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Iron Lion Lane
The section of Di'anmen (Gate of Earthly Peace) Road
that stretches east beyond the former walls of the Imperial City was
known for a short time after the War of Resistance Against Japan
(1937- 1945) as Zhang Zizhong Road (after a northern army general who
was killed in the fight against the Japanese invaders). Before this it
was called Iron Lion Lane (Tieshizi Hutong). Iron Lion
Lane was named after a pair of iron lions, which once stood outside
the gate of one of the important mansions in the street -- the former
residence of Tian Wan, the father of one of the concubines of Emperor
Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty. The iron lions remained outside this
gate for over 300 years until 1926 when they were moved to the Drum
Tower (Gulou). During that time, the mansion changed owners several
times. In the Ming Dynasty, the Tians' family home was known as the
Garden of Heavenly Spring (Tianchunyuan). Later, under Emperor Kangxi
of the Qing, it became the residence of marquis Zhang Yong, who had
helped suppress anti–Qing rebellions. In the Daoguang period of the
Qing (1821-1850), a man named Zhu Xi bought the Garden of Heavenly
Spring for an extremely high price, and following extensive
renovations, renamed it the Garden of Increasing Antiquity (Zengjiuyuan).
His contribution as the eight major vistas, which still exist today.
To the north of the eastern end of Iron Lion Lane are two mansions
that once served as the homes of Qing Dynasty princes. After the
founding of the Republic in 1912, the Northern Warlord government's
Ministry of the Navy and Ministry of the Army kept headquarters here.
Sun Yat–sen died here on March 12, 1925. Yuan Shikai briefly had his
presidential office in the Ministry of the Army before transferring it
to Zhongnanhai (the Central and South Lakes.) In 1924,
following the so–called Zhifeng War between the warlords from Zhili in
present Hebei Province and Fengtian (present Shenyang, Liaoning
Province,) the Ministry of the Navy became Duan Qirui's "interim
government" office. On March 18, 1926, outside its gate 42 petitioning
students were shot and killed in what became known as the March 18th
Student Movement. During the anti–Japanese war, the building served as
headquarters of the Japanese army. Now it is part of the Chinese
People's University, while the former Ministry of the Army is a public
guest house. Iron Lion Lane was formerly closely off at
its east end; its western section much narrower than it is today. In
1954, when the east–west arterial roadway was being built, the lane
was widened to form part of the 3.5–kilometer road that now stretches
from Ping'anli to Sitiao Street. The princes' residences were left
undisturbed, and the only difference is that the pair of stone lions
before the Chinese People's University stands slightly further north
than their iron predecessors. |
