Traces of Ancient Beijing and the Changing Landscape: Part Two – The Yuan City Wall

Last time, I mentioned that the Jin Dynasty established Jin Zhongdu in Beijing, and from King Hailing onward, all Jin emperors held court there. Jin Zhongdu was situated in today’s southwest Beijing, roughly around Fengtai District, but now it has vanished without a trace.

The large jade basin I saw at Beihai Round City, called "Dushan Jade Sea," was a commemorative object from the time when Yuan Shizu Kublai Khan entered Beijing in the first year of Zhiyuan (1263) and founded Yuan Dadu – rather like a cornerstone. Before that, during the Mongol-Jin wars, Genghis Khan’s marshal Muqali besieged Jin Zhongdu in 1214. Jin Xuanzong paid tribute, sued for peace, and moved his capital to Bianliang (Kaifeng). The next year, Muqali turned back and captured Jin Zhongdu, establishing the Yanjing Circuit and Daxing Prefecture. After Genghis Khan died, Ögedei succeeded him; after Ögedei, Möngke Khan took over. Much like the Carolingian Empire splitting into West, Middle, and East Francia after Charlemagne’s death, the Mongol Empire fragmented after Möngke Khan’s death. Besides Kublai Khan founding the Yuan Dynasty, the Golden Horde, Chagatai Khanate, and Ilkhanate also emerged. Later, after various power consolidations, the Timurid Khanate and Eastern Chagatai Khanate remained, both eventually paying tribute to the Ming Dynasty – but that is a story for another time.

In 1260, Kublai Khan proclaimed himself Great Khan, began the Zhongtong reign, and won a war of succession against his brothers. In the fifth year of Zhongtong, he renamed the Yanjing Circuit Daxing Prefecture to Zhongdu Circuit Daxing Prefecture and issued an edict changing the era name to the first year of Zhiyuan – this was 1264. Immediately after the name changes, Kublai Khan started building a new capital, intending to set it up at Yanjing. This led to the jade workers collectively funding the Dushan Jade Sea. By the eighth year of Zhiyuan (1271), when construction was nearly complete, Kublai Khan secretly instructed Guanglu Dafu Liu Bingzhong to submit a memorial suggesting, based on the ancient phrase "Great is Qian Yuan," that the Great Mongol State be renamed "Yuan." Kublai happily approved, and conveniently installed himself as the first emperor of this dynasty, no longer calling himself "Khagan." The next year, after the city project was inspected and accepted, Kublai issued another edict renaming Zhongdu to Dadu, making it the capital of the Yuan Empire. That is the origin of Yuan Dadu.

According to Han tradition, since the Western Han, the founding emperor’s posthumous title should be "Taizu," the second emperor "Taizong," and the rest various "zong." The first two emperors – one "zu," one "zong" – are what we call "zuzong" (ancestors). For example, Han Taizu Liu Bang, Han Taizong Liu Heng, and Han Shizong Liu Che. Kublai Khan, however, was rather crafty. To emphasize he was Genghis Khan’s legitimate heir, he conferred on Genghis Khan the temple name "Yuan Taizu." Logically, Kublai should then have been given "Yuan Taizong," but since he was actually the first de facto emperor of the Yuan, he still wanted to use "zu." In the end, his temple name became "Yuan Shizong," following the example of the earlier Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han. Of course, temple names were bestowed by later generations, and I’m just musing here. But "zuzong" truly does refer to the first and second generations.

Not much of Yuan Dadu’s architecture remains in Beijing today. Its imperial city was torn down and buried by Zhu Di during the Yongle reign under his own imperial city. The most famous Yuan-dynasty building in Beijing is the Miaoying Temple White Pagoda inside Fuchengmen. The temple has been altered, but the white pagoda stands as it did originally. It is China’s first Indian-style white pagoda; the second is the white pagoda on Mount Wutai in Shanxi, both built by the Nepalese artisan Araniko. (See my article "Strolling Through the Capital: Baita Temple.") The Miaoying Temple White Pagoda was begun after Kublai finished building Dadu, roughly the eighth year of Zhiyuan, and completed by the sixteenth year (1279). The Mount Wutai white pagoda was built in the sixth year of Dade (1302).

