I've seen the thrilling war. The regime change is under way.

A.D. 1644 In August of the lunar calendar, a six-year-old boy and his mother, accompanied by a mighty entourage, left their hometown in Shengjing for Beijing. The boy's name is Fu Lin, the emperor shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty. The destination of this trip is their new home in Beijing: the Forbidden City.

For six-year-old the emperor shunzhi, this tall gate he had never seen before must have left a novel and deep impression on him.

This is the largest gate of the Forbidden City, with a height of 37.95 meters.

According to China's theory of Yin and Yang, due north is called Zi and due south is called Wu, so this gate at the southern end of the central axis of the Forbidden City is called Wu Gate.

Through the meridian gate, the true meaning of the Forbidden City appeared in front of the emperor shunzhi.

This is their new home, and owning this palace will also be a symbol of their becoming the new ruler of China.

The crimson palace walls and golden glazed tiles are the most striking features of this palace. This piece of red and gold also completely distinguishes the Forbidden City from the surrounding buildings.

The building of the Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The first half is a place to handle court affairs and hold important ceremonial activities, which is called the former court. The second half is the place where the emperor handles daily government affairs and the life of his concubines, which is called the imperial palace.

Jin Hongkui, Vice President of the Palace Museum:

This is the general layout of the Forbidden City. So many buildings are arranged in several deep axes, so these buildings are spread out in the form of courtyards. There are buildings in every yard. Every building has a master and a slave, and there is a proper match between them. This is how it uses architectural means to express the hierarchy and order expressed by feudal society and feudal ethics.

According to legend, the Jade Emperor has 10,000 Wei Zi palaces, while the Forbidden City on earth has always said that there are 9,999 and a half palaces. In fact, the Forbidden City has been changing for more than 500 years. According to 1973, there are 8704 palaces in the Forbidden City.

Some people think that the Forbidden City that the emperor shunzhi first saw may not be complete, because Regent Dourgen, who entered Beijing several months earlier than him, wrote in his report to the emperor shunzhi: Li Zicheng burned down the palace and ran away.

Li, deputy research librarian of the Palace Museum:

Li Zicheng did set fire, so what damage did the whole Forbidden City suffer? In fact, people in the Qing Dynasty all had their own positions. Textual research on the Old News of the Sun revised by the Qianlong Dynasty clearly points out that the Forbidden City is superior to the old palace, and the gains and losses are weighed. What does this mean? In other words, my renovation of the Forbidden City is based on the architecture of the Ming Dynasty. This, in turn, explains what the problem is, that is to say, the Forbidden City Palace has not been damaged on such a large scale because of Li Zicheng as in the legend.

According to the records of the Qing Dynasty, when the emperor shunzhi was six years old, he ascended the pole at Yumen, now the Taihe Gate.

In the second year of Shunzhi, the palaces on the central axis were renovated and renamed. This is the most direct embodiment of dynasty change in architecture. The Emperor Hall was renamed Taihe Hall, the Relay Hall was renamed Zhonghe Hall, and the Jianji Hall was renamed Baohe Hall. For the unstable new regime at that time, the word "harmony" contains their most urgent expectation for future world peace and harmony between the monarch and the people.

Since then, Manchu has appeared on the plaque of the Forbidden City.

The emperor shunzhi died at the age of 24, and did not wait for the peaceful and prosperous times he hoped. The year is 166 1.

Eighteen years later, on a cold winter night. The chef on the west side of the Hall of Supreme Harmony suddenly caught fire, and the fire spread all the way. Two hours later, it reached the Hall of Supreme Harmony. A few days later, six eunuchs who set fire were hanged. Since then, the Hall of Supreme Harmony has been abandoned 18 years.

During this period, the young Emperor Kangxi was busy directing campaigns and stabilizing his rule in the incomplete Forbidden City. In 16 years, the rebellion in San Francisco led by Wu Sangui was put down, Taiwan Province Province was recovered, the invading Russia was defeated, and the Sino-Russian Nebuchadnezzar Chu Treaty, the only foreign equality treaty in the Qing Dynasty, was signed.

Until the thirty-fourth year of Kangxi, the world was at peace. At this time, Emperor Kangxi could finally rebuild the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

But this time the repair encountered the biggest problem. The last reconstruction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony was during the apocalypse of the Ming Dynasty. At this time, 69 years have passed, and people do not know the exact proportion and data of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Emperor Kangxi, who loved reading at that time, personally searched for books, which disappointed him.

A man named Liang Jiu has made a great turn in this matter. Liang Jiu, who was already in his forties at that time, entered the Ministry of Industry from the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty and worked in the Ministry of Industry for more than 40 years.

According to the Biography of Liang Jiu, Liang Jiu made a wooden model of the Hall of Supreme Harmony at that time according to the ratio of ten to one, and completed the structural construction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony by enlarging the model components. It's amazing that every piece of enlarged wood can be perfectly installed.

Fortunately for future generations, all the materials and dimensions of the reconstruction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in Kangxi's thirty-four years are recorded in detail in the book Chronicle of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, which is the only detailed record about the construction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. For the Hall of Supreme Harmony, which is about to be overhauled today, this book still has important reference value.

