Forbidden City
The Forbidden City ( Chinese 故宮 / 故宫 , Pinyin Gùgōng - "old palace / former palace" or 紫禁城 , Zǐjìnchéng - " Purple Forbidden City") is a palace complex in the center of Beijing . The Chinese emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties lived and ruled there until the 1911 revolution . The common population was denied entry - which explains the name of the Forbidden City . The Forbidden City is at the north end of Tian'anmen Square . In 1987 it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO .
The Forbidden City is a masterpiece of Chinese architecture . Its layout corresponded to the worldview of the imperial rulers: an approximately right-angled floor plan - aligned according to the principle of Yin and Yang on the north-south axis - and the Forbidden City as the emperor's symbol of power the middle. In it were among other things the palaces of the rulers. The roofs of most of the main buildings were partly gilded and covered with tiles glazed in yellow , the symbolic color of the Chinese emperor. No building in Beijing was allowed to tower over the Forbidden City.
history
The third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Yongle , began building the Forbidden City in 1406. At times one million slaves and more than 100,000 artisans are said to have built it. It is only with such an effort that it is understandable that the construction could be completed as early as 1420.
Yongle's successor redesigned the palace in his own way and expanded it, but neither he nor any other emperor changed the floor plan. Therefore, the complex has been preserved in its original way, strictly aligned with the north-south axis.
From 1420 to 1644 the Forbidden City was the seat of the Ming Dynasty . In April 1644 the peasant leader Li Zicheng entered Beijing and declared himself emperor, the last Ming emperor Chongzhen hanged himself. However, Li Zicheng soon had to flee from the Manchus under the command of General Wu Sangui , who then set the Forbidden City largely on fire. In October 1644, after the final victory of the Manchus in northern China, a ceremony was held in the Forbidden City, at which the six-year-old Shunzhi was proclaimed the first emperor of the Qing dynasty . The rulers of the Qing Dynasty changed the names of the most important buildings, emphasizing that of harmony instead of the concept of supremacy .
In 1860, British-French troops occupied the Forbidden City until the end of the Second Opium War . In 1900 the Dowager Empress Cixi fled the Forbidden City during the Boxer Rebellion , which was again occupied by foreign powers the following year.
After the Xinhai Revolution , the last emperor, Puyi , abdicated in 1912. After his abdication he lived with his family for a while in the Chinese imperial palaces . In 1924 they finally had to leave the Forbidden City and the gates were opened to the population.
While other monuments were looted or even destroyed by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution , the Forbidden City was spared, as it was secured by armed forces of the People's Liberation Army .
investment
The entire building complex has a floor area of 720,000 m² and a constructed area of 150,000 m². There are 890 palaces with countless pavilions with 8,886 rooms on the site . According to a legend, it should actually be 9,999½ rooms. Half the room is symbolic. After that, only heaven was allowed to own a palace with 10,000 rooms, so the “Sons of Heaven” had to be content with 9,999½.
The buildings were erected on white marble terraces lined with balustrades and have curved pagoda roofs in the imperial color of yellow. The wall of the Forbidden City is 10 meters high and 3428 meters long and surrounded by a 3800 meter long, 52 meter wide and 6 meter deep moat filled with water. There is a large gate with a tower in each direction and a corner tower at each of the four corners of the wall. The main entrance is the “Mittagstor” (Wumen) or “ Fünf- Phönix- Gate”.
Zijincheng is divided into the inner ( Neiting ) and outer ( Waichao ) courtyards. The outer courtyard is to the south and was the official area. From here, various large halls, such as the Hall of Middle Harmony ( Zhong He Dian ) and the Hall of Safeguarding Harmony ( Bao He Dian ), were ruled. Like many of the palace gates, the “Gate of Supreme Harmony” is guarded by two bronze lions (see also Guardian Lion ), which symbolize the strength of the imperial power, and leads to the “Hall of Supreme Harmony” (Tai He Dian). This hall, built in 1420, 35 meters high and 2,400 m² in size, is supported by 24 columns. The dragon throne stands in the middle of the room. The throne is guarded by two elephants , symbolizing peace . The hall was used for the accession of a new emperor to the throne , for celebrations on the ruler's birthday , for the New Year , for the winter solstice celebrations , to announce the candidates who had passed the imperial official examination, or to nominate the generals when a campaign was imminent. It was there that the most important ceremonies of the emperors were held: coronations , weddings and the awarding of titles to high officials.
In the inner courtyard, the Neiting , consisting of three palaces ( Quanqinggong (Palace of Heavenly Purity), Jiaotaidian (Hall of Touching Heaven and Earth) and Kunninggong (Palace of Earthly Rest)) lived the imperial family and the court : hundreds of court ladies and the palace eunuchs . To the north of the Palace of Earthly Rest was the Imperial Garden.
There were also many other palaces, pavilions and small courtyards with areas for the empress , the concubines , the emperor when he was fasting (fasting palace), the emperor when he wanted to be alone ( yangxindian (hall for the formation of feelings)).
The "Gate of Divine Military Endowment " ( Shenwumen ) is the northernmost gate of the entire Imperial Palace. In the past there was a drum and a bell in the upper part of the gate tower , which told the palace residents the time.
