ANCIENT WISDOM
If the millennia during which China built and renovated palaces is viewed as an epic, the Forbidden City in Beijing is an awe-inspiring final chapter.
The previous pages of this story may have been marvelous, but they are at least partially, if not largely, lost to the rise and fall of many dynasties, leaving behind ruins that serve as archaeological puzzles that experts are still putting together.
But in the heart of Beijing stands a roughly 178-acre palace complex made of wood and earthen bricks, the largest surviving specimen of its kind in the world.
And this compound, which served as the imperial palace from 1420 to 1911, where 24 emperors once lived, is celebrating the 600th anniversary of its completion this year.
For this special moment, the Meridian Gate Galleries by the museum’s entrance have become a kind of lobby to receive visitors to the exhibition Everlasting Splendor: Six Centuries at the Forbidden City, on until Nov 15.
“There are so many things to talk about within 600 years,” said Zhao Peng, director of the museum’s architectural heritage department, who is also the exhibition’s main curator.
“It’s better to focus on the ‘city’ — that is, the architecture — to see how this place formed and evolved … It’s the crystallized wisdom and talent of the ancient Chinese.”
Still, it is not easy to select just 450 items, including construction components and emperors’ relics, to unfurl a panoramic picture of such architectural splendor.
Eighteen landmark years during the six centuries of history have been chosen to highlight the exhibits in chronological order to show how the compound was born, grew up and matured.
“From these slices of time we can see the bigger historical picture,” Zhao said.
In 1406, Zhu Di, the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), proposed moving the national capital from Nanjing, capital of today’s Jiangsu province, to Beijing, where he once resided as a prince and could better safeguard the northern frontiers.
The complex was completed in 1420, after about 10 years of preparation and a massive three-year construction. The capital was officially relocated the next year.
“An amazing feature of the Forbidden City is that it rigidly follows certain formats no matter how times changed,” Zhao said.
“This reflects traditional Chinese thought that emphasizes rituals and harmony between humans and the heavens.”
The Forbidden City was built following rules inherited throughout Chinese history.
As the exhibition shows, Kaogong Ji (Book of Diverse Crafts), a Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) publication about craftsmanship, included in the fundamental Chinese classic on the rituals of organizational theory, Rites of Zhou, spells out the basics for palace construction.
It regulates a symmetrical layout for capital cities, which should be centered by a palace with a north-south axis.
The historical areas of today’s Beijing, including the Forbidden City, echo that rule precisely.
“Finally, this ideal plan, which has been referred to for 2,000 years, reached its zenith when it was perfectly practiced in Beijing,” Zhao said. Rites are represented through architectural details.
For example, only the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihe Dian), the palace’s highest-status building, where the most important ceremonies took place, could have 10 deified creatures as ornaments on the roof. The fewer the roof orna--ments, the lower the building’s rank.
The hall also has 11 “rooms” on its facade, the most in the complex. (In ancient Chinese architecture, a “room”, or jian, refers to a quadrangular indoor space between four pillars.)
A comprehensive renovation of key buildings in the complex has been underway since 2002. Although it was originally planned to be finished for this milestone anniversary, architectural experts ultimately decided to slow down and ensure they were acting in a responsible manner and respecting history.