Who built the Purple Mountain Observatory?

19 13 10 In June, Japan held a meeting of directors of the Asian Observatory in Tokyo. However, China Central Observatory was not invited to attend the meeting. On the other hand, foreigners have taken their place. At that time, Father Lao Jixun, director of Xujiahui Observatory opened by the French church in Shanghai, publicly represented China at this meeting. After the news came out, the whole country was in uproar. Later, although the China Central Observatory was introduced by Father Ji Xun, Mr. Gaul, then director of the China Central Observatory, thought it was a great shame for the academic circles in China and flatly refused to attend. From then on, the plan and determination to build his own observatory that can keep pace with the major observatories in Europe and America began to sprout in his mind. 19 15, Gaul planned to build the first modern observatory in China near Dayingyan, Xishan, Beijing, after many site selections and surveys. After that, he allocated the site, drew the architectural blueprint and worked out the budget. However, when asked by the authorities, they finally gave up because of lack of funds. 1927, after the national government made Nanjing its capital, Gao Lu also came to Nanjing to serve as a member of the Standing Committee of Jiangsu Provincial Government Affairs Committee and the provincial government. Soon, Mr. Cai Yuanpei resigned as the president of Peking University and was invited to set up a college in the south (1928+00 changed to the Ministry of Education in June). After Cai took office, he was appointed as the director of the preparatory committee of the Observatory. Therefore, Gaul decided to transfer the plan to build a platform in Beijing Xishan to Nanjing to realize it. How to choose the location of the observatory is a key issue in the preparation of the observatory. After investigating the peaks around Nanjing, Gaul chose the first peak of Zijinshan in the eastern suburb of Nanjing as the future site. 1927165438+1October 20th, at the "Preparatory Meeting of National Academia Sinica" convened by the National Government in accordance with Dr. Sun Yat-sen's wishes, due to the active appeal and firm insistence of Gaul, then secretary of the National Government and one of the members of the Preparatory Committee of Academia Sinica, he proposed the proposal of "building the first observatory in Zijinshan". Soon, the National Government issued the instruction No.293 to the Academia Sinica, demanding the immediate construction of the Purple Mountain Observatory. 1928 In April, the Institute of Astronomy of Academia Sinica was established, with Gaul as its director. Since then, he has spared no effort to prepare for the first national observatory. During this period, he hired Nanjing Works Bureau and famous architects to survey, design and draw the road map of Panshan Road, the first peak of Zijinshan Mountain, and the architectural blueprint of the observatory. Just as Gaul was preparing to start the construction of the Observatory, he was suddenly ordered to transfer the French ambassador, and the whole plan to build Taiwan came to a halt. 1February, 929, before going abroad to take up his post, Gaul recommended to Mr. Cai Yuanpei, then president of Academia Sinica, the then head of the astronomy department of Xiamen University in the United States and a member of the Royal Astronomical Society in the United Kingdom to take over his important task. 1July, 929, after taking office in Nanjing, he was ready to build a platform according to Gaul's original plan. However, at this time, the Prime Minister Cemetery Management Committee proposed (because Purple Mountain is under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister Cemetery Management Committee) that Panshan Road leading to the first peak of Purple Mountain must be relocated at the northern foot of Purple Mountain. The reason is that the original climbing routes of Gaul are all at the southern foot of Zijin Mountain. If the ground is broken, the color of loess will be exposed, and the scenery at the southern foot of Zijin Mountain will be destroyed. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum at the foot of Shan Zhinan is the location of the Mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, which not only attracts people's attention, but also attracts international attention. At the same time, the Prime Minister's Cemetery Management Committee also informed the Astronomical Institute that the cemetery initially promised Gaul to sponsor half of the road construction costs, which could not be fulfilled due to financial constraints. At the same time, the Prime Minister's Cemetery Management Committee also proposed to build the first observatory in China according to the architectural style of China. Because the existing buildings in the cemetery are all Chinese, even in the future, it is planned to adopt the state-owned system. The observatory should be built in a cemetery, and its appearance must be consistent with the cemetery. These unexpected changes in the plan to build Taiwan have made me face a series of difficulties. Because, if you want to build the Panshan Highway, the first peak of the Purple Mountain, you can only choose the route at the southern foot of the Purple Mountain. The cliff at the northern foot of Zijinshan Mountain is steep and has many deep streams. If building roads here is not only a huge project, but also a long-distance circle, then many bridges must be built. The longer the route, the bigger the project, and the more the cost of road construction. Equally serious, if the road is built in the north of the mountain, it will not be able to connect the springs in the south of the mountain. In the future, if the water used in Taiwan Province is transported up the mountain from the waterworks in the city, its price will be expensive. It is impossible to bear this burden for a long time with the limited monthly funds of the astronomical institute. It is also a big difficulty for Yu that the National First Observatory should be built in the cemetery according to the architectural style of China. The so-called China architecture, its style is between the roof and the eaves. The observatory must have a rotatable circular observation roof, which does not conform to the building regulations of China. Faced with these difficulties, after careful investigation and comparison, Yu finally