Beijing History (3) Beijing during the Qing Dynasty - Capital of the Manchurian Empire (1368 AD

Beijing in the Qing Dynasty - Capital of the Manchurian Empire (1644 AD - 1911 AD)

Throughout the Ming Dynasty and subsequent Qing Dynasty (1644 -1911 AD ) the Imperial Capital expanded. The Center of the City, the area within the City Walls however remained essentially unchanged. That is, the Qing inherited the City and its lay-out from the Ming Dynasty and even within the Imperial Palace only minor changes were made to accomodate the new Powers.

"TARTAR CITY":

In many other aspects however, life within the Capital was completely overturned as the Manchu Nobility and the Throne moved into the Capital. Most notably, what today is considered the northern half of the "Old City" of Beijing (Xicheng- and Dongcheng Districts) were henceforth the exclusive domain of the new Elite, who insisting on strict social and phsycial seperation had all Han Chinese forced out to live outside of the city walls. There, life was far less comfortable, the water of marginal quality and the inhabitants less afe in case a war would reach the Capital.

In so doing, the arrival of the Manchu in the Capital created what was later known to Foreigners as the "Tartar City" encircled by the tall city walls founded and built in the early Ming Dynasty. At the center of the city stood the "Forbidden City", the Imperial Palace of Emperor and the seat of (nearly) the entire Government (some lower offices were situated in the space that is now Tiananmen Square (Square of Heavenly Peace). Henceforth, as designed by the ambitious Kangxi Emperor (Reign: 1661 AD - 1722 AD), this core city would be further surrounded by what was to be known as the "Imperial City", a 2nd layer which would gradually be turned into an expanded "Forbidden City", the greatest Palace (and Regal Gardens!) of all time (Read more details in: "Beijing Forbidden City - Wider Perimeter / Imperial City").

Still not filling the entire space within the city walls of the Tartar City, this imperial city was surrounded by various residential districts as well as Princely Palaces which served as further third ring and protective layer of servants to the Emperor. Although there were various large Princely compounds and even more of lower importance, today the most renowned surviving examples are the Palace of Prince Gong in the Xicheng District, and also the Yonghegong also known as "Lama Temple" of Beijing. The Lama Temple was originally an Imperial estate which however was donated to the Church, which to the Manchu was the Tibetan Buddhist-Lamaist faith, in order to further political relations and goals. Another third such complex survives, but is far less well preserved and thus virtually unknown to the general public. This is the former Prince Fu Mansion (Fu Wanfu) in the eastern parts of Dongcheng District, which survived the Mao Zedong era among things serving as a factory and a residential compound for working class families, who, building seperation walls in the good old Chinese tradition, piled into various corners, nooks and crannies. Nevertheless the changes hence produced, its is a wortwhile experience to pay a visit to the Fu Wanfu as well. One may still find the giant stone lions that guarded the compound and various other surprising remains.

After the 1900 AD the Power of the Foreigners over China could only be briefly consolidated and the First World War in Europe and the Russian Revolution changed everything soon. However, in the brief interbellum Beijing's Foreign Character blossomed, and among things, within the City several large Churches were constructed. Due West and East of the current Square of Heavenly Peace (Tian'An Men Square) only remnants remind of this period, however upon the ruins of the destroyed Legations an even more Grandiose City arose. The now thoroughly internationalizing City saw more modernizations, including the opening of the Xizhimen (Beijing North) Railway Station, constructed in 1905 AD, and the construction and opening of the Beijing Hotel, a new and luxury facility for (usually) important international travelers such as diplomats, generals, artists, politicians and businessmen. The Beijing Hotel still proudly occupies its a-class location on the Corner of Wanfujing Street and Chang'An (Eternal Peace) Boulevard

attack. Within no Time two Foreign Emissaries were murdered in the Streets after which the lid was of the Pandora's Box of Chinese Frustrations.

The City descended into chaos as local citizens and even the Qing Armies joined in support. Foreigners ran for their lives across the City as several Foreign Buildings were looted and/or burnt. Throughout China missionaries fled or were killed and in Beijing the now encircled Legations defended by a few hundred Foreigners suffered terrible shelling.

