Live Your Best Lives
Take the Beijing Subway and, after various transfers throughout the network, you'll reach Jianguomen Station. As soon as you exit Jianguomen Station's Exit C, you'll see a high platform on Jiebi'er. The poet Li Bai loved wine. Even without company, he would "raise his cup to the bright moon, and my shadow and I become three." At the end of his collection of poems, "Four Poems of Drinking Alone Under the Moon," Li Bai writes, "Let us drink fine wine and ascend the high platform under the moonlight." While this platform has indeed been climbed many times, Li Bai wasn't among them. Li Bai lived during the Tang Dynasty, and this platform was built in the seventh year of the Zhengtong reign of Ming Dynasty Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen, 680 years after his death. What did Li Bai do on the high platform? Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo described it as "The sky is azure, amidst the evening clouds. The high platform atop the city wall is truly transcendent." This suggests that Li Bai went to the high platform to seek transcendence, to practice drunken boxing, and to compose a couple of drunken poems. Others went to the high platform not to drink, but to engage in another equally romantic activity: stargazing, "to watch the meteor showers fall upon the earth." Before this Ming Dynasty high platform, during the Yuan Dynasty, people built a rammed earth mound here and ascended it at night to gaze at the stars. Among these people was a renowned astronomer named Guo Shoujing, a serious astronomer. Over a thousand years before Guo Shoujing, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Heng studied astronomy and geography. Before Zhang Heng, stargazing was generally reserved for fortune-tellers. Following the Eastern Han Dynasty, during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, stargazing became a profession known as astrologers. I recently saw astrologers perched on the eaves of an ancient fortress in Zhangbi, Shanxi, dating back to that period. You see, this astrologer didn't have a high platform to climb to at the time, so he had to build a ladder on the gable outside his house to climb up and observe the stars. This astrologer in Zhangbi Ancient Fort had already departed from the profession of fortune-teller. He neither read fortunes nor predicted the fate of nations. Instead, he sought to clearly determine the positions of the stars in the sky and then guide the layout of the village buildings. During the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen ordered the construction of the high platform we see today for stargazers. He allowed them to ascend the platform to calculate the fate of people and the fate of nations—all for his own benefit, of course—and to conduct scientific research along the way. By this time, society had advanced considerably, and divination had become a fringe subject, hardly considered a formality. Zhu Qizhen asked the experts to give the platform a scholarly name. Prior to this, during the Yuan Dynasty, the rammed earth mound that Guo Shoujing had ascended was called "Sitiantai." Ming Dynasty astronomers were ashamed of the name, believing that no mortal could possibly be "Sitiantai" ("Sitiantai"). They believed that the heavens could not be "Sitiantai" ("Sitiantai"), but only "Observationtai" ("Guanxiangtai"), meaning a platform for observing celestial phenomena. The stone inscription of "Guanxiangtai" still stands above the gate arch, though the red color of the inscription has faded due to age. The earliest formal astronomer in China was probably King Wen of Zhou, Jichang. His compilation of the Book of Changes states, "The signs of the heavens indicate good and bad fortune, and the sages interpret them." This observatory in Beijing remained in use until the establishment of the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing in 1927. It was subsequently designated as a second-tier National Key Cultural Relics Protection Site in 1982. The day I visited the observatory, the sky was clear and the clouds were light, and the audience was sparse. There were no elderly gatekeepers at any of the entrances, nor was there a sign reading "Ticket Office." The doors to the observatory were open, and they had been since 9:00 AM, and admission was free. As I reached the door and was about to step onto the stage, I saw a large man slumped over the steps, seemingly digging for something. Although I doubted someone was poaching in broad daylight, I still asked him if he was the internet celebrity tomb raider. He said no, he was just there to film the chaotic clouds flying across the sky. He complained to me that, in the middle of filming, because he hadn't protected his equipment, an old man came up and pressed a button on his camera, wasting all the previous shots, including the clouds. You know, some old men really have obsessive-compulsive disorder, and they can't help but press buttons whenever they see one. That's why the soldiers in the missile unit are all young. Otherwise, any old soldier could just come along and press any missile launch button, and the missile would be launched at random? Wouldn't it be easy for the American troops there to suffer?