decided to abandon the plan to build a platform at the first peak of Zijinshan and re-select the third peak of Zijinshan as the site. The third peak is 267 meters above sea level. In terms of astronomical observation and research, the conditions are certainly not as good as the first peak, but under the historical conditions at that time, limited by the country's financial and material resources, it can only be so. Yu's relocation plan was finally decided with the support of the president of Academia Sinica. After the relocation, Yu borrowed the flatbed instrument, leveling instrument, theodolite and other instruments from the Central Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, and independently surveyed and designed the Panshan Highway leading to the third peak. After the survey was completed, Yu personally drew the cross-section, longitudinal section, plan and construction drawing of this mountain road. 1in the summer of 929, the national astronomical research institute published advertisements for road construction bidding in newspapers in Beijing and Shanghai. Three construction companies came to apply within seven days. On the day of bid opening, Sun Hexiang Construction Company won the bid with its low cost and experience in building Ningtang Highway. In the autumn of the same year, the first Panshan Highway project built in Nanjing started at the foot of the mountain at the northern foot of Zijin Mountain. Shortly after the project started, it was very difficult to start by hand because of the continuous rain and snow weather and the frequent occurrence of boulders on the road. So the original half-year construction period was not completed until the summer of 1930. This Panshan Highway was later named Observatory Road. It starts at the foot of Longjing Mountain in the northeast corner of Nanjing City Wall and connects with the highest point of Huanling Road. The first section of the road is about 264 meters long and goes straight to the northeast. Then bend slightly, but keep the original direction. It started to make a big turn under the ridge of the memorial tower of Zhejiang soldiers killed in the Revolution of 1911 (which is now gone), then went straight, turned again under the Tianbaocheng fort of Taiping Army, and finally made a big turn to reach the third peak of Zijinshan. The whole road is about two kilometers long. During the road construction, Yu personally designed and drew the architectural blueprint of the observatory, which was approved by the Academia Sinica and the Prime Minister's Cemetery Management Committee. /kloc-in the summer of 0/930, the astronomical institute published an advertisement for bidding for the establishment of Taiwan in Nanjing Central Daily and Shanghai Shenbao. However, on the seventh day, the advertisement was postponed several times. No construction company applied in Shanghai, but only two in Nanjing. On the day of bid opening, two construction companies offered high prices, but they far exceeded the expectations and affordability of the Astronomical Institute. At this time, the special funds for the establishment of Taiwan, which have already been approved by the National Government, have not been received from time to time. Astronomical institute was forced to borrow money everywhere, and the result was to draw cakes to satisfy hunger. In this case, we have to declare the tender failed. After the tender failed, Yu secretly investigated the reasons for the failure. After investigation, he found that there are two reasons: First, alpine buildings really need huge amounts of money. Second, because the small package workers can't afford it, and the big package is rich in wages and developed in business, they disdain to undertake low-profit construction, so they would rather pay a high price, even if the bid fails. According to Yu's analysis, the second reason may be closer to the truth. As for why so few people signed up for this tender, it may be that most builders have no experience in building observatories and are built on high mountains, so most of them dare not try. In this predicament, I am proficient in architecture and decided to build my own platform by hourly work. This method is: all building materials are provided by astronomy, and craftsmen are recruited to build them. In addition, a supervisor, an accountant and a foreman are hired to supervise the project quality, roll call, pay wages, buy materials and hire people, and the rest bricklayers, carpenters and electricians are paid by the day. /kloc-in the summer of 0/930, the first national observatory finally broke ground in the three peaks of Zijinshan. In the process of building this observatory, the hourly work method was adopted, and at the same time, local materials were used in the construction, and a large number of tiger skin stones unique to Zijin Mountain were used to build the foundation and wall, which not only saved a lot of materials and transportation costs, but also made Zijinshan Observatory a strong building with wind and fire prevention. 193 1 autumn, the "September 18th Incident" occurred when the construction project of the Observatory was intensified in Zijinshan. Soon, the "December 28th Incident" in Shanghai broke out again, and the situation in Nanjing became increasingly critical. The National Government moved its capital to Luoyang on June 3rd, 1932. In this situation of political turmoil and panic, Yu had to dismiss the craftsmen under construction, leaving only two coolies to guard the completed building in Zijinshan. 