When Yuan Dadu was constructed, besides the Dushan Jade Sea, city walls were naturally necessary. In the tenth year of Yuan Taizu (Genghis Khan), Muqali’s capture of Jin Zhongdu involved killing, burning, and massive destruction – smashing the old world. When Kublai arrived at Yanjing in the first year of Zhongtong, there was no usable Jin Zhongdu left, so he had to stay in the suburban Jin imperial garden Taining Palace, today’s Beihai Park. So when building Yuan Dadu, Kublai created an entirely new world, centering the new city on Qionghua Island in Beihai, discarding old Jin Zhongdu.

Part of Yuan Dadu’s city wall was later incorporated by Zhu Di – the southern half, actually the larger part. Zhu Di built a wall between Xizhimen and Dongzhimen, abandoning everything to the north. Yuan Dadu originally had three gates in each direction. To the east: Chongrenmen (Dongzhimen), Qihuamen (Chaoyangmen), and Guangximen, of which only the first two survive in name. To the west: Heyimen (Xizhimen), Pingshunmen (Fuchengmen), and Suqingmen – again, Suqingmen is gone. To the south: Shunchengmen, Lizhengmen, and Wenmingmen – all lost, and this stretch of wall probably lies beneath today’s Chang’an Avenue. Although the southern wall seems close to the imperial palace, the Yuan imperial city actually sat further north than today’s Forbidden City; its main gate was north of the Inner Golden Water River, not where Tiananmen is now. The northern wall had only two gates: Jiandemen and Anzhenmen. So several Yuan gates no longer exist; only place names remain. These were all outer city gates.

Though the gates are gone, some wall traces survive. Yuan Dadu’s outer wall was of rammed earth. An authentic rammed-earth wall should look like this – I saw one at Zhangbi Ancient Fortress in Shanxi, built during the Sixteen Kingdoms period (see my article "Autumn Winds on the Three Jin: Zhangbi Ancient Fortress"). Ruins seen from a distance should look like this (from the Liao Central Capital ruins near Chifeng, Inner Mongolia; see my "Summer Journey in Mongol-Liao: Relics at Chifeng").

The surviving Yuan Dadu wall in Beijing isn’t as well preserved as those. In the northern half, some remnants linger. The northwest section runs from Xizhimen northward to the intersection of Xueyuan Road and Zhichun Road, then turns east. This stretch has been turned into the "Yuan Dadu City Wall Ruins Park." Look for the marker at the Mingguangcun intersection. This spot is likely where Suqingmen once stood. To the east, near the North Third Ring Road and Sun Palace, was probably Guangximen, where Subway Line 13 has a station called Guangximen. Just outside Guangximen flowed the Yuan Dadu moat, now a watercourse called Tucheng Gou (Moat Ditch).

There’s a platform showing a cross-section of the Yuan wall, with a reconstructed gate tower on top. A short stretch of wall still looks somewhat decent, at least not far from its original height, though most slopes have collapsed. A small path remains on top. Further north, the earth mound has crumbled even more.

We all know that the road north from Mingguangcun is Xueyuan Road. From Mingguangcun, on the east side is the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and further north on the west is the China University of Political Science and Law. Beyond Jimen Bridge, on the east is the Beijing Film Academy. After the earth wall collapsed, local residents and the Parks Department took turns planting trees and digging soil. The rammed earth, though sturdy, couldn’t withstand generations of continuous digging. Not only did the height shrink, but the face of the wall became slopes of less than ten percent grade. Trees were planted all over the slope, so that every spring, flowers of every color bloom in profusion.

Day after day, someone surely smiles among those blossoms. And amidst them is one of the Eight Scenic Views of Yanjing – "Jimen Yanshu" (Misty Trees at Ji Gate).

