of China
This famous Zhi Zhu Ci in the Republic of China is about Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty and Xuan Tong in the Qing Dynasty. Both of them are kings of national subjugation, and the initials of the year number happen to be the initials of Chongwenmen and Xuanwumen.
Therefore, in the eyes of ordinary people in the Republic of China, Xuanwu Gate became the gateway to the demise of the Qing Dynasty, in other words, the last door to end the feudal monarchy in China.
Xuanwu Gate was first called "Shuncheng Gate" in Yuan Dynasty, which was taken from the sentence "Everything grows in harmony with heaven" in Zhouyi. It is located about 20 meters south of Xidan intersection today.
In the 17th year of Yongle in Ming Dynasty (14 19), Nanyuan was expanded. Up to now, the first three doors and the first line have been moved, and their names remain unchanged. Orthodox four years (1439), rebuilt the tower, added urn, embrasured watchtower, gatehouse, renamed Xuanwumen.
Xuanwumen and Chongwenmen juxtapose things in order to take the meaning of "writing left and right martial arts" and "governing Wu 'an with culture and consolidating the country forever". Xuanwu Gate means to promote martial arts.
Xuanwu Gate has five doors, 32.6 meters wide and three doors, 23 meters deep. This tower has two floors, and its height is 33 meters. The double eaves rest on the top of the mountain, and the gray tiles are decorated with green glass ridges, which is very imposing.
Such an important Xuanwu gate is naturally full of stories.
"Xuanwu level"
There is a brick five-fire platform in Wengcheng, Xuanwu Gate. This place is low-lying, and most of the water in the city passes through it during the rainy season and flows out of the city. Soldiers who stare at the city gate for a long time will use this brick platform as a reminder to open the door in time to drain the rain in the city. If water floods the brick platform, it will block the gate and make the city vulnerable to floods. People call this kind of brick platform "Xuanwu class".
Xuanwu noon cannon
After 1924, the bells and drums in Beijing stopped ringing and were replaced by the sound of guns on the Xuanwumen rostrum.
It is said that the first shot collapsed two houses nearby, which was really a blockbuster. At that time, at noon every day, a shot was fired, which shocked Nancheng. It is called "Xuanwu Noon Gun". Because the firing cost was too high, it finally stopped after 30 years.
Xuanwu gate of death
In the Qing Dynasty, the execution ground was located in Caishikou, and the condemned prisoners were taken to the execution ground and walked out of Xuanwu Gate. At that time, most of the cemeteries in Beijing were in Taoranting and other places outside Xuanwu Gate, so there were many undertaker in Xuanwu Gate. Therefore, Xuanwu Gate is also called "the Gate of Death" by the people.
The punishments also set up a stone tablet on the west side of the embrasured watchtower, which read "It's too late to regret". There is also a two-part allegorical saying called "the monument of punishment-regret it late".
However, no matter how grand and important the city gate is, it will inevitably be "demolished".
From the ninth year of the Republic of China (1920) to the tenth year of the Republic of China (192 1), the ring railway was built and the Xuanwu gate watchtower was demolished. In the 20th year of the Republic of China (193 1), the Works Bureau demolished the Xuanwu Gate Wengcheng.
After liberation, 1965 demolished the Xuanwu gate tower, and 1966 demolished the Xuanwu gate wall and filled the moat when building the Beijing subway. Since then, Xuanwu Gate has ceased to exist and has become an increasingly prosperous cross street.
In old Beijing, Xuanwu's position is extraordinary, which can be said to be unmatched by any region.
In old Beijing, whether from the literary text or from the people's mouth, there are often titles of south of the city and Xuannan, such as Lin's Old Things in the South of the City. The south of the city here has a unique historical signifier, the specific scope refers to Xuanwu, and the "south" of Xuannan is the "south" of the south of the city. The two are the same and will never confuse the old Beijingers.
Any urban area in Beijing can be geographically divided into north and south, but it does not have the historical and cultural significance of Xuannan.
