According to China's ancient geomantic omen, Beijing is located on the Yanshan Mountains, which is the longest dragon among the "Northern Dragons", with an altitude of 1000 meters. The dragon is obviously more majestic than Nanjing at an altitude of 200-300 meters. Compared with Nanjing, Beijing's "Tian Zi Qi" is heavier, with Yanshan natural barrier in the north and rich plains in the south.
Photo: Beijing aerial photo
On the whole, Shanhaiguan in the northeast, Bohai Bay in the east and Shandong Peninsula form another natural military checkpoint in Beijing. The poet Su Zhe's poem "Twenty-eight Yanshan Poems in Qidan" said: "Yanshan Mountain is like a long snake, and a thousand miles is limited to Han Yi. The first title is Xiqiao, and the tail is hung on the east coast. " Tell the emperor's weather in Beijing to the fullest.
Zhu was a famous Neo-Confucianist in the Southern Song Dynasty, and he also studied the theory of Feng Shui. He once praised the geomantic omen in Jizhou where Beijing is located. "Jizhou has good feng shui, and Yunzhongshan has a long history; Daiyue, Qinglong also; Huashan, Baihu also: Songshan, Geye; The mountain of Huainan is also outside the case. " From Zhu's analysis, it can be seen that the geographical location of the capital fully conforms to the pattern of "left green dragon and right white tiger", which is the essence of traditional geomantic omen, showing the trend of "pilgrimage from all directions".
Photo: Beijing Yanshan Lailong
In the definition of Feng Shui in Beijing, some people once called it "the land of dragons and tigers". For example, people in the Yuan Dynasty thought that "the land of secluded swallows is surrounded by dragons and tigers, and the situation is magnificent, with Jianghuai in the south and Shuomo in the north. And the son of heaven must be in the middle to accept worship from all directions. If Wang wants to rule the world and stay in the country, it must be Yan. " It is said that this is also one of the main reasons why Yuan moved from Shangdu to Dadu.
During the Liao Dynasty in the 10 century, Beijing was once called Nanjing. Beijing has many names. I looked it up and found that Ji Cheng, Yanjing, Zhongdu, Dadu and Peiping are all names for Beijing. But Beijing's real name was after 1403, and it was changed to Beiping in the Republic of China.
Among the three ancient metropolises, Beijing became the "national capital" later than Xi 'an and Nanjing. The history of Beijing can be traced back to the period when Yao's descendants were sealed here, which became the capital of Yan. The origin of "Yan" is also because of the existence of Yanshan, a big dragon.
Photo: Yuquan Mountain, Xishan, Beijing
The first "dragon-turning" in Beijing was in the middle of 12 century, and the capital moved here from the northeast. The real Longxing should be in the Yuan Dynasty. But then, Beijing also suffered a disaster, and the whole city was almost burned down. This happened on 12 16. The year before, Genghis Khan forced the Jin regime to leave Yan and move the capital to Bianjing. The Mongolian army easily occupied Yanjing. After Genghis Khan's army entered the city, Jin's palace was completely burned down.
Genghis Khan had no intention of making Beijing his capital, but things changed during Kublai Khan's reign in Yuan Shizu. Liu, a monk trusted by Kublai Khan, suggested moving the capital of the Yuan Dynasty to Yanjing. Kublai Khan accepted this suggestion and changed Yanjing into a metropolis. And appointed Liu to preside over the design and construction of the metropolis. According to the traditional geomantic concept of Han people, Liu arranged the functional layout of the capital in the format of "the former dynasty followed the later dynasty, and the left ancestor followed the right society", which took 24 years to build, thus outlining the outline of modern Beijing.
It turned out that after the demise of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang almost sat in the golden palace of the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty and moved his capital from Qingtianfu (Nanjing). However, due to unlucky geomantic omen, superstitious Zhu Yuanzhang finally stayed in Yingtian. After most of them fell into the hands of the Ming army, Zhu Yuanzhang consulted the courtiers. But the people around Zhu Yuanzhang are southerners from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, and they don't want to work in Beijing. Therefore, most of them are places where the Yuan Dynasty perished, and the kingship dried up, which is not suitable for building the capital. Nanjing is a place where emperors breed, so there is no need to move the capital.
