The Forbidden City is the name of the palace of the Chinese emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasty, who ruled China from the 15th to the beginning of the 20th century. Currently, only marble slabs remember the touch of the treads of the emperors and the light touch of the graceful feet of the concubines - now this is the Gugun Museum in China, and anyone can get here without any threat to life and health. You will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of ancient philosophical and religious teachings and, touching the secrets frozen in stone, hear the revived whisper of centuries.
World Cultural Heritage
The Forbidden City, now known as the Palace Museum, was the imperial palace of two Chinese dynasties, Ming and Qing. Located in the center of Beijing, it was built between 1406 and 1420 and served 24 Chinese emperors until 1911. Now it is a museum in which art and cultural historical values are stored. The magnificent and magnificent Forbidden City is considered one of the five greatest palaces in the world, including Versailles (France), Buckingham Palace (Great Britain), the White House (USA) and the Kremlin (Russia). In 1987, it was classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Currently, it is a museum where millions of works of art are collected, by which we can trace the history of the country and the centuries-old traditions of its people.
The name “Gugun” (Gùgōng) means “Old Palace”, and this is the term that will most often be mentioned by the inhabitants of China - we will use this name as well.
The mystery of the name
The original name literally sounded like Forbidden Purple City - "Forbidden Purple City", and this is not an accidental set of words, because each of them symbolizes something in the name of the Gugun Museum.
Purple - refers to the name of the purple star (as the Chinese called the Polar Star, which is the center of everything and denotes the ideal order). Thus, the purple color was at the center of the Chinese organization and provided longevity to the emperor. It is often found in the painting of many buildings of the Gugong Museum in China.
City - we must admit that with a population of 10, 000 inhabitants and an area of 72 hectares, it really was a city in the city.
Forbidden - surrounded by ramparts three and a half kilometers long and 10 meters high, it served as a reliable protection for the imperial family, and it was forbidden for ordinary mortals to enter it.
Where do the origins of the Gugun Palace, the Forbidden City in Beijing (China), originate from?
Historical background
Until the middle of the 14th century, the city of Hanbalik was on the territory of modern Beijing, which served as the capital of China under the Yuan Dynasty, founded by the grandson of Genghis Khan, who fell as a result of a liberation uprising. As a result, the city, which was built by the best architects of China and Central Asia, was razed to the ground. The head of the rebels, Zhu Yuanzhang, became the first emperor of the new Ming Dynasty, and the capital was moved south to the city of Nanjing. The emperor had 26 sons, and the eldest was to succeed the throne, while the younger ones were appointed to lead the provinces. In Beiping (modern Beijing) - as Hanbalyk was renamed - they appointed the ruler of the emperor’s fourth son, Ju Di. Arriving at the place, he found the city in distress, suffering from hunger, epidemics and enemy raids.
However, the young ruler showed himself from the best side and through his actions, which led to the stabilization of the life of the possessions granted to him, gained the respect and support of the people. And at that time, a misfortune occurred in the current capital - the emperor’s first son died, and his ten-year-old son and Zhu Yuanzhan, the then healthy son of Zhu Yunwen, was appointed heir. When the young heir turned 16 years old, the founder of the dynasty died, and he ascended the throne. Ju Dee took advantage of the situation and, under the pretext of a dangerous situation in the capital, raised his troops, which served as the beginning of a civil war, during which his nephew ascended to the throne died along with his wife and newborn second son.
The decision to build the imperial palace
Ju Dee declares himself the new emperor, and tries to prove his usurped right to the throne by a monstrous wave of terror, thereby restoring people against himself who do not recognize him as their rightful ruler. What is he doing to save the situation? Moves the capital to Beiping, where it enjoys the support of the local population. And the question arises of the imperial palace - from this moment the story of the Forbidden City, now the Gugun Museum in China, begins.
Years of building a house for the emperor
The construction of the forbidden city took only 14 years, which was relatively little for such work. It began in 1406 and was completed in 1420. Some of the materials were taken from the ruins of the former palaces of the emperors of Yuan, but this was clearly not enough, since such an important structure required the best and most expensive materials that were extracted from different regions at the cost of the death of thousands of people.