The Hanlin Academy (on North Canal Street, now Zheng Yi Road), one of China's highest Institutes of Scholars was destroyed with its valuable Library in an attempt to smoke out the defenders of the large British Legation compound next door. Sympathetic Qing Troops held positions on the City Wall firing freely into the small Foreign Quarter and in the end, the Legations that lay-in-waste, were relieved by powerful Foreign Armies.

Making their way into the City, the invaders of the so-called 8 Allied Nations, damaged or destroyed several City Gates, not only in the South, but in the East and West as well (for more information read: Beijing Ming Dynasty Era City Walls - Introduction & Menu or Beijing (Former) Foreign Legations Quarter - 11 Page Introduction & Virtual Walk). Having their final Victory in Beijing, and with the Empress-Dowager Cixi fleeing the City with the Emperor Guangxu, the

As a result of the great power and wealth gained by the Manchu Golden Race (Aisin-Gioro) Family and their interest in various aspects of Chinese and other cultures, the Imperial Palace, already the greatest Palace in the world at the time of its creation during the Yongle Reign of the Ming Dynasty, was expanded several times.

Already during the reign of the first Manchu Emperor to factually rule over China with Beijing as the Capital, the first landmark of the the current day Beihai Park Pleasure Gardens was created as the massive Bai Ta (White Dagoba) seated on the Jade Island of the Jin Dynasty arose to look out and guard over the city. Matching the adjacent Jingshan (Coal Hill) in height, its remained one of the highest viewpoints within the city. With right, this resplendent gargantuan Tibetan-styled stupa still is one of the major tourist landmarks of the city and at the time, it certainly was interpreted as the high honor that it was intended to be.

Dedicated to diplomatic relations especially with Tibet (and also Buddhist Mongolians) and planned after the Shunzhi Emperor (Reign: 1643 AD - 1661 AD) had sent official invitations to the spritual and political leader of Tibet, the 5th Dalai Lama, the giant White Tibetan Dagoba and the also the various Temple Halls of the so called Yong An (Forever Safe) Buddhist-Lamaist Temple created below it where intended as a grandiose albeit possibly not entirely genuine gesture of friendship of the Shunzhi Emperor towards the Nation of Tibet, their Church and their nobility as represented by the 5th Dalai Lama.

Hearing of these grandiose gestures made after his acceptance of the 1649 AD invitation, the 5th Dalai Lama then traveled all the way from the Tibetan Capital of Lhasa to the Manchu-Chinese Capital of Beijing in 1652 AD with a large following. Being received at the scared Wutai Shan holy mountain by the Emperor in person, the Dalai Lama then stayed on several months in the Capital, among things for conversations with the Emperor and ritual teachings at sacred Buddhist locations such as the Yonghegong Lama Temple.

In the aftermath of this truly momentous visit, the white stupa continued to serve

an even more spectacular Palace than the current day Forbidden City and the Zhongnanhai palace Gardens put together.

The Main two Palaces that remain today are the First Summer palace of the Qing Dynasty - the ruined Garden of perfect Brightness (Yuan Ming Yuan), and its later constructed replacement the YiheYuan (or Qingyi Garden) - Garden of Perfect Peace constructed on orders of Empress-Dowager Hsu-Tzi (Cixi).

In 1750 AD, Qianlong -one of the great Emperors of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, had summoned the best designers and landscapers in China to his service in order to create what was to become one of the most beautiful estates in China and in fact the whole world.

In a since unrivalled feat of artistic creation a workforce of around 100.000 workers reproduced the styles of different gardens and palaces from throughout the Empire.

The central lake of the Yuan Ming Garden was modeled on Hangzhou’s West Lake, with islands, temples and the magnificent 17-arch bridge.

Qianlong also remodeled the Temple of Gratitude and Longevity in honor of his mother’s birthday, and the 'three hills and five gardens' of West Beijing became legendary throughout the country due to improvements approved by him.

