One of the most mysterious, vast and famous palace complexes in the world is called “Gugong”, which translated from Chinese means “palace of former rulers”. Better known as " Forbidden City " It was built at the beginning of the 15th century under Emperor Zhu Di (Ming Dynasty), who made Beijing the capital of the Chinese Empire. Gugun, this “city within a city,” was closed to mere mortals for 500 years, as it served as the home of the “celestials” - the emperors.
From here, 24 generations of rulers led the Celestial Empire - from 1421 to 1912. Gugong is the first of China's architectural masterpieces to be classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Debunking the myths about the Forbidden City in Beijing
Complete historical name The modern Gugong museum complex, which covers a total area of 720,000 square meters, is the Purple Forbidden City, as it is fenced off from the rest of Beijing by high 10-meter high bright red walls with a total length of 3,400 meters and moats 52 meters wide filled with “golden” water. And any resident of the country who dared to enter the territory of the palace complex would face the death penalty.
Due to the centuries-old veil of secrecy that reliably surrounded Gugun, many legends were composed about the imperial palace. It is believed that the design of the Forbidden City of China was dreamed of by a hermit monk, who created all the main designs of the buildings. He showed them to Prince Zhu Di and thereby gave the future wen huangdi (“cultural emperor”) the great dream of building a house for the Sons of Heaven.
The third emperor of the Ming dynasty wanted to build a complex consisting of 10,000 rooms, but the Jade Lord Yu Di himself came to him and forbade Zhu Di to build a palace using the sacred number “wan”. Only the Lord of Heaven could afford this. Then it was decided to make 9999.5 rooms. Whether they were actually built is unknown, since the Forbidden City of Gugun burned many times and was rebuilt several times. Now it has 8,707 rooms.
It’s curious, but if you spend the night in each room in Forbidden City only once, it would take a person 27 years to sleep in each room. Such a number of rooms also had a practical meaning: no one, except the trusted eunuch, knew which room the emperor would sleep in that day, which reliably protected him from hired killers.
It took almost 16 years to build the future home of the “earthly gods.” According to legend, 1 million people were involved in the construction, 200 million tiles, 100 million bricks and marble were used. In 1421 the last apartments were finished. Construction was carried out in accordance with the strict requirements of Feng Shui: the entrance to the palace and all the main buildings are oriented to the south, and from the north the complex is surrounded by mountains that protect it from cold winds and evil spirits. Each part of the palace corresponded to a specific season so that the emperor could live in constant harmony with nature.
In general, all of Gugun is complex and ingenious system of signs and symbols. For example, together with the city gates located on the south-north line, the complex forms a single hieroglyph zhong (“middle”) - this is one of the main categories of Chinese philosophy and culture.
The true story of the Forbidden City with a hint of fiction
Over five centuries, the owners of Gugong changed 24 times: 14 times representatives of the Ming dynasty ascended the throne and 10 times emperors from the Qing dynasty. During this time, strangers entered the palace territory only a few times. So, in 1644, Zhu Yujian, the last Ming Emperor, imposed such exorbitant taxes on the entire country that it forced the population to revolt. The rebels broke into the Forbidden City and plundered it. But how much the abode of the “earthly gods” suffered then is unknown. But it was thanks to this uprising that the Qing dynasty came to the throne.
Zhu Yujian killed his concubines and daughters, and then hanged himself so that, according to ancient beliefs, he could ascend to heaven riding a dragon. But this was far from the last blood that stained the marble of the imperial palace. During the Qing reign, the general line of power was to completely isolate China from the rest of the world, which led to increased intra-palace intrigues.
It is known that At least 3,000 eunuchs lived in the Forbidden City in China and several thousand concubines. Eunuchs weaved intrigues, concubines were spies, and over several centuries the history of Gugun was replenished with many scandalous stories in which truth cannot be distinguished from fiction. Like the Vatican in Rome, the palace lived its own life, and, of course, the brightest page in the book called “the era of Zinn” was the almost 50-year reign of Cixi. Having made a career from a concubine to an empress, having ruined many lives in her lifetime, this woman became an integral and most secret part of the Forbidden City. Moreover, it was thanks to her, or rather, Cixi’s passion for photography, that the world first saw photographs of the interior of the palace.