The Eight Scenic Views were originally chosen by a group of Jin-dynasty scholars. Before that, there was an oral tradition of "eight views," but nothing written. During the Mingchang era of Jin Zhangzong, the book Mingchang Yishi appeared (likely printed with movable type), recording the views: Taiye Qiufeng (Autumn Wind over Taiye Lake), Qiongdao Chunyin (Spring Shade on Jade Island), Jintai Xizhao (Sunset on the Golden Terrace), Jimen Feiyu (Flying Rain at Ji Gate), Xishan Jixue (Snow Accumulation on the Western Hills), Yuquan Chuihong (Rainbow Hanging at Jade Spring), Lugou Xiaoyue (Morning Moon over Lugou Bridge), and Juyong Diecui (Layered Green at Juyong Pass). All eight were outside Jin Zhongdu. The first two were in the imperial garden Taining Palace (now Beihai Park), thus linked to royalty; the other six were established by folk nature-lovers and travelers, proving once again that real talent often lies among the people. Take a look at the little folk temple beside the Jimen Yanshu marker and the Buddha inside for local worship.

In the Yuan dynasty, some literati changed "Taiye Qiufeng" to "Taiye Qiubo" (Autumn Waves at Taiye Lake). Perhaps in those days, a girl might sneak a ladle of Beihai water at night and leave it under her beloved’s windowsill – an act of "sending autumn ripples" (secretly conveying affection). The idea was to replace the autumn wind with drinking autumn lake water, though the mood is much the same. The Yuan people also changed "Xishan Jixue" to "Xishan Jixue" (Clearing after Snow on the Western Hills) – a much better name, more poetic. Even while conquering the Southern Song, the Yuan adopted its culture; Song poets wrote lines like "a faint poetic soul, truly transformed into a wind butterfly. Cold fragrance clear to the bone. Dreaming ten li of plum blossoms after snow." During the Yongle reign of the Ming, Hanlin Academy scholars changed "Jimen Feiyu" to "Jimen Yanshu" (Misty Trees at Ji Gate), again more poetic. Grand Secretary Li Dongyang even added two extra views: Nanyou Qiufeng (Autumn Wind over the Southern Park) and Dongjiao Shiyu (Seasonal Rain in the Eastern Suburbs). The former referred to the imperial hunting preserve Nanyuan, the latter to farmers plowing in gentle spring rain outside Chaoyangmen.

In the Qing dynasty, the beauty- and travel-loving Emperor Qianlong, sixteen years into his reign, personally chaired an expert panel to finalize the eight views: Taiye Qiu Feng, Qiongdao Chun Yin, Jintai Xi Zhao, Jimen Yanshu, Xishan Qingxue (Clear Snow on the Western Hills), Yuquan Tubo (Gushing Jade Spring), Lugou Xiaoyue, and Juyong Diecui. Fearing people wouldn’t understand "Jixue" (clearing after snow), he bluntly changed it to "Qingxue" (clear snow), utterly devoid of poetry – a failure. Old Qian also had each scenic spot inscribed and set up imperial steles with pavilions. That "Jimen Yanshu" stele in the photo above is Qianlong’s; in the 1980s the Parks Department restored the site, adding a fake section of wall and a fake gate, without rebuilding the stele pavilion. The original pavilion, popularly called Huangtingzi (Yellow Pavilion), still gives the area its nickname.

Standing atop the wall, you can gaze out at the nearby apartment blocks. Of course, a public building must be erected at the wall’s foot for cleaners to rest. Don’t mistake that pavilion in the photo for the faux Huangtingzi.

The "Ji" in Jimen refers to the gate of ancient Ji City. We know Jizhou lies east of Beijing in today’s Tianjin territory, so why would there be a Ji Gate here? In the Western Zhou, the capital of the Yan state was Yandu; during the Eastern Zhou, not only did King Ping of Zhou move his capital, but Yan also relocated its capital to Ji City. That Yan capital, Ji, was in Beijing, not the Jizhou in Tianjin. Archaeologists have yet to pinpoint Old Ji City’s exact location, though most believe it was around today’s Niujie in the southern city. Ji City was named after a mound inside called Jiqiu. For unknown reasons, since the Jin and Yuan dynasties, many ancients have mistakenly identified Jimen Yanshu as the site of Jiqiu, and thus the name "Jimen" stuck. Today’s use of "Jimen" for this area likely comes from the "Jimen Yanshu" name – a case of perpetuating an error.

