Tiananmen Square

An extensive open area in central Beijing, China, the world's largest public square. Adjacent to the Forbidden City, it has long been the site of festivals, rallies, and demonstrations. In 1989 Chinese troops fired on student demonstrators, killing an estimated 2,000 or more.

Tiananmen, the Gate of Heaven's Peace, the main square of Beijing, where in the early hours of 4 June 1989 a huge pro-democracy demonstration was repressed by armed force.

The democracy movement began during the Cultural Revolution when many Red Guards, while accepting Mao's instructions to attack the Party establishment, realized that rebellion would be fruitful only if it aimed at the achievement of democracy. The first expression of this was the Li Yi Zhe Poster of 1974 which while supporting the aims of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution argued for democratic institutions. The second was Chen Erjin's book, Crossroads Socialism, written just before the death of Mao and published during the Democracy Wall demonstrations of late 1978. This sought to extend Marxism by arguing that violent socialist revolution inevitably produces yet another exploitative social formation, the rule of the authoritarian revolutionary elite. A second revolution is always necessary to put real power in the hands of the people, through the establishment of democracy.

Mao's successors, themselves victims of the Cultural Revolution, had an interest in strengthening the rule of law, and an interest in relaxing political control enough to prevent another outbreak. Deng Xiaoping had a personal interest in mobilizing democratic sentiment against the left. He supported the Democracy Wall protest of late 1978 until the young radical factory worker Wei Jingsheng demanded democracy ‘as a right’ and poured contempt on Deng's half-measures. Wei was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment, fifty other participants were arrested, and the right to use ‘big character’ posters (which Mao had approved) was abolished. Thereafter, however, Deng sought to maintain a balance between the democratic elements within the Party and the conservative veterans. At the same time he supported his protégé Hu Yaobang (Secretary-General of the CCP from 1980), who had gone so far as to affirm (as Chen Erjin had done) that the forms of democracy have universal validity, whatever the content may be in terms of class.

However, when Hu refused to suppress the next great democratic demonstration 1986 at Kei Da University where the radical democrat Fang Lizhi was Professor of Physics, Deng forced Hu's dismissal. In early 1989 Hu died. By this time he was the hero of the democratic movement. When the leadership arranged a demeaning low-key funeral, students marched to Tiananmen Square to protest. Thus the demonstration began.

There were at this point three groups involved in democratic dissent. The first was among intellectuals who hoped for democratization from the top. The second was led by former Red Guards who encouraged democratic revolution from below and were engaged in mobilizing workers and peasants. The third called themselves ‘Neo-Authoritarians’; they argued that continued authoritarianism was required to carry through economic changes which would create a pluralist society capable of sustaining democracy. In spite of their views, they nevertheless supported the demonstrators.

In 2000, tapes and transcriptions of the debates within the Secretariat of the Politburo on how to handle the demonstration, drawn from materials to which only the five members of the Secretariat normally had access, were smuggled out to the USA (translated and published in A. J. Nathan and P. Link, The Tiananmen Papers, 2001).

It is obvious from the debate that most of the top leadership of the CCP had a good deal of sympathy with demands to abolish corruption, privilege, and the abuse of power, and some were also prepared to take further steps towards democracy to bring these evils under control. However, there was one step at which the majority baulked. Some of the demonstrators were demanding the right to form new political parties. Former Red Guard groups were encouraging the creation of autonomous groups of students, workers, intellectuals, and citizens; such associations could easily develop into political parties. The Politburo therefore refused to enter into dialogue with the newly formed nationwide Autonomous Federation of Students. Thus negotiation became impossible.

After an indecisive debate in the Secretariat, Deng Xiaoping demanded the publication of an editorial in the People's Daily to condemn the demonstration as ‘turmoil’, and asserted that it was controlled by a ‘tiny handful’ of people intent on destroying socialism and the CCP. Public support for the demonstrators soared. The students responded with a hunger strike, which further inflamed opinion throughout China until about four million people were involved in protest. The Secretariat met to consider the imposition of martial law. Two members voted in favour, two against. The fifth member abstained. Deng Xiaoping, the accepted arbitrator, used his casting vote for martial law. There was a national outcry, in which virtually every one of the Party's own institutions joined, and many army commanders showed great reluctance to become involved.

