Why are there so few trees in the Forbidden City?

In the past, most people couldn't go to the Forbidden City, which was the emperor's territory, but now they can go at will. I believe many people have been to the Forbidden City to see what kind of house the ancient emperors lived in. There are many trees in the Forbidden City, all of which are ancient trees, but I don't know if any careful people have found the Baohe Hall, Zhonghe Hall, Taihe Hall, Feng Jiao Hall, Kunning Hall and Gan Qing Palace in the Forbidden City.

I believe many people have had such questions, and correspondingly many masters have come out to answer them, which are basically Feng Shui or other superstitious statements, but this is not the case. This can be traced back to the Jiaqing period, when there was a peasant uprising army called Anbailijiao. I believe many people know that this organization has always opposed the imperial court, and in its arrogant heyday, it once organized people to attack the Forbidden City. Of course, they can't go in through the main entrance, so these people choose to climb trees. Finally, they failed, and the emperor paid attention to it, so he ordered people to cut down the big tree by the wall.

This was just the beginning, but then another thing happened. An assassin hiding in a tree in the imperial garden assassinated Jiaqing, which also caught his attention. But the trees in the imperial garden could not be cut down, so he ordered these places not to plant trees. The main reason is to protect the safety of the emperor and his concubine. After all, no one wants an assassin to hide in the Woods. However, there is also a saying that trees provide shade. In these temples, the emperor often goes and can't be covered by trees, which shows that the emperor is supreme, so he cut them down.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the emperor is afraid of assassination. There is no such precedent in history, and the emperor is indeed a high-risk profession. Although power is paramount, there are many things to worry about every day when a person manages a country. Sometimes you have to guard against assassins, and you are tired every day, except, of course, the emperor who only knows pleasure all day.

For most people, the Forbidden City is mysterious and yearning, especially for history lovers, the Forbidden City is definitely a must-see place of interest. Many people say that there are many strange legends in the Forbidden City, such as the mystery of the gate of hell and the mystery of Yinyang Road, but in fact, most of these legends are groundless and simply can't stand scrutiny.

As the last emperor Puyi recorded in the first half of my life, when I was a child, the eunuchs in the palace often told me some terrible stories about ghosts and gods, such as the fox turning into a man, the temple god in the main hall, and Guan Laoye who helped suppress the rebellion. Although these stories are legendary and the storytellers are superstitious, in the Forbidden City, these childish stories about ghosts and gods can only be heard by people today.

For more than 700 years, there have been many mysteries in the Forbidden City. The mystery I want to tell you today is the mystery of banning trees in the three halls of the Forbidden City. Anyone who has been to the Forbidden City will find that trees are not allowed outside the three halls of the Forbidden City, but few people will think about the reasons behind it. As we know, trees played a very important role in China ancient geomantic omen. For palace buildings, trees are indeed a very important part. Most ancient emperors had the habit of planting trees, such as the Han Dynasty. A symbol of good luck.

But the Forbidden City in Beijing is an exception. In the Forbidden City, we seldom see trees and all the palace buildings. In fact, the reasons for this structure are particular. First of all, the three halls of the Forbidden City don't plant trees to maintain the seriousness of the Forbidden City, because although it is magnificent, it is also the center of political power. If it becomes a place for recreation, then the Forbidden City will lose its seriousness. In fact, in the ancient Forbidden City, its authority, majesty and imperial power were the generations of the Forbidden City.

Of course, there is a more important reason, that is, the three halls of the Forbidden City are the areas where emperors often pass, and it is easy to hide thieves by planting trees in this area. If a thief wants to assassinate the emperor, hide behind a tree and give him a knife when the emperor passes by, it will be miserable. Although some people will ask this question, aren't there many experts in the palace? Everyone has high martial arts. How can the emperor be assassinated easily?

The classmate who said this probably watched too many martial arts movies. In fact, the guards in the palace are not necessarily ouchi masters. The six doors in TV series can't exist in reality. Many guards are actually sons and nephews of royalty who come in through the back door, so that they can be gilded for future promotion and appointment. Therefore, it is very necessary for the court to strengthen security.

Don't think that this kind of thing can't happen. This happened during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty. A farmer named Chen De went to assassinate the emperor. The murder weapon was a knife. As a result, it was easy to enter the Shenwumen and get close to the emperor. At the moment of drawing the sword, the guards of Shenwumen and Chen De looked at each other, and the emperor was startled. Of course, the ministers around him were very sensitive and quickly embraced Chen De. Fortunately, only at the end. Later, Emperor Jiaqing ordered a strict inspection inside and outside the palace, and all unnecessary trees were cut down, which became the scene we saw today.