Walking into the Forbidden City
- The residence of the dragon and the phoenix(es)
Writer: Yang Yuhao
The Forbidden City Photo
Image taken from Visit Beijing on an Audley trip to China | Audley Travel
“重檐翠瓦缀天绫，砌玉楼栏嵌彩龙。” (Heavy beams and glistening roof tiles decorate the roofs of the palace, the stairways leading up to the palaces are decorated by colourful dragons.) is famously penned to describe the grandeur of the Forbidden City in the Chinese poem “七律·故宫游感悟” (Travel notes for the Forbidden City). Being the political centre for 2 dynasties in ancient China, the Forbidden City has witnessed the life and death of 28 emperors and thousands of concubines and imperial servants. It is not only a historical relic reflecting the magnificence and opulence of ancient Chinese monarchy, it is also the embodiment of Chinese culture and philosophies. In this series of TaSpeak articles, we will walk into the Forbidden City and uncover the secrets hidden within these ever-standing brick-red walls.
The Forbidden City Layout
Image taken from the-forbidden-city-map42f1546b8013.jpg (1550×2000) (chinahighlights.com)
Constructed in 1406, the Forbidden City served as the old Chinese imperial palace and winter residence of the Emperor of China for over 500 years. The complex consists of 980 buildings, encompassing 8,886 rooms and covering 720,000 square metres. The palace exemplifies the opulence of the residences of the Chinese emperor and the traditional Chinese palatial architecture. It is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987 and it has the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.
The Forbidden City’s construction follows the Chinese belief of “Feng Shui”. This is most obviously exhibited in the layout of the entire palace. Sandwiched between a “river” running across the plaza in front of the “Gate of Supreme Harmony” and Jing Shan (translates to prospect hill). The arrangement of the emperor’s residence follows the belief of “前有水，后有山。” (Water in the front of the building and mountain at the back), which is commonly regarded as the auspicious qualities for a place of residence. Moreover, the south-facing arrangement of the palace also exemplifies the belief of “坐北向南” (located in the north and facing south).
Trigrams in Feng Shui
Image taken from What Is the I Ching? | Eight Trigrams | ChinaFile
Zooming into individual palaces within the complex, the arrangements of the palaces also mirror various auspicious Chinese qualities in hope of achieving prosperity and wealth for the dynasties. 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. On top of this, the layout of the buildings follows ancient customs. The ancestral temples are placed in front of the palace, storage areas are placed in the front part of the palace complex, and residences are in the back. Even the colours used in the forbidden palace also carry great significance. Yellow is the colour of the emperor, as a result, yellow glazed tiles may be found on nearly every roof of the Forbidden City. There are just two exceptions to this rule. Black tiles were used in the library in the Pavilion of Literary Profundity (文渊阁) because black was associated with water, therefore signifying fire prevention. Green tiles are used in the Crown Prince's homes since green is associated with wood and growth.
Pavilion of Literary Profundity
Image taken from 京城探古——故宫文渊阁 - 资讯咖 (inf.news)
The Forbidden City is more than just the political centre of ancient China, it is also the residence of generations of the Chinese emperors and empresses. Knocking on the brick-red walls of the palace, we might hear them whisper back to us about the long-forgotten stories of ancient times. (To be continued …)