1932 in may, songhu armistice agreement was signed. In July, the Japanese troops stationed in Shanghai began to retreat. After hearing the news, the Astronomical Institute immediately recalled the craftsmen and continued to build the Observatory. In the summer of 1934, after five years of hard construction, the main building of the National First Observatory was basically completed. They are: a building with 25 rooms and an area of 503.80 square meters; 1 meridian room with 5 rooms, with an area of 1 13.95 m2; 1 equatorial instrument room, 6 rooms, area 106 m2; The variable star room with an area of 25.52 square meters and 65,438+09 east dormitories with an area of 237.438+065,438+0 square meters; There are 32 dormitory buildings, covering an area of 26 1.28 square meters. The total investment in civil works is 6.5438+0.9 million yuan. 1934 In September, the first national observatory was finally built. Because it was built on the Purple Mountain, people used to call it the Purple Mountain Observatory. At the third peak of Zijinshan Mountain, the 47-acre boundary of the observatory was surrounded by barbed wire by Nanjing Public Service Factory. In Taiwan Province, there are six astronomical observation rooms with silver domes, which are strewn at random and face to face. The base and the whole wall of each dome are made of corrugated tiger skin stone. Each dome is surrounded by stone railings in the shape of the Temple of Heaven. Among them, the building of Taiwan Province headquarters is the most unique: Taiwan Province headquarters is the earliest building of Purple Mountain Observatory, which was designed by Yang Tingbao and built in 193 1. The building consists of two parts: the administrative office building and the observation deck. The building is basically arranged symmetrically according to the axis. The height difference of terrain is used in the design. There are entrances and exits on both sides of the ground floor and the north side of the middle part of the second floor, which are connected with the outdoor, and there are stairs between the ground floor and the second floor. The ground floor is the general office building, and the second floor is the curator's room, conference room and archives room. To the north is the observation deck. The building organically combines the administrative office and the circular observatory into a whole. In the middle of the main building of Taiwan Province headquarters, there is a stone step leading to a huge silver dome observatory. In the middle section of the long stage, the three-hole stone-plate building in national form spans it. The top of the archway is covered with exquisite blue glazed tiles, and the three characters of "Observatory" inscribed by Lin Sen, Chairman of the National Government, are engraved in the middle. The font is charming and simple, quite charming. The exterior wall of Taiwan Province headquarters building is made of gravel mined on site, which is integrated with the environment and solemn and simple. All platforms are equipped with national railings. Climbing the stairs, Taiwan Province headquarters is surrounded by a big platform. In the central dome of the platform, a modern folding reflecting telescope with the largest diameter of 60 cm in the Far East at that time, together with several ancient astronomical instruments in China displayed under the platform headquarters, lived into a mountain peak and reflected each other. Other astronomical observation rooms distributed all over the summit are easy to drive or walk because of the disparity in terrain. The side walls of mounds at the boundary of the platform are arranged evenly, covered with lawns and planted with bamboo. Holly is widely planted along the road, pine and cypress are planted in front of each research room, and flowers and plants are planted in all open spaces. Looking at the whole building of Purple Mountain Observatory, it is not only magnificent and beautifully shaped, giving people a sense of solemnity of academic research institutions, but also has the characteristics and charm of China architecture from a distance. When the Purple Mountain Observatory was completed, it was equipped with modern astronomical instruments worth 230,000 yuan. Because it has the largest folding reflecting telescope with a diameter of 60 cm in the Far East at that time, many advanced astronomical instruments and exquisite architectural appearance, it is called the first in the Far East by the world astronomical community. Since then, a group of pioneers of China's modern astronomy have come to work in Taiwan one after another, and opened a new chapter in China's modern astronomy research with their hands. During the construction of the Purple Mountain Observatory, Yu Xiansheng, director of the Institute of Astronomy, played a key role in architecture and astronomy. 1937, the Japanese launched the July 7th Incident. On August 23rd of the same year, the staff of Purple Mountain Observatory was forced to evacuate Nanjing. After I left Nanjing, I moved to Changsha and then to Guilin. 1938 April 18 transferred to Kunming via Hanoi, Vietnam. After withdrawing to Kunming, I found that Kunming has high terrain, thin clouds, obvious starlight and excellent weather. Except for the short rainy season, it is sunny most of the time, which is very suitable for astronomical observation. Therefore, he made up his mind to establish the wartime observatory of Purple Mountain Observatory in Kunming and continue the astronomical observation and research in China. After the plan was finalized, we began to choose sites everywhere. After many field visits, Phoenix Mountain in the eastern suburb of Kunming was finally selected as the place to build the platform. After the site selection, Yu personally led the staff of the Astronomical Institute to survey and map the terrain of Phoenix Mountain, designed the architectural blueprint, and entrusted Shanghai Lugenji Construction Factory, which was also moved to Kunming because of the war. 1938 autumn, the Phoenix Mountain Observatory officially broke ground and was completed in the spring of 1939. Phoenix Mountain Observatory has four buildings: the first building is an office with a variable star observation room, a solar spectrometer observation room and a library; The second is the satellite instrument room; The third is the staff dormitory; The fourth block is the workers' dormitory and kitchen. The fee for Phoenix Mountain Observatory is 30,000 yuan. /kloc-0 In the spring of 939, the Purple Mountain Observatory left its temporary office in Kunming and moved to Phoenix Mountain. A number of astronomical instruments brought to Kunming during the internal migration were also re-installed and used on Fenghuang Mountain, and the astronomical observation that was interrupted for more than two years was resumed. The pioneers of modern astronomy in China, such as Gaul and Yu, experienced hardships in the years of frequent wars, domestic troubles and foreign invasion, and national disaster. The establishment of Purple Mountain Observatory and Yunnan Observatory not only laid the foundation for the research of modern astronomy in China, but also became the cradle of the development of modern astronomy in China and one of the important astronomical research centers in the world.

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