苏州街雪景

本组照片经过了风格化处理，以铅笔素描的方式展示了颐和园苏州街江南水乡的秀美与灵动，灵感来自于《回望老北京》一书盛锡珊老先生作品的启发。

博物馆里逛庙会

京八件
原是清朝皇室王族在重大典礼及日常生活中必不可少的礼品，后来从宫廷传到民间，因其味道香醇、造型美观，受到各阶层人士的钟爱，成为相当长一段时间内京城百姓礼品往来的首选。附在匣子上的红色“门票”上注明商号名称和糕点式样，既喜庆又实用。
传统的“大八件”共分以下八种,就是:1.象征幸福字的福字饼。2.象征高官厚禄的太师饼。3.象征长寿的寿桃饼。4.有方形带有双“喜”字的喜字饼。5.有象征财富的银锭饼,是椒盐咸酥馅。6.是像一卷书的卷酥饼,也是椒盐咸酥馅。7.有谐音“吉庆有余”的鸡油饼。8.还有枣花饼,可能寓意年轻的夫妇早生贵子,而且要有男有女花搭着生。共八种,分别为福、禄、寿、喜、财、文等,既文雅又形象地把当时人们生活中的“八件”喜事展现出来,这就是“大八件”名称的来历。

　　“小八件”则是做成各种水果形状,有小桃,俗称寿桃,小杏,谐音幸运、幸福,小石榴,石榴多子,小苹果,平平安安,小核桃,和和美美,小柿子,事事如意,小橘子、枣方子等也各有寓意。“小八件”块儿小,重量比“大八件”要轻,此外还有酒皮“细八件”,用料更讲究,做得更精细。

　　新开发的“京八件”,古色古香的包装非常精美,产品制作上在继承老北京民间糕点的基础上,又融合了西式糕点的制作工艺,选用了营养、绿色、健康的玫瑰豆沙、桂花山楂、奶油栗蓉、椒盐芝麻、核桃枣泥、红莲伍仁、枸杞豆蓉、杏仁香蓉等八种馅料,并配以植物油、蜂蜜等辅料。在造型上有寿桃形,寓意祝寿,元宝形寓意财富,宫灯形寓意喜庆,如意形寓意吉祥如意等,分别代表“福、禄、寿、喜、富、贵、吉、祥”八种适合当今人们美好愿望的字符,寓意八项美好的祝愿。

腊八粥
　　夏历十二月初八，中国汉族地区佛教寺院煮以供佛的粥，叫“腊八粥”。吴自牧《梦粱录》卷六“十二月”：“此月八日，寺院谓之腊八。大刹等寺俱设五味粥，名曰‘腊八粥’。”按腊八粥又名“七宝粥”，十二月初八日为释迦牟尼佛成道日，故寺院取香谷及果实等造粥以供佛。后亦通行于民间。周密《武林旧事》卷三：“八日，则寺院及人家用胡桃、松子、乳蕈、柿、栗之类作粥，谓之‘腊八粥’。”富察敦崇《燕京岁时记•腊八粥》：“腊八粥者，用黄米、白米、江米、小米、菱角米、栗子、红江豆、去皮枣泥等，合水煮熟，外用染红桃仁、杏仁、瓜子、花生、榛穰、松子及白糖、红糖、琐琐葡萄，以作点染。”

把农历十二月称为“腊月”的原因：《祀记》上面解释：“蜡者，索也，岁十二月，合聚万物而索飨之也。”“腊”与“蜡”相似，祭祀祖先称为“腊”，祭祀百神称为“蜡”。“腊”与“蜡”都是一种祭祀活动，而多在农历十二月进行，人们便把十二月称为腊月了。

　　腊月是年岁之终，古代农闲的人们无事可干，便出去打猎。一是多弄些食物，以弥补粮食的不足，二是用打来的野兽祭祖敬神，祈福求寿，避灾迎祥。

沙燕儿风筝
北京风筝品种很多，传说曹雪芹所著的“南鹞北鸢考工志”中就有40多种扎法，现存的一本“北平风筝谱”中收集了200余种北京风筝。在众多的北京风筝中，有一种性能最好，对全国影响最大，也最具代表性的风筝，那就是外形像一个“大”字形的“沙燕儿”（或称“扎雁儿”、“沙雁儿”等）。

“沙燕儿”的头是燕子头的平面变形，它的眉梢上挑，两眼有神，被赋予了人的感情，再加上那对剪刀尾巴，使人看上去就会想到燕子。它比真燕子更可爱，人们按照大家都喜欢的“大胖小子”，扎成了胖沙燕和雏燕；又按照亭亭玉立，苗条秀美的少女，扎成“瘦沙燕”。
按照恩爱夫妻扎成“比翼燕”。人们在沙燕的膀窝、腰节和前胸、尾羽等处加上蝙幅、桃子、牡丹等吉祥图案，以寓意着幸福，长寿和富贵等美好的愿望。

The Summer Palace

The Summer Palace landscape, dominated mainly by Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, covers an area of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is under water. Its 70,000 square meters of building space features a variety of palaces, gardens and other ancient-style architectural structures. Well known for its large and priceless collection of cultural relics, it was among the first group of historical and cultural heritage sites in China to be placed under special state protection.