The Secretariat held firm, but insisted emphatically that there must be no bloodshed. This order was also repeatedly issued to the army. However, as the troops moved through the suburbs, a million or more Beijing citizens rose to beat them off. Harassed and humiliated and suffering casualties, by the time the army units reached the Square their mood was angry. They spared the students, who were allowed to evacuate the Square without molestation; but they took their revenge on the civilian crowds in the adjoining streets. The number of casualties is not known; it was probably in the hundreds.

The Secretary-General Zhao Ziyang, successor to Hu Yaobang, was dismissed for having opposed martial law. A new Secretariat was appointed. Surprisingly, it consisted mainly of moderates, led by Jiang Zemin; but these were for the moment powerless in the face of the enraged conservative veterans. Democratic leaders were rounded up and imprisoned, and the democratic debate suppressed. Attempts were also made to reverse economic reform. However, at the end of 1992 in a series of speeches Deng Xiaoping condemned this reaction. The precarious tolerance of debate was restored and economic reform speeded up. When Jiang Zemin, visiting the USA, was challenged to justify the Tiananmen suppression, he could only mumble that ‘mistakes are sometimes made’.

— Jack Gray

For more information on Tiananmen Square, visit Britannica.com.

Location in Beijing of prodemocracy demonstrations that were brutally suppressed in 1989 by troops loyal to the communist regime of the People's Republic of China.

For the 1989 protests, see Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

Tiananmen Square as seen from the Tian'an Gate

Tian'anmen Square (simplified Chinese: 天安门广场; traditional Chinese: 天安門廣場; pinyin: Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng) is the large plaza near the centre of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen (literally, Gate of Heavenly Peace) which sits to its north, separating it from the Forbidden City. It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several key events in Chinese history (See below: Events).

Tiananmen Square is one of the largest squares in the world and has been the site of many events. The most notable was in 1989, when a pro-democracy movement in China saw thousands of protesters gather there. Hundreds of protesters were killed by government troops in the streets leading from the square.

Contents 1 History 2 Features 3 Events 4 Images from near and in the square 5 References 6 External links

History

Gate of China, viewed from the south. Area shown in photo is approximately the site of the present Mao Zedong Mausoleum on Tiananmen Square.

The Tiananmen Gate was first built in 1417 in the Ming Dynasty. During the demise of the Ming Dynasty, heavy fighting between Li Zicheng and the early Qing emperors damaged (or perhaps destroyed) the gate. The Tian'anmen square was originally designed and built in Beijing in 1651.^[1] It was enlarged to its present size (four times its original size) and cemented over in 1958.^[2]

British and French troops who invaded Beijing in 1860 pitched camp near the gate and briefly considered burning the gate and the entire Forbidden City down. They decided ultimately to spare the palace and to burn instead the emperor's Old Summer Palace. The Qing emperor eventually agreed to let the foreign powers establish headquarters in the area. During the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 the siege badly damaged the office complexes and several ministries were burnt down. In the conflict's denouement, the area became a space for foreign troops to assemble their armies and horses. It was cleared in due course to produce the beginning of what is now known as the Tiananmen Square.

Near the centre of today's square, close to the site of the Mao Zedong Mausoleum, once stood one of the most important gates of Beijing. This gate was known as the "Great Ming Gate" (大明门) during the Ming Dynasty, "Great Qing Gate" (大清门) during the Qing Dynasty, and "Gate of China" (中华门) during the Republic of China era. Unlike the other gates in Beijing, such as the Tiananmen and the Qianmen, this was a purely ceremonial gateway, with three arches but no ramparts, similar in style to the ceremonial gateways found in the Ming Dynasty Tombs. This gate had a special status as the "Gate of the Nation", as can be seen from its successive names. It normally remained closed, except when the Emperor passed through. Commoner traffic was diverted to two side gates at the northern and eastern ends of today's square, respectively. Because of this diversion in traffic, a busy marketplace, called Chessgrid Streets (棋盘街) developed in the big, fenced square to the south of this gate. In the early 1950s, the Gate of China (as it was then known) was demolished along with the Chessgrid Streets to the south, completing the expansion of Tiananmen Square to (approximately) its current size.

