The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the imperial palaces of the Ming and Qing dynasties, known as the Palace Museum. The consitruction took 14 years and was finished in 1420. In the following years, the capotal of the Ming Dynasty was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. Twenty-four emperors, 14 in the Ming and 10 in the Qing dynasties ruled from here. The last dynasty fell in 1911, but Emperor Puyi still lived in the Inner Court until 1924, when he was thrown out of the palace by the troops of General Feng Yuxiang. After that, the palace was opened to the public as the Palace Museum and it was no longer forbidden to the common people.
The Forbidden City located in the centre of Beijing, covering an area of 72 hectares. It is rectangular in shape, 961 meters long from north to south and 753 meters wide from east to west. There are total 9999.5 rooms in the whole clmplex. There is a 10-metre-high wall, encircled by a 52-metre-wide moat.
The Forbidden City is the largest piece of ancient Chinese architecture still standing. Some of the buildings were damaged by lightning and rebuilt in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It had beed expanded several times, but the original layout was preserved.
After liberation, some costly renovations were done and the Forbidden City is listed as one of the important historical monument under special preservation by the Chinese Government.
The Hall and the Courtyard of Supreme Harmony
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The great courtyard is in front of The Hall of Supreme Harmony. The courtyard is 10,000 square metres in area. The 33 single room-units on each side were used as warehouses for storing such items as fur, porcelain, silver, tea, silks and satins and clothes. Now I have a question for you.
There are no trees here! Beijing is a city well afforested. It is quite strange that there are no trees in such a large place. There are some interesting reasons for this. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the emperors attended to affairs of state or held grand occassions mostly in the Hall of supreme Harmony, a symbol of the imperial power. The emperors considered themselves sons of Heaven, born to reign over the country, so they should occupy the highest position. Nothing was allowed to tower over The Hall of Supreme Harmony, and trees were no exception. Another reason was that the emperors feared that assassins might use trees as their hiding places. A third reason was related to Chinese characters. A tree in a square represents the word trouble . The emperors were so superstitious that they believed the trees in the courtyard were likely to bring no end of trouble to the monarchy.
The Forbidden City was heavily guarded, but the emperors still didn't feel secure enough and worried that someone might dig a tunnel into the palace. So, they had the ground bricks laid in a very special way: seven layers lengthwise and eight layers crosswise, totalling fifteen layers. The emperors changed the rooms they stayed in almost every night to escape assassins, only their close eunuchs knew where the emperors stayed for each night.
All the buildings in the Forbidden City were made of wood, which was prone to fire. Therefore, fire prevention measures had to be taken. Around the courtyard you can find many iron vats, which were used for storing water against fire. In the whole complex, there are altogether 308 water vats, 18 of them gilded. Unfortunately, the gold has been scraped off by the invading forces of eight allied powers in 1900. Most of the vats made in the Ming Dynasty have bigger openings compared with those made in the Qing Dynasty. In winter, fires were lit to keep the water inside from freezing. On the north side underneath the vats are air vents to fan the fires. Moreover, lightning rods were installed on the roofs of the buildings in 1953.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony. stands along the north-south axis on the triple marble terrace. Each terrace is higher than the other, encircled by marble balustrades carved with dragon and phoenix designs. The dragon and phoenix were symbols of the emperor and the empresses respectively. You'll find 18 bronze incense burners, representing the 18 provinces of China during the Qing Dynasty.
The double layer roof represents the highest construction rank of all. In ancient Chinese buildings, the roofs were important social status symbols. I will show you some of the different ranks during our visit, and you can surely tell the difference by yourselves. Looking up you can see 11 mythical animals on the upturned eaves of the building. I have heard that in your country, some structures are being built with the eaves turned in the ancient Chinese style.
In ancient China, there used to be big wooden nails to prevent the tiles from sliding. They were replaced by glazed tiles which were later shaped into mythical animals, such as the dragon and the the phoenix. They were considered auspicious animals which could ward off calamities and bring about happiness and unity. Nowadays they serve only decorative purpose.
The heads of mythical animals jut out from the edge of the terraces, 1142 in number, which serve both as decorations and as rainspouts. If you come in a rainy day, you may witness a misty and mysterious scene here. Water pours out from the mouths of these mythical monsters, making the ticktack sounds which echo in the quiet, vast complex.
Take the staircases and get to the terrace. The central one was reserved for the emperor who was carried in a sedan chair over the marble ramp.
