Forbidden City

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Forbidde n City w as the Chinese imperial palace f rom the Ming dynasty to

The Palace Museum

the end of the Qing dynastythe years 1420 to 1912. It is located in the center of
w hat is now know n as Beijing, (f ormerly Peking) China, and now houses the
Palace M us e um . It served as the home of emperors and their households as
w ell as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government f or almost 500
years.
Constructed f rom 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers
72 ha (180 acres).[1][not in citation given] The palace complex exemplif ies traditional
Chinese palatial architecture,[2] and has inf luenced cultural and architectural
developments in East Asia and elsew here. The Forbidden City w as declared a

The Gate of Div ine Might, the northern gate.

World Heritage Site in 1987,[2] and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of

The lower tablet reads "The Palace Museum"

preserved ancient w ooden structures in the w orld.

()

Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum,
w hose extensive collection of artw ork and artef acts w ere built upon the imperial
collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's f ormer collection
is now located in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums descend
f rom the same institution, but w ere split af ter the Chinese Civil War. With over 14
million annual visitors, the Palace Museum is the most visited Museum in the
w orld.[3]

Description

[ edit ]

The Forbidden City is a rectangle, w ith 961 metres

Location within China

Established 1912
Location

(3,153 f t) f rom north to south and 753 metres

Dongcheng, Beijing, China

(2,470 f t) f rom east to w est.[citation needed] It consists

Coordinates

of 980 surviving buildings w ith 8,886 bays of

Type

rooms;[31][32] how ever this f igure may not include

various antechambers.[31] Another common f igure

Historic site
Visitors
26 million+(2014)[citation needed]

although this number is f requently cited, it is likely

Ranked 1st nationally

an oral tradition, and it is not supported by survey

The Forbidden City as
depicted in a Ming dy nasty
painting

be the centre of the ancient, w alled city of Beijing.

It is enclosed in a larger, w alled area called the

39.915987N 116.397925E
Art museum, Imperial Palace,

points to 9,999 rooms including antechambers;[33]

evidence.[34] The Forbidden City w as designed to

4 Jingshan Front St,

Ranked 1st globally

Curator

Shan Jixiang ()

Website

http://www.dpm.org.cn

Imperial City. The Imperial City is, in turn, enclosed by the

Inner City; to its south lies the Outer City.
The Forbidden City remains important in the civic
scheme of Beijing. The central northsouth axis
remains the central axis of Beijing. This axis
extends to the south through Tiananmen gate to
Tiananmen Square, the ceremonial centre of the

The Forbidden City v iewed f rom

Jingshan Hill.

People's Republic of China, and on to

Yongdingmen. To the north, it extends through
Jingshan Hill to the Bell and Drum Tow ers.[35]

The East Glorious Gate under

renov ation as part of the 16-y ear
restoration process

This axis is not exactly aligned northsouth, but is tilted by slightly more than tw o

degrees. Researchers now believe that the axis w as designed in

the Yuan dynasty to be aligned w ith Xanadu, the other capital of
their empire.[36]

Walls and gates

[ edit ]

The Forbidden City is

surrounded by a 7.9 metres
The Meridian Gate, f ront entrance
to the Forbidden City, with two
protruding wings

(26 f t) high city w all[13] and

a 6 metres (20 f t) deep by
52 metres (171 f t) w ide
moat. The w alls are 8.62
metres (28.3 f t) w ide at the
base, tapering to 6.66
metres (21.9 f t) at the
top.[37] These w alls served
as both def ensive w alls and

The northwest corner tower

retaining w alls f or the

palace. They w ere
constructed w ith a rammed
earth core, and surf aced
w ith three layers of
specially baked bricks on
both sides, w ith the
interstices f illed w ith
mortar.[38]

The Gate of Supreme Harmony

At the f our corners of the

w all sit tow ers (E) w ith
intricate roof s boasting 72

ridges, reproducing the Pavilion of Prince Teng and the Yellow

Plan of the Forbidden City. Labels in red are used to ref er

to locations throughout the article.
- - Approximate div iding line between Inner (north) and Outer
(south) Courts.
A. Meridian Gate
B. Gate of Div ine Might
C. West Glorious Gate
D. East Glorious Gate
E. Corner towers
F. Gate of Supreme
Harmony
G. Hall of Supreme Harmony

H. Hall of Military Eminence

J. Hall of Literary Glory
K. Southern Three Places
L. Palace of Heav enly Purity
M. Imperial garden
N. Hall of Mental Cultiv ation
O. Palace of Tranquil
Longev ity

Crane Pavilion as they appeared in Song dynasty paintings.[38]

