Chapter 109: Tour Guide Cai Jing (Popular Science)
"The city of Bianliang is located in the center, slightly northwest of the city of Kaifeng. This has been the case throughout the dynasties, with the emperor occupying the center. This was determined by the idea that he was entrusted with the mandate of heaven and would live long and prosper, and it represented the orthodoxy of the royal family." When introducing it, Cai Jing did not forget to trace the roots and explain the unity of man and nature between architecture and culture.
"The sky is round and the earth is square, so the outer contour of the entire Bianjing Palace is close to a square. Specifically, it is 1,090 meters long from north to south, 1,050 meters wide from east to west, with a circumference of 4,280 meters, and an area of 1,144,500 square meters. If calculated according to the Song Dynasty system, this is exactly seven li."
"Going back further, the Tang Dynasty's Daming Palace, known for its beauty in size, covered an area of 41.985 million square meters, more than 32 times the size of the Bianjing Palace."
"Let alone compared to the previous dynasty, it's not even considered luxurious in the entire city of Bianliang. When you leave the palace, you'll see a bustling restaurant called Fengle Tower. The main building is three stories high, with five other towering towers inside, connected by flying bridges and railings. The pearl curtains and embroidered lintels sparkle under the ever-burning beacon fires, and patrons flock here in an endless stream."
"In this restaurant, there's a floor called the Inner West Building. It's very high, and guests were later forbidden from ascending the highest floor because from there you can overlook the entire Imperial Palace, and the entire city at a glance. It's known as the Little Mount Tai in Bianliang City."
"Isn't this beyond the rules? Why is no one in charge?" Zhao Huan was curious. How dare they build it higher than the inner palace? How many brains did they have to be so arrogant?
"It's definitely over the limit, but no one dared to stop it, so they had to settle for sealing it off instead of demolishing it."
"It seems the connection is quite strong. Who owns this Fengle Building?"
"Who else could it be? Father must have done it himself." Zhao Fujin interjected, "To make you smile, the owner of Fengle Tower is also very famous, the famous Zhao Yuannu. He was the first serf to become a master in the Northern Song Dynasty."
"... Skip, skip. Why is there exactly the same reason behind every strange thing? Lust is such a powerful driving force." Zhao Huan was particularly troubled. It was not something that could be created by one person just by talking about it. Song Huizong could really do it. He had an indestructible kidney.
"There were seven gates on the four sides of the Bianjing Palace. In the south, the central gate was Qianyuan Gate, also called Xuande Gate or Zhengyang Gate. Flanked by Zuoye Gate and Youye Gate were the gates on either side. To the east were Donghua Gate and Yi Gate. To the north was Gongchen Gate. To the west, there was Xihua Gate, which corresponded to Donghua Gate."
"Between Donghuamen and Xihuamen, there was an east-west cross street that divided the entire palace into two parts. To the south of the cross street was the outer court area, where officials from the outer court had a certain degree of freedom of movement; to the north of the cross street was the inner court area, where the activities of outer court officials were strictly restricted."
"To the north of Hengjie was a gate called Xuanyou Gate. Between it and Gongchen Gate to the north, a north-south street ran, dividing the inner court area into two parts. The daily living quarters of the emperor and his concubines were in the east, while the inner court service agencies, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, were in the west. In short, the Bianjing Palace consisted of three major areas divided by these two streets, with the northeastern area being the heart of the country's political life."
"The core of the northeastern region is His Majesty's bedroom—Funning Hall."
"In front of Funing Hall are the Zichen and Chuigong Halls, and behind them are the Chongzheng and Yanhe Halls. The emperor primarily held court in this area. Based on the different locations of these four halls and their relationship to Funing Hall, Zichen and Chuigong are often referred to as the front halls, while Chongzheng and Yanhe are often referred to as the back halls. These four halls are all located in the inner court. For example, compared to the Daqing Hall and Wende Hall in the outer court, their specifications are not as strict as those for the Daqing Hall and Wende Hall. Therefore, they are also called convenience halls or sitting halls."
It was absolutely right to choose Cai Jing as your tour guide. He explained everything clearly in just a few minutes.
Cai Jing looked at Zhao Huan, hesitant to speak. "Your Majesty, I am no longer in the court, so I shouldn't say much. However, the etiquette of your current court sessions, receptions with envoys and officials, and banquets is completely out of accord with the ancestral system. Your Majesty's adherence to the broad principles is understandable, but your changes to certain minor details are drastic."
"When the main conflict was between the Song and Jin dynasties, these issues didn't become prominent. But once a long period of peace arrived and the situation became less dire, these nitpickers would stand up and point them out. From an outsider's perspective, this would undoubtedly increase internal friction and communication costs between the emperor and his ministers, which would be more trouble than good."
I also want to follow history, but I don't understand it, so I can only do it in whatever way is convenient. When I learn it, I will correct it little by little, and let those conservative people in the court relax their vigilance.
"Taishi, please tell me in detail."
"In the south corridor in front of the Purple Palace, the Hemensi (Hemensi) was responsible for guiding officials from the outer court to the inner court and arranging their shifts. In the northeast corner of the Chuigong Hall, there was another small door connecting to the Purple Palace. Both halls were important places for the emperor to receive ministers and hold court meetings. Relatively speaking, the Purple Palace was more responsible for receiving foreign envoys, accepting birthday wishes and congratulations from ministers, and other ceremonial activities. Actual official reports were mostly conducted in the Chuigong Hall."
"Governing with ease is exactly what this means."
Every morning, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Privy Councilor, Imperial Academy Scholars, the Three Departments, the Chief of Kaifeng Prefecture, and other officials, led by the Hemensi (Hemen Office), would enter the Chuigong Hall from the Outer Court, pay their respects to the Emperor, and then present their reports. Furthermore, every five days, all middle and high-ranking officials in the capital would enter the Chuigong Hall to pay their respects to the Emperor. This marked the beginning of the Grand Meeting of Officials. After the meeting, the reports would officially begin.
"Grand Master, let me interrupt you. Since we have to hold a general meeting every five days, why can't we make a more detailed division of the solar terms and months? Let me give you an example. We can divide each solar term into two weeks, each consisting of seven days, Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday."
"This will make things clearer. Every other Friday is a day for all officials to rest. All mid-level and senior officials can report to me on their work, and the court session on this day can be appropriately extended. On Saturdays and Sundays, officials can be given rest days. The current monthly rest schedule is a bit unscientific. Of course, rotations must still be arranged."
"..." Cai Jing was speechless: "Why do you always have so many fantastic ideas? I was trying to persuade you not to violate the ancestral rules in the details, and you've set a precedent. It's hard to explain."
Cai Jing’s inner thoughts: I don’t agree, I absolutely don’t agree. I have been working for fifty years, rain or shine, and you actually want to give them two days off a week. It’s impossible, absolutely impossible. Everyone must go to work, and no one can rest.
For popular science articles, I would look up information and study maps, and it would take me several hours to write one chapter;
It’s still faster to make up something…
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