(2008-08).jpg)
In the movie
- In the film The Last Emperor , the Forbidden City is the scene of the events.
- The Chinese director Zhang Yimou had parts of the opulently furnished interior from the 15th century reconstructed for the most expensive Chinese feature film to date, The Curse of the Golden Flower . The outdoor facilities are also the setting in the film.
- The documentary, directed by Bing Zhou and Huan Xu Inside the Forbidden City (France 2006, 47 minutes; English and German) shows recordings on the history of the collections (1.5 million items) and the renovation work in the 1950s and 2000s, z. For example, the two-year production of the special clay tiles in the Hall of Supreme Perfection , the gold tiles and the ceiling paintings of the Retirement Palace or the discovery of over 3000 Tibetan Buddhist documents in the attic of a Taoist temple.
- Documentation: Beijing's Forbidden City. Directed by Ian Bremner, Great Britain, 2017, 91 min., (Broadcast on arte 2018)
The Forbidden City today
The Forbidden City is now home to the Beijing Palace Museum and is a popular tourist attraction. It was extensively restored by the 2008 Olympic Games .
The Emperor's Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City exhibition was held in 2010 at the Peabody Essex Museum , Salem , Massachusetts , and featured 90 significant ceremonial and other objects from the hidden garden shed that Emperor Qianlong found in the 18th century built the Forbidden City. Most of the objects did not come to light until the restoration was carried out.
literature
- Mario Sabattini / Nicoletta Celli: Imperial Beijing. The magnificent cultural heritage of Beijing. White Star Verlag, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 978-3-86726-027-5 .
Web links
- Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
- Official website of the Palace Museum
- Photos of the Forbidden City site no longer exists
- The Forbidden City site no longer exists
Individual evidence
- ↑ term "gu (故)" - Chinese: [1] - Accessed June 5, 2016 - zdic.net - Online
- ^ Term "gong (宮 / 宫)" - Chinese: [2] - Retrieved on June 5, 2016 - zdic.net - Online
- ↑ Term "zijin (紫 禁)" - Chinese: [3] - Accessed June 5, 2016 - zdic.net - Online
- ^ Term "cheng (城)" - Chinese: [4] - Accessed June 5, 2016 - zdic.net - Online
- ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Center: Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang. Retrieved August 20, 2017 .
- ↑ Information on Beijing's Forbidden City ( memento from January 7, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) on the arte.tv website
Heritage: Great Wall of China (1987) | Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing ( Forbidden City ) and Shenyang (1987) | Mogao Grottoes (1987) | Qin Shihuangdis Mausoleum (1987) | Peking man's site in Zhoukoudian (1987) | Summer Residence and Eight Outer Temples near Chengde (1994) | Confucius Temple, Cemetery and Residence of the Kong Family in Qufu (1994) | Daoist shrines in the mountains of Wudang (1994) | Potala Palace (1994), Jokhang Temple (2000) and Norbulingka Palace (2001) | Lu Shan National Park (1996) | Lijiang Old Town (1997) | Old City of Pingyao (1997) | Classical Gardens of Suzhou (1997) | Yiheyuan Summer Palace (1998) | Temple of Heaven with imperial sacrificial altar in Beijing (1998) | Rock sculptures by Also (1999) | Mount Qingcheng Mountains and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System (2000) | Xidi and Hongcun Villages (2000) | Longmen Grottoes (2000) | Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (2000) | Yungang Grottoes (2001) | Capitals and Tombs of the Ancient Kingdom of Koguryo (2004) | Historic Center of Macau (2005) | Yinxu (2006) | Diaolou towers and villages in Kaiping (2007) | Tulou loam buildings in Fujian (2008) | Wutai Shan (2009) | Historical Monuments of Dengfeng (2010) | Cultural Landscape West Lake near Hangzhou (2011) | Xanadu Site (2012) | Hani rice terraces in Yunnan (2013) | Silk Roads: The Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor Road Network (2014) | Kaiserkanal (2014) | Tusi sites (2015) | Petroglyphs at Huashan and the Zuo Jiang River (2016) | Kulangsu: a Historic International Settlement (2017) | Liangzhu City Archaeological Ruins (2019)
Natural heritage: Jiuzhaigou Valley Landscape Park (1992) | Lime sinter terrace landscape Huanglong (1992) | Wulingyuan Landscape Park (1992) | Protection zones of the three parallel rivers of Yunnan (2003) | Sichuan Panda Nature Reserve (2006) | Karst landscapes in southern China (2007, 2014) | Sanqing Shan National Park (2008) | Danxia Shan at Shaoguan (2010) | Chengjiang Fossil Site (2012) | Tian Shan Mountains in Xinjiang (2013) | Shennongjia Forest Area (2016) | Qinghai Hoh Xil (2017) | Migratory bird sanctuaries along the coast of the Yellow Sea - Gulf of Bohai (Phase I) (2019)
Cultural / Natural Heritage: Tai Shan Mountain Region (1987) | Huang Shan Mountains (1990) | Mountain landscape of Emei Shan and Leshan Big Buddha (1996) | Wuyi Mountains (1999) | Fanjingshan (2018)
Coordinates: 39 ° 55 ′ 1 ″ N , 116 ° 23 ′ 28 ″ E