These tow ers are the most visible parts of the palace to commoners outside the w alls, and much f olklore is attached to them.
According to one legend, artisans could not put a corner tow er back together af ter it w as dismantled f or renovations in the
early Qing dynasty, and it w as only rebuilt af ter the intervention of carpenter-immortal Lu Ban.[13]
The w all is pierced by a gate on each side. At the southern end is the main Meridian
Gate (A).[39] To the north is the Gate of Divine Might (B), w hich f aces Jingshan Park.
The east and w est gates are called the "East Glorious Gate" (D) and "West Glorious
Gate" (C). All gates in the Forbidden City are decorated w ith a nine-by-nine array of
golden door nails, except f or the East Glorious Gate, w hich has only eight row s. [40]
The Meridian Gate has tw o protruding w ings f orming three sides of a square (Wumen,
or Meridian Gate, Square) bef ore it.[41] The gate has f ive gatew ays. The central
gatew ay is part of the Imperial Way, a stone f lagged path that f orms the central axis of
the Forbidden City and the ancient city of Beijing itself , and leads all the w ay f rom the

The Northwest Corner Tower of the

Forbidden City with Double Rainbow

Gate of China in the south to Jingshan in the north. Only the Emperor may w alk or ride
on the Imperial Way, except f or the Empress on the occasion of her w edding, and successf ul students af ter the Imperial
Examination.[40]

Outer Court or the Southern Section

[ edit ]

Traditionally, the Forbidden City is divided into tw o parts. The Outer Court () or Front Court () includes the southern
sections, and w as used f or ceremonial purposes. The Inner Court () or Back Palace () includes the northern sections,

and w as the residence of the Emperor and his f amily, and w as used f or day-to-day
aff airs of state. (The approximate dividing line show n as red dash in the plan above.)
Generally, the Forbidden City has three vertical axes. The most important buildings are
situated on the central northsouth axis.[40]
Entering f rom the Meridian Gate, one encounters a large square, pierced by the
meandering Inner Golden Water River, w hich is crossed by f ive bridges. Beyond the
square stands the Gate of Supreme Harmony (F). Behind that is the Hall of Supreme
Harmony Square.[42] A three-tiered w hite marble terrace rises f rom this square. Three

The Hall of Supreme Harmony

halls stand on top of this terrace, the f ocus of the palace complex. From the south,
these are the Hall of Supreme Harmony (), the Hall of Central Harmony (),
and the Hall of Preserving Harmony ().[43]
The Hall of Supreme Harmony (G) is the largest, and rises some 30 metres (98 f t)
above the level of the surrounding square. It is the ceremonial centre of imperial pow er,
and the largest surviving w ooden structure in China. It is nine bays w ide and f ive bays
deep, the numbers 9 and 5 being symbolically connected to the majesty of the
Emperor.[44] Set into the ceiling at the centre of the hall is an intricate caisson decorated
w ith a coiled dragon, f rom the mouth of w hich issues a chandelier-like set of metal
balls, called the "Xuanyuan Mirror".[45] In the Ming dynasty, the Emperor held court here

The name plate on the Hall of

Supreme Harmony

to discuss aff airs of state. During the Qing dynasty, as Emperors held court f ar more
f requently, a less ceremonious location w as used instead, and the Hall of Supreme
Harmony w as only used f or ceremonial purposes, such as coronations, investitures,
and imperial w eddings.[46]
The Hall of Central Harmony is a smaller, square hall, used by the Emperor to prepare
and rest bef ore and during ceremonies.[47] Behind it, the Hall of Preserving Harmony,
w as used f or rehearsing ceremonies, and w as also the site of the f inal stage of the
Imperial examination.[48] All three halls f eature imperial thrones, the largest and most
elaborate one being that in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.[49]
At the centre of the ramps leading up to the terraces f rom the northern and southern
sides are ceremonial ramps, part of the Imperial Way, f eaturing elaborate and symbolic

The throne in the Hall of

Preserv ing Harmony

bas-relief carvings. The northern ramp, behind the Hall of Preserving Harmony, is
carved f rom a single piece of stone 16.57 metres (54.4 f t) long, 3.07 metres (10.1 f t)
w ide, and 1.7 metres (5.6 f t) thick. It w eighs some 200 tonnes and is the largest such
carving in China.[8] The southern ramp, in f ront of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, is even
longer, but is made f rom tw o stone slabs joined together the joint w as ingeniously
hidden using overlapping bas-relief carvings, and w as only discovered w hen
w eathering w idened the gap in the 20th century.[50]
In the south w est and south east of the Outer Court are the halls of Military Eminence
(H) and Literary Glory (J). The f ormer w as used at various times f or the Emperor to
receive ministers and hold court, and later housed the Palace's ow n printing house. The
latter w as used f or ceremonial lectures by highly regarded Conf ucian scholars, and

