Introducing China's World Cultural Heritage Essay

The Forbidden City in Beijing is a royal palace in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties, formerly known as the Forbidden City, located in the center of the central axis of Beijing. The Forbidden City of Beijing, centered on the Three Great Halls, covers an area of 720,000 square meters, with a building area of about 150,000 square meters, more than seventy palaces of various sizes and more than nine thousand houses.

The construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing began in the fourth year of the Yongle reign of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty (1406), and was built on the model of the Forbidden City in Nanjing, and was completed in the 18th year of the Yongle reign (1420). It is a rectangular city, 961 meters long from north to south and 753 meters wide from east to west, surrounded on all sides by a 10-meter-high wall, with a 52-meter-wide moat outside the city. The buildings in the Forbidden City are divided into two parts: the outer court and the inner court. The center of the outer court is the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Baohe, collectively known as the three halls, is the place where the state holds great ceremonies. The center of the inner court is the qianqing palace, jiaotai hall, kuning palace, collectively referred to as after the three palaces, is the emperor and the empress live in the main palace. [1]

The Forbidden City in Beijing is one of the world's largest existing and most well-preserved wooden structures of ancient architecture, is a national AAAAA level tourist attractions, [2] [3] 1961 was listed as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units; [4] 1987 was listed as a World Heritage Site. [5]

Name in Chinese

The Forbidden City, Beijing

Age of affiliation

Ming and Qing Dynasties

Geographic location

Beijing

Covering an area of

720,000 square meters (with a floor area of about 150,000 square meters)

Level of protection

World Heritage Site; The first batch of national key cultural relics protection units

Yunyu Imperial Palace?

First live broadcast from the Palace Museum in 2020

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Why is the Forbidden City called the Forbidden City?

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History

Name Kauai

The Forbidden City, also known as the Forbidden City. [8] Ancient China emphasized the planning concept of "unity of heaven and mankind", using the stars in the sky to correspond with the planning of the capital city, in order to highlight the legitimacy of the regime and the supremacy of imperial power. The emperor resides in Ziwei Palace, and the earthly emperor boasts of being entrusted with the heavenly "son of heaven", its residence should symbolize the Ziwei Palace in order to correspond with the emperor of heaven, the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", "the sky has a Ziwei Palace, which is the residence of God also. The king set up the palace, the image and for the". [9] Ziwei, Ziguan, Zigong, etc. has become a synonym for the emperor's palace. Because the feudal palace in ancient times belonged to the forbidden land, ordinary people can not enter, so it is called "forbidden". Early Ming Dynasty with the outside of the forbidden wall with collectively known as the "Imperial City", about the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and the outside of the forbidden wall to distinguish, that is, the Palace City called "Forbidden City", the outside of the forbidden wall for the "Imperial City". [10]

Principles of construction

The Forbidden City was built in strict accordance with the "Zhou Li - Kaogong Ji" in the "front and back of the city, the left and right of the ancestral community" of the imperial capital of the construction principles. The entire Forbidden City, in the architectural arrangement, with the shape of the changes, the undulating technique, combined into a whole, functionally in line with the hierarchical system of feudal society. At the same time to achieve left-right balance and the artistic effect of shape change. [11]

Requirements for palaces in the Kaogongji

The roof forms of Chinese buildings are colorful, and in the Forbidden City buildings, there are more than 10 kinds of roofs in different forms. Take the three halls as an example, the roofs are different. The roof of the Forbidden City building is full of various colors of glazed tile pieces. [12] The main halls are dominated by the color yellow. Green is used for the buildings in the imperial residence area. Other blue, purple, black, cui and peacock green, jewel blue and other colorful glaze, mostly used in the garden or glazed walls. The roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the ridge at each end of the glazed kissing beast, stable and strong swallowed the ridge. Kissing beast beautiful shape, is a component and decoration. Part of the tile shaped three-dimensional animal images of dragons and phoenixes, lions, seahorses, etc., symbolizing auspiciousness and majesty, these components play a decorative role in the building. [13]

Building process

Documentary Who ordered the construction of the Forbidden City and who was the first emperor to live there?