The death of the empress (1908) almost coincided with the end of the Qing dynasty. After 3 years, the last ruler, the young Pu-Yi, signed an abdication of the throne. He lived in the palace until 1924, and during his reign the last major fire occurred, destroying many caches and warehouses in the Forbidden City. A number of historians believe that the palace was set on fire by eunuchs who wanted to hide the scale of the theft from the imperial treasuries. This theory is also supported by the fact that in everything huge complex there is not a single chimney: heat for the buildings was provided by underground pipes, and in general the entire heating system was designed in such a way that it practically eliminated the possibility of spontaneous combustion.
The Birth of a Museum, or the Transformation of the Forbidden City into an Open Temple of Art
The first museum was opened in the Forbidden City in 1914 and was located in the Hall of Military Glory. In 1925, an inventory of the palace property was carried out, which included 1.17 million items. Later, the collection of the Gugun Museum was significantly expanded. In 1933, due to the invasion of China by the Japanese army, a significant number of exhibits were evacuated to the provinces of Guizhou and Sichuan, but the Beijing part of the collection was also preserved. In 1948, almost 3,000 boxes of imperial treasures arrived in Taiwan, and in 1965 they opened in Taipei National Museum, which displays nearly 700,000 bronze sculptures, paintings, ceramics and porcelain, jewelry, books, historical documents, ancient coins and other artifacts from Gugun. The Forbidden City Museum in Beijing opened in 1949.
Currently, a significant part of the Forbidden City is closed for major renovations, and Gugun will appear in all its splendor only in 2020. But even the part that is accessible to tourists attracts about 7 million people to the chambers of the emperors every year: at the height of the season there are 70,000-75,000 tourists a day.
The main attractions of Gugun
The main entrance to the mysterious Forbidden City of China is the Gate of Heavenly Peace, located on the south side. A wide road begins immediately behind them, on the left side of it is the luxurious imperial garden, and on the right is the Taiji cypress forest. The road will lead us to the Gate of Right Conduct.
The Forbidden City itself begins behind the Midday Gate. There are always a lot of people on the huge square: some are relaxing, others are just preparing for the trip. Having crossed the bridge over the Golden Water, the tourist sees in front of him the Gate of Supreme Harmony. Passing them, another, truly gigantic square, where military formations were held in previous centuries, spreads out before the amazed gaze. After walking a couple more kilometers you can reach the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
In general, the entire imperial the complex is divided into Outer and Inner Palaces. In the premises of the Outer Palace, the ruler conducted all ceremonies: the main hall was considered to be the Hall of Supreme Harmony, as well as the halls of Preservation of Harmony, where the throne of the emperor was installed, and Complete Harmony. The families of emperors, eunuchs, servants and concubines lived in the Inner Palace. Here are such world-famous halls (thanks to hundreds of photos taken by tourists) as the halls of the Unification of the World, Heavenly Purity and Earthly Tranquility. How to find it - see a special article.
Also installed here is one of the most popular “miracles” of China - a carved marble slab 16.75 meters long and weighing 250 tons. The design on it was carved in 1761: relief images of mountains, foamy seas and cirrus clouds, and dancing dragons holding a huge pearl ball in their mouths invariably delight tourists from all over the world.
For almost 500 years, the Forbidden City was the heart of China. Emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) lived there. It is located north of Tiananmen Square, from which it is separated by the Tiananmen Gate, and east of Zhongnanhai Lake, where the residences of modern Chinese leaders are located, also known as the “Lake District”. There are watchtowers at each of the four corners of the wall, which are visible far beyond Beijing. You can get to the Forbidden City through one of the four gates that are located on each side of the wall.