The Hall of Central Harmony

(f oreground) and the Hall of
Preserv ing Harmony

later became the off ice of the Grand Secretariat. A copy of the Siku Quanshu w as
stored there. To the north-east are the Southern Three Places () (K), w hich w as the residence of the Crow n Prince.[42]

Inner Court or the Northern Section

[ edit ]

The Inner Court is separated f rom the Outer Court by an oblong courtyard lying orthogonal to the City's main axis. It w as the
home of the Emperor and his f amily. In the Qing dynasty, the Emperor lived and w orked almost exclusively in the Inner Court,
w ith the Outer Court used only f or ceremonial purposes.[51]
At the centre of the Inner Court is another set of three halls (L). From the south, these are the Palace of Heavenly Purity (

), Hall of Union, and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. Smaller than the Outer Court
halls, the three halls of the Inner Court w ere the off icial residences of the Emperor and
the Empress. The Emperor, representing Yang and the Heavens, w ould occupy the
Palace of Heavenly Purity. The Empress, representing Yin and the Earth, w ould occupy
the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. In betw een them w as the Hall of Union, w here the Yin
and Yang mixed to produce harmony.[52]
The Palace of Heavenly Purity is a double-eaved building, and set on a single-level
w hite marble platf orm. It is connected to the Gate of Heavenly Purity to its south by a
raised w alkw ay. In the Ming dynasty, it w as the residence of the Emperor. How ever,

The Palace of Heav enly Purity

beginning f rom the Yongzheng Emperor of the

Qing dynasty, the Emperor lived instead at the
smaller Hall of Mental Cultivation (N) to the w est,
out of respect to the memory of the Kangxi
Emperor.[13] The Palace of Heavenly Purity then
became the Emperor's audience hall.[53] A
caisson is set into the roof , f eaturing a coiled
dragon. Above the throne hangs a tablet reading
"Justice and Honour" (Chinese: ; pinyin:
The throne in the Palace of
Heav enly Purity

zhngdgungmng).[54]
The Palace of Earthly Tranquility () is a

Water spouts between lev els in the

Inner Court prev ent f looding on the
higher lev els.

double-eaved building, 9 bays w ide and 3 bays

deep. In the Ming dynasty, it w as the residence of the Empress. In the Qing dynasty, large portions of the Palace w ere
converted f or Shamanist w orship by the new Manchu rulers. From the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor, the Empress moved
out of the Palace. How ever, tw o rooms in the Palace of Earthly Harmony w ere retained f or use on the Emperor's w edding
night.[55]
Betw een these tw o palaces is the Hall of Union, w hich is square in shape w ith a pyramidal roof . Stored here are the 25
Imperial Seals of the Qing dynasty, as w ell as other ceremonial items.[56]
Behind these three halls lies the Imperial Garden (M). Relatively small, and compact in
design, the garden nevertheless contains several elaborate landscaping f eatures.[57] To
the north of the garden is the Gate of Divine Might.
Directly to the w est is the Hall of Mental Cultivation (N). Originally a minor palace, this
became the de facto residence and off ice of the Emperor starting f rom Yongzheng. In
the last decades of the Qing dynasty, empresses dow ager, including Cixi, held court
f rom the eastern partition of the hall. Located around the Hall of Mental Cultivation are
the off ices of the Grand Council and other key government bodies.[58]
The north-eastern section of the Inner Court is taken up by the Palace of Tranquil

The Nine Dragons Screen in f ront

of the Palace of Tranquil Longev ity

Longevity () (O), a complex built by the Qianlong Emperor in anticipation of his

retirement. It mirrors the set-up of the Forbidden City proper and f eatures an "outer
court", an "inner court", and gardens and temples. The entrance to the Palace of Tranquil Longevity is marked by a glazed-tile
Nine Dragons Screen.[59] This section of the Forbidden City is being restored in a partnership betw een the Palace Museum and
the World Monuments Fund, a long-term project expected to f inish in 2017.[60]

Religion

[ edit ]

Religion w as an important part of lif e f or the imperial court. In the Qing dynasty, the Palace of Earthly Harmony became a place
of Manchu Shamanist ceremony. At the same time, the native Chinese Taoist religion continued to have an important role
throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. There w ere tw o Taoist shrines, one in the imperial garden and another in the central
area of the Inner Court.[61]