The most valuable species of wood was delivered from the wild virgin forests of the western provinces, and marble was extracted from local quarries in the southwest of Beijing, but volume monoliths of stones had to be delivered from different places. The stone with a bas-relief with dragons is well known, located in front of the hall of the Higher Harmony of the palace, which amazes tourists with its size.
There are a lot of mysterious stories and legends about its appearance in the walls of this Gugun Museum, but thanks to preserved documentary sources we can find out the real picture. This giant, weighing 250 tons, was transported from the Fanshan quarries, located 70 km from the palace, in the winter on a frozen road, which was turned into a solid ice rink from water from the wells, and it took 28 days. Imagine the number of people involved in this process … In the construction of the city, they used the priceless “golden” brick from the best clay in China made in Suzhou. As a result, the Forbidden City became an architectural masterpiece of the time.
Features of architectural buildings
In the imperial palace of Gugun, they have the form of square one-story structures and impress not so much with height, but with width and assembled appearance. The main buildings are located on the north and south axes with a front alley that once crossed the entire city and connected the gates. Other buildings are organized in groups of two on either side of the axis or along parallel axes. Large courtyards used for ceremonies and receptions are located in the south in the public part of the city, and residential palaces in the north.
This arrangement of buildings reflects the Chinese view of Feng Shui, which protects a person and his home from wind and water. According to this teaching, buildings must be protected in the north and open to light and heat in the south. In the imperial city, these conditions are met: how in the north and west the city is protected from the wind coming from the Gobi Desert, while it is open in the plain in the south and east. The city is protected in the North by an artificial hill called "Coal Mountain", as it was a place for storing fuel necessary for heating the palace. Pedestals up to 8 meters wide provide good insulation from moisture to wooden structures, and powerful columns growing from them support massive roofs covered with varnished clay tiles. The two-level roofs of the palace seem very light and elegant, despite their two-story height and impressive dimensions.
City in the city
The Gugong Museum, located in the very center of Beijing, is impressive in scale. On an area of 72 hectares there is a huge number of elegant buildings for various purposes, reservoirs, gardens, bridges, the names of which seem to come from the pages of oriental tales.
There are about 800 buildings and 9, 999 rooms (actually there are fewer of them, but the number 9 means a lot to the Chinese). “Why not 10, 000?”, You ask. Yes, because, according to legend, the palace of the Heavenly Emperor has 10, 000 rooms, and the son of Heaven, as the emperors of China called themselves, does not outshine the Heavenly Ruler.
Museum walk
Armed with knowledge, let's take a walk around the territory of the Gugun Imperial Palace and examine the main buildings, entering through the central door of the Midday Gate (a tower on a pedestal 10 meters high, which is the highest building of the Forbidden City), taking advantage of a privilege that used to be mainly accessible only to emperors. The next gate - Taihemen - will meet us with stone sculptures of lions that protect the entrance and testify to the power of the owner, and lead us into the throne room of the Highest Harmony, the main building of the museum and the tallest wooden structure in China.
Lions pass us into the power of dragons, whose images prevail in the design of the hall and are a symbol of the power of the emperor. They are very welcome in this place where the coronations and birthdays of emperors, as well as magnificent palace receptions, were held earlier.
We will meet here sculptures of a turtle and a stork - symbols of longevity and prosperity. To prepare for receptions and rest after the ceremonies, the emperor used the next pavilion with a symbolic name - the Hall of Preservation of Harmony. This is where a huge stone is located, which we told you about earlier. And now, since we had such an opportunity, let's look into the residential part of the Forbidden City through the gates of Heavenly purity - there are two palaces here: Earthly calm and Heavenly purity. The first served as the chambers of the empress, and the second as the private chambers of the emperor. From the residential complex we can get into the picturesque imperial garden, filled with a paradise atmosphere that promotes relaxation and meditation.