When the Yongle Emperor (1360-1424) began construction of the Forbidden City in 1406, he wanted to create a “state within a state,” an “inland empire” that would not be dependent on Beijing in any way. It was an impressive, powerful fortress that became the center of the emperor's power. Here he was in complete safety from external and internal enemies, from here he could rule his country. No one had the right to enter the city, and once entered, no one could leave. The city was divided into two parts - the Inner Palace, intended for the emperor and his family, and the Outer Palace, which served for ceremonial purposes, in which numerous servants and other residents who did not belong to the imperial family lived. This guaranteed the self-sufficiency of the city, which even had its own markets and schools.
The inner palace was intended exclusively for the emperor, his family members and the highest officials of the country. To occupy such a high position, an official had to spend many years studying and pass difficult exams. Although the residents of the Inner Palace could lead a full life - shops and markets were open, children went to school - members of the imperial family led an extremely isolated life. Only the emperor and senior officials had constant contact with the outside world. Each member of the emperor's family was under constant surveillance by eunuchs and servants. Naturally, there could be no talk of any personal life in such conditions. The emperor and his relatives had numerous obligations to the state and the people, which is why their life was filled with numerous ceremonies and was regulated by ancient customs and traditions. This way of life existed for many centuries until the monarchy was abolished in China in 1912.
After the Xinhai Revolution of 1912, the Forbidden City lost its function as the political center of the country. The last Chinese emperor Pu Yi, who was only 6 years old, lost power and had to remain within the walls of the city. In 1924, the new Chinese government expelled Pu Yi from the capital and turned the Forbidden City into a museum. Today, the most common name for the city in China is “Gugong” - a former palace.
After the fall of the monarchy, troubled times came for the Forbidden City. During the Civil War and World War II, many artifacts and works of art were stolen or destroyed. Many items were transported to Taiwan, where they were exhibited in the Imperial Palace Museum in Taipei, which was created specially for this purpose. The walls and buildings of the Forbidden City were also damaged, becoming targets for the rebels and the Japanese army. However, the greatest damage to the city was caused during the years of the Cultural Revolution, and only the efforts of the Premier of the People's Republic of China Zhou Enlai, who organized the defense of the Forbidden City from the Red Guard, saved this unique complex from complete looting. Only after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 for this historical monument Calm times came and its full functioning began as a museum for the Chinese people and guests of Beijing.
In the West, the Forbidden City became widely known after the release of Bernardo Bertolucci's film “The Last Emperor,” based on the biography of Pu Yi. Bertolucci became the first Western director who was allowed to film on the territory of the complex. The film perfectly showed the internal structure and life of the Forbidden City, and also became a symbol of the significant warming of relations between China and Western world.
It is noteworthy that despite the fact that the Forbidden City is open to visitors, tourists are not allowed into the interior of the buildings. Their sizes, such as the size of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, are too small to accommodate those who wish to participate. That's why Chinese authorities decided to leave the doors and windows of the buildings open, so that anyone can look inside and enjoy the beauty of the decoration and furniture.
The Forbidden City certainly deserves to be called one of the most beautiful places in China. Everything here breathes antiquity, rich history, which you can feel immediately as soon as you set foot on its territory. The architecture is stunning and impressive, and the paintings of the palaces and halls are colorful and detailed. This place is a must-visit for anyone interested in Chinese history and who appreciates authentic ancient beauty.
For centuries, only the emperor and his family lived in the Forbidden City in Beijing. The entire royal retinue was located outside its walls, until a certain time the entrance ordinary people was banned here.
History of the construction of the Imperial Palace
The building of the Imperial Palace was built in 1406-1420; 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties lived here for 5 centuries. 1 million builders and more than 100 thousand other specialists took part in the construction, among whom were artists, wood and stone carvers, and many others. This magnificent structure and a unique landmark of China is included in the list of world heritage of mankind.
The full name of the historical building is Zijingcheng, which translated means the Purple Forbidden City; later another name appeared - Gugong, the Palace of Former Rulers, which almost replaced the first one. Very often this city is simply called the Imperial Palace or the Winter Imperial Palace, because the emperor often visited here in winter time, and in the summer he visited one of his country residences.
