Sunday, December 13, 2015
Forbidden City O'Reilly
The Forbidden City was an imperial palace used in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is located in the center of Beijing. It was originally used as the home of the emperors and the political center of the government. Now it houses the Palace museum. The large complex has 980 buildings and spans 180 acres. The Forbidden City is popular for tourists and has over 14 million visitors a year.
I have seen pictures of it before but I never knew the name of it. I find it interesting because of its unique design. Also, many of our overseas students are from Beijing, so it could be a way to learn about where they're from.
The main building has marvelous architectural designs. It was inspired from Chinese and East Asian designs and is now an inspiration for other buildings today. The whole entire complex is completely symmetrical. Throughout the building there are many palaces: The Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, Palace of Heavenly Purity, Hall of Union, and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. The building was constructed based off the belief that humans should be one with nature. The emperor believed he ran the whole nation so he built the building in the dead center of the city. The main frames of the palace are built of wood. There are statues of animals surrounding the tops of the roofs of he building. The animals are said to each have a special purpose. "The kissing dragon is said to be one of the nine sons of the dragon to watch fire; the phoenix is to bring happiness and good luck to the building; the lion indicates the power of the owner; the horses show their ability to reach both heaven and the sea; Suanni, also one of the sons of the dragon, is the king of the animal kingdom; Yayu, the fish-like dragon, is able to collect clouds and extinguish fire; Haetae, a unicorn, stands for justice and upright; Douniu, the bull-like fighting dragon, fights for peace; and Xingshi, the flying monkey, is an animal for prevent the destruction by thunder" (travelchinaguide.com). The colors of the building also have their own culture. Yellow, meaning respect, was typically used on the roofs. Red was used to show the emperor's hope of national stability. The Forbidden City has a unique history and is located in the home of many of our school's students, making it an interesting topic for all of us.
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This was a good topic to choose! You wrote a lot about the architecture which I didn't know much about. I didn't know much about the history either but your blog had a good summary of the history. Your blog well informed me of the Forbidden City.
ReplyDeleteGood job on the blog Kade. I knew nothing about the forbidden city before I read your blog. I liked how you really explained the architecture. It really gave a great image of what the Forbidden City looked like. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog Kade. We've talked briefly about the Forbidden City in class, but not in depth. So, it was really interesting to read this and learn more about it. The way you explained the city was very detailed as well as it had a great flow, so it was a me to visualize well. Good job!
ReplyDeleteGood job kade.
ReplyDeleteI really like how thoroughly you went into this as we casually talked about it in class but this was a well thought out and deep reflection of the forbidden city. I also learned a lot about the architecture and history of the place and you also painted a vivid picture with your choice of vocabulary.