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Beijing was originally a fiefdom of King Zhu Di of Yan. After the Battle of Jingwu, in the first year of the Yongle era (1403), Li Zhigang, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, said that Yanjing Beiping was the emperor's "place of Dragon Rising", and that it should be set up as a companion capital, following the example of Emperor Ming Taizu's approach to Fengyang. Ming Chengzu then vigorously promote the status of Yanjing Beipingfu, Beiping for Beijing, change Beipingfu for Shuntianfu, known as the "line in" [14]. At the same time, they began to move people to enrich Beijing; those who were forced to move into Beijing included exiles from various places, rich families in Jiangnan, and merchants from Shanxi.

Yongle four years (1406), Ming Chengzu issued an edict to Nanjing Palace (Nanjing Imperial Palace) as a model, the construction of Beijing Palace and city walls. Zhu Di first sent out men to travel around the country to quarry valuable wood and stone, which were then transported to Beijing. The preparations alone lasted 11 years. Most of the precious nanmu grows in the mountains, the people ventured into the mountains to extract wood, many people lost their lives, later generations left "into the mountains of a thousand, out of the mountains of five hundred" to describe the price of life paid by the wood mining. Mining stone for the construction of the palace, also very difficult. Baohe Temple that the largest DanHei stone, mining in southwest Beijing FangShan. History records the delivery of it: tens of thousands of laborers on both sides of the road every mile or so to dig a well, to the winter months when the temperature is low enough, from the wells to splash water into the ice road, with 28 days of time, only to be sent to the palace. In addition, but also burned in Suzhou for the use of the royal building of the square brick - gold bricks, Shandong Linqing also to Beijing to transport tribute bricks. [15]

Ming Chengzu Zhu Di

In the seventh year of Yongle's reign (1409), Ming Chengzu used Beijing as a base for his northern expedition, and at the same time began construction of the Changling Mausoleum in Changping, near Beijing. [16] The fact that his mausoleum was built in Beijing instead of Nanjing proves that Ming Chengzu had already made up his mind to move the capital.

In the 14th year of Yongle (1416), Ming Chengzu summoned his ministers to formally discuss moving the capital to Beijing. For those who raised objections, Ming Chengzu dismissed or severely punished them, and from then on no one dared to oppose the relocation of the capital. [17] The following year, construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing, modeled after the Forbidden City in Nanjing, began. In the eighteenth year of the Yongle era (1420), the Beijing Palace and the city of Beijing were completed. The Beijing Palace was modeled after the Nanjing Palace and was slightly larger in scale. The newly rebuilt Beijing City was forty-five miles in circumference and was in the shape of a regular square, which conformed to the ideal shape of a capital city as described in the Zhou Rituals - Kaogong Ji. Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty issued an edict to formally relocate the capital, changing Yingtianfu in Jinling to Nanjing and Shuntianfu in Beijing to the capital, but still setting up six ministries and other centralized institutions in Nanjing, calling it Nanjing a certain ministry, and using Nanjing as the capital of stay.

***80 Zhang

The Forbidden City in Beijing

Ming Dynasty period

The Forbidden City was built after the Ming and Qing courts more than 500 years of history, including the activities of the emperor and the queen, the hierarchy, power struggles, and religious rituals. Yongle eighteen years (1420), Beijing Palace was completed. A fire broke out the following year and the first three halls were burned. In the fifth year of Zhengtong (1440), the first three halls and the Qianqing Palace were rebuilt. Tianshun three years (1459), the construction of the West Garden. Experienced Yongle, Hongxi, Xuande, Zhengtong four generations, the whole 20 years. [18]

Jiajing thirty-six years (1557), the Forbidden City fire, the first three halls, Fengtianmen, Wenwulou, the Noon Gate were all burned. It was only in the 40th year of Jiajing (1561) that all reconstruction was completed. [19] Jiajing period, the Forbidden City, the name of the three halls was changed to the Imperial Palace, the Central Pole Hall, Jianji Hall.