The Summer Palace, originally named Qingyi Yuan or the Garden of Clear Ripples, was first constructed in 1750. It was razed to the ground by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860. The Government of the Qing Dynasty started to rebuild it in 1886 with funds that it had misappropriated from the Imperial Navy and other sources. Renamed two years later as Yihe Yuan or the Garden of Health and Harmony, it was supposed to serve as a summer resort for the Empress Dowager Cixi. Known also as the Summer Palace, it was ravaged by the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers that invaded China in 1900. The damage was repaired in 1902. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Summer Palace has undergone several major renovations. Its major attractions such as the Four Great Regions, Suzhou Street, the Pavilion of Bright Scenery, the Hall of Serenity, the Wenchang Galleries and the Plowing and Weaving Scenery Area have been successively restored.

The Summer Palace is a monument to classical Chinese architecture, in terms of both garden design and construction. Borrowing scenes from surrounding landscapes, it radiates not only the grandeur of an imperial garden but also the beauty of nature in a seamless combination that best illustrates the guiding principle of traditional Chinese garden design: “The works of men should match the works of Heaven”. In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List with the following comments

Built in the 15th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1750), this 150-meter bridge links the east bank and the South Lake Island. It is the longest bridge in any Chinese imperial garden and was named for its seventeen arches. Over 500 stone lions in different poses are carved on the posts of the bridge's railings. At both ends of the bridge are carved four strange animals. Strong and powerful, they are outstanding evidence of Qing stone carving.

the Palace Museum

The Palace Museum, historically and artistically one of the most comprehensive Chinese museums, was established on the foundation of the palace that was the ritual center of two dynasties, the Ming and the Qing, and their collections of treasures. Designated by the State Council as one of China's foremost protected monuments in 1961, the Palace Museum was also made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.

Situated at the heart of Beijing, the Palace Museum is approached through Tiananmen Gate. Immediately to the north of the Palace Museum is Prospect Hill (also called Coal Hill), while on the east and west are Wangfujing and Zhongnanhai neighborhoods. It is a location endowed with cosmic significance by ancient China's astronomers. Correlating the emperor's abode, which they considered the pivot of the terrestrial world, with the Pole Star (Ziweiyuan), which they believed to be at the center of the heavens, they called the palace The Purple Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was built from 1406 to 1420 by the third Ming emperor Yongle who, upon usurping the throne, determined to move his capital north from Nanjing to Beijing. In 1911 the Qing dynasty fell to the republican revolutionaries. The last emperor, Puyi, continued to live in the palace after his abdication until he was expelled in 1924. Twenty-four emperors lived and ruled from this palace during this 500-year span.

The Forbidden City is surrounded by 10-metre high walls and a 52-metre wide moat. Measuring 961 meters from north to south and 753 meters from east to west, it covers an area of 720,000 square meters. Each of the four sides is pierced by a gate, the Meridian Gate (Wu men) on the south and the Gate of Spiritual Valor (Shenwu men) on the north being used as the entrance and exit by tourists today. Once inside, visitors will see a succession of halls and palaces spreading out on either side of an invisible central axis. It is a magnificent sight, the buildings' glowing yellow roofs against vermilion walls, not to mention their painted ridges and carved beams, all contributing to the sumptuous effect.

Known as the Outer Court, the southern portion of the Forbidden City centers on the halls of Supreme Harmony, Central Harmony, and Preserving Harmony. These are flanked by the halls of Literary Glory and Military Eminence. It was here that the emperor held court and conducted his grand audiences.

Mirroring this arrangement is the Inner Court at the northern end of the Forbidden City, with the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union, and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility straddling the central axis, surrounded by the Six Palaces of the East and West and the Imperial Garden to the north. Other major buildings include the halls for Worshipping Ancestors and of Imperial Splendor on the east, and the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Pavilion of the Rain of Flowers and the Palace of Benevolent Tranquility on the west. These contain not only the residences of the emperor and his empress, consorts and concubines but also the venues for religious rites and administrative activities.

