Even before the liberation war ended, Chairman Mao was already paying attention to the liberation of Peking and the protection of the Forbidden City.
During the Battle of Peking and Tianjin, he repeatedly stated that he should try his best to solve the problem of Peking by peaceful means and not use artillery fire unless absolutely necessary.
After liberation, he paid great attention to the development and protection of the Forbidden City, and ordered many times to allocate funds to redeem China's cultural relics spread abroad.
Even not long after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1954, he took time to visit and tour the Forbidden City many times.
You must know that 1954 was the time when the country was developing. There were still many things waiting for Chairman Mao to deal with. The official duties to be dealt with every day were piled up, but why did he always pay attention to the development of the Forbidden City and visit the Forbidden City three times in four days? In addition, why did the Chairman insist on not visiting the Forbidden City?
Chairman Mao’s love affair with the Forbidden City
Chairman Mao had an inseparable relationship with the Forbidden City before he went to Beijing to take the exam. At that time, he was still studying at Hunan Normal University .
During his studies, there was a man named Yi Peiji, who was the first director of the Palace Museum and had a great influence on Chairman Mao.
He taught Chairman Mao Chinese subjects and spent too much time and energy on Chairman Mao to teach him to become a talent.
Although Yi Peiji taught many students, no one had ever been as highly regarded by him as Chairman Mao.
He once commented: "With Chairman Mao's character and talents, he is definitely not a fish in the pond!"
He even predicted that Chairman Mao will definitely be the leader of the common people in the future.
In order to support the Hunan revolution led by Chairman Mao in his early days, Yi Peiji provided sponsorship to him many times.
Chairman Mao was also grateful to this Bole who appreciated him. The two often exchanged letters and kept in touch.
It was also from him that Chairman Mao was full of longing for Beijing.
Chairman Mao has a profound knowledge of our country's ancient culture, especially his deep feelings for cultural heritage.
In the summer of 1918, Yang Changji's family moved to Beijing, and Chairman Mao also graduated from the normal school. Many students from the Xinmin Institute hoped to study abroad, but they did not have enough funds.
Just when Chairman Mao and his classmates were distressed, Yang Changji sent a letter from Beijing, telling them that the French government had come to China to recruit workers and that this was an excellent work-study opportunity.
After receiving the letter, Chairman Mao rushed to live in Beijing without stopping.
html On August 19, he arrived in Beijing and met Yang Kaihui, Yang Changji’s daughter.The two were walking on the streets of Beijing and looking at the huge Forbidden City, Chairman Mao had a lot of emotions.
Chairman Mao felt very uncomfortable when he thought that there were so many people in Beijing who had no place to live and were living on the streets.
At this time, Chairman Mao had an idea: let everyone in the world have a house to live in and food to eat, so that they no longer have to live such a poor life.
Although Chairman Mao at the time did not know where China’s way out was or how he could realize his grand dream.
But a small seed took root and sprouted in his heart.
At the end of 1948, the Liaoshen Campaign was victorious. The People's Liberation Army besieged Peiping, and a large number of defeated Kuomintang troops poured into Peiping. They ran around in the Forbidden City and wreaked havoc in the city. The Forbidden City faced serious danger.
In order to prevent the People's Liberation Army from entering Peiping, they built many fortifications around the Forbidden City. Once a war breaks out, the People's Liberation Army's artillery shells are likely to fall near the Forbidden City, and the buildings and cultural relics in the Forbidden City will inevitably be damaged.
The Forbidden City in Beijing is where the twenty-four emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties lived. It has a huge palace complex and millions of cultural relics collections, and is the main symbol of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
After the Revolution of 1911, the feudal monarchy was abolished. After Puyi was deposed, the facilities in the Forbidden City were damaged to varying degrees. The most obvious thing was that the thresholds of each palace gate were sawed off.
During the warlord melee, the destruction of the Forbidden City further intensified, and there was even an incident where a plane dropped a bomb on the Forbidden City.
Since the Forbidden City has not been repaired for a long time, the Forbidden City has become overgrown with weeds, the houses have collapsed, and some trees that are forty or fifty years old have grown out of some walls and houses.
As early as 1936, Chairman Mao recognized the historical and artistic value of the Forbidden City. At that time, Chairman Mao was still living in a cave dwelling in northern Shaanxi.
