Forbidden City
The Forbidden City (Chinese: 紫禁城; pinyin: zǐ jìn chéng) is a palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples including the 22 ha (54-acre) Zhongshan Park, the sacrificial Imperial Ancestral Temple, the 69 ha (171-acre) Beihai Park, and the 23 ha (57-acre) Jingshan Park.[2] It is officially administered by the Palace Museum.
"The Forbidden City" redirects here. For the film by this name, see The Forbidden City (film). For other uses, see Forbidden City (disambiguation).Established
1406–1420
1925 (as public museum)
Art museum, Imperial palace, Historic site
16.7 million[1]
72 hectares
1406–1420 (Ming dynasty)
en
www
Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang
Cultural: i, ii, iii, iv
1987 (11th Session)
紫禁城
"Purple Forbidden City"
Zǐjìnchéng
Zǐjìnchéng
ㄗˇ ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄔㄥˊ
Tzu3-chin4-chʻeng2
Zǐh-jìn-chéng
Jí-gam-sìhng
Zi2-gam3-sing4
Chí-kìm-siâⁿ
Tsí-kìm-siânn
ᡩᠠᠪᡴᡡᡵᡳ
ᡩᠣᡵᡤᡳ
ᡥᠣᡨᠣᠨ
dabkūri dorgi hoton 'Former inner city'
The Forbidden City was constructed from 1406 to 1420, and was the former Chinese imperial palace and winter residence of the Emperor of China from the Ming dynasty (since the Yongle Emperor) to the end of the Qing dynasty, between 1420 and 1924. The Forbidden City served as the home of Chinese emperors and their households and was the ceremonial and political center of the Chinese government for over 500 years. Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts was built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987.[3]
The complex claims to consist of 9,999.5 buildings in total, although experts have shown in recent years that the number only amounts to 8,704,[4] encompassing 9,999 rooms and covering 720,000 m2 (72 ha)/178 acres.[5][6] The palace exemplifies the opulence of the residences of the Chinese emperor and the traditional Chinese palatial architecture,[3] and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. It is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. Since 2012, the Forbidden City has seen an average of 14 million visitors annually, and received more than 19 million visitors in 2019.[7] In 2018, the Forbidden City's market value was estimated at US$70 billion, making it both the world's most valuable palace and the most valuable piece of real estate anywhere in the world.[8]
The Forbidden City in Beijing is one of the largest and most well-preserved wooden structures in the world. It was listed as the first batch of national key cultural relics in 1961.[9]
Etymology[edit]
The common English name "Forbidden City" is a translation of the Chinese name Zijin Cheng (Chinese: 紫禁城; pinyin: Zǐjìnchéng; lit. 'Purple Forbidden City'). The name Zijin Cheng first formally appeared in 1576.[10] Another English name of similar origin is "Forbidden Palace," though "city" is much closer to the original Chinese meaning. [11]
The name "Zijin Cheng" is a name with significance on many levels. Zi, or "Purple", refers to the North Star, which in ancient China was called the Ziwei Star, and in traditional Chinese astrology was the heavenly abode of the Celestial Emperor. The surrounding celestial region, the Ziwei Enclosure (Chinese: 紫微垣; pinyin: Zǐwēiyuán), was the realm of the Celestial Emperor and his family. The Forbidden City, as the residence of the terrestrial emperor, was its earthly counterpart. Jin refers to a prohibition or taboo (often used in signs saying "no entry" or "no smoking" or "X is prohibited"). Cheng originally meant a castle, fortress, or fortification, but in modern Chinese, the character means city.
Today, the site is most commonly known in Chinese as Gùgōng (故宮), which means the "Former Palace".[12] The museum which is based in these buildings is known as the "Palace museum" (Chinese: 故宮博物院; pinyin: Gùgōng Bówùyùan).
In Ming and Qing, the Forbidden City was also known as Da Nei (大内) or "Palace City" (宮城).
In the East Glorious Gate
In the West Wing of the Meridian Gate
The collections of the Palace Museum are based on the Qing imperial collection, including paintings, ceramics, seals, steles, sculptures, inscribed wares, bronze wares, enamel objects, etc. According to latest audit, it has 1,862,690 pieces of art. In addition, the imperial libraries housed a large collection of rare books and historical documents, including government documents of the Ming and Qing dynasties, which has since been transferred to the First Historical Archives.[79]
From 1933, the threat of Japanese invasion forced the evacuation of the most important parts of the Museum's collection. After the end of World War II, this collection was returned to Nanjing. However, with the Communists' victory imminent in the Chinese Civil War, the Nationalist government decided to ship the pick of this collection to Taiwan. Of the 13,491 boxes of evacuated artefacts, 2,972 boxes are now housed in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. More than 8,000 boxes were returned to Beijing, but 2,221 boxes remain today in storage under the charge of the Nanjing Museum.[28]
The Palace Museum holds 340,000 pieces of ceramics and porcelain. These include imperial collections from the Tang dynasty and the Song dynasty. It has close to 50,000 paintings, within which more than 400 date from before the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), which is the largest in China.[80] Its bronze collection dates from the early Shang dynasty. Of the almost 10,000 pieces held, about 1,600 are inscribed items from the pre-Qin period (to 221 BC). A significant part of the collection is ceremonial bronzeware from the imperial court.[81] The Palace Museum has one of the largest collections of mechanical timepieces of the 18th and 19th centuries in the world, with more than 1,000 pieces. The collection contains both Chinese- and foreign-made pieces. Chinese pieces came from the palace's own workshops. Foreign pieces came from countries including Britain, France, Switzerland, the United States and Japan. Of these, the largest portion come from Britain.[82]Jade has a unique place in Chinese culture.[83] The Museum's collection includes some 30,000 pieces. The pre-Yuan dynasty part of the collection includes several pieces famed throughout history. The earliest pieces date from the Neolithic period.[84] In addition to works of art, a large proportion of the Museum's collection consists of the artifacts of the imperial court. This includes items used by the imperial family and the palace in daily life. This comprehensive collection preserves the daily life and ceremonial protocols of the imperial era.[85]
