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The Forbidden City was the home of the Chinese Imperial Family for centuries the flag stones we walked over at the entrance date back to the 1400's.
It is called the forbidden city because it was forbidden for the normal people of China to enter. This is because the imperial family were considered god like and only they and officials were allowed inside. There are 5 gates into the forbidden city, they are all very large. Each one has 81 gold roundels on, representing the 9 states of china (9x9). Many years ago the roundels were spikes!
There are 3 main gates of entry on the facing walls and 1 either side on the adjacent walls. The centre gate, which is the largest, was reserved for the Emperor. Only once, on his wedding day was his wife ever allowed to use it. The smaller gate to the right hand side was used by relatives (including the empress) and the gate to the left was used by high ranking officials. The 2 smaller gates (that cannot be seen by looking straight at the entrance because they are on adjacent walls to the left and right) were used by lower ranking officials. When the dignitaries did decide to leave the city, the procession must have been a very pomp and circumstance affair with the emperor being carried out through the main centre gate and all of the colorful red and gold robes of his entourage.
Once inside, the courtyard is huge. We walked across it towards the main palace, which stands on a gigantic plinth, with steps. The plinths are decked with marble carved railings and carvings, cut from nearby mountains. The carvings are in the centre, having a flight of steps either side. When the emperor was carried down to the courtyard, the bearers would have used the steps and his chariot would have floated above the carvings. When it rains, the carvings of snakes and dragons come alive and turn a pale blue. One in particular is a single piece of marble and is very, very large, weighing many tons.
Each building has a rank, noted by the number of carved figurines on each corner of the roof. 9 is the highest rank and only a few buildings in the whole of the city have 9 carvings.
As we moved through the City it became clear that the emperor was indeed treated as a god. Huge palaces with nothing more inside them than an elaborate throne, providing him with different places to contemplate (relax), dependent on his mood that day.
The newer parts of the city, (and in the main the most elaborate) were constructed as recently as 1889. They took 20 years to build, 10 years to source and supply all the materials and to get them to the city ready to start and 10 years to build. At the center if the city there is a high balcony. From it can be seen a sea of golden roofs. At the edges the roof tiles are green, representing the earth and places of worship have blue tiles.
The oldest part of the city is the residential buildings and much smaller than the impressive but almost empty palaces.
These buildings were used up until 1925 by the last emperor. In this part of the city he had a living area of his own and so did his wife and step mother. In the same area, he also kept his concubines, so I guess this part of the city was very 'active'.
It was also here that he signed away the royal family rights and put an end to the Chinese dynasties.
We ended our tour of the Forbidden City in the Imperial Garden. Yet more jaw dropping extravagance presented beautifully well. Ancient trees and massive offerings of volcanic rock mounted on plinths mixed in with bronze statues, marble balconies and stunningly colourful flower beds.
We then met our driver Sam who took us to the entrance of The Temple of Heaven.
Set at the very centre of a large park, this is the place that the emperor came to be closer to god and pray. The inside of the building has 4 main pillars at the bottom, representing the seasons, 12 above representing the months, then a further 12 above that as the Chinese used to work on 12 hour days.
At the temple, sacrifices of ox, pig and rooster were undertaken. This no longer happens and the temple is no longer used for anything other than a tourist spot for foreigners and the chinese alike, no form of ceremony is ever held there any more.
When I asked why, interestingly Shirley told me it was because since the revolution, China has been 'free of religion'.
Unfortunately, I suspect that this means that many if the old 'Daoist' ways will soon be lost and looking around Beijing, it seems likely that they will be replaced by a very capitalist and consumer driven motivation instead!
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