When people think of the architecture of a country, what is the first thing that comes to mind?
When it comes to the United States, people's first reaction is mostly the Statue of Liberty, while France is the Eiffel Tower. Russia may be Moscow's Red Square, India's Taj Mahal, egypt's pyramids. What about China? There are actually many famous buildings in China, and the Great Wall is one, but Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City must also be indispensable. They are symbols and have centuries-old connotations.
Tiananmen, located in the heart of China's capital, Beijing, is located at the southern end of the Forbidden City. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was the main gate of the Imperial City of Beijing, and after the establishment of the Palace Museum, it was a dazzling landscape in Beijing. In the past, this was not an ordinary place, only the emperor could come and go freely, and it was also the place where the emperor issued edicts.
That is, the emperor issued a major order to perform a set of solemn and tedious ceremonies at Tiananmen Square before it could be issued to all parts of the country. For example, when the new emperor ascends the throne, the big wedding, the flag sacrifice when the general goes out on the expedition, the sacrifice road when the royal driver is on the march, etc. must be held here, and it is also the place where the Golden Palace is passed on. During the feudal period, this meant that Tiananmen had a prominent political status in the minds of the rulers, and the last time an edict was issued was on December 25, 1911, when Empress Longyu issued Puyi's abdication edict.
Its beautiful appearance and ingenious structure are even more fascinating, but what is less known is that such a splendid palace does not actually use a nail and a rivet. It can withstand the impact of earthquakes and stand for a hundred years without falling, which is a miracle. And all this must be attributed to its main designer and the working people, who is the designer of Tiananmen? His name was Kuǎi, an architect who had designed it for him.
Born in 1399, Ku Xiang was a hereditary craftsman who studied art with his father from an early age. After his father returned to his hometown, his son became famous in carpentry skills and construction design, and inherited his father's business. In the fifteenth year of Yongle (1417), Zhu Di moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing and recruited craftsmen from all over the world. Among them, As an attendant, Ku Xiang also went north one step ahead to participate in the architectural design of the imperial palace. Because of his higher level of design than everyone else, he was appointed as the designer of the major project of the imperial palace, and he was eighteen years old that year.
I have to admire the ancients, most of them are still studying at the age of eighteen, but Ku Xiang is engaged in such a great construction project. At that time, his first task was the main gate of the palace, "Chengtian Gate", which is now Tiananmen. The project was completed in the nineteenth year of Yongle (1421) under the planning of Ku Xiang, and the shape of the castle tower was roughly the same as what people see now, but on a slightly smaller scale. After its completion, Zhu Dilong yan Dayue called Pu Xiang "Ku Lu Ban".
After the completion of the Chengtian Gate, it was destroyed by a fire in 1457, and it was destroyed once again in the late Ming Dynasty, so people did not see the one built by Ku Xiang in the beginning, but the location, shape, and distance were the same as the original. In addition to chengtianmen, He also participated in the construction of the Imperial Palace, Changling, Xianling, Yuling, Beijing Xiyuan (present-day Beihai, Zhonghai, and Nanhai) temples, and Longfu Temple. According to the evaluation of relevant experts in the History of the Ming Dynasty, The creation of Pu Xiang has reached the level of pure fire, and its building can be no different from the design drawing after completion.
Most of his descendants also inherited his skills, and until the late Qing Dynasty, there was a saying that Jiangnan carpenters were all out of Xiangshan.