Why was the ancient emperor called Jiuwu Zhizun instead of Jiujiu Zhizun?

As the palace building of the last two feudal dynasties in China, the Forbidden City in Beijing embodies the supremacy of the emperor. Most people know the saying "Nine-Five Lords". The architecture of the Forbidden City is indeed related to the two numbers "nine" and "five". For example, the world-famous Tiananmen Gate Tower has five door openings on its platform, nine rooms wide and nine rooms deep. Five rooms. Many buildings in the Forbidden City have nine or five bays, but the Hall of Supreme Harmony is eleven bays wide, which is unique in the entire Forbidden City. Why is this? Before analyzing why the Hall of Supreme Harmony is eleven bays wide, it is necessary to give a brief introduction to the concepts of numbers in ancient China, especially the two numbers "nine" and "five".

The two numbers "nine" and "five" are inextricably linked to all aspects of feudal palace life, including architecture, and have supreme symbolic meaning that only feudal emperors can enjoy. What is the reason for this?

A simple way to put it is: In ancient China, numbers were divided into yang numbers and yin numbers. Odd numbers are yang and even numbers are yin. Among the yang numbers, nine is the highest and five is in the middle. Therefore, "nine" and "five" symbolize the authority of the emperor, which is called the "Nine-Five Lord".

Another theory is that the term "Nine Five" comes from the "Book of Changes". The version of "Book of Changes" that has been handed down now is said to have been performed by King Wen of Zhou Dynasty, so it is also called "Book of Changes". The first hexagram of the sixty-four hexagrams in the "Book of Changes" is the Qian hexagram, and the "Qian" hexagram represents heaven, so it has become a hexagram representing the emperor. The Qian hexagram is composed of six yang lines, which are extremely yang and extremely prosperous. Counting from bottom to top, the fifth line is called Jiuwu, nine means that this line is Yang Yao, and five means the fifth line. Ninety-five is the best line in the Qian hexagram, and Qian hexagram is the first hexagram of the sixty-four hexagrams. Therefore, the ninety-five is the first line of the three hundred and eighty-fourth line of the sixty-four hexagrams, and it has become the appearance of the emperor. The "nine" here is not a specific number, but a symbol that identifies the yin and yang attributes of numbers. Later, people used "nine" and "five" as specific numbers. They thought it was to fit in with the "nine-five" line representing the emperor; secondly, the two numbers "nine" and "five" were used in architecture. The use is also very consistent with aesthetic principles. The interpretation of the "Book of Changes" is as follows: "Changes in the main roads, each person's life is rectified, and the harmony is maintained, which is beneficial to chastity." It is said that the origin of the name of Taihe Hall comes from this.

"The Book of Changes" is one of the oldest classics in China. It has always been respected as the first of the Six Classics and has a profound impact on all fields of the Chinese nation. Therefore, the term "Nine Five" comes from the "Book of Changes" "The theory should be more credible.

Since "nine" and "five" are symbols of feudal emperors, why is the Hall of Supreme Harmony eleven rooms wide? Relevant data show that the Hall of Supreme Harmony was called the Fengtian Hall in the Ming Dynasty, with nine rooms wide and five rooms deep. It was destroyed after Li Zicheng entered Beijing and was rebuilt in the eighth year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1669 AD). It was changed to eleven rooms. Why it was changed to eleven rooms? It is said that at that time, good quality golden nanmu wood of sufficient length could not be found. If nine rooms were built, the span of the wood would not be enough, so it had to be changed to eleven rooms to shorten the span.

Regardless of whether this statement is true or not, as the first building of the Forbidden City, the Hall of Supreme Harmony adopts the unique form of eleven bays to achieve the effect of standing out from the crowd of buildings and highlighting its supreme dignity. status. The form of nine bays has been used many times in the Forbidden City. Adding a numerical unit to nine can only make eleven. Because in order to maintain the characteristic of opening the door in the center of the building, the number of bays must be an odd number. In terms of aesthetic effect, eleven bays is still acceptable. Thirteen bays or more, unless it is a corridor, is too much for building construction.

There are many digital phenomena in the architecture of the Forbidden City, and they often have different interpretations. But we have reason to believe that no matter whether we truly understand their original meaning now, their creators, our ancestors, were definitely not doing it on a whim or capriciously. And everything has a unified purpose - the perfect combination of etiquette, order and beauty.

Note: Nine refers to the Yang Yao, and five refers to the fifth Yao. This is correct. Although the number ninety-five is the best line in the Qian hexagram, the reason why number ninety-five represents the supreme is not entirely because it is the best. Each line has a specific meaning. The fifth line is originally the throne, and this position represents the emperor. In the Qian hexagram, the yang energy reaches its peak at this position, which represents the spread of virtue and the gradual accumulation of it. , arriving here from the ninth day of the lunar month, is exactly the most upright and strong position. This position is a symbol of the emperor's virtue. It is impossible for other identities to match this position.

When it reaches ninety-six, if it exceeds ninety-five, it is too much, and it becomes "ninety-six, a proud dragon has regrets."