He once described his impressions and feelings about the Forbidden City to Snow: "The beauty of the Forbidden City is a colorful, lively and interesting compensation for me. In the courtyard of the Forbidden City, I see the early spring in the north."
It was under this ancient wall and by the moat that Chairman Mao and Yang Kaihui began their green love.
Therefore, in order to protect the cultural relics in Beijing , Chairman Mao gave instructions to Nie Rongzhen and others: "This siege must be carefully planned to avoid damage to the Forbidden City and other cultural relics and historic sites."
The People's Liberation Army quickly surrounded and Isolating Peiping, according to the situation at the time, they could take Peiping by force while defeating the enemy.
However, in order to avoid damaging the Forbidden City and protect the cultural monuments of Beijing, Chairman Mao specifically instructed the frontline troops to actively do Fu Zuoyi's work while attacking the city, and try to peacefully liberate Peiping.
also allows the leader of each unit to figure out which places can be attacked and which places cannot be attacked.
He even ordered the People's Liberation Army to draw a map and everyone must strictly follow the instructions on the map.
This map details every street and alley in Peiping, and all People's Liberation Army troops must memorize the signs on the map accurately.
Chairman Mao's order represents the attitude of the Communist Party of China and the People's Liberation Army towards the protection of the Forbidden City and the cultural monuments represented by the Forbidden City.
Protection work of the Forbidden City
In order to protect the Forbidden City and other ancient buildings in Beijing, central leaders discussed with Lin Biao many times and secretly sent relevant personnel to find Liang Sicheng, an architectural expert at Tsinghua University , and asked him to mark the city of Peking on the map. The location of ancient buildings inside and outside.
The People's Liberation Army followed his markings and printed them in the soldiers' manuals to make it easier for everyone to remember.
At the same time, central leaders also set out to form the Peking Cultural Takeover Committee to discuss how to take over and protect the Forbidden City after the liberation of Peking.
On February 1, 1949, the day after Peking was peacefully liberated , the Peiping Municipal Military Control Commission took over the protection of cultural relics in Beijing.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Beijing, as the capital, naturally focused on construction. Despite the severe economic constraints, Chairman Mao decided to repair the Forbidden City.
From May to June 1949, the government funded the renovation of the Qingshou Hall of the Forbidden City. This was the first renovation project of the Forbidden City after the liberation of Peiping.
During the renovation, the staff discovered how difficult the project was. There was too much garbage and weeds left in the Forbidden City in the past.
just cleans up garbage and waste, which takes more than half a year, and the garbage collected is measured in tens of thousands of tons. After the liberation of
, under the auspices of Dean Ma Heng of
, after investigation, a detailed plan for the maintenance and protection of ancient buildings such as the Forbidden City was formulated.
Among them, the larger projects were the repair of Duanmen in 1955; the repair of the northwest corner tower in 1956; the repair of Wuying Hall in 1957; and the oil painting project of Taihe Gate and the first three halls in 1959. ; In 1960, the renovation project of the northeast corner building was carried out.
In the early years of liberation, Premier Zhou visited the Palace Museum many times, visited the original displays of the palace and the displays of the special museums one by one, and reviewed the exhibitions of cultural relics abroad.
He instructed the relevant parties not to hesitate to spend a lot of money to redeem the authentic works of ancient Chinese people that were mortgaged in foreign banks in Hong Kong in exchange for cash when Puyi was driven out of the palace.
In accordance with Premier Zhou's instructions, relevant Hong Kong personnel redeemed them one by one regardless of cost and placed them in the Palace Museum for Chinese people to visit.
Although Chairman Mao was very concerned about the repair and protection of the Forbidden City, it was only in the fifth year after the founding of New China that he visited the Forbidden City.
Visited the Forbidden City three times
At 4 pm on May 17, 1954, the Central Security Bureau contacted the Forbidden City Security Section and informed them that Chairman Mao was coming to the Forbidden City.
After a while, two cars drove straight into the Shenwu Gate of the Forbidden City. Chairman Mao, wearing gray woolen clothes, climbed onto the wall of the Forbidden City with the Minister of Public Security Luo Ruiqing.
Because the Great Wall the mountains are high and the roads are far away, Chairman Mao specially held a small bamboo pole and climbed to the tower of Shenwu Gate.
