The Forbidden City was built in the fourth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1406), based on the palace in Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty, and was basically completed in the eighteenth year of Yongle (1420). After the continuous reconstruction and expansion of the Ming and Qing emperors, it has become a magnificent building complex, covering an area of more than 720,000 square meters, surrounded by walls 10 meters high and about 34,000 meters long. There are 9999 rooms and a half in the palace. Someone once imagined that a newborn child would live in every room of the Forbidden City for one day and wait for him in all the houses once, and he would be 27 years old.
The Forbidden City is a symbol of feudal kingship in China, which is fully reflected in its architectural form. Its architectural pattern pays attention to balance and symmetry, the building scale is huge, the defense system is tight, the building shape is huge and solemn, the interior decoration is magnificent, and it exudes majestic royal temperament everywhere. The layout of the Forbidden City is dominated by buildings on the north-south central axis, and the buildings on the east and west sides are symmetrically distributed. All buildings maintain strict grade differences from scale to roof style. Generally speaking, the Forbidden City can be divided into two parts. In the south, it is the work area, that is, the place where the emperor held ceremonies and handled political affairs. The living area in the north, namely the Palace, is the place where the emperor lives and handles daily affairs, and the place where empresses and princes live, play and worship the gods. In addition, there is a group of palaces to the east of the Sixth Palace of the Imperial Palace, mainly Ningshou Palace, commonly known as "Waidong Road", which was built when Qianlong was ready to give way to his son and became the emperor's father himself. The west front of the West Sixth Palace consists of buildings such as Cining Palace and Shou 'an Palace, which is the place where the emperor usually works and his empresses live and live.
There are four gates in the Forbidden City, the south gate is called Wumen, the east gate is called Donghuamen, the west gate is called Xihuamen, and the north gate is called Shenwumen. Cross Tiananmen Square and the end gate, and you will arrive at the main entrance of the Forbidden City-the Wumen Gate. The meridian gate is located on the north-south central axis of Beijing, so it is named because it lies on the meridian. Construction began in the 18th year of Yongle in Ming Dynasty (1420) and was rebuilt in the 4th year of Qing Shunzhi (1647). The meridian gate is 37.95 meters high. Below is a tall masonry pier with a pile of walls around it. There are three doorways in the middle of the pier, and there is a door on the left and right, commonly known as "Sanming and Five Darkness". There are five pavilions on the pier, commonly known as the Five Peaks Pagoda. Nine of the main buildings are double eaves roofs, and the other four are double eaves pyramid roofs, which are magnificent. There are five exquisite white marble arch bridges leading to Taihe Gate behind the Wumen Gate. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were strict grade regulations for entering and leaving the meridian gate, and the main entrance was only for the emperor to enter and leave. In addition, only when the queen enters the palace at the wedding can she go once, and only when she takes the first place, the second place and the flower exploration in the palace exam can she go out from this door once. Usually, civil and military officials enter and exit from the east gate, and princes and ministers enter and exit from the west gate.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Zhonghe and the Hall of Baohe are the main buildings in Miyagi. They are built on three marble steps eight meters high and are magnificent. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is located in the diagonal center of the Forbidden City, commonly known as the Golden Throne Hall. Founded in the early Ming Dynasty, it was originally named Qin Tiantan and later renamed the Forbidden City. In the second year of Qing Shunzhi (1645), it was changed to Taihe Europe. The existing temple was rebuilt in the thirty-fourth year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (1695). The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the largest wooden structure in China, covering an area of 2,377 square meters, with a width of 1 1 and a depth of 5 rooms. There is a colonnade outside, and there are 84 large columns inside and outside. This temple is about 35 meters high and 63 meters wide. On the ceiling, there is a golden throne of Qi Diao Dragon, a gilded lacquer column and a dragon caisson pattern. This is the place where feudal emperors gave orders to the whole country and held celebrations. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, 24 emperors ascended the throne and read imperial edicts.
Zhonghe Hall is behind the Hall of Supreme Harmony, 27 meters high. It is a pavilion-shaped square hall with four vertical ridges on the roof. It has a magnificent appearance and exquisite architecture. The top of the four ridges gather into a pointed shape, and the spherical treasure top is covered with a bronze tire, which is called the quadrangular pointed shape in architectural terminology. When the emperor held a ceremony, he rested here first, and then went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to be worshipped by cabinet ministers. Every day, before adding the emblem of Empress Dowager Cixi and offering sacrifices, the emperor would read the memorial and offer sacrifices here.
