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Chinese coins, coin sets and medals officially issued by China Mint in year 1982

Chinese 1982 the Year of Dog gold coin

On the obverse of the gold coin, there engraved ¡°Beijing¡± in Chinese characters and the year of circulation. Its architectural pattern is the famous ancient sacrificial building - Qiniandian of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. The Temple of Heaven is located in the southeast corner of China¡¯s capital Beijing and was once a premise of prayer for the Emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was built from 1406 to 1402, occupying 2.7 million square meters. It holds a prominent position in the Chinese classic architecture collection because of its superb designs, layout and harmony in colors. Qiniandian is an important component of the Temple of Heaven, which was once used by emperors to pray for bumper grain harvest. Several reconstructions were made since its inception. Qiniandian was called Dasidian when it was built in 1420 with a rectangular shape. It was changed to round hall with three tiers, named Tycoon Hall in 1529. The roof was covered with glazed tiles of blue at the top, yellow in the middle and green at the bottom. In 1751¡¯s reconstruction, the roof was all covered by blue glazed tiles. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by a thunder in 1889 and was restored in its original style the next year. Qiniandian stands in an area of 5,900 square meters, with 6 meters high white marble circular tower as a base in the middle. The inside hall was in square shape, which reflected the ¡°hemispherical dome¡± in ancient Chinese cosmology. Qiniandian, 38 meters tall with a diameter of 32.72, has three layers of blue glazed eaves with layer by layer contraction, which symbolizes the connection with Heaven. Its ceiling was dazzling. Qiniandian was supported by 28 large wooden pillars and 36 ridgepoles. The four columns with dragon designs in the middle were 19.2 meters high, representing four seasons. In the middle tier there are 12 golden columns representing 12 months and the 12 columns support the outer eaves representing 12 two-hour periods of the day. The total of 24 columns representing China¡¯s 24 solar terms. There are no walls round hall but full of pane windows. In the middle of the ground, there is a huge round marble carved with a pair of dragon and phoenix, which corresponds to the Panlong (the dragon in Chinese mythology) in the middle of the ceiling. The rest of the patterns on the ceiling appear in round shapes. This magnificent hall is decorated with golden and vibrant colors. It is a miracle in the history of China¡¯s ancient architecture, which has been served as a typical art work of china¡¯s only building with wooden structures in ancient times.

On the reverse, there was a copy of the Standing Dog painted by Mr. Liu Jiyou, a prominent Chinese modern brush painter (1918 ¨C 1983). The Standing Dog was specifically drawn by Mr. Liu for the Chinese Zodiac year of Dog commemorative coin. Simple in composition, Mr. Liu not only accurately depicted the physical characteristics of a dog, but also expressed its royal connections with people. It was one of his masterpieces in his later years. Because the painting was especially dedicated to the issue of the commemorative coins, it is regarded as the perfect match of original painting with the coin in the Chinese Zodiac Animal series. View images

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