Another prevalent f orm of religion in the Qing dynasty palace w as Buddhism. A number of temples and shrines w ere
scattered throughout the Inner Court, including that of Tibetan Buddhism or Lamaism. Buddhist iconography also prolif erated in
the interior decorations of many buildings.[62] Of these, the Pavilion of the Rain of Flow ers is one of the most important. It
housed a large number of Buddhist statues, icons, and mandalas, placed in ritualistic arrangements.[63]

Surroundings

[ edit ]

The Forbidden City is surrounded on three sides by imperial gardens. To the north is
Jingshan Park, also know n as Prospect Hill, an artif icial hill created f rom the soil
excavated to build the moat and f rom nearby lakes.[64]
To the w est lies Zhongnanhai, a f ormer royal garden centred on tw o connected lakes,
w hich now serves as the central headquarters f or the Communist Party of China and
the State Council of the People's Republic of China. To the north-w est lies Beihai Park,
also centred on a lake connected to the southern tw o, and a popular royal park.
To the south of the Forbidden City w ere tw o important shrines the Imperial Shrine of
Family or the Imperial Ancestral Temple (Chinese: ; pinyin: Timio) and the Imperial
Shrine of State (Chinese: ; pinyin: Tishj), w here the Emperor w ould venerate
the spirits of his ancestors and the spirit of the nation, respectively. Today, these are
the Beijing Labouring People's Cultural
Yat-sen)

Hall[65]

and Zhongshan Park (commemorating Sun

Location of the Forbidden City in

the historic centre of Beijing

respectively.[66]

To the south, tw o nearly identical gatehouses stand along the main axis. They are the Upright Gate (Chinese: ; pinyin:
Dunmn) and the more f amous Tiananmen Gate, w hich is decorated w ith a portrait of Mao Zedong in the centre and tw o
placards to the lef t and right: "Long Live the People's Republic of China" and "Long live the Great Unity of the World's Peoples".
The Tiananmen Gate connects the Forbidden City precinct w ith the modern, symbolic centre of the Chinese state, Tiananmen
Square.
While development is now tightly controlled in the vicinity of the Forbidden City, throughout the past century uncontrolled and
sometimes politically motivated demolition and reconstruction has changed the character of the areas surrounding the
Forbidden City. Since 2000, the Beijing municipal government has w orked to evict governmental and military institutions
occupying some historical buildings, and has established a park around the remaining parts of the Imperial City w all. In 2004,
an ordinance relating to building height and planning restriction w as renew ed to establish the Imperial City area and the
northern city area as a buff er zone f or the Forbidden City.[67] In 2005, the Imperial City and Beihai (as an extension item to the
Summer Palace) w ere included in the shortlist f or the next World Heritage Site in Beijing.[68]

Symbolism

[ edit ]

The design of the Forbidden City, f rom its overall layout to the smallest detail, w as
meticulously planned to ref lect philosophical and religious principles, and above all to
symbolise the majesty of Imperial pow er. Some noted examples of symbolic designs
include:
Yellow is the color of the Emperor. Thus almost all roof s in the Forbidden City bear
yellow glazed tiles. There are only tw o exceptions. The library at the Pavilion of
Literary Prof undity () had black tiles because black w as associated w ith

Imperial roof decoration of the

highest status on the roof ridge of the
Hall of Supreme Harmony

w ater, and thus f ire-prevention. Similarly, the Crow n Prince's residences have
green tiles because green w as associated w ith w ood, and thus grow th.[44]
The main halls of the Outer and Inner courts are all arranged in groups of three the shape of the Qian triagram,
representing Heaven. The residences of the Inner Court on the other hand are arranged in groups of six the shape of the
Kun triagram, representing the Earth.[13]
The sloping ridges of building roof s are decorated w ith a line of statuettes led by a man riding a phoenix and f ollow ed by
an imperial dragon. The number of statuettes represents the status of the building a minor building might have 3 or 5. The
Hall of Supreme Harmony has 10, the only building in the country to be permitted this in Imperial times. As a result, its 10th

statuette, called a "Hangshi", or "ranked tenth" (Chinese: ; pinyin: Hngsh),[56] is also unique in the Forbidden City.[69]
The layout of buildings f ollow s ancient customs laid dow n in the Classic of Rites. Thus, ancestral temples are in f ront of
the palace. Storage areas are placed in the f ront part of the palace complex, and residences in the back. [70]

Collections

[ edit ]

The collections of the Palace Museum are based

on the Qing imperial collection. According to the
results of a 1925 audit, some 1.17 million pieces
of art w ere stored in the Forbidden City.[71] In
addition, the imperial libraries housed a large
collection of rare books and historical
documents, including government documents of
Two Qing dy nasty "blue porcelain"
wares

the Ming and Qing dynasties.[72]

