What did Zhu Li build the Forbidden City for in the Ming Dynasty?

The predecessor of the Forbidden City is the Forbidden City. It is the imperial palace of Ming and Qing Dynasties, and also the largest and most complete existing ancient architectural complex in China. 1988 is listed as "World Cultural Heritage" by UNESCO.

The Forbidden City covers an area of 720,000 square meters with 9,999 rooms and a half, with a construction area of 6,543,800 square meters. It is a rectangular city with four corners and beautiful style, surrounded by a moat with a width of 52 meters, forming a fortified castle. Magnificent and luxurious architecture is the essence of ancient architectural art in China.

There are four doors in the Forbidden City. The main entrance is called the meridian gate. Commonly known as Wufenglou. Its plane is concave, with a heavy building in the middle and a double-eaved roof, and four double-eaved pavilions on each wing. Ming Gallery is connected, magnificent. There are five exquisite white marble arch bridges leading to Taihe Gate behind the Wumen Gate. The east gate is called Donghuamen, the west gate is called Xihuamen and the north gate is called Shenwumen.

The architectural layout of the Forbidden City can be divided into an outer court and an inner court. The architectural atmosphere of the palace is very different from that of the outer court. Centered on the three halls of Taihe, Zhonghe and Baohe, it was the place where feudal emperors exercised their power and held ceremonies. The Forbidden City, centered on Gan Qing Palace, Jiaotai Palace and Kunning Palace, is the residence of feudal emperors and queens. In addition, there are Wenhua Hall, Wuying Hall and Royal Garden.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony, commonly known as the Golden Throne Hall, is located in the center of the Forbidden City and is one of the three major halls in the Forbidden City. Built on a white marble pedestal about 5 meters high. Rows of carved columns stand around the abutment. These columns are called watchposts. There are patterns of Yunlong and Yunfeng carved on the stigma, three stone steps in front and back, and a dragon carved in the middle, which sets off the "imperial road" of waves and flowing clouds. There are gold-painted wooden columns, exquisite dragon caissons and "aboveboard" plaques hanging on them. In the center of the hall is the symbol of feudal imperial power-the golden throne of Qi Diao Dragon. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the most spectacular building in the Forbidden City and the largest wooden temple in China.

Zhonghe Hall is one of the three halls of the Forbidden City, located behind the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The plane is square, and the yellow glazed tile has a pyramid-shaped roof with a gold-plated treasure top in the middle. Magnificent in shape and exquisite in architecture.

Baohe Hall is also one of the three halls of the Forbidden City, behind Zhonghe Hall. Plane rectangle, yellow glazed tile, four-corner tapered roof. The architectural decoration and painting are very exquisite.

Gan Qing Palace is in front of the inner court of the Forbidden City. Before Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, this was the place where the emperor lived and handled government affairs. After Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty, the emperor moved to hall of mental cultivation, but he still read newspapers, played newspapers, appointed officials and summoned officials here.

Jiaotai Hall is located between Gan Qing Palace and Kunning Palace, which symbolizes harmony and well-being between heaven and earth. Built in the Ming Dynasty, it was rebuilt in the third year of Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty (AD 1798). It is a square temple with four corners, a gilded dome and dragons and phoenixes. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this hall was the place where the Queen's birthday celebration was held. Before the Empress of Qing Dynasty went to the silkworm altar to offer sacrifices, she should check the preparations for the sacrificial ceremony. The Palace of Kunning is behind the "inner court" of the Forbidden City. Tomorrow is the queen's residence. In the Qing Dynasty, it was changed into a place of worship. Among them, Dongnuange is the bridal chamber of the emperor's wedding, and Kangxi, Tongzhi and Guangxu all held weddings here.

The name "Forbidden City" is related to China's ancient philosophy and astronomy. China people believe in "harmony between man and nature" and "harmony between man and nature". Therefore, the structure of the Forbidden City is modeled after the legendary "Tiangong". In ancient astronomy, the stars were divided into three walls, surrounded by 28 nights, of which Ziwei Garden (Polaris) was located in the center of the sky, which was the center of all the stars. The purple in the Forbidden City is the purple in the purple, which means that the palace is also the "middle" of the world. "Forbidden" refers to the residence of the royal family, which has incomparable dignity and is strictly forbidden to intrude.

1406, Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty began to build the Forbidden City. According to the records of Ming history, 65,438+10,000 best craftsmen and 1 10,000 ordinary workers built a huge palace which is rare in the world, and it took 15 years to finally complete it. Since then, the Ming and Qing emperors have rebuilt and expanded many times, but the overall appearance has not changed much.