Ming people drew "Beijing Palace City Map"

Wanli 25 years (1597), the Forbidden City fire, burned the first three halls, after the three palaces. The reconstruction project was not completed until the seventh year of the Tianqi period (1627). [19] During the Ming Dynasty, the Qianqing Palace was the main bedchamber of the emperor, and also the site of major political activities. Since the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di to Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Yuchan, **** 14 emperors had lived here. Because the palace is tall, too much space, the emperor lived here had been separated into several rooms. According to records, the Ming Dynasty Qianqing Palace has a warm pavilion 9, divided into two layers, *** set 27 beds, consorts were able to enter the Imperial. Because of the room more beds, the emperor every night in bed where few people know, to prevent accidents. Although the emperor lived in the maze of palaces, and guarded against strict, but still can not rest easy. According to records, Jiajing years, "rengyin palace" after the Palace, Shizong moved to live in the West Garden, do not dare to return to live in Qianqing Palace. Wanli emperor's Zheng Guifei for the dowager empress made the "red pill case", Taichang Fei Li Zhanshi fight to be the empress and moved to live in the Palace of Renshoushou "move the case of the Palace", all happened in the Palace of the Qianqing Palace. The Ming Dynasty Qianqing Palace was also used as a place of mourning for the emperor.

Qing Dynasty period

Chongzhen 17 years (the first year of Shunzhi, 1644), Li Zicheng army captured Beijing, the fall of the Ming Dynasty, but Li Zicheng was soon defeated by the Qing army in Shanhaiguan. Li Zicheng retreated to Shaanxi before the burning of the Forbidden City, only the Palace of Wuying, Jianji Hall, Hall of Yinghua, South Xun Hall, the surrounding corner tower and the Imperial Gate did not burn, the rest of the buildings were all destroyed. On the second day of May, the Qing army entered Beijing, and the Forbidden City was taken over by the Qing army. [20] In October of the same year, Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty moved the capital to Beijing. On the first day of October, Emperor Shunzhi issued an edict of enthronement to the nation at the Taihe Gate, and the Qing Dynasty was officially capitalized in Beijing. It took 14 years thereafter to restore the buildings on the Middle Road.

In the twenty-second year of the Kangxi period (1683), the reconstruction of the rest of the Forbidden City was begun, and in the thirty-fourth year of the Kangxi period (1695), it was basically completed. After the entry of the Qing Dynasty, in accordance with the old practice of the Ming Dynasty, the Shunzhi Emperor and the Kangxi Emperor will be the Qianqing Palace as a residence and deal with the main site of the imperial government. After the Yongzheng Emperor took the throne, began to move to the Palace of Yangxin. Located in the inner court of the Forbidden City, west of the Qianqing Palace, the Palace of Nurturing Heart was built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. At first, it was not the emperor's bedchamber. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the Ministry of the Interior set up here for the Imperial Household to do the palace work of the many workshops, called "Yangxintian manufacturing office". Kangxi sixty-one years (1722), after the death of the Kangxi Emperor, the reigning Yongzheng Emperor did not move to his father's bedchamber Qianqing Palace to live, but the west side of the Zunyi Gate temporarily used as the father of filial piety "thatch" of the Yangxintian Palace for the emperor's bedchamber. [21] From then on, the Palace of Yangxin began to become the emperor to live and the main place of the Qing dynasty to deal with political affairs, after the establishment of the Office of military affairs after the office is also near the Palace of Yangxin. After the reign of the Qianlong emperor, the Yangxindian Hall area for large-scale expansion and remodeling, and gradually formed a certain system. From the Yongzheng Emperor, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang, Xianfeng, Tongzhi, Guangxu, Xuantong eight emperors lived here. Until Emperor Xuantong was driven out of the Forbidden City. [19]