Apart from the mentioned two most famous gardens there are three mountains and three more gardens in the northwest suburbs of Beijing, that is, Yuquanshan Mountain, Xiangshan Mountain (Incense Burning Peak at Fragrant Hills Park in Haidian District) and Longevity Mountain as well as Jingming Garden, Jingyi Garden and last the Changchun Garden.

The Qing Dynasty Capital of Beijing was famed for its beautifully named Regal Gardens and their various unique elements. There were the Garden of Clear Ripples (which later served as the basis for the YiheYuan new Summer Palace), the Wanchun Ting - Everlasting Spring Pavilion atop Jingshan Hill, The Garden of Perfection and Brightness, The Garden of Tranquillity and Brightness and the Garden of Tranquillity and Pleasure.

Still renowned Monuments of this Time are the Longevity Hill at the Summer Palace Park (YiHeYuan), Jade Spring Mountain, and Fragrant Hills (now a Park) with (inside) WoFo Si - Temple of the Reclining Buddha and Baiyun Si, the Temple of the Azure Clouds.

So having finally rid themselves of the confinement of the walled maze built by the thoroughly Han Chinese Ming Dynasty, the wild nomadic Manchu blood at least had regained some semblance of the thoroughly outdoors and nature oriented lives of their ancestors, albeit that their tastes clearly had been mitigated by circumstance and Chinese cultures thus pacifying their wilder needs into a repetition of hunting games, large exploratory expeditions and moreover a love of jumbo-sized regal gardens with an abundance of artificial lakes, rocks, hills and pavilions forming landscapes to dream of and away on. Such was the magical and so in some respects also unreal world the Imperials lived in.

The Emperors of the Qing Dynasty traveled out of the City to their Temporary Palace by water during which the court and Government moved with them. Wherever the Emperor traveled he would continue to manage and dictate essential national affairs while visiting the nearby mountains and their holy temples, or enjoying boat rides and the waters. During the last decades of the 20Th Century, the Empress-Dowager Cixi even made the new Summer Palace (YiHeYuan) her permanent residence for a while.

Find today's last remnants of the Canal that connected the Imperial Palace inside the City with the Summer Palace oustide of it in the shape of the Qianhai, Houhai and Xihai Lakes, after which the Imperial Boat would turn into the wide City Moat which led Westward to a Lake, the WeiTang. From Wei Tang further Canals led west to the Summer Palace (YiheYuan) and Waters.

The Wei Tang no longer exists and has been filled in. Likewise, the year 1905 AD saw the last remnant of waterflow from the West into the City Moat cut by the Construction of the Xizhimen Station. Today the flow has been restored, however it moves underground north-east of Beijing Zoo to re-emerge about a kilometer due West of Deshengmen City Gate. The City Moat, or what is left of it can be

seen in the form of a concrete canal flowing alongside and just outside the Second Ring Road. Follow the route on the adjacent Map of Beijing and Region in 1875 AD, or head down to Beijing Zoo and/or The Five Pagoda Temple in Haidian to see the water flow for yourself.

The City grew in size and during the Qing Era the Hutong of all districts saw some minor re-arrangements on orders of the Imperial City Administration.

During the End of the Qing Dynasty Rule, particularly after China's defeat in the First Opium War (1840 AD - 1842 AD), Beijing saw many changes appear. Only twenty years after the first War, invading Foreign Forces arrived at the outskirts of the Capital City. With Emperor Xianfeng fleeing the City the Foreigners ordered the looting and burning of his beloved YuanMingYuan - the Garden of Perfect Brightness, his Summer Palace (in Haidian District). Today only ruins remain of what was once regarded as the "Most Beautiful Garden in the World".

In 1887 AD during the Guanxu Reign the Imperial Palace was enlarged in a westerly direction incorporating the ZhongnanHai Area into the Imperial City, with a Gate directly connecting both.

open to the Public and designated a World Cultural Heritage Site, the YiheYuan Park in Beijing is one of only two preserved such Gardens in the World. The other one is located at Chengde (Hebei Province), where the XianFeng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty had another Summer Palace constructed, the Palace known as Fleeing the Heat Mountain Villa (Bishu Shanzhuang).

