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FORBIDDENCITY(紫禁城)
(Infrontofthemeridiangate)
LadiesandGentlemen:
Iampleasedtoserveasyourguidetoday.
Thisisthepalacemuseum;alsoknowasthePurpleForbiddenCity.ItisthelargestandmostwellreservedimperialresidenceinChinatoday.UnderMingEmperorYongle,constructionbeganin1406.Ittook14yearstobuildtheForbiddenCity.ThefirstrulerwhoactuallylivedherewasMingEmperorZhudi.Forfivecenturiesthereafter,itcontinuedtobetheresidenceof23suessiveemperorsuntil1911whenQingEmperorPuyiwasforcedtoabdicatethethrone.In1987,theUnitedNationsEducational,ScientificandCulturalanizationrecognizedtheForbiddenCitywasaworldculturallegacy.
ItisbelievedthatthePalaceMuseum,orZiJinCheng(PurpleForbiddenCity),gotitsnamefromastronomyfolklore,TheancientastronomersdividedtheconstellationsintogroupsandcenteredthemaroundtheZiweiYuan(NorthStar).TheconstellationcontainingtheNorthStarwascalledtheConstellationofHeavenlyGodandstaritselfwascalledthepurplepalace.Becausetheemperorwassupposedlythesonoftheheavenlygods,hiscentralanddominantpositionwouldbefurtherhighlightedtheuseofthewordpurpleinthenameofhisresidence.Infolklore,theterm“aneasternpurplecloudisdrifting”becameametaphorforauspiciouseventsafterapurplecloudwasseendriftingeastwardimmediatelybeforethearrivalofanancientphilosopher,LaoZi,totheHanghuPass.Here,purpleisassociatedwithauspiciousdevelopments.Thewordjin(forbidden)isself-explanatoryastheimperialpalacewasheavilyguardedandoff-explanatoryastheimperialpalacewasheavilyguardedandoff-limitstoordinarypeople.
Theredandyellowusedonthepalacewallsandroofsarealsosymbolic.Redrepresentshappiness,goodfortuneandwealth.YellowisthecoloroftheearthontheLoessPlateau,theoriginalhomeoftheChinesepeople.YellowbecameanimperialcolorduringtheTangdynasty,whenonlymembersoftheroyalfamilywereallowedtowearitanduseitintheirarchitecture.
TheForbiddenCityisrectangularinshape.Itis960meterslongfromnorthtosouthand750meterwidefromeastwest.Ithas9,900roomsunderatotalroofarea150,000squaremeters.A52-meter-wide-moatencirclesa9.9-meter—highwallwhichenclosestheplex.Octagon—shapedturretsrestonthefourcornersofthewall.Therearefourentrancesintothecity:theMeridianGatetothesouth,theShenwuGate(GateofMilitaryProwess)tothenorth,andtheXihuaGate(GateofmilitaryProwess)tothenorth,andtheXihuaGate(WesternFloweryGate)tothewest,theDonghua(EasternFloweryGate)totheeast.
ManpowerandmaterialsthroughoutthecountrywereusedtobuildtheForbiddenCity.Atotalof230,000artisansandonemillionlaborerswereemployed.MarblewasquarriedfromfangshanCountryMountPaninJixianCountyinHebeiProvince.GranitewasquarriedinQuyangCountyinHebeiProvince.PavingblockswerefiredinkilnsinSuzhouinsouthernChina.BricksandscarletpigmentationusedonthepalatialwallscamefromlinqinginShandongProvince.Timberwascut,processedandhauledfromthenorthwesternandsouthernregions.