TheForbidden City,Architectureand Inhabitants of the Imperial Palace

The Forbidden City is not only the imperial palace site of the Ming and Qing dynasties，but also the largest museum of ancient culture and art in China.lts architectural concept，architectural function，and ingenious architectural interest have become the classic representative of today's understanding of Chinese traditional court architecture.Since its construction by the Yongle Emperor，the Forbidden City has always been at the center of its 6Oo-year history.

TheForbiddenCity，Architectureand

InhabitantsofthelmperialPalace

Xu Feng'an，Yin Lixin

China Intercontinental Press

January 2024

128.00 （CNY）

Xu Feng'an

Xu Feng'an is theeditorial director of Chinese Architecture Libraryand Society forthe Study of Jizhou Architecture. He is mainly engaged in the compiling andresearchingofmodernarchitecture documents.

Yin Lixin

Yin Lixin isa prosewriter，amember of the 2Oth Century Architectural Heritage Committeeand iscurrentlydeputyeditor in-chiefofChinaArchitecturaland Culture Heritage.

TheForbidden City，the imperial palace of the Ming（1368-1644） and Qing（1644-1911） dynasties in China，was commissioned by Zhu Di（1360-1424），Emperor Chengzu of the MingDynasty.The decree to construct itwas issued on the fifthday of the leap seventh monthin1406.Theconstruction wascompleted onDecember8th， 1420.To this day， the Forbidden City has a history spanning over 600 years.While this palace complexunderwentcontinuous renovationsand expansions during both the Ming and Qing periods，itsfundamental scale and framework largelyretains theplannedappearance from the Yongle era（1402-1424） of the Ming Dynasty.

Historical recordsand surveys ofpreviousimperial palacesites show that，when compared to imperial palacesinChinasince the Qin （221-206BCE）and Han （206BCE-220 CE） dynasties， the Ming-QingForbidden City in Beijing is not only smaller inscale but also slightly less extensivethantheForbidden City built by Zhu Yuanzhang （1328--1398），EmpeorTaizuof the Ming Dynasty， in Nanjing. In terms of individual building sizes， even the largest single structure inthe Ming-QingForbidden City， the Hall of Supreme Harmony （Taihedian），fallsnotablyshortof the TangDynasty'sKylin Virtue Hall （Linde dian）.

Nevertheless，the Forbidden City in Beijing indisputably stands as the world's oldest surviving palace complex from a feudal dynasty， boastingthelargestarchitectural areaandthemostcomprehensive preservation.

InmodernChina，thereare three placesbearingthename“imperial palace\"： the lmperial Palace

inBeijing，the lmperial Palace inShenyang，and the lmperial Palace in Taipei.Thefirst two， though differing in construction periods，architecturalscales， and collections of cultural relics， havenowbothtransformed intomuseum-likecultural institutionsestablishedonthe original sitesof the Mingand Qingpalace complexes.Their official namesareas follows： The Palace Museum （founded onOctober10，1925），which doesnot requirea geographic modifier，and the ShenyangPalace Museum （foundedin1926），which includesageographic identifier. Asforthe third location，Taipei PalaceMuseum，itemerged as abranch from the Imperial Palace in Beijing during a unique historical period.Ineveryday conversation，when people refertothe“imperial palace\" without specifyinga location， it iscommonlyunderstoodtobe theBeijinglmperialPalacerather than the ShenyangorTaipei Palace Museum.

Not justin China，but also for foreign visitors to the country， When“imperial palace\"is mentioned，whetherit's in FrenchasLe Palais impérial or in English as the Forbidden City， there is no need to specify a location.It iswidelyunderstood torefertothe lmperial Palace inBeijing.Whetherregarded asanarchitecturalrelicofpast imperial eras oras a museum holdingcultural significance incontemporarysociety，the Imperial PalaceinBeijingstands asa distinctive symbol of Chinese culture.

Theallure of the lmperial Palaceprimarilyresidesinits architecture.Theesteemed architectural historian，Liang Sicheng（1901-1972），once remarked，\"Among the surviving QingDynasty structures，none surpassesthegrandeurof the Imperial Palace in Peking （Beijing）.When compared to imperialpalacesaround theworld today，itsscaleandvastnessare unparalleled.\"Let'stakeamoment to compare itwith some other globally renowned imperial and royal palaces.

TheLouvre Palace in Paris，France， originallyamedievalcastle，rebuilt in1541，has undergone four renovationsoverthecourseof morethantwo centuries.Itwas once the political and cultural centerofEurope，celebrated for its grandeurand opulence，yet itsactualarchitecturalareais lessthan one fourththat ofthe Imperial Palace in Beijing.

TheKremlinin Moscow，Russia， wasoriginallyconstructed in1156 andunderwentreconstructionin 1838.Itissaidthatwhen itwas firstbuilt，itstotalarchitectural areawasequivalent to one-fourth of the entire city of Moscow.

However，when comparedwith theForbidden City inBeijing，it occupieslessthan half thearea. TheBuckinghamPalace in the"United Kingdom，constructed in 1703，continues to functionasthe residenceand official workspace for the British royal family. However，itstotalarchitectural areaisapproximatelyone-tenth thatofthelmperialPalacein Beijing.

The Tokyo lmperial Palace in Japan was reconstructed in1873. Its entire area，includingthe ImperialGardens，amountsto underone-third of the size of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Certainly，when evaluating architectureaseitherexcellent or inferior，thesize of its architectural area is just one element that contributes to theoverallstructure.The aforementioned foreign palaces often impresswith their grand individual buildings and their displayofarchitectural styles fromdifferenteras （suchas Ancient Greek，Ancient Roman， Renaissance，Baroque，Rococo， and Byzantine），each with its uniquecharacteristics.Incontrast， thearchitectureof the lmperial Palace doesn't seek individual building supremacy. Instead， it extendsthedepthof itsoverall spatial layout，presentinga harmoniouscoexistenceof multipleelements，including classical Chinese halls， towers， pavilions as well as landscape features.Its vast footprint perfectlycomplements itsrich cultural significance，which is why the Imperial Palace in Beijing is widely recognized as truly distinctive.

Anotheraspect of the lmperial Palace that garners global attention isitscontinued presence amongtheworld'smost renowned museums.Asmodern civilization has evolved，both in China and abroad，former imperial palaces andgardenshaveoftenbeen transformed into public cultural spacesin the form of museums.

Notableexamplesinclude the Louvre Palace in Paris，France， andtheWinterPalaceinRussia （nowcommonlyreferred toasthe Hermitage Museum）.Incontrast， institutionslike theBritish MuseuminLondon，theUnited Kingdom，and the Metropolitan MuseumofArtinNewYork，the United States，can be categorized as purpose-built museums.

Onemay question the emphasis onwhetheramuseumwas purpose-builtortransformed fromaformer imperialpalace when both serve asmuseums. Thereasonisstraightforward. Museumstransformed from former imperial palaces，as opposed to purpose-built museums，have the buildings themselvesastheirmost significantand preciousexhibits. Thevaluableartifacts they display，thehistorical narratives they carry，and their cultural significanceallconstitute everlastingtopicsof interest.

Itispreciselythe lmperial Palace's dualidentity-formerlythe exclusivequartersofthe imperial family，known as the Forbidden City，and nowa public cultural institution，thePalaceMuseum一 thatthisbookaimstointroduce to the public.In sequence，it covers the historical buildings withintheForbiddenCity，the people and eventswithin these buildings，and the modern transformation of the lmperial Palace into a culturally rich museum.