CHINA, NATIONAL, LIFESTYLE: The Forbidden City

By Ellen Ji

The vast territory of China is dotted with gorgeous scenery too numerous to name. Five thousand years of history has contributed an extraordinary, enchanting beauty to this poetic and picturesque land. Places of historic interest and scenic beauty in China have become tourist destinations, such as the Great Wall, the Palace Museum of Beijing, the terror-cotta warriors and horses in the ancient city Xi'an and the beautiful landscape of Guilin in the south.

With scarlet bricks and golden glazed tiles, the outline of the Palace Museum is portrayed against the blue sky. The Palace Museum, also called the Forbidden City, is crowned as the largest and most complete ancient wooden-structure building complex in the world. Having approached through the Tiananmen Gate, I see the grand plaza come into view, situated in the center of Beijing.

"The Forbidden City was built from 1406 to 1420 by the third emperor of Ming Dynasty, Yongle, who moved his capital from Nanjing to Beijing. In 1911 the Qing dynasty fell to the republican revolutionaries. The last emperor, Puyi, continued to live in the palace after his abdication until he was expelled in 1924," according to A Brief History of the Palace Museum on its own website, "twenty-four emperors were enthroned and living in this palace during this 500-year span"

Strolling on, the Meridian Gate (Wu men) on the south towers is aloft. The Forbidden City is surrounded by 10-metre high walls and a 52-metre wide moat. Measuring 961 meters from north to south and 753 meters from east to west, it covers an area of 720,000 square meters with 4 corner towers standing separately at the four corners of the city. Each of the four sides is pierced by a gate, the Meridian Gate (Wu men) on the south, the Gate of Spiritual Valor (Shenwu men) on the north, Xihua Gate on the west and Donghua Gate on the east. A moat, which is 52 meters wide and 3,800 meters long, surrounds the complex outside the walls. Thus the city was made a strongly fortified castle.


Walking through Wu men and Taihe men, straightforward to the north, I see the resplendent and magnificent Taihe Hall where the emperors held meetings for grand ceremonies with officials lined up according to rank in the vast courtyard. The interior of it is majestic. On a platform in the exact center of the hall stands a golden lacquerware throne carved with coiling dragons, backed by a golden screen, and flanked by six pillars entwined with coiling golden dragons. Directly above the throne, a huge silver pearl hangs from the mouth of another coiling dragon. It is so shocking and impressive to imagine sitting on the golden throne, having many officials kneel down at one's feet and ordering them what to do. How glorious and luxurious it is! No wonder so many people were desperate for the title, and more, the power.

In a row with the Taihe Hall, there are Zhonghe Hall and Baohe Hall. These are the places where the emperors met their ministers, discussed domestic events and issued orders.

What catches my eyes at the back of the Baohe Hall is the stone pavement with dragon and cloud decoration. Being 16.57 meters long, 3.07 meters wide and 1.70 meters thick, it's the largest carved stone in the palace. It was carved in the Ming Dynasty and recarved in 1761, the twenty-sixth year of Qing Qianlong's reign. It is said that only the emperor can walk through the stone pavement, all others through the side passages. One of the rules of the strict hierarchy in ancient China.

Compared with the area where the emperors dealt with domestic events, the places where he lived is much larger. It contains Qianqing Palace, Kunning Palace, six western palaces, six eastern palaces and the Imperial Garden.


In the Ming Dynasty, the Qianqing Palace was the emperor's bedchamber, and it remained so till the Qing Emperor Kangxi's time. Following Qing Emperor Yongzheng's enthronement, Qianqing Palace was converted for dealing with routine state affairs. Behind the horizontal board, inscribed in four Chinese characters, is "Zheng Da Guang Ming" above the throne. A box for testament on succession to the Qing throne was once cached here. It is said that in the reigns of Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing and Daoguang the emperors'statement regarding his choice of a son as his successor was secreted in this box.

The Kunning Palace was the bedchamber of the empresses in the Ming Dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty, only on the occasion of an imperial wedding did the royal couple stay in the heated east room of the hall for three days.

Six western palaces and six eastern palaces were the places where the emperors' concubines lived. They often entertained themselves in the Imperial Garden, appreciating flowers, playing chess or writing poems.


Their daily life was actually rather boring. But most of the emperors and their families were fond of opera. In the eastern section of the rear part, there is a three-storied building named Pavilion of Pleasant Sounds (Changyin), the largest of its kind in the Palace Museum. There is a stage on every level, from top to bottom: Stage of Fortune, Stage of Prosperity and Stage of Longevity.

The whole Forbidden City represents the lifestyle of the ancient emperors. Their life was isolated from the outside world by the tall red walls; their knowledge about the outside world was merely from the ministers nearby; their views about the outside world were only formed by reading the books written by the old generations. Thus, living a luxurious life in the city was like being bound in shackles. Maybe it's one of the reasons for the downfall of the feudal dynasties of China.