Twenty-four emperors lived in the Forbidden City. The first one was the Yongle Emperor Judy of the Ming Dynasty, and the last one was the Xuan Tong Emperor Puyi of the Qing Dynasty.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Zhonghe and the Hall of Baohe are all built on a huge platform 8 meters wide, with a total area of about 85,000 square meters. Among them, the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the highest and most splendid, with a width of 60. 1 m, a depth of 33.33 m and a height of 35.05 m.. The emperor's accession to the throne, wedding, conferring and going to war will all be held here. At that time, thousands of people shouted "Long live", and hundreds of ritual vessels were ringing with bells and drums, which was very human. The Zhonghe Hall behind the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the place where the emperor rests and sacrifices before attending major ceremonies, while the Baohe Hall in the northernmost part is the place where the emperor holds banquets and palace examinations.

The Forbidden City includes Gan Qing Palace, Jiaotai Palace and Kunning Palace, as well as the East Sixth Palace and West Sixth Palace on the east and west sides. This is the place where the emperor and his concubines lived, which is generally called three palaces and six courtyards. "In the north of the residential area, there is also a small and chic imperial garden, which is a place for the royal family to play. Emperors in Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty lived in Gan Qing Palace, Empress lived in Kunning Palace, and Jiaotai Hall was the queen's activity place. In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, emperors and empresses moved to the West Sixth Palace and other places, the most famous of which was hall of mental cultivation. Since Yong Zhengdi, it has been a place where emperors manage and live, and Empress Dowager Cixi has been here for more than 40 years.

There are 9,999 houses in the Forbidden City, and there are 9 bronze doornails on each door. This strange number phenomenon is related to China's understanding of numbers in ancient times. The ancients thought that the word "9" was the largest in numbers and the emperor was the largest in the world, so the corresponding "9" must be used. The homonym of "9" is "long", which means "everlasting", so it also means that mountains and rivers will last forever and never change color.

The Wenhua Hall of the Forbidden City has collected more than 500 years' archives of the central and local organs in Ming and Qing Dynasties, with 74 volumes,100000 pieces, which is the largest and most valuable historical materials in China. In Wen Yuan Pavilion, there is a complete Siku Quanshu, which contains the most important academic works in ancient China, with 3,503 kinds and 6,304 volumes.

There are more than 0/0 pieces of collection in the Forbidden City, including the Art Museum, Arts and Crafts Museum, Painting Museum, Qing Palace Toy Museum, Bronze Museum, ceramics museum, Watch Museum, Treasure Museum, Woodblock Museum, Ming and Qing Furniture Museum, etc. There are about 1 10,000 precious collections, some of which are orphans, but only exist in the Forbidden City.

Legend has it that when Liu Bowen built the palace in Beijing, the emperor and his son, the Prince of Yan, planned to build the palace in a larger space. They always think that the place where the emperor lives should be particularly luxurious, otherwise the dignity of the son of heaven will not be reflected. On this day, the emperor was about to announce Liu Bowen. At this juncture, Liu Bowen came. As soon as Liu Bowen saw the emperor, he said, "Long live the opening ceremony. I had a dream last night. I dreamed that the Jade Emperor called my minister to the Lingxiao Hall and said to him, "You want to build a palace for the emperor." . Tell him! There are 1000 halls in the Heavenly Palace, and mortal palaces are not allowed to exceed the Heavenly Palace. You have to tell him that only by inviting thirty-six King Kong and seventy-two demons to guard the earthly imperial capital can the weather be good and the country and the people be safe. You must remember that. When the Jade Emperor said these words, he came at me with a white fragrant mist, which suddenly woke up the minister! "Hearing this, the emperor felt very strange. He wanted to think, and ordered Liu Bowen to supervise the construction of less than 1,000 palaces, but he still wanted to measure them like the Heavenly Palace, and asked King Kong and the dungeon to protect court officials. Liu Bowen got the order, and the story got around in Beijing. People are waiting to see how Liu Bowen builds palaces and invites 36 King Kong and 72 underground palaces to protect them. A few days later, Liu Bowen took care of everything. When the emperor saw how luxurious the palace was built, the number of rooms was really less than 1000, and then he saw the magnificent palace, as if it were guarded by a fairy. The more the emperor looked, the happier he became. At that time, he gave Liu a knighthood and many jewels. Foreigners heard that Liu Bowen invited the God 36 King Kong 72 Underground Palace to protect the Imperial City, and they did not dare to make an accident in dispatch troops. Later, people learned that there were 999 semi-palaces in the Forbidden City. Thirty-six King Kong, the god of heaven, is a thirty-six-mouth golden urn placed at the palace gate. The seventy-two underground palace is the seventy-two trench of the Forbidden City.