The Qianlong Emperor's Walking Picture

During the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor, the Changchun Palace was also connected to the front of the Qixiang Palace (which is now known as the Hall of Taiji), and was linked together, and after the death of Xianfeng, Cixi also resided here, with the one person enjoying the two palaces all to herself. West six palaces to the late Qing Dynasty, Cixi began to remodel certain palaces. As a result, four of the six western palaces have left Cixi's footprints. [22] After the death of Emperor Xianfeng, Ci'an and Cixi early curtain, both lived in the Changchun Palace, Tongzhi ten years (1871), Ci'an from the Changchun Palace moved back to live in the Zhongzi Palace, the Changchun Palace has become the Empress Dowager Cixi one person exclusive use of the Palace. Taiji Hall was only two courtyards, Xianfeng repair Changchun Palace, will be the back of the Hall of Taiji Hall for the Hall of the Hall, so that the Hall of Taiji and Changchun Palace connected to each other through the four courtyards.

Republic of China

Xuantong three years (1911) after the 1911 Revolution, the Forbidden City Palace should be all nationalized, but in accordance with the formulation of the "conditions of preferential treatment of the Qing dynasty", the Sun Emperor Aisin Gioro Puyi was allowed to "temporarily reside in the Palace of the Palace of the forbidden", that is, "after the bedchamber "part. The guards and so on stay as usual; Prince and Duke still its old" and other terms. So according to the "Qing dynasty preferential conditions" part of the terms, coupled with Yuan Shikai remembered the old master's kindness, and actively support, Puyi abdicated, although the imperial system was abolished, but the emperor Puyi, as well as the original royal ministers and so on are still safe and sound living in the palace. In the palace of the forbidden city during life, puyi still issued "oracle", still use xuantong chronology, the old and the young still kneeling salute. Palace still retains the House of Internal Affairs, Zongrenfu and the Prudent Criminal Justice Department and other institutions, the deceased ministers grant posthumous, do not change the clothes and crowns, those who violated the law by the Prudent Criminal Justice Department to deal with. So that the Forbidden City at the time just like a "country of the country".

July 1, 1917, Xuzhou warlord Zhang Xun embraced the Qing emperor Puyi restoration. In order to get Zhang Xun to surrender, Duan Qirui mobilized all the forces he could, including ordering the teachers and students of the Nanyuan Aviation School in Beijing to join the fight by bombing the Forbidden City with airplanes. Three small bombs were dropped on the Forbidden City as a warning[23]. The planes flew at an altitude of only 300 meters from the Forbidden City, flying at ultra-low altitude. [24] The bombs hit Yanxi Palace, one of the six eastern palaces of the Forbidden City, causing minor damage to the building at the time. This is considered to be the first air raid bombing in East Asia.

The Qianqing Palace in the Republic of China

In 1924, Feng Yuxiang launched the "Beijing Coup", expelling Puyi from the palace, and at the same time set up the "Committee for the Aftermath of the Qing Dynasty", which took over the Forbidden City. On October 10, 1925, announced the official establishment of the Palace Museum, open to the public. 1925 after the Forbidden City is known as the "Forbidden City". With the decline of the Qing Dynasty, especially in the 38 years before 1949, the Forbidden City building is becoming increasingly dilapidated, there are a number of palace complexes collapsed, a mountain of garbage.

On the eve of the full outbreak of the war of resistance against Japan, in 1933, the Palace Museum for the protection of its cultural relics safety, not to be destroyed by the war or by the Japanese imperialists looting, decided to take the cultural relics to avoid the enemy to move south of the policy and the establishment of cultural relics depot in Nanjing, set up the Palace Museum Nanjing Branch. From February to May 1933, has checked out the cultural relics, books, archives 13427 boxes and 64 packages, in five batches first arrived in Shanghai, then transported to Nanjing [25].

Modern situation

1949 after the establishment of the People's Republic of China **** and the State, the Forbidden City building carried out large-scale repairs, while organizing a large number of cultural relics. 1961 State Council enacted the Forbidden City for the national key cultural relics protection units. The Forbidden City Museum now has 1862,690 pieces/sets of cultural relics (as of August 2019)[26]. [In 1987, the Forbidden City was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and established as the Palace Museum.

Since the 21st century, the Palace Museum has received an average of 6-8 million Chinese and foreign visitors annually. With the development of tourism, the number of visitors continues to grow, showing that people's interest in the Forbidden City has never ceased.

