What was the floor of the ancient Forbidden City paved with?

Also known as imperial kiln brick, it is a treasure in the traditional kiln brick firing industry in China, and it is a high-quality earth brick specially used in important buildings such as palaces in ancient times. Because of its solid and delicate texture, the percussion is as loud as metal, hence the name BRIC.

Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it has been favored by emperors of past dynasties and has become a specialty of court architecture. During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, Judy, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, moved the capital to Beijing to build the Forbidden City. Under the recommendation of Suzhou Xiangshan artisans, Lumu Brick Kiln was selected by the Ministry of Industry and decided to "build bricks in Suzhou to serve 63 kiln households in Changzhou". Because of its excellent quality, it won the praise of Yongle Emperor, and named the kiln the Imperial Kiln.

Extended data

Suzhou has fine soil, rich colloid and strong plasticity, and the bricks made are hard and dense. Moreover, Suzhou is close to the Grand Canal, with convenient transportation and direct access to Tongzhou, Beijing by water.

When making bricks, ancient craftsmen should first choose soil, which should be sticky but not scattered, powdery but not sand. The selected soil should be placed in the open air for a whole year to remove its "earthiness". Then soak the clay in water, and let several cows trample it repeatedly to practice mud, so as to remove the bubbles in the mud mass, and finally practice it into a dense mud mass.

After repeated beating, put the clay ball into the mold, cover the surface of the flat plate, and step on the plate by two people until it is compacted. Then dry the brick in the shade for more than 7 months before firing in the kiln. When firing, first smoke chaff grass for one month to remove its moisture, then chop wood for one month, then burn whole wood for another month, and finally burn pine branches for 40 days before coming out of the kiln.

Baidu encyclopedia-BRIC countries