The last Chinese emperor, Pu Yi, who abdicated the throne in 1912, left the Forbidden City only in 1925. The palace building was often destroyed due to constant fires, after which many areas had to be rebuilt. Most of them date from the 17th to 19th centuries.
What to see on the territory of the Forbidden City
The Imperial Palace is located in the city center near Tiananmen Square, it is made in the shape of a rectangle, with watchtowers at the corners of the walls of the building. Moreover, the Forbidden City is a whole complex of buildings, there are 9999 of them, and an ordinary platform, which is surrounded by columns, is also considered a room. They occupy an area of 72 hectares.
The main entrance to the city is the southern gate of Umen, or the Midday Gate, also called the Middle Gate. Behind them is the large Jinshuihe Square with a canal (“Golden Water River”). Five marble bridges rise across the canal and lead to the Taihemen Gate, enclosing a complex of buildings. Official events took place here.
The northern part of Beijing landmarks is decorated with Imperial Garden, its size is small, but its beauty is indescribable. Here you can stroll among the pools and fancy stones, visit small pavilions and relax in a cozy gazebo. And nearby are some of the best
The Gugun Imperial Palace is, in essence, not a palace, but a lot of wooden verandahs with red curved roofs and golden tiles, collected in one place. This is a classic of Chinese housing construction, included in the list in 1987 World Heritage UNESCO. The complex is one of the main attractions of the PRC and its largest museum.
About a million exhibits are located inside, but only a quarter of its premises and half of the territory are open to inspection. But even that is enough to take up half a day with a fairly cursory inspection. More than 7 million people visit Gugun annually, and the definition - Forbidden City - only attracts visitors. For since ancient times it has been known that the forbidden fruit is always sweet.
Gugun is three times larger than the Kremlin - its area is 72 hectares (almost a kilometer long and 750 m wide), it is aligned strictly along an axis from south to north and has 9999 rooms. Everything is very simple with this: nine is a sacred number for the Chinese, and repeated four times it is generally sacred. Naturally, the Forbidden City is fenced off from outsiders: it is surrounded on four sides by a 10-meter wall and a 50-meter-wide moat.
According to legend, there are 9 thousand 999 and a half rooms there also because the heavenly king had 10 thousand rooms, and the emperor, who called himself the son of the heavenly king, could not equal him. Therefore, he had half a room less.
Gugun owes its origin specifically to Emperor Chengzu, the third of the Ming dynasty. Having firmly decided to settle in Beijing, he took care of housing. The former palaces of the hated Yuan were completely ruthlessly set on fire, nothing remained of them, and a new one was needed. Gugun was built over 15 years, from 1406 to 1421. However, it later became clear that wood is a short-lived material. Numerous fires led to the fact that under the Qings almost the entire palace was rebuilt (gradually, as the towers caught fire). Mostly, of course, copies of burnt buildings were erected, but the fact is that the main buildings of the present Gugun date back to the 18th-19th centuries. And the legends about the Gugun pavilions are also told almost all about the Qings. In total, 24 emperors of two dynasties: Ming and Qing managed to lodge in Gugun.
Best time for an independent visit to Gugong - eight in the morning, immediately after breakfast and watching the flag-raising ceremony on Tiananmen. The entrance fee is 45 yuan. A lot, but worth it. The ticket office is located at the Wumen Gate, you need to walk along a long alley from Tiananmen. The Umen Gate resembles a fortress - you can immediately see that you are approaching something solid, especially since there are ancient cannons on the side alleys. If you know English, there are no problems when visiting Gugun - all signs, except for hieroglyphs, are equipped with fairly literate English text. During the excursion, you can not only explore the pavilions, but also feel like the ruler of the Celestial Empire for about five minutes, trying on imperial clothes. You can dress up as a guard. This joke costs about 20-30 yuan.