The green area is the open area

August 15, 2013, Shoukang Palace is also officially on display after an in-situ display. And the sculpture hall located in Ci Ning Palace on May 31, 2015 opened. And according to the scale of 2015, the Forbidden City will be 76% open by 2020. The Forbidden City is undergoing repair of cultural relics and monuments, environmental remediation, expanding the open area of the display and exhibition. [28]

November 23, 2014, the Beijing Forbidden City mascot debut to the public for the first time, the mascot is derived from the traditional Chinese auspicious dragon and phoenix image, respectively, for the dragon "Zhuang Zhuang" and phoenix "Mei Mei."

October 11, 2015, the Forbidden City Museum officially opened to visitors. The Palace Museum officially opened to the audience of the Cining Palace area, the Noon Gate Yanyin Tower area, Donghuamen and other new areas, so that the Palace's open area from the current 52% to 65%. [7]

On the afternoon of February 25, 2016, in the Great Hall of the People by the Palace Museum hosted "too Pu Ruzhuo - Cui Ruzhuo art Palace Exhibition". [29] April 12, 2016, the Palace Museum President Shan Jixiang introduced, the Palace of the open area increased by 11% to 76%, and open a variety of forms of new exhibitions. At the same time, the "Joint Exhibition of Peony Themes from Luoyang Peony and the Palace Museum" opened at the Palace. Twelve thousand pots of peonies from Luoyang were scattered in the garden of Cining Palace, Qianqing Gate Square, Cining Palace, Shoukang Palace, Yongkang Left-Right Gate, and outside Longzong Gate, etc., recreating the peony blossom of the Forbidden City in the Qing Dynasty. [30]

On May 24, 2018, the Palace Museum decided to implement Monday all-day closure since June 2018, except for national holidays. [31] In addition, from January 2012 to June 2018, the Forbidden City received a cumulative total of 100 million visitors, and from 2019 onwards, the Forbidden City piloted split-time ticketing [32].

September 3, 2018, the Palace Yangxin Hall officially entered the implementation stage of the ancient architecture research and protection repair work. [33]

On March 4, 2019, the Forbidden City announced the second half of 2019 exhibition plan. [34]

September 21 to October 1, 2019, according to the Palace Museum, according to the work needs and arrangements, the Palace Museum suspended the opening of the community. [35]

October 2, 2019, the Forbidden City "rest" 11 days after the opening of the door to welcome guests, 3 to 5 tickets sold out. [36]

Architectural form

Scale of the building

The Forbidden City in Beijing was built by Emperor Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty, and designed by Kuaixiang (1397-1481, word Tingrui, a native of Suzhou). Covering an area of 720,000 square meters (961 meters long and 753 meters wide), the building area of about 150,000 square meters, covering an area of 720,000 square meters, with 1 million civilian workers, *** built 14 years, there are 9,999 rooms and a half of the house, in fact, according to the 1973 experts on-site measurements of the Forbidden City, there are more than 90 large and small courtyards, the house has 980 seats, *** counted 8,707 rooms (and this "between" is not the concept of today's rooms, here "between" refers to the space formed by the four pillars).

Architecture

Forbidden City Palace, the front of the Palace, the architectural design requirements of the magnificent, bright and open courtyard, symbolizing the supremacy of the feudal regime, the Hall of Supreme Harmony is located in the Forbidden City diagonal in the center of the four corners of each of the ten auspicious beasts. The designers of the Forbidden City believe that this to show the majesty of the emperor, to deter the world. After the inner court but the requirements of the deep, compact, so the east and west of the six palaces are self-contained, each with its own palace door and wall, relatively arranged, in order. After the inner court is the palace rear court [37].

***2 Zhang

The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City Palace is arranged along a north-south central axis, the three great halls, after the three palaces, the Imperial Garden are located on this central axis. And unfolded to the sides, the north and south take straight, left and right symmetry. This central axis not only runs through the Forbidden City, but also runs through the whole city from the Yongding Gate in the south to the Drum Tower and Bell Tower in the north [38].

