Beijing

Monday, May 5, 2008
Beijing

The Palace of Heavenly Purity—home to the Emperor.

(Photo credit: Picasaweb.Google.com)

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Monday, May 5, 2008
Beijing

The Inner Court consists of three halls, from south to north, as I walk through them:

The Palace of Heavenly Purity comes first, and is where the Emperor lived. As representative of Yang and the Heavens, this was the single most important hall in the Inner Court.

The Palace of Earthly Tranquility comes last, at the north end of the trio, and was the home of the Empress, who represented Yang and the Earth.

The small building in the middle, The Hall of Union, is just what it sounds like—the place Yin and Yang would meet to produce harmony (intricate carvings on the exterior feature the Imperial Dragon and the Phoenix, symbolizing the Emperor and Empress) . Today, the twenty-five Imperial Seals of the Qing Dynasty are stored, along with other ceremonial items and the official palace clocks.

Compared to the three halls in the Outer Court, the three Inner Court halls are much smaller, but make no mistake—they’re large and grand by anyone’s standards.

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Monday, May 5, 2008
Beijing

See…? Everywhere. Here, this is one of two stone lions guarding a mysterious door to a mysterious stone outbuilding. It’s tucked below the steps heading east from the south platform of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. No mention of it on the audio guide, no sign of it on the myriad of maps I have. Just a mysterious little shack that earned two Imperial lions.

Here, you see the female lioness with the cub playing beneath its paw. To its left was the other lion, complete with its orb.

Makes you wonder what’s behind door number one, hmm?

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Monday, May 5, 2008
Beijing

Everywhere you go, you see pairs of lion sculptures guarding gates and entries to palaces and halls. One always has a ball under its paw, symbolizing Imperial Power; the other is a female lioness with a cub in its paw, symbolizing the fertility of the royal family.

Bronze lion pairs signify the homes of officials; the number of bumps on the lion’s head identify how highly ranked the official is, the total falling somewhere between a maximum of thirteen and a minimum of eight. Anyone “ranked” less than seven weren’t allowed lions.

The most beautiful lion pair is at the entrance to the Gate of Heavenly Purity—the Golden Lions—shown here.

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Monday, May 5, 2008
Beijing

Each of the red double doorways marked with 9×9 gold nail heads is constructed with a high threshold—to get to the next courtyard or hall, you have to climb over the barriers that can run from a couple of inches tall to nearly a foot. The higher the step, the more important the passageway or gate.

As a sign of respect, one is not to step on the threshold, but over it, as it symbolizes the shoulders of the person inhabiting that hall.

If there‘s any place else on earth more steeped in respect and dignity, I can’t imagine where it is. Entering the Inner Court, you practically feel the heavy robes of history carefully draping over your own shoulders.

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Monday, May 5, 2008
Beijing

Somehow, I don’t get the feeling fire prevention has come a long way quite yet.

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Monday, May 5, 2008
Beijing

The Hall of Preserving Harmony marks the transition from the ceremonial Outer Court to the private Inner Court where the Emperor and his family actually lived. This smaller courtyard is a kind of “no man’s land” between home and the rest of the world.

On the back (north) side of the Hall of Preserving Harmony, there’s an intricately carved ramp flanked by two sets of steps, traversing the entire ninety-eight feet from the ceremonial hall platform to the “floor” of the Inner Court. In these carvings, dragons chase pearls through the clouds in an etherial image of the Emperor in the heavens. Only the Emperor himself was allowed to use this ramp (carried on platforms, the carriers using the steps on either side). This ramp is the largest in the Forbidden City, and is truly a sight to behold.

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