Why should the address of the newly-built Ming Drum Tower be chosen in the timing building in Xi 'an?

1380, when the Ming army was still fighting the Yuan army in Jingyang, Shaanxi, Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming emperor, considered that he could not always rule the world on horseback. After the baptism of blood and fire, Xi 'an was in a state of great desolation, so urban construction was the first priority at that time.

So he sent officials to guard Shaanxi and xi 'an, and began to build Xi 'an City. Among the first buildings in Xi City, the Xi Drum Tower reported by Chen Si is also among them.

In ancient times, drums were used to announce the dawn, so it was called "morning bell and dusk drum". At the same time, drums will be played at night to tell the time. The "three drums" are "three shifts" and the "five drums" are "five shifts", which are reported five times a night. Drum at sunset to close the city gate, drum at midnight to warn pedestrians, and drum before sunrise to open the city gate.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the perimeter of Xi 'an was 1 1.9 km, covering an area of 8,700 square meters. Therefore, in order to spread drums all over the city, it is necessary to build tall buildings and erect drums.

According to historical records, there was also a tall building named "Taining Building" in Xi 'an City in Yuan Dynasty. Because there is a huge drum upstairs, it is called "Drum Tower" every day. In the late Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the "Timing Building" was burned in the war.

After the expansion of the Ming Dynasty, the former site of Taiming Building was no longer the city center, but at that time, it was said that the geomantic omen in this area was very good. It was once the entrance of Shangshu Province, the highest administrative capital of the Tang Dynasty, and the main entrance was here. Shangshu Province and Liugu and Chen Si reminded officials to go to court and leave the court. At that time, the building where drums were placed in Shangshu Province was called "Shijing Building", which was located in the porch area.

In addition, the east side of the Drum Tower in Yuan Dynasty is the location of Fengyuan Road House. In Ming Dynasty, Xi 'an City was the military and political center of the whole country in Ming Dynasty, and the east side of Taining Building site was the seat of Xi 'an House. Although the second floor of the bell and drum has been interdependent since ancient times, the drum tower near the yamen was naturally built first.

Therefore, 1380 chose the address of the newly-built Ming Drum Tower in the old site of Taixing Building, which was later the southern end of Xi 'an Beiyuanmen Street, and the Drum Tower straddled Beiyuanmen Street.