When I reached the platform, there was no old man, but a locked gatehouse.
There were also a few other astronomical instruments. These instruments were looted by French and German forces during the Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion of Beijing in 1900. The French hid several of them in their embassy in China and returned them two years later. The Germans brought others home and displayed them in the New Palace behind Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam. After their defeat in World War I, they were returned to China in 1921. Look at the astronomical instrument on the stand. It's called the "Jiheng Fuchen Instrument."
Look at the exquisite bronze casting.
This Jiheng Fuchen instrument, also known as an equatorial theodolite, was commissioned in 1754, the 19th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty. The term "jiheng" comes from the "Xuanji Yuheng, to regulate the seven political affairs" in the Book of Documents. This Jiheng Fuchen instrument is slightly more complex than a typical equatorial theodolite, with additional components. It primarily measures the position of celestial bodies (equatorial longitude and latitude) and solar time. In ancient times, without atomic clocks, accurate timekeeping relied on astronomical observations. Even today, astronomical observations are still used as the standard, and atomic clocks must be calibrated to astronomical time. This is called an ecliptic theodolite. In the 12th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign (1673), the Belgian missionary Ferdinand Verbiest was commissioned to construct a celestial celestial body measuring the ecliptic longitude and latitude. The celestial globe below was also built by Ferdinand Verbiest. This celestial globe is used to demonstrate the positions of celestial bodies along the ecliptic and equator, as well as their positions as viewed from the ground. Nan Huairen co-created several astronomical instruments, including the date instrument below. Also known as a sextant, the date instrument is used to measure the angle between two stars. Although its function is unknown, we often see images of people holding such a sextant while sailing at sea. In ancient times, navigation relied not only on a compass for guidance but also on astronomical observations for orientation.
This is an altitudinal longitude instrument.
This altitudinal longitude instrument was also created by Nan Huairen. It was used to measure the azimuth of celestial bodies. Nan Huairen created a total of six instruments, including the quadrant below.
The quadrant is used to measure the altitude of celestial bodies.
This is an altitudinal theodolite. This horizontal theodolite was also built during the Kangxi reign, in the 54th year of the Kangxi reign (1715). You can see it lacks the bronze coiled dragon, but rather has a Western-style design. It wasn't built by Nan Huairen, but by a German missionary named Gilliam. The horizontal theodolite combines the functions of both a quadrant and a horizontal meridian. On the platform, most of the astronomical instruments were made by foreigners; what about Chinese instruments? I descended the platform with questions in mind and saw ancient Chinese astronomical instruments in the courtyard. Take a look at the one below. The Linglong Instrument was built by a student of Guo Shoujing during the Yuan Dynasty according to his teacher's drawings. The metal sphere is a layer of eggshell with many small holes. If you look inside the eggshell and look around, you can see a starry sky. Because the holes are carved according to the system, the starry sky seen from inside is extremely realistic. Across from the Beijing Zoo is a planetarium with a projection room. Modern astronomers use slides to project the starry sky onto the ceiling, creating a starry sky even more realistic than the one seen in the Linglong Instrument. There is also a celestial sphere in the courtyard. The earliest armillary sphere in ancient China was created by astronomer Luoxiahong during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. It is also the world's earliest armillary sphere. The armillary sphere can be used to measure the equatorial coordinates of celestial bodies. Since Luoxiahong's invention, it has been extensively improved. The armillary sphere shown here dates back to the Ming Dynasty and boasts numerous new features, including the ability to measure the ecliptic and horizontal coordinates of celestial bodies. Sixty years after Luoxiahong's armillary sphere, similar astronomical instruments appeared in Greece. There is also a simple instrument in the courtyard. The Jianyi is a simplified armillary sphere designed by Guo Shoujing during the Yuan Dynasty. Three hundred years after Guo Shoujing's simplified armillary sphere, a simplified version of the Greek armillary sphere appeared in the West, designed by a Dane. I can tell at first glance that the one below is for measuring shadows. This is called a guibiao. The upright copper pillar is the "gui" (gui) and the reclining copper plate is the "biao" (biao). At noon, admire the length of the shadow cast by the gnomon on the watch to tell you which season it is.