Architectural layout

Overall pattern

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The Forbidden City is located in the center of Beijing. Layout based on the "Zhouli - Kaogongji" contained in: "left ancestral, right social, face to face, after the city" principle, the building in the city of Beijing north-south eight kilometers long axis, north-south straight, left and right symmetry. Now the Forbidden City left in front of the Cultural Palace of the Working People, Ming and Qing dynasties is the emperor worship ancestors of the Imperial Temple; right in front of the Zhongshan Park is the emperor sacrificed to the gods of the earth and grain God of the altar of the Gods of Jikji; in front of the courtiers to do their business; the back of the market for people to trade [27]. The north of the Forbidden City in Beijing is Banzai Mountain, south of the Jinshui River, just in line with the ancient "negative yin and hold the yang, and the gas for and" the principle of building the Palace, Banzai Mountain is specifically for the creation of feng shui of the Imperial City and the construction of an artificial mountain, completed in the early Ming Dynasty, is located in the Yuan Dynasty bedchamber Yanchun Pavilion site, with the digging of the moat and the South Lake of silt piled up and become. This mountain pile, on the one hand, to meet the imperial city to "negative yin" principle, on the other hand, but also to suppress the feng shui of the previous dynasty, so long live the mountain also has a "town of mountains," the name. [39] The layout of Beijing's four nine cities is two dragons out of the water to protect the Forbidden City. According to ancient Chinese astrology, Zi Wei Xing (i.e., the North Star) is located in the middle of the sky, is the emperor of the sky, the sky corresponds to the emperor's residence is also known as the Forbidden City. [40]

The Forbidden City surrounded by 12 meters high, 3400 meters long wall, the form of a rectangular city, the wall outside the 52-meter-wide moat around the formation of a tightly walled castle. The Forbidden City has four gates, the main gate named Wumen, East Gate named Donghuamen, West Gate named Xihuamen, North Gate named Shenwumen. Facing the north gate of the Shenwumen, with soil, stone Jingshan. In the overall layout, Jingshan can be said to be the barrier of the Forbidden City complex.

Ancient Chinese Idea of Starry Night

The Forbidden City is about 960 meters long in the north and south, and 750 meters wide in the east and west, with an area of more than 720,000 square meters, and more than 8,000 houses in existence. It is surrounded by a 10-meter-high wall with a 52-meter-wide moat. There is a gate on each of the four sides, with the Noon Gate in the south, the Shenwu Gate in the north, the Donghuamen Gate in the east and the Xihuamen Gate in the west. The Forbidden City consists of two major parts: the outer court and the inner court. The outer court is centered on the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preservation of Harmony, with the Hall of Wenhua in the east and the Hall of Wuying in the west as the two wings, where the court holds its great ceremonies. Behind the outer court is the inner court, there are the Qianqing Palace, Jiaotai Hall, Kunning Palace, the Imperial Garden, as well as the East and West six palaces, etc., is the emperor to deal with the daily political affairs and the emperor, the consorts live in the place. In addition, there is also the Ning Shou Palace area on the east side, which is where Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty retired to his old age in order to be the supreme emperor. [27]

Distribution of the Outer Dynasties

The Outer Dynasties, where the emperors dealt with political affairs, had three main halls: the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preservation of Harmony. Among them, the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the tallest and most splendid, which is 60.1 meters wide, 33.33 meters deep and 35.05 meters high. The emperor ascended the throne, wedding, enthronement, order will, expedition, etc. will be held here in a grand ceremony, when thousands of people "three shouts of long live", hundreds of ceremonial instruments, bells and drums ringing, very full of the royal style. After the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Hall of peace is the emperor to attend major ceremonies before resting and accepting the place of worship, the northernmost Baohe Temple is the emperor gives feasts and the place of the Imperial Examination. [41]

Forbidden City, Beijing, floor plan

The inner court of the Forbidden City

The second half of the Forbidden City building is called the inner court, and the main door of the inner court of the palace, the Qianqing Gate, has a glazed wall to the left and right, and inside the gate are the three rear palaces.