The legend of the Forbidden City turret

There is a corner building with nine beams, eighteen columns and seventy-two ridges in each corner of the Forbidden City, which is beautifully built. How are these four corners covered? There is such a legend in Beijing-

After the Ming Dynasty Prince Zhu Li became Emperor Yongle in Nanjing, he wanted to move to Beijing because Beijing was his old place when he was a monarch, so he sent a trusted minister to Beijing to build an official. Zhu Li told the minister that four particularly beautiful watchtowers should be built on the four corners of the Forbidden City, that is, on the outer wall of the palace. Each watchtower should have nine beams, eighteen columns and seventy-two backbones. And said, "You should be the minister of water heating. If the lid can't be repaired, behead it! " "After receiving the imperial edict from the emperor, the plumbing minister was very worried and didn't know how to build this watchtower with nine beams, eighteen columns and seventy-two ridges.

When the minister of construction management arrived in Beijing, he called 8/kloc-0 big contractors and carpenters, told them the emperor's will, and told them that these four grotesque turrets must be built on schedule, and said, "If they can't do it, the emperor will naturally kill my head, but before I kill my head, I will cut off your head first, so be careful with your head." The foreman and carpenter are not sure about such a project, so they have to find a way together.

The period of three months is very short, and it will be one month in the blink of an eye. The foreman and carpenter haven't come up with a clue or method yet. They made many models, none of which were suitable. This is just in time for the dog days in June and July. It was stifling hot, and they were bored. It is really inappropriate for foremen and carpenters to sit or lie down. There was such a carpenter, and I couldn't stay any longer, so I went for a walk in the street.

Walking, I heard a sound of fruit from a distance, and then I heard a cry: "Buy fruit, listen, can't sleep, go and relieve boredom!" " Looking closer, I saw an old man carrying a lot of stalks, big and small, peddling along the street. One of them is a cage with a straw stick, which is as exquisite as a pavilion in the painting. There are some crickets in it. The carpenter thought: Anyway, I was bored to death. Shit, I couldn't live any longer, so I bought a beautiful cage. It looked interesting and I bought it.

The carpenter returned to the construction site with the cage. Everyone quarreled as soon as they saw it: "People are very upset. How can you buy a cage for a tramp? What's the point of noisy? " The carpenter smiled and said, "Everyone can't sleep. Look ... "He wants to say how beautiful this cage is! But before he spoke, he thought the cage was a little special. He quickly waved his hand and said, "Stop arguing and I'll count." He carefully counted the beams, columns and ridges of the Guo cage over and over again. Everyone was attracted by this number and looked at it quietly and straight, but there was no sound at all.

After counting the cages, the carpenter jumped up and patted his thigh and said, "Isn't this the seventy-two ridges of nine beams, eighteen columns?" Everyone was very happy to hear that. One was holding a cage, and the other said, "This is really a castle with nine beams, eighteen columns and seventy-two ridges."

Inspired by this cage, everyone came up with the appearance of the turret of the Forbidden City, scalded paper pulp to make patterns, and finally repaired it into a corner hug that still exists today.