The Forbidden City sent Han Bingwen, chief of the security department, to accompany Chairman Mao throughout the visit and act as a tour guide.
In order not to affect the normal opening of the Forbidden City and other tourists' visits, and not to cause a sensation, Chairman Mao directly climbed up the tower from the east ramp of Shenwu Gate.
When he saw the alfalfa on the city wall, he asked: "This should be alfalfa, right? It is a good thing!"
They followed the city wall east and south, all the way to Donghua Gate. Along the way, Chairman Mao was in high spirits.
He carefully browsed the panoramic view of the Forbidden City, looking at the majestic appearance of the Forbidden City, glazed tiles shining with golden light, and the red palace walls overflowing with brilliance. He was filled with emotion.
On the city platform of Donghua Gate, Chairman Mao sat on a small bench to rest, tasting oranges with his fellow comrades and Han Bingwen, and chatting cordially with Han Bingwen.
Chairman Mao inquired in detail about the institutional structure of the Forbidden City and the protection of cultural relics.
Han Bingwen saw that Chairman Mao was so concerned about the situation in the Forbidden City, so he invited Chairman Mao to visit the Forbidden City.
He once served in the Zhongnanhai Security Bureau and was responsible for security and firefighting. Every night, he had to send people to the city tower and patrol along the city wall.
At that time, the security facilities of the Forbidden City were not so advanced. Infrared displays, automatic fire alarm systems, , and day and night monitoring all relied on the vigilant eyes of fire guards.
Who knew that Chairman Mao waved his hand and said he was not willing to visit the Forbidden City? Then he asked about the division of labor in various departments of the Forbidden City and the educational level of the staff.
Chairman Mao was a teacher and knew best the importance of culture to a person. He encouraged everyone to actively learn cultural knowledge and business-related knowledge.
After resting, he walked to the Meridian Gate and visited the recently unearthed cultural relics exhibition on the Meridian Gate Tower, which lasted more than three hours in total.
Chairman Mao looked at these newly produced cultural relics with great interest. Each piece was a treasure of China and the hard work of the people. It was not until almost dusk that he quietly left.
The next day, on the afternoon of May 19, Chairman Mao once again climbed onto the wall of the Forbidden City.
He had been thinking about the unearthed cultural relics that he had not finished visiting yesterday. After handling the matter, he eagerly climbed onto the wall of the Forbidden City.
He chose to climb directly to the Forbidden City Tower from the Meridian Gate and continue his visit.
He was very interested and careful at the same time, and it was obvious that he attached great importance to cultural relics.
This time, he was not as superficial as yesterday. Instead, he looked at each unearthed cultural relic exhibition in detail and became very interested in the new archaeological discoveries at that time.
The excavation work of the Peking Man site is progressing very well. Archaeologists have discovered specimens and fossils of Peking Man from the most inconspicuous ash heap in Zhoukoudian.
Chairman Mao watched for more than two hours this time. While watching, he also asked questions, as if he was asking the question to the end.
At this time, the people following him asked again: "Chairman, why don't we go to the Forbidden City to see there are many cultural relics on display."
As expected, he was rejected by Chairman Mao again. Chairman Mao felt that he only wanted to see This batch of cultural relics is enough, there is no need to visit the Forbidden City.
So he continued to look at the cultural relics. Although he looked at the cultural relics very carefully, Chairman Mao still had a feeling of unfinished business when he left.
On the afternoon of May 20, Chairman Mao climbed onto the wall of the Forbidden City for the third time. This time he also passed by the Shenwu Gate and walked west. The staff also left a precious photo on the northwest corner tower. In the
lens, he was smiling and seemed particularly excited. This time he chose an excellent viewing angle.
Looking to the north from here, Jingshan, Dagoxuan Hall and Beihai White Tower are all in sight, with a clear view.
Looking to the west from the West City Wall, you can see Zhongnanhai and Jin'ao Yuqiao (dōng) Bridge where Chairman Mao lived and worked.
The scene when I visited the Forbidden City with Yang Kaihui was vivid in my mind. I didn’t expect that the Forbidden City would be completely different now.
The Fuyou Temple where I stayed when I first came to Beijing, Feng Temple, Rain Temple, Thunder Temple and Wanshou Xinglong Temple and other historic sites can all be seen at a panoramic view.
Today's Forbidden City has endless scenery and pleasant weather inside and outside, which can make people relax and eliminate all fatigue.