The junction of the inner court and the outer court of the Qianqing Gate

The inner court to the Qianqing Palace, Jiaotai Hall, Kunning Palace as the center, the east and west wings of the East Six Palaces and the West Six Palaces, is the emperor to deal with the day-to-day business of the emperor is also where the emperor and the consort live and live. The second half of the architectural style is different from the first half. The first half of the building symbolizes the supremacy of the emperor. The second half of the inner court buildings are mostly self-contained courtyards.

In the Forbidden City "inner court" at the end. Heavy eaves hipped roof. Kunning Palace is the Empress of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty before the Yongzheng Emperor's bedchamber, the two ends of the warming cabinet. Qing dynasty was changed to the place of worship. After the Yongzheng, the West Warm Pavilion for the shaman's place of worship. One of the East Warm Pavilion for the Emperor's wedding cave, Kangxi, Tongzhi, Guangxu three emperors, are held in this wedding [42].

Main buildings

The four gates of the Forbidden City

The Forbidden City has four gates, the main gate is called the Noon Gate, which is concave in plan. There are five white jade arch bridges leading to the Taihe Gate. The east gate is called Donghuamen, the west gate is called Xihuamen, and the north gate is called Shenwumen. All four corners of the Forbidden City have corner towers, 27.5 meters high, with cross roofs. [43]

Four gates Introduction Pictures

Wu Gate The Wu Gate is the main gate of the Forbidden City. It is commonly known as the Five Phoenixes Tower. The east, west, and north sides are connected by a 12-meter-high city platform, encircling a square square. There are 1 group of buildings. In the center of the heavy building, is a 9-bay wide hall, heavy eaves hipped roof, in the left and right out of the two que walls, built with joint eaves through the ridge of the pavilion of four, Ming gallery connected to the two wings of each of the 13 rooms of the hall out to the south, the four corners of each of the tall corner of the pavilion, supplemented by the wing of the main hall. This group of buildings on the city, is the first peak of the Palace Palace group. Noon Gate is the emperor's edict, ordered to go out to the place. It among the main door usually only the emperor can enter and exit; the emperor's wedding queen into a; the temple examination examination in the first prize, the first prize, the flower of the three can be out of this door once. Civilian and military ministers in and out of the east side of the door, the royal princes in and out of the west side of the door.

Noon Gate

Shenwu Gate Shenwu Gate in the Ming Dynasty for the "Xuanwu Gate", Xuanwu for one of the four ancient beasts, from the direction of the left Qinglong, the right White Tiger, the former Zhuquan, Xuanwu, Xuanwu, Xuanwu, the main north, so the emperor's palace of the northern palace door more than the name "Xuanwu ". During the Kangxi period of the Qing dynasty to avoid the taboo renamed "Shenwumen". Shenwumen is also a city gate form, with the highest level of heavy eaves hipped roof, but it's only five halls and corridors, no left and right forward stretch of the two wings, so in the form of a lower level than the noon gate. Shenwumen is the daily access to the palace. The current Shenwumen for the main gate of the Palace Museum.

Shenwumen

East and West Huamen Donghuamen and Xihuamen correspond to each other, there is a dismounted monument outside the door, the door to the north and south of the Jinshui River, the upper shelf of the stone bridge 1, north of the bridge for the three gates. Donghuamen and Xihuamen the same shape, the plane rectangular, red platform, white jade Sumeru seat, which opened three coupon door, coupon hole outside the square inside the circle. Shingtai built on the city building, yellow glazed tiles, heavy eaves hipped roof, Shingtou face 5, 3 deep, surrounded by corridors.