The first place you find yourself in Gugun is a huge stone wasteland, which is intersected by a canal made in the shape of an archery bow. It is visible only when you cross the bridge, on which there are stone torches - symbols of masculinity, hinting at you know what. On the sides of the vacant lot there are pavilions with tightly closed windows, and along the perimeter there are huge copper water vats with cool handles - their rings are embedded in dragon mouths. They have been standing here for a long time in case of fire. There are not a single tree around (there could be bad guys hiding there, thinking of killing the emperor). And the first feeling from the palace is emptiness and lifelessness. And this emptiness served as a kind of intimidation, suppression of anyone who found themselves here. And due to the prohibition of the palace, only eunuchs, concubines and others from the imperial retinue ended up here. However, the emperors could afford such discomfort. The fact is that they lived in Gugun only in winter, it was called Winter Palace. They had much more picturesque places reserved for the summer.
Next is the entrance to the pavilions of the outer courtyard. There are only three of them, and the very first, main and largest is Taihedian (Hall of Supreme Harmony). It is guarded by two creepy-looking stone lions. One of them is a lion with a scepter under his paw, the other is a lioness, and under her paw is a lion cub. In front of the hall there is a small lift, in the middle of which there is a narrow path with dragons engraved on the stone. Above her, under a palanquin, the emperor's chair was carried, while the servants themselves descended along simple stone steps. And no one except the emperor had the right to go there. In the pavilion itself stands the Emperor's Dragon Throne. The throne room was also forbidden for women, and even the all-powerful Cixi did not dare to break this ban.
The other two pavilions: the Hall of Middle Harmony (Zhonghedian) and the Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohe-dian) are of a lower rank. The first one is like an imperial back room. Here the emperor announced decrees to his offspring, prepared for rituals, and changed clothes. As for Baohedian, New Year's banquets were held there with appanage princes. And there are also thrones, about the same as in Taikhedian. Nowadays the hall has been turned into a museum of ancient Chinese art (mainly bronze and ceramic products from the 11th century BC to the 13th century). A recognized landmark is a life-size ceramic horse recovered from the tomb of Qin Shihuang Di. Next we go along the same course to the north, to the inner chambers of the emperor. Here, too, everything is symmetrical: there are three towers in the center, with six pavilions on each side. There were a huge number of concubines and wives, so such a number of towers was not at all out of place.
The first internal pavilion of Qianqingong is essentially the emperor’s work office, where, to paraphrase in a modern way, the ruler of the Celestial Empire “worked with documents.” Now there is an exhibition of court things - horse harnesses, clothes, ritual things, all mainly from the Qing time.
The second Jiao Taidian Pavilion served as the throne room of the empress and is therefore frankly small compared to the others (woman, know the place!).
And finally, the third pavilion of Kunning-gun (Palace of Earthly Peace) is the holy of holies, the imperial bedroom. Without fail, this is where the emperor spent his first wedding night and the first night of the new year. Moreover, he was obliged to sleep that night with his wife, and not with some concubine. Pu Yi was the last to unveil the maiden innocence here, no longer an emperor, in 1922. The furnishings of the bedroom have remained unchanged since the time of Kangxi (late 17th century): the bed is surrounded by turtles and cranes.
The side pavilions of the courtyard are definitely worth a visit. The six Western Palaces are similar to each other, but two stand out. The first is the closest one, called the Hall of Mind Cultivation (Yangxindian), another study room with Manchu furniture from the 18th century.
In the farthest pavilion, Chusyugun, lived Empress Cixi. This is the latest example of imperial construction (the end of the 19th century, a lot of budget money was spent on the arrangement).
The six Eastern Palaces are now repositories of treasures and art objects from the 15th to 19th centuries. The exhibition of watches deserves special attention (imported samples of the 18th century; you need to pay an additional 5 yuan to view them). In the following pavilions there is a museum of jewelry (all 25 imperial seals, swords decorated with jewelry, etc.).
In the farthest corner of Gugong there is the so-called Well of Zheng Fei, in which the beloved of Cisa’s nephew was killed.