Features

The Tian'anmen Square in Beijing

Used as a massive meeting place since its creation, its flatness is broken only by the 38-metre (125 ft) high Monument to the People's Heroes completed in 1958, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong completed in 1977.^[2] The square lies between two ancient, massive gates: the Tian'anmen to the north and the Zhengyangmen, better known as Qianmen (simplified Chinese: 前门; traditional Chinese: 前門; pinyin: Qiánmén; literally "Front Gate") to the south. Along the west side of the Square is the Great Hall of the People. Along the east side is the National Museum of China (dedicated to Chinese history predating 1919). Chang'an Avenue, which is used for parades, lies between the Tian'anmen and the Square. Trees line the east and west edges of the Square, but the square itself is open, with neither trees nor benches. The Square is lit with huge lampposts which also sport video cameras. It is heavily monitored by uniformed and plain clothes policemen.

Events

Tiananmen Square has been the site of a number of political events and student protests. These include the May Fourth Movement in 1919; the proclamation of the People's Republic of China by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949; annual mass military displays on all subsequent National Days until October 1st, 1959; the 1984 military parade for the 35th anniversary of the People's Republic of China and the 50th anniversary in 1999; and for mass rallies during the Cultural Revolution.

• Tiananmen Square protests in 1976 after the death of premier Zhou Enlai
• Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989

The protests of 1989 resulted in the massacre of Chinese protesters in the streets to the west of the square and adjacent areas. Eyewitness accounts of the events on the night of June 3 and the early morning of June 4, 1989 continue to emerge from former student leaders and intellectuals, broadening the scope of the original reporting of the massacre by Western media outlets. This was the scene for the picture of Tank Man, where the PLA's tanks were stopped in its tracks by a brave man, no one knows if the man is alive.^[3] Some Western reporters who were on the square during the unfolding events reported that they saw no one actually die on the square itself, though they did see bloodied people but could not confirm whether they were either dead or injured.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} Further reports show that the theatre of the massacre spanned across Beijing, and was densely concentrated on Chang'an Avenue, literally the "Forever Peace Street," or the main approach to Tiananmen gate where citizens returned to locate missing protesters driven from the square hours before. Video footage shows the military repeatedly open fire here on unarmed citizens and medical personnel advancing toward Tiananmen Square to locate the missing and assist the wounded.^[9]

Images from near and in the square

Railway station	Zhengyangmen gate	Monument to the People's Heroes, with the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong	Monument in front of Mao's Mausoleum on Tiananmen Square
Monument to the People's Heroes and the Great Hall of the People	Tiananmen gate to the Forbidden City with reviewing stands in front	Iconic image of the Tiananmen Square from the May Fourth movement of 1919	Overview of the Tiananmen Square

References

1. ^ "Tiananmen Square". Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 2007. http://encyclopedia2.tfd.com/Tiananmen+Square. Retrieved 2008-08-03. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Safra, J. (Ed.). (2003). Tiananmen Square. In New Encyclopædia Britannica, The (15th ed., Chicago: Vol. 11). Encyclopædia Britannica INC. p. 752. Britannica Online version
3. ^ http://www.64memo.com/d/Default.aspx?tabid=194&language=en-US
4. ^ 13 March 2008.
5. ^ http://www.morningsun.org/stages/tsquare/spence_gate.html
6. ^ Human Rights in China (Organization). Children of the dragon: the story of Tianamen Square. New York/London: Collier Books; Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1990.
7. ^ Wu, Hung. "Tiananmen Square: A Political History of Monuments." Representations 35 (Summer 1991): 84-117.
8. ^ Wu, Hung. Remaking Beijing: Tiananmen Square and the creation of a political space. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.
9. ^ PBS FRONTLINE: "The Tank Man" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tiananmen Square

• Tiananmen Square Landscape Competition 2009-10 Flickr upload site
• Video-1 detailing the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989
• Video-2 detailing the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989
• Video about Visiting Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City
• Tiananmen Square in 360°
• Another Tiananmen Square in 360°
• Tiananmen Square
• Satellite photo of Tiananmen Square

Coordinates: 39°54′12″N 116°23′30″E / 39.90333°N 116.39167°E / 39.90333; 116.39167

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)