The Eight Gates of Seoul are a series of historic gates located in Seoul , South Korea. Two of the gates are now destroyed, although the others are still standing. The gates were constructed between 1396 and 1398, and allowed access to the city, which was surrounded by the Fortress Wall during the Joseon period.
34-525: The Eight Gates were based roughly in the four cardinal and four intermediate directions of the compass. Of the eight gates, the North, South, East, and West were known as the “Four Great Gates” ( 사대문 ), while the Northwest, Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest gates were known as the “Four Small Gates” ( 사소문 ). Of the eight gates, two (West and Southwest) no longer exist. Memorials are currently placed roughly where
68-515: A cosmology of seven directions. For example, among the Hopi of the Southwestern United States , the four named cardinal directions are not North, South, East and West but are the four directions associated with the places of sunrise and sunset at the winter and summer solstices. Each direction may be associated with a color, which can vary widely between nations, but which is usually one of
102-466: A special word: tenggara . Sanskrit and other Indian languages that borrow from it use the names of the gods associated with each direction : east (Indra), southeast (Agni), south (Yama/Dharma), southwest (Nirrti), west (Varuna), northwest (Vayu), north (Kubera/Heaven) and northeast (Ishana/Shiva). North is associated with the Himalayas and heaven while the south is associated with the underworld or land of
136-515: A terrestrial map because one is looking up instead of down. Similarly, when describing the location of one astronomical object relative to another, "north" means closer to the North celestial pole, "east" means at a higher right ascension , "south" means closer to the South celestial pole, and "west" means at a lower right ascension. If one is looking at two stars that are below the North Star, for example,
170-451: A total of 32 named points evenly spaced around the compass: north (N), north by east (NbE), north-northeast (NNE), northeast by north (NEbN), northeast (NE), northeast by east (NEbE), east-northeast (ENE), east by north (EbN), east (E), etc. Cardinal directions or cardinal points may sometimes be extended to include vertical position ( elevation , altitude , depth ): north and south , east and west , up and down; or mathematically
204-436: Is a position along a vertical direction (the plumb line direction) above or below a given vertical datum (a reference level surface, such as mean sea level ). Vertical distance or vertical separation is the distance between two vertical positions. Many vertical coordinates exist for expressing vertical position: depth, height, altitude, elevation, etc. Points lying on an equigeopotential surface are said to be on
238-409: Is called a secondary intercardinal direction. These eight shortest points in the compass rose shown to the right are: Points between the cardinal directions form the points of the compass . Arbitrary horizontal directions may be indicated by their azimuth angle value. The directional names are routinely associated with azimuths , the angle of rotation (in degrees ) in the unit circle over
272-764: Is presumed to start in 2022. - Gatehouse was burned down in 1592, and rebuilt in 1740–1741. The gate currently has the oldest gatehouse of the small gates. - Destroyed during the Japanese colonial period, but restored in 1992. - Rebuilt 1711–1719. Largely destroyed during the Korean War , but restored in 1976. - No longer exists. Torn down in 1914 during the Japanese colonial period. Changuimun Sukjeongmun Hyehwamun Heunginjimun Gwanghuimun Sungnyemun Souimun (No longer exists) Donuimun (No longer exists) Cardinal directions The four cardinal directions , or cardinal points , are
306-500: Is related to I Ching , the Wu Xing and the five naked-eye planets . In traditional Chinese astrology , the zodiacal belt is divided into the four constellation groups corresponding to the directions. Each direction is often identified with a color, and (at least in China) with a mythological creature of that color . Geographical or ethnic terms may contain the name of the color instead of
340-584: Is the interesting situation that native Japanese words ( yamato kotoba , kun readings of kanji) are used for the cardinal directions (such as minami for 南, south), but borrowed Chinese words (on readings of kanji) are used for intercardinal directions (such as tō-nan for 東南, southeast, lit. "east-south"). In the Malay language , adding laut (sea) to either east ( timur ) or west ( barat ) results in northeast or northwest, respectively, whereas adding daya to west (giving barat daya ) results in southwest. Southeast has
374-477: Is used for distance climbed during sports such as mountaineering , skiing , hiking , running or cycling In German-speaking countries the abbreviation 'Hm' for Höhenmeter ("height metre") is used; if it is preceded by a '±' it refers to the cumulative elevation gain . Various instruments and techniques may be used for measuring or determining vertical position: Many physical phenomena are related to vertical position, as driven by gravity : When one gives