In the east of the terrace stands a sun-dial which was used to tell the time when there was sunlight. People looked at the markings of time on its upper part in summer and on its lower part in winter. Who can tell the time by it without looking at the watch? There is a question: "When there was no sunlights what would be used to tell the time? Right! the Water clock! A large variety of timing equipment is stored in the Forbidden City. Now see what is in the west side. A little pavilion in which a copper grain measure is kept. It was used as the national standard in the Qing Dynasty. The grain measure and sun-dial were symbols of imperial justice and rectitude. The dragon headed tortoises and storks were incense burners. They were both symbols of longevity.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony, the throne hall, built in 1420. It is the largest wooden structure still standing in China. It was used for grand ceremonies such as the celebration of Winter Solstice, the Chinese New Year, the Emperor's birthday and ascension to the throne and the dispatch of generals to battles. On such occasions, there would be an imperial guard of honor standing in front of the Hall and extending to the main gate.
The base and the throne are carved out of sandlewood. The throne was a symbol of imperial power. The floor was paved with Golden bricks which were baked for 136 days and then immersed in tung oil to polish it permanently. Looking up you can see the coffered ceiling, designed to create an aura of solemnity and mystery. In the middle of the ceiling is the design of two dragons playing with pearls. They were made of glass and painted with mercury. The big pearl was called "Xuan Yuan Jing" in Chinese, because according to a Chinese legend, the Emperor Huang Di who was also named "Xuan Yuan Shi", created the first glass. The pearl was said to be able to detect any usurper of the imperial power. If anyone who wasn't the descendant of the Emperor Huang Di took the throne, it would drop down and strike him to death. Yuan Shikai, who usurped the throne in 1912 was so frightened that he moved the throne slightly forward to avoid being hit. | |
The Meridian Gate
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The Meridian Gate is the southern entrance of the Purple Forbidden City. This massive Gate, consisting of five openings, is shaped like a huge upside-down English capital letter "U" . It is the largest gate of the Forbidden City, 35.6 metres high and surmounted by five pavilions. The central pavilion is rectangular in shape, while the other four, two on each side, are square, henee the nickname "the Five Phoenix Tower".
The Meridian Gate was so named because the Chinese emperors believed that they lived in the center of the universe, and the Meridian Line went through the Forbidden city.
The 14 emperors of the Ming and 10 emperors of the Qing dynasties ruled China with an absolute authority which probably has no equivalent in human history. However, except for the room which the emperor would choose to stay for the night to avoid possible assassins, they had very little privacy. When they went to the temple of haven, bells in the west pavilion were struck. When they went to the Ancestral Temple, drums in the eastern pavilion were beaten. Modern day VIPS simply follow suit-sirens and motorcycles in front, a long fleet of cars behind.
"Why were there five openings?", simply because people of different classes or social statues shouldn't walk in through the same opening. The central opening was reserved for the emperor alone, the empress was entitled to go through the opening once-on her Wedding Day:
The first three successful candidates in the imperial examination could enter the opening once, too, when they were to be received by the emperor. The east opening was for the Ministers while the west opening was for the royal family. The other openings were for petty officials. Ordinary people were forbidden to enter the city. Today, only two openings are ready for visitors, the one for the emperors and the one for the Ministers |
The Hall of Supreme Harmony - Top -
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The Hall of Supreme Harmony is also nicknamed "the Throne Hall". It was first built in 1406, but the present structure dates back to 1695, during Emperor Kangxi's reign. It was repaired in 1765 and repainted under Yuan Shikai, a warlord and restored very recently. Since the Qing Emperors were all Manchurians, the inscriptions on all the palace halls were both in Chinese and Manchurian, as still can be seen in the inner courts. Why, then, was the inscription of this hall in Chinese only?
There's something interesting about this. In 1911, after the Qing Dynasty fell, the last Qing Emperor Puyi was allowed to stay in the Inner Court. The Outer Court, however, was taken over by the so called "Democratic Government". In 1915, Yuan Shikai, a warlord, wanted to be the emperor. He was preparing for his enthronement when he ordered all the Manchurian inscriptions in the outer court to be removed. But he was overthrown only 83 days after he ascended the throne and the inscriptions here became a witness to his scandal.
Three flights of marble steps lead up to the terrace; in the middle of the central flight is a huge stone carving in the design of "dragons playing with pearls", over which the emperors sedan chairs were carried. On the terrace, at the east corner was a sun-dial; At the west corner stands a small temple in which the grain measure was kept. The sun-dial and grain measure are both symbols of rectitude and fairness. Surrounding the hall are 18 bronze incense burners, representing China's 18 provinces at that time; the 308 water vats around the palace were used to protect it against fire.
