THE FORBIDDEN CITY

                                     A Huge Complex  

To get to the Forbidden City from Tienanmen Square, across a busy street, we went down the subway stairs and crossed under the road coming up on the other side. A 35-foot-high wall and a 160-foot wide moat surround the 800 buildings, 9000-room maze of courtyards, palaces, apartments, and storehouses that cover 200 acres. We entered the Forbidden City though the South Gate, built in the 15^th century during the reign of Emperor Yongle. Restored in the 17^th   century, it has always been used as a rostrum to talk to the masses. There are five doors to the gate. The middle one is the highest and was reserved for the emperor. Royal persons used the left gate and guards used the one on the right. On each end is a small door. Each of the seven bridges spanning the stream had restricted use, and only the emperor was allowed to use the central bridge. This was the spot where Mao, in 1949, proclaimed the People’s Republic.

 The front gate (Qian Men), once guarded the ancient inner city from the outer suburban area. The Forbidden City is so called because it was off  limits for 500 years to everyone except the emperor and his court. Twenty-four Chinese emperors, Sons of Heaven, ruled China from the Dragon Throne. It is believed to be the best-preserved and largest cluster of ancient buildings in China.

            Outside the gates stood two large concrete columns with animals on top facing out. Just inside stood two similar columns but the animals on top were facing inward. The Hall of Harmony is the tallest and largest of the six main palace buildings. The 15^th century city within a city is one of world’s greatest architectural masterpieces. No building could be higher than that of the emperor.

Emperors prayed at the Temple of Heaven twice a year for good harvests. Within the Forbidden City was a Chinese vision of paradise on earth. It was home to both the Ming and Qing dynasties.

 A large bronze tortoise and crane, both representing long life, were positioned on each side of the courtyard. The colors red and yellow were restricted only for royal use.

Contained within the city was a breathtaking array of art. Marble dragons, bronze lions, and gilded gargoyles adorned a gigantic maze of palaces, pavilions, gardens and halls. Lions symbolize good luck and power. A series of arches stretched from the edges of Beijing to this imperial labyrinth, and everything in the Forbidden City complex, right down to the last courtyard, converged upon the Imperial Throne, reflecting a belief that the entire world radiated out from the royal seat of China and its emperor, the Son of Heaven.

Beijing officials call the Forbidden City the Palace Museum (Gugong) or the Imperial Museum. Emperor Yongle established the basic layout for the city between 1406-1420. At times as many as a million laborers worked on the complex. The emperors ruled from the palace, sometimes erratically, and often leaving much of the real power to court eunuchs.

Fires were frequent events, and the present buildings mostly are post 18^th century. Many large iron cauldrons, 308 actually, were placed around the courtyards containing water in case of  fire. The large ones were elevated on legs so in cold weather fires could be built under the cauldron to prevent the water from freezing. The smallest cauldron held 18 gallons. Some of the fires were accidental, but some were also set by the eunuchs so they could get rich off of the repairs.

The inner courtyard is made with 15 layers of brick. At one time flogging took place here. Each of the five bridges has a meaning and we crossed over on the Bridge of Intelligence. Each of the main halls face south, while lesser buildings flank the courtyard.

Philosophy and social items were  important. Math was not valued and that has left China behind in technology. People lived in the Imperial City and worked in the Forbidden City. The north gate was reserved for the empress. In 1664 Manchus stormed the palace burning it to the ground. Years later, Japanese forces looted the palace. In 1949 on the eve of the communist takeover many relics were removed and sent to Taiwan where they remain in a museum.

The gates were huge ‘drum’ doors with rows and rows of large brass knobs. Thresholds were high throughout the city, and the higher the threshold the higher rank of the official living in the house. In the Imperial City some of the thresholds had been removed so the last emperor could  ride his bike over them when he was a child.

On the building roof corners there were an odd  number of small animals plus an extra animal that was ridden and in the lead. The number of animals designated one’s importance. So someone with five figures would be more important than someone with three and less important than someone with seven.

There were no trees or flowers in the Forbidden City, as it was felt they might break the impression of solidarity. It also gave no hiding place for anyone who might want to hurt the emperor. However when leaving, we found a lovely peaceful garden outside the walls. We slowly strolled through the   garden, as it was a nice respite from the many buildings and overdone decorations in the busy inner city. It took us a full morning to view Tienanmen and the Forbidden City and I actually found it rather tiring  and maybe a bit depressing in spite of all its history.