SECTION 10
#1732845347253408-487: Is used for the center. All five are used for geographic subdivision names ( wilayahs , states, regions, governorates, provinces, districts or even towns), and some are the origin of some Southern Iberian place names (such as Algarve , Portugal and Axarquía , Spain). In Mesoamerica and North America , a number of traditional indigenous cosmologies include four cardinal directions and a center. Some may also include "above" and "below" as directions, and therefore focus on
442-546: The horizontal plane . It is a necessary step for navigational calculations (derived from trigonometry ) and for use with Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers . The four cardinal directions correspond to the following degrees of a compass: The intercardinal (intermediate, or, historically, ordinal ) directions are the four intermediate compass directions located halfway between each pair of cardinal directions. These eight directional names have been further compounded known as tertiary intercardinal directions, resulting in
476-567: The physical dimension and unit of length , the vertical coordinate does not represent distance in physical space , as would be measured with a ruler or tape measure . Sometimes a geopotential metre (symbol gpm or m') or dynamic metre is introduced for emphasis. However, this practice is not acceptable with the International System of Units (SI). Another non-SI unit is the vertical metre , introduced when there may be confusion between vertical, horizontal, or slant distances . It
510-543: The Germanic names for the intermediate directions. Medieval Scandinavian orientation would thus have involved a 45 degree rotation of cardinal directions. In many regions of the world, prevalent winds change direction seasonally, and consequently many cultures associate specific named winds with cardinal and intercardinal directions. For example, classical Greek culture characterized these winds as Anemoi . In pre-modern Europe more generally, between eight and 32 points of
544-500: The North celestial pole. Similarly, a line from the center to the South celestial pole will define the South point by its intersection with the limb. The points at right angles to the North and South points are the East and West points. Going around the disk clockwise from the North point, one encounters in order the West point, the South point, and then the East point. This is opposite to the order on
578-562: The West and Southwest gates once stood (July 2012). There has been discussion and announcements about rebuilding the West Gate, but no construction has yet been undertaken (as of July 2012) for this gate. On February 10, 2008, the South Gate was severely damaged in a fire set by an arsonist. The gate was rebuilt over five years, and reopened to the public on May 4, 2013. This gate has the designation of National Treasure No. 1 of South Korea. Of
612-576: The additional directions of up and down . Each of the ten directions has its own name in Sanskrit . Some indigenous Australians have cardinal directions deeply embedded in their culture. For example, the Warlpiri people have a cultural philosophy deeply connected to the four cardinal directions and the Guugu Yimithirr people use cardinal directions rather than relative direction even when indicating
646-433: The basic colors found in nature and natural pigments, such as black, red, white, and yellow, with occasional appearances of blue, green, or other hues. There can be great variety in color symbolism, even among cultures that are close neighbors geographically. Ten Hindu deities , known as the " Dikpālas ", have been recognized in classical Indian scriptures, symbolizing the four cardinal and four intercardinal directions with
680-415: The center as a fifth cardinal point . Central Asian , Eastern European and North East Asian cultures frequently have traditions associating colors with four or five cardinal points. Systems with five cardinal points (four directions and the center) include those from pre-modern China , as well as traditional Turkic , Tibetan and Ainu cultures. In Chinese tradition, the five cardinal point system
714-658: The compass – cardinal and intercardinal directions – were given names. These often corresponded to the directional winds of the Mediterranean Sea (for example, southeast was linked to the Sirocco , a wind from the Sahara). Particular colors are associated in some traditions with the cardinal points. These are typically " natural colors " of human perception rather than optical primary colors . Many cultures, especially in Asia , include
SECTION 20
#1732845347253748-754: The compass directions is common and deeply embedded in European and Chinese culture (see south-pointing chariot ). Some other cultures make greater use of other referents, such as toward the sea or toward the mountains ( Hawaii , Bali ), or upstream and downstream (most notably in ancient Egypt , also in the Yurok and Karuk languages). Lengo (Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands) has four non-compass directions: landward, seaward, upcoast, and downcoast. Some languages lack words for body-relative directions such as left/right, and use geographical directions instead. Vertical position Vertical position or vertical location