The hall of Supreme Harmony is 35 metres high, 60 metres wide and 33 metres on both sides. It is now the largest, best preserved wooden hall in China. Twenty-four pillars support the roof; the central six are gilded and painted in the design of dragons, the rest are painted red. The Emperor's throne, which is surrounded by art treasures of symbolic significance, is in the middle of the hall. Above the throne is a gold painted caisson, or coffered ceiling, with dragon designs, from which hangs a spheric pearl called the Xuanyuan Mirror . This pearl was supposed to be able to distinguish right from wrong. The warlord Yuan Shikai was afraid that the pearl in the caisson may fall and hit him; he ordered the throne to be moved slightly backward. This is why you see the throne is not directly under the caisson.
This hall was used for great ceremonies, like the celebration of Winter Solstice, the publication of the list of successful candidates in the imperial examinations, the emperor's birthday and enthronement.
Just imagine the majestic and awesome scene in the past. When the emperor sat on the throne, the ministers and all their subordinates would kneel down, kowtow and chant aloud "Long Live Your Majesty", with incense burning and curling up in the hall, and the sound of bells ringing and drums beating in unison in the corridor.
Each of the 24 pillars supporting the hall was made from one piece of wood, about 18 metres high. What's more, it took 136 days to bake the floor tiles before they were immersed in tung oil for another 49 days to be polished.
To maintain the palace during the Qing Dynasty, 280,000 taels of silver were needed each year. They came from taxes and royal estate rents. During the Ming Dynasty, 9,000 ladies-in-waiting and 100,000 eunuchs served here. Some eunuchs like Wei Zhongxian in the Ming Dynasty and Li Lianying in the Qing Dynasty became even more powerful than the emperor. | |
The Hall of Complete Harmony
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This hall was originally built in 1420 and restored in 1627 and again 1765. It is square in shape, with windows on all sides. It is the smallest hall among "the Big Threes" in the Outer Court.
The emperors came here once a year, to perform ceremonies like examining seeds for sowing, to take a rest before dressing up for great ceremonies in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, to receive ministers and greet foreign envoys or to deliver speeches to the royal family. The major function of the hall is to provide the emperor with a place to rehearse before he entered the hall of Supreme Harmony for important ceremonies.
In the middle of the hall stands a throne, with two sedan-chairs exhibited on both sides. The one on the east was made at the end of the Ming Dynasty, while the one on the west in the begining of the Qing Dynasty. There were many kinds of sedan-chairs in China, but the one used exclusively for the emperor was always carried by 8 people. |
The Hall of Preserving Harmony
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This hall was the last hall of the Outer Court, similar in style but a bit smaller than the Hall of Supreme Harmony. It was first built in 1420, rebuilt in 1625 and renovated in 1765.
In 1789, the hall became the site of the "Palace Examinations", the highest level of the nationwide imperial examination system. There were four levels of examinations, namely: the county level, the provincial level, the national level and the Palace Examinations. Those who survived the palace exam would get the title of "doctor" (Jin Shi), and their status and wealth were assured.
This examination system started in the Han Dynasty and suspended every now and then and was finally abolished in 1904. In 1898, the Capital University (Beijing University) was established, and about the same time, China sent students to study in foreign countries like Japan and France. In 1911, Qing Hua University, a well known university both at home and abroad was also established. Thus, the modern Chinese education began.
The original throne sits in the middle, surrounded by some fine bronzes. This hall was the most decorative of all the halls, and the great imperial banquets were held here. | |
The Stone Carving - Top -
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Behind the Hall of Preserving Harmony, between the stair-ways, is a huge one piece marble carving of dragons playing with pearls. This marble was brought here all the way from Fangshan District, about 70 Km away from Beijing city proper.
It is about 17 metres long, 3 metres wide and 1.7 metres thick, weighing about 250 tons. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, anyone who was caught touching this holy stone could be executed.
Without any modern means of transportation, you can imagine how difficult it was for the Chinese labourers to transport such a huge piece of stone here! For every half kilometre, wells were dug and water was pumped out onto the road to ice it up so that the stone could be slid over the ice. In summer, however, rolling logs were used.
Nothing was impossible for the Chinese!
Nothing was too extravagant for the emperor-the Son of Heaven! | | | | |