Photo: The Forbidden City in Beijing
Judy's fief is in Beijing. Before he proclaimed himself emperor, he was a "prince" and had deep feelings for Beijing. After Judy proclaimed himself emperor, the geomantic omen in Beijing suddenly improved, and the princes embraced it, so it was no longer royal. Ming Dynasty is one of the most popular dynasties of geomantic omen, and many books on this subject have been handed down. One of the books is called Buried Wings, written by a Feng Shui master named Miao Xiyong. The views in the book represent the understanding of Feng Shui in Beijing in the Ming Dynasty. "Jizhou is the right way and the article is dry goods." Yan Dou, the dragon is tired, the duck is green and the world is behind, and the Yellow River holds its front, welcoming thousands of factions and helping the recovery. "
However, the shortcomings of feng shui in Beijing are particularly obvious. Because it is too close to the customs, once you slip, the consequences will be unimaginable. In the middle and late Ming dynasty, the Ming emperor wanted to move to Nanjing after being harassed by the Mongols in the north. Gu Zuyu, a native of Wuxi and geographer in the early Qing Dynasty, wrote a Summary of Reading Historical Records, which was called a "fantastic book". The book points out the main points of feng shui in Beijing: "Yan Dou is in a secluded corner, anxious to prevent leisure, and the omen of losing his life, avoiding the worry of shoulder and back, and taking care of the family, and being anxious about it."
This view is actually summed up from the lesson that the Ming Dynasty destroyed the Qing Dynasty. Once the military fortresses such as Juyongguan, Shanhaiguan, Zijingguan and Daomaguan, which protect Beijing, are lost and controlled by opponents, it is only a matter of time before Beijing falls.
Photo: Ming City Wall in Beijing
Comparatively speaking, Nanjing and Xi have no fatal point in geomantic omen. Beijing's supply has also become a big problem. Beijing's water resources and urban development are prominent contradictions in history. The threat of water shortage in Beijing, a "land of feng shui", is no less than that of the enemy. The sudden disappearance of Loulan, the bustling ancient city in the western regions in history, was "dry to death" because there was no water.
In modern Beijing, water shortage is becoming more and more serious, surrounding desertification and environmental pollution caused by population explosion. In the eyes of many scholars, Beijing is no longer suitable to be the capital, and "moving the capital" has been mentioned from time to time, even former the State Council Prime Minister Zhu? Ji also does not shy away from this topic. Beijing "will move the capital sooner or later if the desertification problem is not controlled".
Photo: Xi Anming City Wall
Compared with Beijing, Xi and Nanjing, its unique geographical advantages are revealed. The surrounding economy is developed and the atmosphere is civilized. The Taihu Plain and Qiantang River in the southeast originated from the ancient land of abundance, and the Yangtze River, as a traffic artery, is nearby, which is more convenient than the Yellow River. Historically, any regime with its capital here has never worried about economic supply.
Judging from the modern pattern, the advantages of Nanjing are more obvious. The Yangtze River Delta, where it is located, has now become the most economically developed area in the mainland, and it is very close to Shanghai, the largest economic city. Suzhou, Hangzhou, paradise on earth, Wuhu and Anqing are connected in series. No wonder the southern literati in the Southern and Northern Dynasties thanked them? I said, "Kerry Land in the South of the Yangtze River, the Imperial Capital of Jinling"!
Photo: Nanjing Ming City Wall
But now Nanjing people are not confident, saying that the kingship of Nanjing has completely disappeared, and the presidential palace area where Miyagi lived in the Six Dynasties was suppressed by the new Nanjing Library. The "Dragon Neck" of Zijin Mountain has dug another big hole-Jiuhuashan Tunnel built the year before last.
In fact, these statements are all jokes after dinner, including the "real dragon" and "emperor spirit" mentioned in my article, which are just an understanding of the ancients. Whether a city can develop or not is, in the final analysis, linked to the choice of the times and the efforts of the people, not to any providence!