First, painting and calligraphy collection. There are 9 120 paintings and calligraphy in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. It is reported that half of them are first class and second class. There were 574 paintings before the Yuan Dynasty (excluding the statue of the empress before the Song Dynasty in Nanxun Hall), and 55 calligraphy before the Yuan Dynasty/kloc-0. There are about 6,543,800+5,000 paintings and calligraphy in the Forbidden City, accounting for about 6,543,800+5,000 paintings and calligraphy in ancient China in public museums around the world? Among them, about13 has high academic value and appreciation value, including nearly 420 paintings and 3 10 calligraphy. The total collection of calligraphy and painting before the Yuan Dynasty was lower than that of the National Palace Museum in Taipei. However, due to the relatively strict appraisal work, there are few disputes about calligraphy and painting in the early and late (Ming and Qing Dynasties) of the Forbidden City in Beijing. From the perspective of painting times, the early collections of the Forbidden City in Beijing reflect the painting characteristics of various historical periods, especially the two copies of Lienvtu and Luoshen Fu Tu by Gu Kaizhi in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, which truly reflect the painting styles of the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties. As far as Song paintings in the Tang and Five Dynasties are concerned, the Forbidden City in Taipei is more than the Forbidden City in Beijing, but the collection and perfect quality of Yuan paintings in the Forbidden City in Beijing are the best in the world. As far as painting in the Song Dynasty is concerned, there are more treasures of landscape paintings in the National Palace Museum in Taipei than in the National Palace Museum in Beijing, but the treasures of figure paintings in the National Palace Museum in Beijing occupy an important position. The painting collection of the Forbidden City in Beijing is very comprehensive. In addition to scroll paintings, there are prints, New Year pictures, Qing Palace oil paintings, glass paintings, screen paintings and stickers, which are all lacking and insufficient in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. In addition, there are 10 murals in the Forbidden City in Beijing, 7 Dunhuang paper and silk paintings in the Tang and Five Dynasties, and 1 mural in the Yuan Dynasty. The large-scale palace paintings and calligraphy of Ming and Qing dynasties collected in the Forbidden City in Beijing are also lacking in the Forbidden City in Taipei, because these cultural relics are difficult to transport when they move south. Because the National Palace Museum in Taipei mainly accepts the paintings and calligraphy of the Qing Dynasty, many schools of painting and calligraphy, such as 18, 19 century's Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou, Jingjiang School of Painting, Jinling Schools and Four Monks in the Early Qing Dynasty, are all lacking in the Qing Dynasty and are now national treasures. In the early 1960s, the Forbidden City in Beijing collected all the paintings and calligraphy of these periods. In terms of calligraphy, the collection and quality of the National Palace Museum in Taipei is not as good as that of the National Palace Museum in Beijing. There are more than 40,000 letters in the Forbidden City in Beijing, which contain great literature value and artistic value, far exceeding the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei. In terms of inscriptions, the rarity of the Forbidden City in Beijing accounts for most of the country. At present, there is no record of inscriptions on cultural relics moving south.

Second, ceramic cultural relics. There are 350,000 pieces in the Forbidden City in Beijing, including more than one first-class product 1 100, about 56,000 second-class products, and more than 30,000 pieces of ceramic specimens collected from more than one kiln mouth in China since the last century. There are 25,248 pieces of old porcelain in the Qing Dynasty in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, among which five famous kilns in the Song Dynasty and official kilns in the Ming Dynasty are the main ones. Most of Kang Yong's famous enamel-colored porcelains from Gansu and Three Kingdoms periods in the Qing Dynasty are in the National Palace Museum. However, the collection of the Forbidden City in Beijing is incomparable to that of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, especially the painted pottery of the Neolithic Age, the porcelain of the Three Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the porcelain from Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty to the official kiln in Xuan Tong, the porcelain of folk kilns in past dynasties, and the collection of specimens and physical materials of ancient ceramics. The collection of official kiln porcelain in the Forbidden City in Beijing is considerable in quantity and quality, which can not be ignored. In the collection of ancient ceramics, the Forbidden City on both sides of the strait has its own merits.

Third, bronzes. The Forbidden City in Beijing has a collection of more than 5000 bronzes/kloc-0, including about 10000 bronzes in the pre-Qin period and more than 600 bronzes with inscriptions, accounting for more than110 of the total number of Chinese bronzes handed down and unearthed at home and abroad. It is the museum with the largest collection of Chinese bronzes at home and abroad. In addition, there are more than 10000 coins, 4000 bronze mirrors and 10000 seals. There are 56 15 bronzes in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, and there are about 500 bronzes with inscriptions in the pre-Qin period. The bronzes in the Forbidden City on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are mainly handed down from ancient times. The collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei is small, but the heavy objects such as hair, plates and clocks are very famous.