Literary references to "yanshu" (smoky trees) usually mean mist-enshrouded trees and groves, not kitchen smoke. The Song poet Liu Yong of the delicate, sentimental school wrote: "Jagged smoke-hazed trees by Baling Bridge, scenery all of bygone times. Weeping willows old, branches broken by many hands, frail as the waists of Chu beauties." From this we know that yanshu should be poplars and willows, especially the palace walls’ willows that drift like mist when the west wind blows. Perhaps during the Jin, there were no willows here, only flying rain to watch. By the Ming, the abandoned Yuan earth wall had given rise to a forest of mist-like willows and poplars. Today, those willows and poplars have been plucked and broken until they are gone; no trace of Chu waists remains, only a few shrubs. The misty-tree scene is no more.

Continuing north from Jimen Yanshu, you reach the northwest corner of the Yuan earth wall and turn east. Outside the wall runs a river now called Xiaoyue River – likely the former moat of Yuan Dadu. The section of Xueyuan Road below the wall is now called West Tucheng Road. After the bend, shouldn’t it be North Tucheng Road? And indeed it is.

Along the northern and southern banks of Xiaoyue River, a strip park has been created: the "Yuan Earth City Ruins Park." If Xiaoyue River was the Yuan Dadu moat, then the city wall should be on the southern bank. But no trace of the wall remains there; the ground now belongs to the Beijing Film Academy and the movie channel.

Since it’s called a park, it must be a place of blooming flowers. Speaking of blooming flowers, that wall stretch harbors a particularly famous flower spot. Under North Tucheng, north of Xiaoyue River, runs one of Beijing’s vital transit lines: Subway Line 10. From the Yuan Earth City Ruins Park heading east, you’ll soon reach Mudanyuan (Peony Garden) subway station. Board there, and you’ll discover that Line 10’s northern section follows the path of Yuan Dadu’s north wall. You’ll see the names of Yuan Dadu’s two north gates: Jiandemen and Anzhenmen, both of which have stations. If you don’t get off, those names remain just place names; nothing above ground survives. Between Jiandemen and Anzhenmen is a station called Beitucheng. Alight there, and right outside is the Haitang Huaxi (Crabapple Flower Stream) – the flower bed beneath the Yuan Dadu wall. The north-south Beichen Road here is part of Beijing’s central axis, so the Crabapple Flower Stream sits roughly at the far northern end of the Yuan Dadu axis. Thus Beitucheng Road divides here: westward is "Beitucheng West Road," eastward is "Beitucheng East Road." On the west you see the "Yuan Dadu Ruins Park," while here at Crabapple Flower Stream it’s called the "Yuan Dadu City Wall Ruins Park." The "stream" is still the old Yuan moat, connected to Xiaoyue River in the west and flowing all the way to Guangximen in the east. Crabapple flowers bloom freely on both banks of the moat, and because the southern bank still has the old earthen mound, the name "Beitucheng" (North Earth City) has endured.

Look at those crabapples blooming on the riverbank.

Every spring, people shed their bulky winter clothes for colorful spring outfits and descend in droves upon the Crabapple Flower Stream. When the spring visitors arrive, the crabapple trees on both banks burst into flower, vying with the tourists in beauty. Sometimes officials come to enjoy the lovely scenery with the people – Emperor Kangxi did. After admiring the blossoms, he went home and wrote, "Fine grass spreads green invading collapsing paths, wild flowers vie in fragrance assaulting the clothes," then tossed his brush aside and went to attend court. See how those crabapples compete with the tourists.

Just like at Jimen Yanshu, a little house must be built here for the cleaners to rest and store their brooms. A plaque reads "Haitang Huaxi" (Crabapple Flower Stream), signed "Qianshi" – likely the pen name of calligrapher-painter Li Jianjun. Every place has a Li Jianjun; this one is a Beijing local and possibly lives near Beitucheng.

As the saying goes, "Plant melons and beans around the house." At Crabapple Flower Stream, they plant crabapple trees around the house.

The only surviving Yuan Dadu building in Beijing’s city center is the Miaoying Temple White Pagoda; the rest are these wall remnants. Additionally, the Duanhong Bridge in the Forbidden City is proven to be a Yuan Dadu imperial city structure, akin to today’s Golden Water Bridge. I’ll talk about that next time in the Forbidden City post.