Well, that’s all, actually. Gugong ends with the imperial garden of Yuhuayuan (also called the Secret Garden of Qianlong). You get into it when leaving the imperial bedroom of Kunning Gong. This is a classic of the Chinese gardening genre, with bizarre hills of stones, an artificial rock with a gazebo on top, courtyards, paths, galleries, strange-looking bronze urns - the creation of the same Emperor Qianlong. Popular place for photos - “trees of lovers”. These are two trees with strangely intertwined trunks, which God knows how old.
The Forbidden City in Beijing is the largest palace complex in the world, with an area of 720 thousand square meters. In plan, it is a slightly elongated square (the length of the northern and southern walls is 753 meters, the western and eastern walls are 961 meters), almost correctly oriented to the cardinal points.
Getting to know Beijing:
The square in front of the Taihedian Hall (Hall of Supreme Harmony), the Taihemen Gate, behind them is the Wumen Gate
The full name of the palace is Purple Forbidden City, 紫禁城, Zijincheng. Currently it is called 故宫 - "Former Palace".
The Forbidden City was built from 1406 to 1420, during the reign of the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Zhu Di (朱棣, 1360-1424, on the throne since 1403; the motto of the reign was Yong-le 永乐, “Eternal Happiness”). It was Zhu Di who turned Beijing into the capital. All buildings are made of wood. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Forbidden City was burned and rebuilt several times.
According to legend, there are 9999.5 rooms in the Forbidden City. It is said that the emperor wished to have 10,000 rooms (“ten thousand”, 万 Van,- a significant number in Chinese culture). However, the angry Jade Lord appeared to him and declared that he had only ten thousand rooms in his palace in Heaven, so the earthly emperor, even (天子 tianzi, title of Chinese emperors), it is not proper to have as many rooms. Therefore, they made a little less - 9999 and another half of the room. In reality there are 8707 rooms.
The Forbidden City was built in strict accordance with the rules of Chinese geomancy - Feng Shui. The emperor was not only the ruler of a great country, but was also endowed with sacred status and priestly functions, mediating between Heaven and Earth, so every detail in Gugun has a certain meaning. The word "Purple" in the name refers to the North Star (Chinese: 北极星 beijixing), which was considered the abode of the Jade Lord. Just as all the stars in the sky make their course around the fixed Polar Star, so the emperor in the Forbidden City remains inactive and rules the Celestial Empire.
Entrance to the Forbidden City was limited to mere mortals. Foreigners were practically not allowed here. Therefore, naturally, the most fantastic legends were formed about what was behind the high walls of the palace.
Over a million workers and about 100 thousand different craftsmen took part in the construction of the Forbidden City. The rulers of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) spent less time in Gugun than their predecessors, living most years in or in . In total, 24 emperors ruled from behind the walls of the Forbidden City for almost 500 years - 14 emperors of the Ming dynasty and 10 emperors of the Qing dynasty. After his abdication in 1912, the last Chinese Emperor Pu Yi (溥仪, 1906-1967, Chinese Emperor 1908-1912, retained the title until 1924) lived here until 1924.
Gugong in Beijing and Gugong in Taipei
The first museum in the Forbidden City appeared back in 1914 - in the Hall of Military Glory (武英殿, Wuyingdian). In 1924, the entire territory passed into the hands of the Republic of China (1911-1949). On October 10, 1925, a museum was created here, which was called 故宫博物院 Gugong bowyuan— Museum “Former Imperial Palace”. According to an inventory carried out in the same year, there were about 1.17 million storage units. In subsequent years, Gugun's collection expanded significantly.
How to get to Gugun
Gugong is located in the very center of Beijing. On the map it looks like a huge square.
Metro: Tiananmen Xi Zhang Station 天安门西站 ( Tian'anmen West Station), "Tiananmen dong zhang" 天安门东站 ( Tian'anmen East Station), line 1.
Buses: 1路, 2路, 10路, 52路, 52路区间, 52路区间2, 59路, 82路, 90路, 99路, etc.
Gugun on the map
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