From 1933, the threat of Japanese invasion
f orced the evacuation of the most important

Palace Museum exhibits on display

in the corridor connecting the Hall of
Literary Glory and the Hall of Main
Respect

parts of the Museum's collection. Af ter the end

of World War II, this collection w as returned to
Nanjing. How ever, w ith the Communists' victory
imminent in the Chinese Civil War, the Nationalist
government decided to ship the pick of this
collection to Taiw an. Of the 13,491 boxes of
evacuated artif acts, 2,972 boxes are now
housed in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
More than 8,000 boxes w ere returned to Beijing,
but 2,221 boxes remain today in storage under
the charge of the Nanjing Museum.[22]
Af ter 1949, the Museum conducted a new audit

Bathing Horses (section) by Zhao

Mengf u (12541322)

as w ell as a thorough search of the Forbidden

City, uncovering a number of important items. In
addition, the government moved items f rom other
A blue and white porcelain v ase
with cloud and dragon designs, marked
with the word "Longev ity " (), Jiajing
period of Ming dy nasty

museums around the country to replenish the

Palace Museum's collection. It also purchased
and received donations f rom the public.[73]
Today, there are over a million rare and valuable

w orks of art in the permanent collection of the Palace Museum,[74] including paintings,
ceramics, seals, steles, sculptures, inscribed w ares, bronze w ares, enamel objects,
etc. According to an inventory of the Museum's collection conducted betw een 2004
and 2010, the Palace Museum holds a total of 1,807,558 artif acts and includes
1,684,490 items designated as nationally protected "valuable cultural relics." [75]
Ce ram ics
The Palace Museum holds 340,000 pieces of ceramics and porcelain. These include
imperial collections f rom the Tang dynasty and the Song dynasty, as w ell as pieces
commissioned by the Palace, and, sometimes, by the Emperor personally. The Palace
Museum holds about 320,000 pieces of porcelain f rom the imperial collection. The rest

Equestrian painting of the Qianlong

Emperor (r. 17351796) by Giuseppe
Castiglione

are almost all held in the National Palace Museum in Taipei and the Nanjing Museum. [76]
Painting
The Palace Museum holds close to 50,000 paintings. Of these, more than 400 date f rom bef ore the Yuan dynasty

(12711368). This is the largest such collection in China.[77] The collection is based on the palace collection in the Ming and
Qing dynasties. The personal interest of Emperors such as Qianlong meant that the palace held one of the most important
collections of paintings in Chinese history. How ever, a signif icant portion of this collection w as lost over the years. Af ter his
abdication, Puyi transf erred paintings out of the palace, and many of these w ere subsequently lost or destroyed. In 1948,
many of the w orks w ere moved to Taiw an. The collection has subsequently been replenished, through donations, purchases,
and transf ers f rom other museums.
Bronze w are
The Palace Museum's bronze collection dates f rom the early Shang dynasty. Of the almost 10,000 pieces held, about 1,600 are
inscribed items f rom the pre-Qin period (to 221 BC). A signif icant part of the collection is ceremonial bronzew are f rom the
imperial court.[78]
Tim e pie ce s
The Palace Museum has one of the largest collections of mechanical timepieces of the 18th and 19th centuries in the w orld,
w ith more than 1,000 pieces. The collection contains both Chinese- and f oreign-made pieces. Chinese pieces came f rom the
palace's ow n w orkshops, Guangzhou (Canton) and Suzhou (Suchow ). Foreign pieces came f rom countries including Britain,
France, Sw itzerland, the United States and Japan. Of these, the largest portion come f rom Britain. [79]
Jade
Jade has a unique place in Chinese culture.[80] The Museum's collection, mostly derived f rom the imperial collection, includes
some 30,000 pieces. The pre-Yuan dynasty part of the collection includes several pieces f amed throughout history, as w ell as
artif acts f rom more recent archaeological discoveries. The earliest pieces date f rom the Neolithic period. Ming dynasty and
Qing dynasty pieces, on the other hand, include both items f or palace use, as w ell as tribute items f rom around the Empire and
beyond.[81]
Palace artifacts
In addition to w orks of art, a large proportion of the Museum's collection consists of the artef acts of the imperial court. This
includes items used by the imperial f amily and the palace in daily lif e, as w ell as various ceremonial and bureaucratic items
important to government administration. This comprehensive collection preserves the daily lif e and ceremonial protocols of the
imperial era.[82]

A gilded lion in f ront of the Palace

of Tranquil Longev ity

Glazed building decoration