Built from 1407 to 1420, it was intended to be the home of Chinese emperors – initially the Ming and later the Qing dynasty. The entire city was built according to feng shui precepts, the millenary Chinese art of harmonizing environments.
With the exception of the regent’s family and his servants, no one knew what was hidden behind its 10 m high walls, surrounded by a 52 m wide moat filled with water. The mystery ended in 1924, after the revolution that made the country a republic. The area of 720,000 m2 has approximately 8,000 rooms, spread over around 800 luxurious buildings, which today have been converted into the Museum of the Imperial Palace.
Check out the location of the points highlighted below in the infographic above:
1) WAR AND PEACE
At various times, the Gallery of Military Eminence it was used by the emperor to receive ministers and gather the court. It became a kind of strategic analysis sector in times of war. Today, it houses the Painting Gallery – with most of the works of art made in the palace.
2) THE DRAGON REIGNS
The main temple is the Supreme Harmony Gallery, which was reserved for important ceremonies such as coronations and emperor birthdays. Only he could enter the marble ramp adorned with dragon carvings. To this day, the jade musical chimes and the Dragon Throne, from which the emperor issued his absolute decisions, are still in the hall.
3) KNOW IN WRITING
A Gallery of Literary Glory it housed the entire typographic collection of the palace, from sacred books to reports from the emperors, and was the stage for ceremonial readings performed by respected students of Confucianism (a Chinese philosophical system). Currently, the area has 429 ceramic pieces from the palace – it is called the Ceramic Gallery.
4) THERE ARE VACANCIES
The regent used Hall of Preserved Harmony as a dressing room before rituals. Here, he greeted guests and addressed the children he had by his wives and many concubines. Another function was to host some banquets and palace exams – a kind of contest that selected citizens for high government positions. In the Palace of Terrestrial Tranquility, right behind, imperial weddings took place, in a chamber entirely painted in red.
5) THE HOUSE HAS TURNED OFFICE
In the Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty, the Palace of Heavenly Purity it was the residence of the emperor and empress. After ascending the throne, Yongzheng, the third Emperor of the Qing, moved his residence to the Hall of Mind Cult, and this palace became his office. To this day, above the throne, there is a plaque that reads: “Justice and transparency”.
6) THE ZEN OF NATURE
O Imperial Garden it was one of the few places that people trapped in the complex could go to relax. Surrounded by lakes, pine trees, flowers and bamboo (classic symbols of Chinese gardening), the place received meditation practitioners and families, who gathered to play chess or drink tea.
CONSULTANCY Mário Bruno Sproviero, USP historian
SOURCES Websites BBC, The State of São Paulo, Travel China Guide, dpm.org.cn