In total, the buildings of the two courts account for an area of some 163,000 square meters. These were laid out precisely in accordance with a code of architectural hierarchy, which designated specific features to reflect the paramount authority and status of the emperor. No ordinary mortal would have been allowed or even dared to come within close proximity of these buildings.

北京的石狮子Stone Lion of Beijing

Lion is a special animal to Chinese people. A pair of stone lions, a male and a female, can often be seen in front of the gates of traditional buildings. The male lion is on the left with his right paw resting on a ball, and the female on the right with her left paw fondling a cub.

The lion was regarded as the king in the animal world so its imagines represented power and prestige. The ball played by the male lion symbolized the unity of the empire, and the cub with the female thriving offspring.

头朝里的石狮子
把石狮子摆设在宫、府、寺、园门前，通常是狮头向外的。可是，北海公园永安寺门前的一对石狮子，却是头向门里。为此，早年京中流传一句歇后语:“永安寺的狮子——头朝里”，用来讥讽那些自私自利的人。

何处石狮子最古老
在中山公园社稷坛门外，有一对挺胸昂首的白石坐狮，据传是隋唐年间遗物，已经有一千多年了。这石狮，原是河北省大名县镇守使王怀庆巡查地面，在一坍塌的古庙中，发现这对掩埋多年的露头石狮。经过一番考究，认为这对石狮刻法别致，历史久远，于是就购运至京，赠置此园。这对石狮子的石质各不相同，如果轻轻敲击，一如铁音，一如铜音；其造型也不同于屈背而坐的一般石狮。

何处石狮子最大
游览过北京的人都知道，天安门的两对石狮子最大。它高三米四一，重十五吨，雕刻于明朝成化年间，形态优美，象是有生命的活狮子。相传李自成率领农民起义军，攻进北京城，临近天安门前时，忽见一头雄狮跃跃欲动，像是要向他扑去。李自成急忙举起大刀，猛砍过去。那狮子胸前被砍，一动不动地坐立在原地。如今还能看见狮子胸前留有刀痕。

何处石狮子最多
也许有人会说，那还用问，卢沟桥上的石狮子最多。北京早年有句歇后语“卢沟桥上的狮子——没数儿!”可见其数量不少。
卢沟桥长二百六十米，桥上两边竖立栏板望柱二百八十根，每根上端都雕有石狮子，或卧或坐，殊形异态，数目不等。特别是小狮子，有的盘蹲在大狮子脚下，或伏在背上，或躲在怀中；有的在戏弄大狮子的铃铛飘带，有的相互交头接耳，嬉戏耍闹，活泼可爱。这些小狮子很顽皮，好象故意跟人捉迷藏，很难数准，稍一疏忽，就漏数了。1961年，有关部门组织人员，进行编号，清点过数。结果查明，有大狮子二百八十一个，小狮子一百九十八个，镇桥栏板的大狮子两个，侍守华表的立狮四个，共四百八十五个。之后，又新发现在桥下还雕有一个石狮子，总数成了四百八十六个。

其实，卢沟桥的石狮子还不算最多，最多的是颐和园内的十七孔桥。这座桥，犹如一道彩虹，横卧在昆明湖上，长一百五十米。桥上的石雕精细，两边桥栏望柱上雕有神态活跃的石狮子五百四十四个，比卢沟桥的石狮子多五十九个，但是建桥时间却晚了七百多年。

北京五大镇物（一）——燕墩

     明清时，北京城出现了五大镇物，当时按道家金、木、水、火、土五行相生相克的理论，在北京的东、西、南、北、中五个方位设置了五个镇物，用来震慑妖魔，以确保京城安全。东方属木，镇物是广渠门外神木厂的金丝楠木；西方属金，镇物是觉生寺（大钟寺）的大钟；南方属火，镇物是永定门的燕墩；北方属水，镇物是颐和园昆明湖边的铜牛；中央属土，镇物是景山，景山聚土为镇山。

     今天先来介绍燕墩。燕墩又称“烟墩”，位于崇文区西南部，永定门外铁路南侧，是一座砖台，其上竖有清乾隆皇帝御制碑一座，是北京著名碑刻之一。1984年列为市级文物保护单位。

     燕墩始建于元代。据文献记载，元、明两代北京有五镇之说，南方之镇即为燕墩。因南方在“五行”中属火，故堆烽火台以应之。燕墩在元代始建时，只是一座土台，位置在大都丽正门外。至明嘉靖三十二年(1553年)北京修筑外城时，才包砌以砖。