Fourth, in terms of craft collection. There are 2846 1 jades in the Forbidden City in Beijing, which is more than 1 1445 in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. In addition, hundreds of precious jade articles unearthed from archaeological excavations have been collected, among which the jade articles unearthed from Lingjiatan Site in Anhui Province and Warring States Tomb in Yanggong Township in Lu 'an are rare in the world. At present, only the Forbidden City in Beijing has a collection. In addition, the Jade Mountain in the Forbidden City in Beijing weighs more than 10,000 kilograms, and several Jade Mountains weigh several thousand kilograms, which is beyond the reach of the National Palace Museum in Taipei. "Miscellaneous items" such as lacquerware, enamel, glass, gold and silver wares, carved bamboo and wood corners, ink, paper, inkstone, etc. There are 7,605 pieces in the National Palace Museum in Taipei and10/355 pieces in the National Palace Museum in Beijing. There are generally few lacquerware in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Metal enamel has similar characteristics on both sides of the strait, but some large metal enamel products in the Forbidden City in Beijing are not available in the Forbidden City in Taipei. Judging from the cultural relics selected in publications such as Ruyi and Wan Wen published by the National Palace Museum in Taipei, the technological level is obviously inferior to that of the collections of the National Palace Museum in Beijing. In addition, the National Palace Museum in Beijing has 1442 bonsai and 590 artifacts, but the National Palace Museum in Taipei has no such collection.

5. Palace cultural relics collection. The Forbidden City in Beijing has great advantages, ranging from classic cultural relics representing imperial power to cultural relics of royal daily necessities. For example, the imperial seal "Twenty-five Treasures" and the halogen book ceremonial ceremonies in the Qing Dynasty are not available in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, and the crown of Empress Dowager Cixi is also the most complete. Astronomical instruments and clocks reflecting the level of scientific and technological development and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries in the Qing Dynasty are also specially collected in the Forbidden City in Beijing. The emperors of Qing Dynasty paid attention to the appreciation of literary works and dramas, and most of the seals used for his appreciation were hidden in the Forbidden City in Beijing. In Qing dynasty, the royal family believed in many religions, mainly shamanism, Taoism and Tibetan Buddhism. The Forbidden City in Beijing has a large collection of shamanism and Tibetan Buddhism utensils, sacrificial vessels, statues and thangkas. , and also completely preserved the original state of some Tibetan Buddhism and Taoism halls in the court.

Sixth, books and classics. The National Palace Museum in Taipei has early editions (many in Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties), complete volumes and good books, such as Sikuquanshu. What's the point? The collection of "Wan Wei Biezang" and some "Tianlu Lin Lang" books are mostly unique giant books or orphan works, which are quite precious. Most of the few Song and Yuan editions of the Forbidden City in Beijing have been handed over to the National Library, but the existing Ming and Qing editions and engravings are various and numerous, including the manuscripts produced in the compilation process of the Imperial Palace Bookstore, the final edition of the engraved books for the emperor to read, the Manchu-Mongolian-Chinese classics that have never been engraved, all kinds of books that have been copied again for the convenience of the emperor to read or carry, and all kinds of special enjoyment displayed for the halls inside and outside the palace. In addition, there are unpublished books written by Hanlin Bachelor and Ci Chen, as well as books submitted by bibliophiles all over the country; A large number of court dramas and archives; There are about 65,438+095,000 volumes (pieces) of Empress Dowager Cixi's costumes and utensils, "Style Thunder" architectural drawings, maps and other special collections, and so on. In addition, there are more than 200,000 carefully carved Canon of Wuying Hall. These constitute the characteristics of the rare edition of the Forbidden City in Beijing. In addition to the old collections, the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing also includes the lost Qing cultural relics collected and purchased by the direct leadership of the central government F and the active support of various provinces and cities since the founding of New China 1/5, as well as donations from people from all walks of life. In the early days of JF's founding, the state resolutely spent more than 500,000 Hong Kong dollars to buy back two of the famous "Three Wishes"-Yuan Bo tie and Mid-Autumn Festival tie. At that time, T Bay also wanted to buy it, but the funds were not implemented, and they still regret it. So far, more than 600 people have donated cultural relics to the Forbidden City in Beijing. Chairman Mao transferred the cultural relics presented by his friends to the Forbidden City for preservation three times. Zhang Boju, Zhu Yian, Sun Yingzhou and others made selfless donations. It will last forever. Many newly collected cultural relics are no less valuable than the old collections of the Qing Palace. This quickly made the Forbidden City a veritable treasure house of culture and art in China and the most representative symbol of Chinese civilization.

For various reasons, many people are not very clear about the collection of cultural relics in the Forbidden City in Beijing. Some people think that all the good things have arrived in T Bay, and some even say that "there are cultural relics in Taipei without the Forbidden City, and there are cultural relics in the Forbidden City in Beijing", which is obviously a misunderstanding. Of course, cultural relics have their own artistic and historical values and cannot be replaced by each other. The collection of the Forbidden City on both sides of the Taiwan Strait is a whole and highly complementary. Only by looking at it as a whole can we fully understand the long history and richness of China culture.