Huairen Hall
| Huairen Hall | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 怀仁堂 | ||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 懷仁堂[1] | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Hall of Cherished Compassion | ||||||||
| |||||||||
The Huairen Hall or Huairentang (simplified Chinese: 怀仁堂; traditional Chinese: 懷仁堂) is a building inside Zhongnanhai, the Chinese government's leadership compound in Beijing. It has been the site of several major events in Chinese history. Huairen Hall is the main meeting place of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and an alternate meeting place of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee.[2] The building is also the meeting location of several of the CCP's leading groups such as the Financial and Economic Affairs Leading Group and the Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms.[3][4] The building has a main auditorium that can seat approximately a thousand people as well as a conference room on the second floor that is used for smaller scale meetings.[5][6]
History
[edit]Construction of the hall began in 1885 and was overseen by Yixuan, Prince Chun. In 1888 the hall became the daily workplace of Dowager Empress Cixi the then de facto ruler of China, replacing the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the nearby Forbidden City. After the Boxer rebellion, Huairentang became the headquarters of occupying Eight Nation Alliance's commander Alfred von Waldersee. In 1902 Empress Cixi rebuilt Huairentang at a cost of five million taels of silver and in 1908 she died there.[7][page needed]
After the founding of the Republic of China in 1911, President Yuan Shikai used the building to meet with foreign guests and to accept New Year's day greetings. After Yuan's death, it was the site of his funeral. When Cao Kun became president, he used Huairentang as his residence. After the end of the Beiyang Government Huairentang had no permanent use and was given to the Beijing City Government.[8]
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Premier Zhou Enlai began plans to hold the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at Huairen Hall in September of 1949. In order for the building to serve as a sufficiently sized audience hall, an iron sheet roof was erected over one of the building's original courtyards. This reconstruction was only temporary and as part of the "Huairen Hall Expansion Project" a more permanent two-story auditorium was built on the site which has largely remained unchanged to this day.[6][9] The new meeting hall was then used for first session of the National People's Congress in 1954.[10] Huairen Hall became the auditorium of the central government, often hosting various art shows and political meetings, including CCP Central Committee plenums before the construction of Jingxi Hotel in 1964.[11]
Historical events
[edit]- 1930 - Central Plains War: During the second session of an expanded meeting of the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee, opponents of Chiang Kai-shek jointly elected Yan Xishan as president of the national government.
- 1949 - The first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
- 1951 - The "Agreement between the Central People's Government and the Tibetan Local Government on the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" was signed in Huairentang.
- 1954 - The first Session of the first National People's Congress.
- 1955 - The Huairentang grant, Mao Zedong on behalf of the central government awarded ten People's Liberation Army generals the rank of Marshal.
- 1958 - Liu Bocheng is criticized as part of the CCP's anti-dogmatism campaign.
- 1967 - February Countercurrent.
- 1976 - The "Huairentang Incident": The "Gang of Four" were arrested, marking the end of the Cultural Revolution.
- 1989 - Hu Yaobang collapsed during a Politburo meeting in Huairentang, and subsequently died, sparking the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
Structure
[edit]Huairen Hall is on the west bank of Zhongnanhai's Middle Lake.[12]: 2
It has staggered roofs with glazed green tile that fall in curved lines to upturned corners.[12]: 2 It has a grey brick façade with red wooden pillars, windows, and doors.[12]: 2
The structure includes numerous smaller meeting rooms in addition to its large auditorium.[12]: 2
References
[edit]- ^ Dillon, Michael (30 October 2014). Deng Xiaoping: A Political Biography. I.B.Tauris. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-78076-895-3.
- ^ Wang, Jun (15 June 2013). "中央政治局如何开会". qikan.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- ^ Chen, Zhu Qin (2014-06-19). "习近平主持中央财经领导小组会议，还有谁在座？". Shanghai Oriental Press Co. The Paper. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ^ "全面深化改革领导小组会议部分参会人员名单". eastday.com. 23 January 2014. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
- ^ Liang, Hongfeng. "姚文元出狱的前前后后：十年一梦 恍如隔世". enorth.com.cn. Enorth Net News Co. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ a b npc.gov.cn. "行进中的程序民主". 《中国人大》杂志社. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ 陶无梦·《春冰室野乘》：佛照楼即仪銮殿旧址。殿毁于庚子之乱，回銮后重修，费帑五百余万。
- ^ http://www.25dx.com/beijing/2006/200607/2006-07-09/206729.html[permanent dead link]
- ^ 刘宁一·《周恩来与建国前后的人民外交》：“恩来同志亲自制定了改造怀仁堂的方案，把原来仅能容纳300多人的一个四合院改建成能容900人的大礼堂。”
- ^ "第一屆全國人民代表大會和中華人民共和國憲法的制定". people.com.cn. People's Network. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
- ^ "中共第八届历次中央全会". gov.cn. gov.cn. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d Chatwin, Jonathan (2024). The Southern Tour: Deng Xiaoping and the Fight for China's Future. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781350435711.