It was not until 7 o'clock in the evening that Chairman Mao walked down the tower and waved goodbye to everyone. The red palace walls silently told the genius and wisdom of the Chinese nation and the creative power of the ancient working people.
At this moment, Chairman Mao must have mixed feelings and infinite emotion.
You must know that in 1954, New China had only been established for 5 years, and there were still many national affairs waiting for Chairman Mao to deal with.
Such as the development of the "Three Antis" movement, the development of the public-private partnership economic system, and preparations for the 1955 Bandung Conference and so on.
Deep love and trust in the Forbidden City
In addition to visiting the Forbidden City three times, Chairman Mao also had little-known contacts with the Forbidden City Museum.
Chairman Mao's secretary Pang Xianzi once said in a book: "Chairman Mao loves copybooks and often asks his secretary to put all the copybooks around him for him to practice.
In order to satisfy Chairman Mao's interests and hobbies, we often go to the Forbidden City borrow some The original works of famous calligraphers were provided for him to study. "
The Forbidden City still keeps two catalogs of Chairman Mao's borrowed paintings and calligraphy: one in 1959 when Chairman Mao entrusted Chen Bingchen to borrow more than 20 paintings and calligraphy; and the other on February 11, 1963. , Tian Jiaying came forward to borrow 26 paintings and calligraphy.
This shows Chairman Mao’s love for his ancestors and his enthusiasm for Chinese calligraphy.
Previously, the famous historian Mr. Yao Yuqin donated his Wang Chuanshan ink "Double Crane Rui Wu Fu", which he had treasured for many years, to Chairman Mao through Mr. Chen Shutong.
Chairman Mao regarded it as a treasure after receiving it, but he felt that such a precious item should not be kept for himself, but should be placed in the Palace Museum for collection so that more people can see it.
He carefully handed "Ode to the Auspicious Dance of Two Cranes" to Director Zheng Zhenduo of the Cultural Relics Bureau for preservation. Zheng Zhenduo also asked professionals to identify the "Ode to the Auspicious Dance of Two Cranes". After
confirmed that this was Wang Chuanshan's genuine product, he registered it in the warehouse.
On October 27, 1952, Chairman Mao handed over the "Thirteen Postscripts of Qian Dongbi Lin Lanting" presented by his friend Jiang Zelin to the Palace Museum. Why doesn’t
enter the Forbidden City?
Combined with the development history of New China at that time, there should be the following reasons:
First, in 1954, New China suffered frequent disasters. The Yuxi fire in Yunnan directly caused the death of ten people; the Yuelun fire in the Yangtze River burned 15 people to death and injured 30 others. There were many people, and the fire was so powerful that it almost spread to the Great Buddha Temple; the Mazu Temple fire in Pingnan County, Fujian Province, severely burned the temple and burned four people to death. The occurrence of these fires caused varying degrees of damage to nearby cultural relics.
Second, the Soviet firefighting and air defense delegation came to visit China.
After visiting the Palace Museum , they introduced some of their firefighting experience in detail, and also put forward many valuable suggestions to our country for improving firefighting work, including how to strengthen the firefighting of the Forbidden City and the protection of cultural relics.
After seeing off the Soviet delegation, Luo Ruiqing compiled the situation of the domestic fire into a detailed document and reported to Chairman Mao.
Out of concern for the fire safety of the Forbidden City, Chairman Mao decided to personally board the Forbidden City and follow the patrol route of the fire guards and circle the city wall.
In short, the reason is simple, because of the people.
After the central leadership moved to Peiping, Chairman Mao insisted on living in Xiangshan Shuangqing Villa and did not want to move to Zhongnanhai.
If it hadn't been for the repeated persuasion of Premier Zhou and Luo Ruiqing, and if he hadn't suffered multiple assassinations in Shuangqing Villa , Chairman Mao still would not have moved to Zhongnanhai.
Because he did not want the people to feel that they had any connection with the traditional feudal emperor. Similarly, the Forbidden City, as the residence of the emperor, would always have some connection with the feudal monarchy.
Chairman Mao did not want to cause misunderstanding to the people: "The Chinese Communist Party is related to the feudal monarchy", so he visited the Forbidden City three times but did not enter.
In his heart, the people are heaven, which is far more important than anything else!
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