         
     燕墩是一座下广上狭、平面呈正方形的墩台，台底各边长14.87米，台面长13.9米，台底至台面高约9米。台顶四周原有高约1米的女墙，现已毁没。墩台西北角有石门两扇，入门后拾阶可登，历45级，通达台顶。台顶正中是一座正方形石坛，坛上立方石碑一座，高约8米。碑下部为束腰须弥座，台座四周各雕花纹五层，分别为云、龙、菩提珠、菩提叶等图案，束腰部分用高浮雕持法精雕出24尊水神像，均袒胸裸足跌座于海水之上，形态各异，栩栩如生，充分显示出古代工匠精湛的雕刻技艺。
          

     碑上部覆盖四角攒尖顶方形碑盖，四脊各雕出一龙，龙身作波曲奔腾状，龙昂首上扬，似欲飞奔夺宝顶。碑体南、北面分别镌刻乾隆十八年(1753年)，汉、满文字对照的《御制皇都篇》和《御制帝都篇》，皆出自乾隆手笔。它以益誉的文笔，磅礴的气势，赞美了北京险要的地理形势、国泰民安的情景，溢满为封建王朝歌功颂德的内容。燕墩碑文是记述北京幽燕之地的徽记，堪称为北京的史记篇。

            

Yong Ding Men 永定门

    永定门是明清北京外城的中央城门，从永定门到钟楼全长78公里的中轴线是古都北京的中心标志，也是世界上现存最长的城市中轴线。作为北京中轴线南端起点的永定门是明清北京外城七门中最大、最重要的城门。

     永定门始建于明代嘉靖三十二年(1553年)，清代乾隆三十二年(1767年)大修改建城楼。1957年永定门城楼被彻底拆除。

     永定门重建工作在2004年3月10日正式开始，“原汁原味”是永定门修缮的原则。文物专家以1937年的永定门城楼实测图为基础进行了复建设计：从非洲购置了12根铁力木，加工成12米高、重4吨的“金柱”；两段百米长的明末御道重见天日；百余块清代旧城砖物尽其用。

     2004年9月，消失了近半个世纪的永定门城楼重新屹立在中轴线的南端。

            

     图为1956年拍摄的永定门城楼南侧面。楼檐间匾额“永定门”三离清晰可见

    

      

           

              

       

                 彤云辉映下的北京永定门城楼显得格外庄严、美丽

前门再跑“铛铛车”

     位于北京天安门广场正南的前门大街修缮整治后，将恢复清末民初的建筑风貌，成为传统与现代相结合的步行街。消失半个世纪的有轨电车(铛铛车)将重新出现在人们的视野中。
“铛铛车”是老北京对有轨电车的称呼。因为在车头下面挂着一只铜铃铛，司机踩脚下的一个踏板，铃铛便发出“铛铛”的声响。这算是北京第一代现代化交通工具。

青白石地面，丁当作响的有轨电车，中式或西洋、传统和时尚、历史与现在……前门大街也许能够重新变成一条让人在时光交错中感受京城市民生活体温的脉搏。

国子监大修完毕六月正式对外开放 “三朝大学” 将成国学基地

[北京晚报]今天上午，北京国子监。“ 中国古代科举展” 正在崇志堂内有条不紊的进行布展。科举考试使用的试卷、状元匾额、考生使用的单间考场等实物被一一复原摆放到位。今年6月，修葺一新的国子监将作为国学教育基地再次与游人见面，而该展也将成为代表“ 新国子监”特色的揭幕展。

   

国子监作为中国封建时代的最高学府始于隋炀帝。至今全国留存下来的国子监只有北京这一处。作为元、明、清的三朝“ 大学” ，这里既曾是国家的最高学府， 也曾是国家的最高学政机关。

解放后的很长一段时间内， 国子监与孔庙曾被首都图书馆和首都博物馆所征用，加之年久失修，一部分馆舍已难堪重用。此次历时三年的大修， 投资额累计超过2000 万元。除对建筑结构、外表进行加固、粉刷外，也比对光绪年间绘制的《国子监全图》，对国子监原有错误的彩饰进行了纠正。而更为重要的是，此次大修后， 国子监内的所有馆舍将恢复其各自原本的文化功能。

这里未来除将举办各种国学文化的展览外，还准备将其打造成京城的一处国学文化传播、交流的基地， 中外名家在此设坛开讲这才是国子监重获声气之道。

Door Piers 门墩

    Door piers are used for supporting and fixing the gate of the yard and meanwhile, indicate the identity and status of the power of the house.

    门墩的功能是支撑和固定院门，也标志着宅第主人的身份地位。门墩插入中间凹槽中，既稳固，又与地面相隔，起到防腐作用。

Huge Box Stone    Qing Dynasty

箱体墩 清代