The reason why Xuanwu has such a heavy significance lies in the gift of history. Since the Ming Dynasty moved its capital from Nanjing to Beijing, the end of the Grand Canal moved from Jishuitan South to Qianmen South, and then the outer cities were expanded one after another. Until the Qing Dynasty, the inner cities were forbidden to open theaters, most of which were outside Qianmen, and the transportation hub of Qianmen Railway Station was established ... This series of historical factors created the special historical position and significance of the south of the city.
Xuanwu, with Qianmen as the axis, in the south, especially in the west, was once the commercial, cultural and entertainment center of Beijing, and its historical and cultural significance is of great significance for building a new Beijing and protecting old Beijing. Not only for me, but also for many Beijingers, south of the city, Xuanwu and even Xuannan are all emotional terms. If this word comes out of your mouth, you will have a feeling of vicissitudes.
It stands to reason that Xuanwu is both literature and martial arts, and this truth also stems from its long history, which are the two most distinctive fruits of Xuanwu.
Let's talk about propaganda and martial arts first, and here we have to talk about history. Let's talk about the relationship between the guild hall and Xuanwu. It can be said that Xuanwu culture first benefited from the establishment of the guild hall. Guild hall culture represents Xuanwu culture to some extent, or contributes to its unique and meaningful development.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, most halls were built outside the front door. At that time, the six departments of officials, households, ceremonies, soldiers, criminals and workers were all located on the east and west sides of the front door, separated by an outer wall. When foreigners come to Beijing, it is naturally more convenient for them to live in the front door, whether they are scholars who take the exam or officials who handle affairs. As a result, people, businessmen and officials from all over the country, taking fellow villagers as units, began to raise funds to build large and small courtyards in this area, much like today's local offices. It is logical to travel and go home in order to have a political record. It is said that there are more than 140 halls in Qianmen area. It is no exaggeration to say that most of them are in Xuanwu.
It is really difficult to choose the most famous clubhouse in Xuanwu now, because there are too many famous clubhouses, and most of these famous clubhouses are famous not only in Xuanwu but also in Beijing. Isn't the Yuedong Guild Hall in Nanheng Street very famous? At the end of the Qing Dynasty, a corner of the art garden of Wang Chongjian and his son, a university student during the reign of Kangxi, was bought at the expense of a fellow countryman in Guangdong, covering an area of six acres, which was large enough. During the Reform Movement of 1898, the Baoshe Society was established here, and the Reform Movement sent Kang, Liang and others in and out here. In the first year of the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen's welcome meeting when he came to Beijing was also held here. Think at that time, in and out of here are the people who dominate the fate of China, all with anxiety, aiming at thousands of miles, praising RoyceWong, without giving a deep understanding.
Isn't the Zhongshan Guild Hall in Zhu Chao Street very famous? Qian Daxin, a poet in the Qing Dynasty, praised him as "Gao Jing's wine companions are like visiting each other, and the white paper factory is the first in the south". At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Tang, who returned from studying in the United States (who was then the executive dean when Yuan Shikai was the interim president), bought it and converted it into a club with a little foreign flavor. In the first year of the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen became president and came to Beijing to live here. He is also covered with immortal spirit and aura.
How about Nanhai Guild Hall in Mishi Hutong? It was here that Kang Youwei drafted the Thousand Characters. What a heart it should be. Think about it: Wu Zhihui came from Tientsin specially, and Weng Tonghe got off the sedan chair from the deep courtyard of the imperial court, not to mention that the six gentlemen of the Reform Movement of 1898 often came here for deliberation at night. How many great men who now sound like thunder have become attached to this place, stirring up the changes in China's modern history, which is fascinating and full of imagination.
What about Liuyang Guild Hall where Tan Sitong lived in North Half Hutong? Have you ever lived in the Xinhui Club of Liang Qichao in Liuli Street? Have you ever lived in Luxun Shaoxing Guild Hall in Nanban Street Hutong? ..... There are really too many such halls. It is precisely because there are so many halls in Xuanwu that the cultural atmosphere of Xuanwu is unique, and so many cultural leaders come in and out of the halls here. Xuanwu is at the forefront of Beijing and even the whole country, whether it is revolutionary public opinion, new culture movement or newspaper development. Although Xuanwu is stained with the word "Wu", it is said that Xuanwu is a text.
