Forbidden City

Image: The Forbidden City
Source: Wikipedia

The Forbidden City is the imperial palace complex (Pinyin: Zijincheng) in Beijing, China. It was first formally occupied in 1420 by the court and was commissioned by the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty in 1406. It was so-called because most of the subjects in the world had no access to the field. Only restricted access was allowed for government officials and even the imperial family; the emperor alone could enter a section at will. The 72 hectares (178 acres) compound, acknowledging its value as a center of Chinese strength for five centuries and its outstanding architecture, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

History of the Forbidden City

In the imperial city under the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, the location of the Forbidden City was located. The Hongwu Ming Dynasty emperor relocated the capital from Beijing north to Nanjing in the south after the fall of the Yuan Dynasty and ordered the Yuan buildings to be destroyed in 1369. Prince of Yan with his seat in Beijing as established for his son Zhu Di. Zhu Di took over the throne in 1402 and became the Emperor of Yongle. He made Peking a secondary capital of Ming and started building the Forbidden City in 1406.

Construction

Many architects and builders planned the Forbidden City Plan, followed by an investigation in the Emperor's Work Ministry. Cai Xin, Kuai Xiang, Lu Xiang, among others, are the principal architects and engineers. The building took 14 years and hired 100,000 professional craftsmen and up to one million employees. The most significant pillars were made of whole logs of precious wood called Phoebe Zhennan.

Qing Dynasty and Forbidden City

The Forbidden City thus had become the Qing Dynasty power base. The French forces seized possession of the Forbidden City and held it until the end of the war in 1860. In 1860, during the Second Opium War. The latest edition is now available. In 1900, during the Boxer Revolt, Empress Dowager Cixi fled the forbidden town, leaving it until the following year occupied by treaty forces.

With the abdication of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, in 1912, the Forbidden City became the political center of China after it was home to 24 emperors, 14 from the Ming Dynasty and 10 from the Qing Dynasty.

Forbidden City after the Revolution

Yet this Japanese invasion of China soon endangered the survival of those jewels and moved them out of the Forbidden City. Significant objects have been packed and disposed of starting in 1933. They were sent to Nanjing first and Shanghai afterward. But soon, Shanghai was invaded by the Japanese armies. Management Yuan agreed to evacuate the collections in the far west. The items were divided into three lots. You took the road to Shaanxi to the north. All of them were sent up to Sichuan on the Yangtze River. The last lot was taken to Guangxi South.

The Japanese army has meanwhile conquered the Forbidden City, but only a few big bronze pans and a few bits of cannon were able to be removed. After a war in Tianjin, most of these were rescued. The artifacts were transferred back to Nanjing and Beijing at the close of World War II in 1945. No one was injured or missing noticeably.

The people’s Republic of China and Forbidden City

During this time, the Forbidden City suffered damage, including removing the throne from the Middle Harmony Hall, removing name panels from various buildings and gardens, and destroying some minor gates and structures. Further devastation was avoided, however, by the intervention of Prime Minister Zhou Enlai, who sent an army battalion to the area. The Red Guards, swept in the wind to demolish the 'Four Olds,' even kept these armies from snatching. All the doors to the Forbidden City were locked between 1966 and 1971, thereby preventing further devastation.

Fun Fact about the Forbidden City

• The Forbidden City is the largest palace complex in the world. There are more than 90 neighborhoods, 980 buildings, and more than 8,728 spaces.
• The Forbidden City is the largest medieval wood construction collection in the world.
• 24 Chinese emperors resided in the forbidden city.
• The museum of the Palace features 14 million visitors a year, more than any part of the Grand Wall.
• Forbidden City still has 40 percent prohibited entry.
• You can enter the Forbidden City without a visa.
• The Forbidden City has 94 subways, 4866 fire extinguishers, and 55 firefights scheduled.
• On the Forbidden City roofs, Birds cannot settle.
• In the Forbidden City, there are now more than 100 cats. You can come across any of them when you visit the Forbidden City. Why have cats in the Forbidden City? Many concubines held cats in the dynasties of Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912).

Conclusion

The Palace Museum has the duty of conserving the Forbidden City and rebuilding it. The building heights are confined across the Forbidden City. In 2005 the reparation and reconstruction of all buildings in the Forbidden City in their condition of pre-1912 began with a 16-year renovation program. This is the biggest restoration in two centuries of the Forbidden City, which includes the gradual closure of the Forbidden City portion for inspection, repairs, and restoration. There are a host of commercial establishments such as souvenir shops and photographic stands, though effort has been made to discourage the commercialization of the castle.