782-402: The eight gates, the South and East gates are the largest, and both are located in busy market areas (Namdaemun Market and Dongdaemun Market, respectively). The eight gates have had various names over the centuries, and may still be referenced by different names. The charts below give the most common names for the gates. Official names and spellings are taken from signage currently found at and on
816-591: The fathers (Pitr loka). The directions are named by adding "disha" to the names of each god or entity: e.g. Indradisha (direction of Indra) or Pitrdisha (direction of the forefathers i.e. south). The cardinal directions of the Hopi language and the Tewa dialect spoken by the Hopi-Tewa are related to the places of sunrise and sunset at the solstices, and correspond approximately to the European intercardinal directions. Use of
850-475: The four main compass directions: north , south , east , and west , commonly denoted by their initials N, S, E, and W respectively. Relative to north, the directions east, south, and west are at 90 degree intervals in the clockwise direction. The ordinal directions (also called the intercardinal directions ) are northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest (SW), and northwest (NW). The intermediate direction of every set of intercardinal and cardinal direction
884-547: The gates themselves. Note that Hanja is read right-to-left at times, and left-to right at other times. Thus, the character for "gate" ( mun , 門 ) may appear either on the left or right side of actual signboards. - Gatehouse later burned down; current gatehouse dates from 1976. - Heavily damaged by fire in 2008. Reopened in May 2013. - No longer exists. Torn down in 1915 during the Japanese colonial period . Plans to rebuild exist, and
918-566: The ground or a building. Several physical quantities may be defined based on the definitions above: Vertical distance quantities, such as orthometric height , may be expressed in various units: metres , feet , etc. Certain vertical coordinates are not based on length , for example, geopotential numbers have units of m /s . Normalization by a constant nominal gravity value (units of m/s ) yields units of metre, as in geopotential height (based on standard gravity ) or dynamic height (based on normal gravity at 45 degrees latitude). Despite
952-454: The intercardinal directions have names that are not compounds of the names of the cardinal directions (as, for instance, northeast is compounded from north and east ). In Estonian, those are kirre (northeast), kagu (southeast), edel (southwest), and loe (northwest), in Finnish koillinen (northeast), kaakko (southeast), lounas (southwest), and luode (northwest). In Japanese, there
986-422: The name of the corresponding direction. East: Green ( 青 "qīng" corresponds to both green and blue); Spring; Wood South: Red ; Summer; Fire West: White ; Autumn; Metal North: Black ; Winter; Water Center: Yellow ; Earth Countries where Arabic is used refer to the cardinal directions as Ash Shamal (N), Al Gharb (W), Ash Sharq (E) and Al Janoob (S). Additionally, Al Wusta
1020-606: The one that is "east" will actually be further to the left. During the Migration Period , the Germanic names for the cardinal directions entered the Romance languages , where they replaced the Latin names borealis (or septentrionalis ) with north, australis (or meridionalis ) with south, occidentalis with west and orientalis with east. It is possible that some northern people used
1054-484: The position of an object close to their body. (For more information, see: Cultures without relative directions .) The precise direction of the cardinal points appears to be important in Aboriginal stone arrangements . Many aboriginal languages contain words for the usual four cardinal directions, but some contain words for 5 or even 6 cardinal directions. In some languages , such as Estonian , Finnish and Breton ,
The Eight Gates of Seoul - Misplaced Pages Continue
1088-406: The same vertical level , as in a water level . The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), more specifically ISO 19111 , offers the following two definitions: ISO 6709 (2008 version) makes the following additional definition: The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) offers similar definitions: ICAO further defines: I.e., elevation would be the altitude of
1122-404: The six directions of the x-, y-, and z-axes in three-dimensional Cartesian coordinates . Topographic maps include elevation, typically via contour lines . Alternatively, elevation angle may be combined with cardinal direction (or, more generally, arbitrary azimuth angle) to form a local spherical coordinate system . In astronomy , the cardinal points of an astronomical body as seen in
1156-449: The sky are four points defined by the directions toward which the celestial poles lie relative to the center of the disk of the object in the sky. A line (a great circle on the celestial sphere ) from the center of the disk to the North celestial pole will intersect the edge of the body (the " limb ") at the North point. The North point will then be the point on the limb that is closest to
#252747