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Tiananmen

Coordinates: 39°54′26.4″N 116°23′27.9″E / 39.907333°N 116.391083°E / 39.907333; 116.391083
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This article is about the Beijing gate. For the square, see Tiananmen Square. For the protests and massacre in 1989, see 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. For other uses, see Tiananmen (disambiguation).
"The Gate of Heavenly Peace" redirects here. For the film, see The Gate of Heavenly Peace (film).
Tian'anmen in 2020
Tian'anmen
"Tiān'ānmén" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) characters
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese天安门
Traditional Chinese天安門
Hanyu PinyinTiān'ānmén
Literal meaning"Gate of Heavenly Peace"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinTiān'ānmén
Bopomofoㄊㄧㄢ   ㄢ   ㄇㄣˊ
Gwoyeu RomatzyhTian'anmen
Wade–GilesTʻien1-an1-mên2,
Tʻien1-an1 Mên2
IPA[tʰjɛ́n.án.mə̌n]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationTīn'ōnmùhn
JyutpingTin1on1mun4
IPA[tʰin˥.ɔn˥.mun˩]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJThian-an-mn̂g
Manchu name
Manchu scriptᠠᠪᡴᠠᡳ
ᡝᠯᡥᡝ
ᠣᠪᡠᡵᡝ
ᡩᡠᡴᠠ
Möllendorffabkai elhe obure duka
(video) Two shots of the gate followed by a shot of inside Tiananmen Square next to the gate, 2017.

The Tiananmen /ˈtjɛnənmən/[1] (also Tian'anmen,[2] or the Gate of Heaven-Sent Peace, is the entrance gate to the Forbidden City palace complex and Imperial City in the center of Beijing, China. It is widely used as a national symbol.

First built during the Ming dynasty in 1420, Tiananmen was the entrance to the Emperor's residence, through which all visitors to the palace walked. In 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China from the balcony, which now features a large portrait of him. Tiananmen is located to the north of Tiananmen Square, and is separated from the plaza by Chang'an Avenue.

Name

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The Chinese name of the gate (天安门/天安門), is made up of the Chinese characters for "heaven", "peace" and "gate" respectively, which is why the name is conventionally translated as "Gate of Heavenly Peace". However, this translation is somewhat misleading, since the Chinese name is derived from the much longer phrase "receiving the mandate from heaven, and pacifying the dynasty". (受命于天，安邦治國).[3] The Manchu translation, Abkai elhe obure duka, lies closer to the original meaning of the gate and can be literally translated as the "Gate of Heavenly Peacemaking".[4] The gate had a counterpart in the northern end of the imperial city called the Di'anmen (地安門, Dì'ānmén; Manchu: Na i elhe obure duka), which may be roughly translated as the "Gate of Earthly Peace".

Gate

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History

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The gate was originally named "Chengtianmen" (traditional Chinese: 承天門; simplified Chinese: 承天门; pinyin: Chéngtiānmén), or "Gate of Accepting Heavenly Mandate" in the Ming dynasty. It has subsequently been destroyed and rebuilt several times. The original building was first constructed in 1420, and was based on an eponymous gate of an imperial building in Nanjing. The gate was completely burned down by lightning in July 1457. In 1465, the Chenghua Emperor ordered Zigui (自圭), the Minister of Works, to rebuild the gate. Thus, the design was changed from the original paifang form to the gatehouse that is seen today. It suffered another blow in the war at the end of the Ming dynasty, when in 1644 the gate was burnt down by rebels led by Li Zicheng. Following the establishment of the Qing dynasty and the Manchu conquest of China proper, the gate was once again rebuilt, beginning in 1645, and was given its present name upon completion in 1651. The gate was reconstructed again between 1969 and 1970. The gate as it stood was by then 300 years old, and had badly deteriorated, partly due to heavy usage in the 1950s and 1960s. As the gate was a national symbol, Zhou Enlai ordered that the rebuilding was to be kept secret. The whole gate was covered in scaffolding, and the project was officially called a "renovation". The rebuilding aimed to leave the gate's external appearance unchanged while both making it more resistant to earthquakes and installing modern facilities such as an elevator, water supply, and heating system.[5]

  • Tiananmen in 1901
    Tiananmen in 1901
  • Tiananmen in 2006
    Tiananmen in 2006
  • A close-up of the rooftop
    A close-up of the rooftop
  • Tiananmen at night
    Tiananmen at night
  • Tiananmen from the side, in June 2011
    Tiananmen from the side, in June 2011
  • Map including Tian'anmen (labeled as T’ien-an Men 天安門) (1950s)
    Map including Tian'anmen (labeled as T’ien-an Men 天安門) (1950s)
  • Room inside the gate
    Room inside the gate

Description

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Stone column (huabiao) with depiction of dragons and phoenixes decorates the surroundings of the Tiananmen gate.

The building is 66 meters (217 ft) long, 37 meters (121 ft) wide and 32 meters (105 ft) high. Like other official buildings of the empire, the gate itself has unique imperial roof decorations.

Two lions stand in front of the gate, and two more guard the bridges. In Chinese culture, lions are believed to protect humans from evil spirits.

Two stone columns, called huabiao, each with an animal (hou) on top of it, also stand in front of the gate. Originally, these installations were designed for commoners to address their grievances by either writing or sticking petitions on the columns. However, the examples in front of the Imperial City were purely decorative, and instead connoted the majesty of the imperial government.