Xihua Gate

Outer court building

The outer court of the Forbidden City in Beijing to the three main halls. The Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Bohol are all built on an 8-meter-high I-shaped abutment made of white jade, with the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the front, the Hall of Central Harmony in the middle, and the Hall of Bohol in the back. Abutment three layers overlap, each layer of the edge of the platform are decorated with alabaster carved balustrades, columns and dragons, three platforms in the middle of the three stone steps carved with coiled dragons, set off by the sea waves and clouds of the "Royal Road". On the 25,000 square meters of the platform there are 1,415 pieces of transparent carved balustrades, 1,460 carved cloud dragons and phoenixes of the watchtower, 1,138 dragon heads. With such a large number of white jade decoration of the three platforms, the shape of the overlap and undulation, which is a unique style of decorative art in ancient Chinese architecture. This decoration, in turn, serves the structural function of a drainage pipe for the platform. Small holes are carved under the high-weight medical devices of the balustrade; small holes are also carved out of the protruding dragon's head under the watchtower. During the rainy season, the rainwater of the 3 platforms is discharged layer by layer through the small openings, and the water is discharged from the faucet. This is scientific and artistic design. [44]

Architecture Introduction Pictures

Taihe Gate The Taihe Gate is the largest palace gate in the Forbidden City and the main gate of the outer palaces. It was built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1420), and was then called the Gate of Fengtian. Jiajing forty-one years (1562) renamed Huangjimen, Qing Shunzhi two years (1645) to the present name. Taihe Gate is 9 rooms wide, 3 rooms deep, with a floor area of 1300 square meters. Overlaying heavy eaves heshan roof, under the white jade plinth, beam square and other components of the application and seal painting. A pair of bronze lions in front of the door. Taihemen left and right each with a door, east of the Zhaode Gate (Ming Dynasty, called Hongzheng Gate), west of the door for the Chingdu (Ming Dynasty, called Xuanzhi Gate). Taihe Gate in the Ming Dynasty is the "Royal Gate to listen to politics" place. Early Qing dynasty emperor also used to listen to politics in the door, give a banquet, and later "Royal Gate to listen to politics" changed in the Qianqing Gate. In September of the first year of Shunzhi's reign (1644), Fu Lin, the first emperor after the Manchu rulers settled in Beijing, issued a general amnesty at the Taihe Gate.

Taihe Gate

Taihe Gate Square There is a square of about 26,000 square meters in front of the Taihe Gate, and the Jinshui River meanders through it from west to east. There are five stone bridges across the river, which are called Neijinshui Bridge. On both sides of the square are neatly arranged corridors and huts, commonly known as the east and west rooms, and there are the Concord Gate (known as the Huiji Gate in the Ming Dynasty) and the Xihe Gate (known as the Quiqi Gate in the Ming Dynasty) facing each other to the east and west. The east side of the verandah in the Ming Dynasty used as the Hall of Records, the Hall of Ultimatums, and the Hall of the House of Residence, and in the Qing Dynasty, it was changed to the Office of Inspection of the Qin Feng Oracle and the Room of the Imperial Edicts. In the Ming Dynasty, the west side corridor was used for the compilation and revision of the "Ming Dynasty Canon", and in the Qing Dynasty, it was changed into the translation room and the residence hall.

Taihe Gate Square and the Jinshui River

Taihe Palace of Supreme Harmony The Palace of Supreme Harmony, commonly known as the "Palace of the Golden Emperor", the Ming Yongle eighteen years (1420) was completed, called the Palace of Fengtian. Jiajing 41 years (1562) renamed Huangji Temple. Qing Shunzhi two years (1645) to change the name. It was the place where the emperor held the grand ceremony. Since the completion of the repeated burning and destruction, and many times rebuilt, seen today for the Qing dynasty Kangxi thirty-four years (1695) after the reconstruction of the form. Hall of peace 11, 5 deep, building area of 2377 square meters, 26.92 meters high, together with the foundation of 35.05 meters high, for the Forbidden City, the largest temple, the eaves placed 10 animals. Ming and Qing dynasties, 24 emperors were held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony grand ceremonies, such as the emperor ascended to the throne, the emperor's wedding, enthroned the empress, the order will be sent on a campaign, in addition to the annual All Souls' Day, New Year's Day, the winter solstice three festivals, the emperor here to accept civil and military officials of the imperial congratulations, and to the princes and ministers of the feast given. [45]

Taihe Temple