Only minor changes were made to the City of Beijing after the construction of the YiheYuan, leaving very roughly the layout of the (Central) City today, minus TiananMen Square, packed with interesting sites to visit and enjoy.

In another note-worthy evolution, the City Walls around the southern districts of Chongwen and Xuanwu-, which had been started during the Ming Dynasty (1368 A.D. - 1644 A.D.), were completed somewhere during the Qing Dynasty Era.

Just outside of the City, the Grandiose Garden and Large Palace that had arisen, the new Summer Palace of the Emperor, was in reality under control of notorious Empress-Dowager Cixi. For the Time being she officially resided inside the Forbidden City, enjoying her Gardens at Zhongnanhai (since without the prying eyes of Foreign Jesuits viewing from their Western Cathedral Tower into Zongnanhai), but soon the Empress-Dowager would have to move away from the Central City, taking the Emperor Guanxu with her.

The industrial revolution was brought onto China by War, and afterwards the first railroads and train stations appeared near the Capital- the first reaching up to Qianmen and breaching the Outer Wall-, and European Styled Buildings arose on the Imperial doorstep in an area occupied by Foreigners and their Armed Forces growing into the Beijing Legations Quarter. New shops opened and thrived, including Liu Lichang Street, a place where some relics looted from the Palaces ended up. Other places that thrived upon the changing situations arising in China and Beijing since 1860/62 AD were the Tianqiao and Qianmen Area's of Beijing. The first already the cultural center of Beijing and the home of many renowned Peking Opera Theatres, was transformed by the arrival of westerners and their new invention - the cinema. In only a few short years the Tianqiao "Theatre Street" spawned among things the First Ever Chinese Film Studio (Fengtai Studio commemorated at Dashilan Street and in the Film: "Shadow Magic") and a bundle of some 20 to 25 film theatres. The Qianmen Area and Dashilan Street (to be correct: Dashilar in BJ local slang, and Dashalan historically) were already centers of High Commerce in the City long before the Foreigners arrived, however the City saw a new boom in business from Foreign influx of currency, as well as a boom in trade from the down-trodden Royal House and their extensive following. At the Time, many of the Noble Families in Beijing were in such dire positions that they had to sell their Family Antiques and other historic relics in order to get by. Since the most renowned stores were located at Dashalan, many of the Antiques, Gold and Jewelries were traded through establishments in this Area. It would be the last moments of Glory for Dashilan, as time was now quickly running out. Turmoil was about to overtake China and sack the economy.

"CHINESE CITY":

Outside of the City Walls, in the Chongwen- and Xuanwu District, lay what was dubbed by the Foreigners the "Chinese City", where, phsyically seperated from the Manchu and associated elites, lived what amounted to the average joe's. The hutong in these districts previously had been reserved for the lower strata of society; basicly everyone from relatively rich traders, via renowned artists and other celebrities down to street peddlers and beggars. Under the Ming, the Muslim traders of the Silk Road, their Mosques, and the newcomer westerners with their Church were also restricted to residence and dwelling within these districts, unless directed by the higher powers to do otherwise.

However, having been pushed out by the Manchu, the poor districts gained various assorted members of the higher social strata, who fallen from grace due to their unfortunate Han ethnicity and possible sympathies for the fallen Ming Dynasty, found themselves considerably demoted.

In the decades and centuries after the Manchu take-over of 1644 AD, the "Chinese City" added various strata of society and henceforth also included Confucian Scholars, a collection of Literati and political activist, reputed artists, and still the others.

Although traces of these times have all but disappeared from the current day city of Beijing, up to as late as the year 2005 one could still identify the various zones with the "Chinese City" (the southern districts) where various social groups had been assigned their place, or had more spontaineously congregated. To name but a few; in the west of the Xuanwu District lies the Caishikou Area - which translated back from the times translates at vegetable market (or actually imperial storage facility), was among things already for centuries the realm of Hui traders. In the many blocks and lanes surrounding the long disappeared market, one may find the oldest Muslim District, its Mosque (the Ox Street Mosque) and also the Tang Dynasty Era (618 AD - 907 AD) Buddhist Fayuan or Source of the Law Temple (Fayuansi).