Xuanwu is not bragging, but seeking truth from facts, which is the result of history.
Let's talk about martial arts. Xuanwu itself has a word "Wu", and adding a word "Wu" in front of it, in my opinion, is not the same as literary martial arts in the traditional sense. Instead, it should refer to its stage art including martial arts, kung fu, dance and traditional Chinese opera. The word "dance" here is essentially a homophonic variant of "dance", and the word "Wen" which is homophonic with Wen Xuanwu is, in a sense, two opposite branches and another form of culture. In other words, Xuanwu advocates culture and art, or culture and art are the two most important roots of Xuanwu's foundation.
The art represented by the word "Wu" in Xuanwu mainly comes from Tianqiao and Eight Hutong. Tianqiao represents the most authentic Grass Root Art in Beijing, and all the artists who stand out have amazing skills. The common culture they created has great vitality and is the cultural heritage of Beijing. However, the true historical features of the eight hutongs have been distorted or blurred. Yes, prostitutes once ran rampant in the eight hutongs, but it is at least incomplete to say that the eight hutongs are synonymous with prostitutes or symbols. In a sense, it was once an important birthplace of Chinese Peking Opera.
After Qianlong went down to the south of the Yangtze River, Class Four in Huizhou set sail again, which was an important historical moment for the prosperity of Peking Opera. The main actors of these four Huizhou classes initially settled in eight hutongs. First of all, the Sanqing class who came to Beijing lived in Hanjiatan. Later, Sixi class lived in Shaanxi Lane, and Chunban lived in Litieguai Street. Chuntaiban moved into Baishun Hutong. Most of the famous people who are known as the thirteen wonders of Qing Tongguang live in eight hutongs, such as Shi, the boss of Sixi Class, Baishun Hutong, the boss of Chuntai Class, and his teacher, Yu Zhenting and his Binqing Society live in Dabaishun Hutong, and even Mei Lanfang later moved out of Li Tieguai's old house and lived in Baishun Hutong. Those who filmed China's first film "Dingjun Mountain" also settled in the small building built on the big veranda, just behind Han. I guess, it's probably that Baishun area of Hanjiatan can't live any longer, so it's just adjacent and gradually comes to their periphery in the morning. Therefore, a folk proverb later said: "People don't care about the road, tigers don't care about immortals, and singers don't leave Baishun Hanjiatan." This is the most vivid summary of those scenes.
Just like at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, so many literati such as Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Lu Xun and Li Dazhao gathered in Xuanwu Hall, and there were so many important Peking Opera celebrities living in eight hutongs. This is a historical accident and necessity and has unusual significance. This meaning makes Xuanwu have its own unique artistic pulse, or we can summarize it as Xuanwu's martial (dance) pulse.
Corresponding to Grass Root Art in Tianqiao, this texture art is the oldest and most elegant art in China. It belonged to the official court and literati at that time. It can be said that it experienced the experience of the Eight Hutong Times, and then performed in many theaters such as Dashilan and zhushikou, which made this art enter the folk and glow with new vitality. Speaking of the history of Chinese Peking Opera, we can't bypass Xuanwu, which is the proud capital of Xuanwu. Just as it can be listed that those who are all-powerful in the literary world are the pride of Xuanwu, it can also be said that such a group of artists are famous. They once made a name for Xuanwu on its site.
Xuanwu, Xuanwu and Xuanwu are so rich and heavy that we should cherish them all the more. This kind of treasure is not a simple cultural act, nor does it directly make history a servant and gatekeeper today, but a careful study and careful grasp of Xuanwu's unique culture and art, which is the foundation of Xuanwu's support and development. Don't rush to dig them out and sell them as valuable old people.