The northernmost of the three halls is Baohe Hall, which is 29 meters high and has nine ridges on the roof. There is a positive ridge in the center of the roof, with two vertical ridges in front and two vertical ridges in the back. The lower part of each vertical ridge is inclined with a fork ridge, which, together with nine positive ridges, vertical ridges and fork ridges, is called inclined mountain type in architectural terminology. In the late Qianlong period, the court examination was held in Baohe Hall, not Taihe Hall. Behind the Baohe Hall is the largest stone carving in the Forbidden City-the single pen stone, which weighs 250 tons and is carved with decorations such as Kowloon, Xiangyun, Shoushan and Fuhai.
Behind the Baohe Hall is a square, and the main entrance of the Forbidden City, Gan Qing, separates the outer court from the Forbidden City. Entering Gan Qing Gate is the official office of Gan Qing, which was the residence and daily activity place of the emperor before Kangxi in Qing Dynasty. Nuange has 9 rooms, each of which is divided into upper and lower floors, and each room is connected by stairs. Each room has three beds, so that the emperor can sleep in different beds at will to prevent being ambushed. Behind the plaque of "Fairness and Justice" in the main hall of Gan Qing Palace is the place where the secret storage box is hidden. This secret collection method was founded by Yongzheng. After Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty, the emperor moved to hall of mental cultivation, but he still read newspapers, played newspapers, appointed officials and summoned officials here.
Jiaotai Hall is a small auditorium in the imperial palace, between the official and the Palace of Kunning, which symbolizes harmony between heaven and earth, well-being and happiness. It was built in Ming Dynasty and rebuilt in the third year of Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty (1798). It is a square temple with a gilded top and a dragon and phoenix pattern. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the ceremony of conferring the Queen and the ceremony of celebrating the Queen's birthday were held here. Empresses of the Qing Dynasty should check the preparations for the ceremony before going to the altar. There is also a collection of "precious seals" (seals) of the Qing Dynasty, and 25 precious seals representing imperial power collected by Qianlong are still in the temple. The Kunning Palace behind the Jiaotai Hall was the queen's bedroom in the Ming Dynasty and changed to a place of worship in the Qing Dynasty. Among them, Dongnuange is the bridal chamber of the emperor's wedding, and Kangxi, Tongzhi and Guangxu all held weddings here.
South of the West Sixth Palace is hall of mental cultivation. Since Yong Zhengdi, this is the place where the emperor ruled and lived. Empress Dowager Cixi has been in charge of politics for more than 40 years. The westernmost one in hall of mental cultivation is called "Sanxitang". It is named after Qianlong's possession of three rare treasures here, namely Wang Xizhi's Sunny Snow Post, Wang Xianzhi's Mid-Autumn Post and Wang Xun's Yuan Bo Post.
There is Ningshou Palace on the east side of the Forbidden City, which is self-contained, commonly known as Waidong Road. Now, the Leshou Hall in Ningshou Palace has become a treasure house, including several rare treasures. One is a blonde tower made of 3440 taels of gold, which contains the hair of the filial piety queen, the mother of Qianlong. One is the Jade Mountain of Dayu, which weighs 5 tons and is the largest jade in China. There is also an ivory cushion, which was knitted by a dentist in Guangzhou during the Yongzheng period. According to records, at that time, * * * made five pieces, and now there are three pieces handed down. Two of them are hidden in the Forbidden City.
The imperial garden behind Kunning Palace, the garden in front of Cining Palace and the garden attached to Ningshou Palace are the three major gardens in the palace, which are places for members of the royal family to play. As royal gardens, these three gardens are exquisite in architecture and unique in originality. They make full use of the traditional gardening techniques in China, which are not only symmetrical with the main building, but also asymmetrical with the parts and details. There are towering pines and cypresses, precious flowers and trees, strange rocks, pavilions and pavilions in the park, and there is a ingenuity between the squares. It exists in a magnificent palace with a beautiful and quiet atmosphere.
There are four tall turrets in the four corners of the Forbidden City. At first, they formed a defense system with moats and city walls, and then they were mainly for viewing. The turret is 27.5 meters high, and the roof has three eaves, which are composed of six roofs, forming a multi-angle, multi-eaves and multi-layer roof shape with wonderful structure. Facing the north gate of the Forbidden City, Jingshan, made of earth and stone, is full of pines and cypresses. The mountain is divided into five peaks, and each peak has a pavilion, which stands tall. In the overall layout, Jingshan can be said to be the barrier of the Forbidden City complex.
The Forbidden City is a pearl in the architectural history of China, and it is called "the sea of palaces". Its majestic, spectacular, solemn and harmonious can be said to be rare in the world. Every brick and every temple is permeated with the wisdom and sweat of the working people. Under the social production conditions at that time, it fully reflected the high wisdom and creativity of the working people in ancient China. When you visit the Forbidden City, you can not only see the highest political center of the feudal dynasty and the residence of the emperor, but also concentrate on appreciating the ancient architectural culture.