In the middle, along the all important central axis of the city and the route leading up to the main south gate of the Tartar City (the Qianmen or Front Gate), one could find the various commercial activities, the theaters and of course the many various forms of artistry. Still a center of the arts today, and home of the Beijing Opera Group is the Tianqiao, heavenly bridge crossing around which those entering the great city may find street performers, the obligatory stores and shops, beggars, thieves and so much more. It was the center of the everyday man's life in Beijing.

Although there is no longer a white marble bridge, one may still find the Tianqiao as a crossing of major roads, and near it the Tianqiao or Wansheng Beijing Opera Theatre which forms more or less the heart of this revived cultural corner of the megametropolis of today.

On the other side of the "Chinese City" in the west and outside of Chongwenmen City Gate lay another zone inhabited by Muslims, however not the Hui but "the others" the genrally far les sincized Uighur People who derived from what today is "Xinjiang". This is the area of the West Flower Market Street, where today only the Fire God Temple and a small (Huashi) Mosque remind of the former arrangements of citizenry in the city.

In the year 2005, the hutong lanes predominantly inhabitant by Uighur people were torn down, their lively market and hutong culture destroyed, to be replaced by what today are known as the "New World Appartments", the "New World Shopping Mall(s)" and further west another block of luxury appartment buildings known as Glory City. And a New World it is. The poor inhabitants, not able to afford the large sums required to own one of the new high end appartments mostly found themselves forced to the outer suburbs or even further away. The newcomers, happy in their newfound bliss known little about the culture and history they replaced.

All of the inhabitants of the Chinese City - relatively rich or poor - lived in the many thousands of Hutong lanes of the city, encircled by a less solid wall built at much later time. Those who dwelled in the districts outside the wall, usually were only permitted within with due permits, or when so honored - an invitation to be shown at the gates in order to gain entrance at all.

EXPANSIONS OF THE FORBIDDEN CITY AND REGAL PLEASURE GARDENS:

The major other change made inside the City during the roughly 250 years of reign of the Qing Dynasty, was the evolution of a large-scale garden scenic area in the northwest district and later the suburbs of Beijing. With the grandfather Kangxi mostly busy fighting the battles to consolidate his rule and later, far expand his Empire - a process that left him less time to pay attention to his Capital, the Grandson, the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, regarded as the richest man in the world during his later reign, completed the conquest and found ways to effectively administer the Empire. Thus, reaping the enormous economic and other benefits of the hard work of three (or more) generations of ambitious and warlike Manchu, the Qianlong Emperor was particularly wealthy, ruling in generally peaceful times which allowed him to be very active in the making changes and additions to the Palace and imperial Gardens.

Other Emperors, among whom XianFeng and later his 2nd Concubine turned Empress-Dowager Cixi followed suit in later periods nearing the end of the Dynasty.

Although crucial Palaces have been entirely destroyed, notably in 1860 AD and the year 1900 AD by Foreign invaders, still much remains to see, explore and marvel at in the current day city.

Next in the line of luxury developments was the Lake constellation that lay to the East of the Palace (Forbidden City), and the ZhongNanHai Lake - Central and Southern Lake Area was turned into an Imperial Garden annex collection of Imperial Palaces.

Later, during the Reign of Empress-Dowager Cixi (Guanxu Period), the Western Jesuit Cathedral in Beijing, which was located at Canshikou inside the Zhongnanhai complex of today was bought out, and rebuilt a new a new location in order to create some privacy for those living in the Imperial Gardens of Zhongnanhai next door. Thus, the Western Cathedral became the Northern Church (Saint Savior), the largest and most Luxury Church in the City.

And that was not all. Beijing did not only grow a green heart punctured by an abundace of canals with magnificent white marble bridges, it also developed a whole series of Leisure Gardens on scenic locations just outside of the City.