The gnomon can be used to tell the seasons, but there's also an instrument called a sundial for telling time. (Gui and gui are pronounced similarly.)
Since there's a sundial to tell time during the day, there should be a moondial to tell time at night, right? You wouldn't believe it, but it's not located here. You can only see the moondial by passing through the moon gate below. There it is. There's even an astrodial, the moondial's assistant. Because the moondial isn't very precise, it needs an assistant. The word "xingdial" (星吉他) existed in China during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, meaning time. However, moondials and astrodials didn't appear until the Qing Dynasty. Without moondials and astrodials, how could people tell time at night? That depends on listening to the night watchman's gong. Ancient China had many astronomers, the most familiar of whom is Zhang Heng from the Eastern Han Dynasty. Zhang Heng advanced the theory of the Hun Tian (or "Huan Tian" or "Shui Zhuan"), a theory of the universe created by his predecessors. He also upgraded the Hun Tian Yi (or "Armillary Sphere") by installing a hydraulic transmission system. This new sphere, called the "Leaking Water Rotating Hun Tian Yi," could move on its own, demonstrating the movement of celestial bodies in chronological order – a truly remarkable feat. Of course, Zhang Heng's most familiar invention is the seismometer. When the observatory was built during the Zhengtong era, a small building was undoubtedly constructed for the astronomers to rest after their morning and evening ascents. That building still exists, dating back to the Ming Dynasty. Because the observatory has been in constant use, it has been continually renovated and remains in excellent condition. The main hall is called the "Ziwei Hall." In ancient Chinese astronomy, the area surrounding the North Star was called the Ziwei Yuan. The "Ziwei" on the plaque here likely refers to observing celestial phenomena. Ancient divination also involved the "Ziwei Dou Shu" method, which calculated a person's destiny based on their birthdate. Therefore, observing the celestial phenomena also meant predicting the fate of the royal family and the nation. Haha, you see, I was right! These astronomical observers actually calculated the imperial fortune. Although this was an institution serving the emperor, its specifications were modest. From the outside, it looked like a five-bay, five-ridged building with a gray-tiled gable roof. This type of roof can be found in both the East and West Districts, even in Xuanwu and Chongwen. The hall's noble status is signaled by its massive ridge and the brick-carved gargoyles at either end. Entering the house, one can see it's a private residence with a raised-beam roof. The hall is hosting an exhibition titled "Chinese Starry Sky." Inside, there are also some sophisticated machines. The one above is a taxi. Fares aren't paid by mileage, but by the number of miles covered. Every time the taxi travels a mile, the wooden figure on board beats a drum. "Eight thousand miles of clouds and moon" means colorful clouds chase the moon on this taxi, and the wooden figure on board beats the drum eight thousand times. Why not hire a living person to sit on the taxi and beat the drum? Who could do that? Who could endure beating the drum eight thousand times endlessly? This taxi was also invented by the great Zhang Heng, predating Zhuge Liang's wooden ox and flowing horse.
I've walked past Jianguomen for many years, but I've always missed this ancient observatory. Today, I finally saw its back and the bronze artifacts on it. These bronze artifacts are of course contemporary replicas.
Number of days：9 days, , Updated: 2022.08.02
Number of days：7 days, Average cost: 1280 yuan, Updated: 2025.01.30
Number of days：6 days, Average cost: 4200 yuan, Updated: 2022.07.23
Number of days: 1 day, Average cost: 330 yuan, Updated: 2022.09.09
Number of days：5 days, Average cost: 2000 yuan, Updated: 2025.07.10
Number of days：6 days, Average cost: 5600 yuan, Updated: 2025.05.15
