Beijing Yan Dun

Beijing Yan Dun

Beijing Yan Dun is a municipal cultural heritage site of Beijing.

Yan Dun, also known as "Smoke Mound," is located in the southwest of Chongwen District, south of the railway outside Yongdingmen. It is a brick platform topped with an imperial stele commissioned by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, and is one of Beijing’s renowned stone inscriptions. In 1984, it was listed as a municipal-level cultural heritage site.

Yan Dun was first built during the Yuan Dynasty. Historical records indicate that during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, Beijing had the concept of Five Towns, with the Southern Town represented by Yan Dun. Since the south corresponds to fire in the Five Elements (Wu Xing), a beacon tower was erected here to symbolically correspond with that element. When Yan Dun was initially constructed in the Yuan Dynasty, it was merely an earthen mound, situated outside Lizhengmen of the Yuan capital, Dadu. By the 32nd year of the Jiajing reign in the Ming Dynasty (1553), when the Outer City of Beijing was being built, the structure was encased in bricks.

Yan Dun is a square-shaped platform that is wider at the base and narrower at the top. The base of the platform measures 14.87 meters on each side, while the top measures 13.9 meters per side. The height from the base to the top is approximately 9 meters. Originally, there was a parapet about 1 meter high around the top of the platform, but it no longer exists. On the northwest corner of the platform, there are two stone doors. Stepping through these and ascending a flight of 45 steps leads to the top. At the center of the platform is a square stone altar, upon which stands a square stone stele approximately 8 meters tall. The lower part of the stele is a Sumeru pedestal with entasis, decorated with five layers of carvings around the base—namely patterns of clouds, dragons, bodhi beads, and bodhi leaves. The entasis section features 24 water deity figures intricately carved in high relief, all depicted bare-chested and barefoot, sitting cross-legged atop ocean waves. Each figure has a unique posture and is remarkably lifelike, showcasing the exceptional carving skill of ancient artisans. The upper part of the stele is covered with a square, pyramidal roof engraved with four dragons along the ridges. The dragons are carved in dynamic, undulating poses, with their heads raised as if leaping toward the finial. On the front and back of the stele are inscriptions in both Chinese and Manchu scripts of the "Imperial Ode to the Imperial Capital" and the "Imperial Ode to the Imperial City," both composed in the 18th year of Qianlong’s reign (1753) and personally written by Emperor Qianlong. With eloquent prose and majestic momentum, the texts extol Beijing’s strategic geographical location and the peace and prosperity of the nation, filled with content praising the feudal dynasty. The inscriptions on the Yan Dun stele serve as an emblematic record of the Youyan region of Beijing and can be considered an historical chapter of the city.

Location

Yongdingmenwai Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing

Further Reading:

· The Third Batch of Municipal-Level Cultural Heritage Sites in Beijing