Specifically the Northern and Northwestern Corner of the City grew into a huge traditional.

An obviously non-Chinese but western-inspired and made Map of the Manchu Qing Dynasty Empire depicting their overlordship of Mongolia, (Dzungar) East Turkestan as well as Tibet in the year 1910 AD, a year before the official resignation of the Emperor gibing way to the first ever Republic of China.

In this Map of 1910 AD, made one year before the abdication of Last Qing Emperor Xuan Tong and the final end of China's Feudal History, China, in dark yellow, is depicted as in it's smallest boundaries and definition. Most notably Manchuria, Inner and Outer Mongolia, Tibet and even East Turkestan (Xinjiang) are depicted as separate area's. Manchuria is the ancestral home of the Aisin-Gioro Clan of the Qing Dynasty from whence they 1st subjugated China and subsequently Mongolian Peoples and Territory, Turkmen and Kazakh lands and thereafter all traditional Tibetan areas as well as (nominally) the Nation of Tibet.

The current day Peoples Republic of China by and large lays claim to all territories previously vanquished by the Manchu People.

as reminder - or sacred shrine if you will - of the great friendship and religious brotherhood with the Tibetan and also Mongolian and even Burmese peoples.

Having a "Forever Safe" or "Everlasting Peace" temple opened in such an important place visible on the skyline of the city to everyone that mattered there, certainly did bring hope and build mutal trust. Altogether, the visit by the 5th Dalai Lama and his 1300 man strong following to the City was more or less the spiritual to 1652 AD Beijing Olympic Games of that great moment in time.

Subsequently, around the year 1690 AD in the 29th year of his reign, the successor Kangxi Emperor had the so called Round City (also Circular City), a part of the former Palace of the Mongolian Emperors (Yuan Dynasty) restored to its former glory, after a bid to pacify and subdue the Eastern Mongolians and also the Dzungar West Mongolians and, eventually, their Tibetan allies. As with the earlier built White Dagoba (Bai Ta), a conduit for politics with the Tibetan Church notably the Dalai Lama himself, the Chengguang Hall and round city then served as a sort of shrine-altar annex Embasssy to the

View of the superb and shining Bai Ta White Dagoba riding atop the hill on Jade Island in the north lake (Bai Hai). Built in the Shunzhi Reign, the first period of Manchu rule over Manchuria and China together, the building symbolises a promise of an everlasting friendship with the Tibetan People, with the Manchu (,Mongolians) and Tibetans proposed and agreed to as brethren of the same Buddhist-Lamaist Faith.

The meeting of the Shunzhi Emperor with the 5th Dalai Lama in person at Wutai Shan had further signalled that the Manchu Emperor accepted the Dalai Lama as his equal, being the ruler of a significant state or at least a highly important spiritual teacher. Thereafter, by accepting the teachings of the Dalai Lama at the Capital and to the Emperor himself, the Manchu Court had suggested that it subjected to the spiritual overlordship of the Dalai Lama and accepted his teachings of universal peace among brethren of the faith. By and large, this mantra was followed during the Shunzi Reign allowing for the continued flourishing of the salt trade and tea-horse trade, both crucial commodities of international trade between the two states and cultures.

Great Khalka Alliance and Central Khanate that was created under the Kangxi Emperor to rule over East Mongolia and all its emerging and very lucrative (international) trade. In various ways it was all smart politics. Having so coopted the Mongolians Nobility into the Imperial Trading System, come the 18th century, the trading cities of Kalgan (today: Zhangjiakou) and Urga (Ulan Bator) flourished.

Under the 6th Emperor, i.e. during the Qianlong Reign of the Qing Dynasty (1735 AD - 1796 AD), the period regarded as the climax of Manchu Power, Prowess and Cultural achievements, Beihai Park (North Lake) was further expanded northward, reconstructed and included as a part of the Imperial palace City. With the south side of the current Beihai Park already developed, the north and east shores of the Lake underwent considerable changes and saw the erection of various Temple Halls, wildly decorated shrines and various gardens and lodges for the Imperial use.