The western and eastern walls have giant placards; the left one reads "Long Live the People's Republic of China" (中华人民共和国万岁; Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó wànsuì), while the right one reads "Long Live the Great Solidarity of the World's Peoples" (世界人民大团结万岁; Shìjiè rénmín dà tuánjié wànsuì). The right placard used to read "Long Live the Central People's Government"[6] (中央人民政府万岁; Zhōngyāng Rénmín Zhèngfǔ wànsuì) for the founding ceremony of the PRC, but later it was changed to "Long Live the Great Solidarity of the World's Peoples". Both placards were changed to use simplified Chinese instead of traditional Chinese characters in 1964. The phrasing has significant symbolic meaning, as the phrase used for long live, like the Imperial City itself, was traditionally reserved for Emperors of China, but is now available to the common people.

The reviewing stands in the foreground are used on International Workers Day (May Day) and on the National Day (October 1) of the People's Republic of China.

In front of the stands is the Imperial City's moat, still filled with water but now containing decorative illuminated fountains.

In ancient times, the Tiananmen was among the most important gates encountered when entering Beijing's Imperial City along with the Yongdingmen, Qianmen, the Gate of China. Proceeding further inward, the next gate is the 'Upright Gate', identical in design to the Tian'anmen; behind it is the southern entrance of the Forbidden City itself, known as the Meridian Gate.

Portrait

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See also: Portraits overlooking Tiananmen

History

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Because of the gate's position at the front of the Imperial City, and the historical events that have taken place on Tiananmen Square, the gate has great political significance. In 1925, when China was ruled by the Nationalist government, a large portrait of Sun Yat-sen was hung at the gate after his death. In 1945, to celebrate the victory over Japan, Chiang Kai-shek's portrait was hung.[7]

On July 7, 1949, portraits of Zhu De and Mao Zedong were hung to commemorate the Second Sino-Japanese War.[8] Since the founding date of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, a singular portrait of Mao has been hung on the gate. The portrait is replaced annually before National Day. On only one occasion, on March 9, 1953, it was temporarily replaced by a portrait of Joseph Stalin to commemorate his death.[8]

In 2011, Alexander Pann Han-tang, chairman of the Asia Pacific Taiwan Federation of Industry and Commerce, and a close friend of Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou, proposed that the picture of Sun Yat-sen be displayed at Tiananmen Square instead for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China.[9] However, this proposal was rejected.[9]

Incidents

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The portrait weighs 1.5 metric tons (2 short tons), and is replaced by a spare whenever it is vandalized.[10] In 1989, three dissidents, including Yu Dongyue, attacked the portrait with eggs during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. Yu was sentenced to life imprisonment but was released on bail 17 years later in 2006. On May 12, 2007, the portrait of Mao caught fire. A 35-year-old unemployed man from Urumqi was arrested for the incident. About 15% of the portrait was damaged, and had to be repaired later.[11] On April 5, 2010, a protester threw ink in a plastic bottle and hit a wall near the portrait. He was then arrested.[citation needed]

National symbol

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Due to its historical significance, Tiananmen is featured on the National Emblem of the People's Republic of China. It has also been featured in the designs of stamps and coins issued by the People's Republic of China.

Public access

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Route 1 bus passing Tiananmen

Tiananmen is open to the public each day of the week from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.[12] Tickets must be booked online through the Weixin (Wechat) Mini Program at least one day before, it is not possible to buy tickets on the day or on-site.

Line 1 of the Beijing Subway has stops at Tiananmen West and Tiananmen East, on each side of Tiananmen.

City buses 1, 2, 5, 52, 82, 120, 观光1, 观光2, 夜1, 夜2, and 夜17 stop near Tiananmen.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tiananmen Square". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021.
  2. ^ "Tian'anmen, not Tiananmen". Pinyin.info. June 2, 2009. Archived from the original on June 5, 2009.
  3. ^ Lu Bingjie, Tian'anmen (Jinan: Shandong huabao chubanshe, 2004) p. 40.
  4. ^ Cf. Erich Hauer. "Why the Sinologue Should Study Manchu." Journal of the North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 61 (1930): 156–64.
  5. ^ Xinhua News Agency, Secret reconstruction of Tiananmen 35 years ago, 04/21/05
  6. ^ Meng Zhaorui, 親歷震撼時刻——老記者鏡頭下的紅色中國, p. 133
  7. ^ NYtimes. "NYtimes.com." Chameleon Mao, the face of Tiananmen square. Retrieved on 2011-04-11.
  8. ^ a b 中國評論新聞：20世紀以來 天安門掛過哪些人的畫像？. Chinareviewnews.com. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  9. ^ a b "Call for reassessment of Sun Yat-sen from 'pioneer' to 'father of the nation'". South China Morning Post. 2011-03-29. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  10. ^ Foster, Peter. Chinese protestor throws ink at portrait of Chairman Mao. The Daily Telegraph. 8 April 2010.
  11. ^ 2007年05月13日 – 中國‧天安門廣場城樓遭縱火 毛澤東畫像部份燒焦 – 國際 – 星洲日報. Sinchew.com.my. 2007-05-13. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  12. ^ (Chinese) "参观天安门城楼时刻表及门票价格和乘车路线" Accessed 2012-02-06
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Look up Tiananmen, Tian'anmen, or Tienanmen in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

39°54′26.4″N 116°23′27.9″E / 39.907333°N 116.391083°E / 39.907333; 116.391083

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