In the thirty-sixth year of Kangxi, the Hall of Supreme Harmony was completed and the ceremony was under way. This is not only a celebration of a palace, but also the beginning of a new era of prosperity.

This is the Hall of Supreme Harmony that we saw today.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony, located on a white marble platform more than eight meters high, is the core of the Forbidden City and the climax of the whole architectural movement of the Forbidden City. All its designs are for one purpose, that is, to set off the supreme imperial power to the extreme.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony used to be the tallest building in Beijing, with a height of 36.57 meters from the courtyard to the main ridge, which is equivalent to the height of a 12-story building.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony is also the largest building in the Forbidden City. The area is 238 1 m2, which is equivalent to the size of half a football field. Its aspect ratio is exactly nine to five, representing the ninth five-year plan.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony, followed by the Hall of Zhonghe and the Hall of Baohe constituted the main body of the previous dynasty, and people used to call it the Three Great Halls.

The architecture of the Forbidden City is related to the number nine in many places, and nine is the largest and embodies the supreme significance. Like nine rows of nine-way doornails on the gate, nine beasts on the eaves and so on.

But for the Hall of Supreme Harmony, even nine at most is not enough to express its majesty, so there are ten beasts on its roof. This extra one is called Shi Hang, which is the only one among all the ancient buildings in China.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the largest wooden structure building in the world at present.

In this so-called largest hall in the world, the layout is quite simple.

Against the abutment, the emperor's throne is the only protagonist. Looking around, the majesty of imperial power radiates to every corner.

There are seventy-two pillars in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The six pillars around the throne are covered with gold, and each pillar has a dragon, which is a symbol of imperial power.

Looking up from these six pillars, there is a dragon on the algae well, and the orb hanging from the Longkou is also called Xuanyuan mirror.

Emperor Kangxi rebuilt the Hall of Supreme Harmony, changing the original shape of nine bays into eleven bays. It can be said that this is the most practical transformation in this reconstruction.

Zhou, Deputy Director of the Ancient Architecture Department of the Palace Museum:

In the thirty-fourth year of Kangxi's reconstruction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, considering the factors of fire prevention, the wooden inclined gallery was changed into a brick wall, and the verandahs on both sides of the Hall of Supreme Harmony were changed into rooms, forming the pattern of eleven rooms wide as we see now. In fact, it has not changed the original pattern of nine corridors around it.

In June 2004, the survey before the overhaul of the Forbidden City entered the roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and we followed them to shoot.

This is the beam frame of the largest wooden building in the world.

"Ji 'ao Color Painting" was painted when Kangxi rebuilt it in the thirty-fourth year. It is the highest level of color painting in Hexi, with a history of more than 300 years.

Our camera also captured a mysterious object here.

It is in the center of the top of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, just above the algae well.

This is the board that Yong Zhengdi ordered to be put here.

We found a passage in the palace archives of the First Historical Archives: On August 12th, Yongzheng, Yong Zhengdi ordered three memorial tablets to be placed in hall of mental cultivation, Hall of Supreme Harmony and Gan Qing Palace.

Li Guorong, Director of Editing and Research Department of the First Historical Archives:

Placement of the blessing board was originally a very important content in ancient architecture and geomantic omen, in order to protect the town house, ward off evil spirits and ensure peace. Apart from the traditional Taoist gossip, these tablets of Yongzheng (the emperor) also added spells of Tibetan Buddhism, reflecting that he was used by various religions to keep peace.

Yong Zhengdi's placing of Fu Pai undoubtedly shows that the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Gan Qing Palace and hall of mental cultivation are the most important places in the Forbidden City, while the other two palaces are all in the palace except the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Compared with previous dynasties, the second half of the Forbidden City is collectively called the Imperial Palace, including the last three palaces where emperors and empresses lived, the sixth palace where concubines lived and the five officials where princes lived. At this point, the movement of the Forbidden City architecture changed from a masculine climax to a feminine adagio.

Gan Qing Palace, Kunning Palace and Jiaotai Hall are collectively called the last three palaces.

Gan Qing Palace was the living room of the emperor before Yong Zhengdi. The palace used by the same emperor is lower than the hall of supreme harmony of the previous generation 1 1 m, and the area is smaller 1000 square meters. People will feel relaxed when they are in it.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were nine warming pavilions in Gan Qing Palace, which were divided into two floors, similar to today's duplex buildings, with 27 beds arranged up and down, which the emperor could choose at will. In the Qing Dynasty, the East-West Warm Pavilion was changed into a study.

In the Ming Dynasty, Kunning Palace was the queen's bedroom. By the Qing Dynasty, the interior decoration of this palace had changed greatly, and it became the palace with the most Manchu characteristics on the central axis.

It runs through the room, and there are fire kang on the west, north and south sides. The kang in the west is used for offering sacrifices to the gods in the morning, the kang in the north is used for offering sacrifices to the gods at night, and the northeast corner is cook the meat's kitchen for offering sacrifices. This layout comes from the living customs of Manchu folk "pocket room" and "Wanzikang".

It can be seen from the inscription of Kunning Palace hanging in the East Warm Pavilion of Kunning Palace that the layout of Kunning Palace was copied from the Qingning Palace where the Queen of Shenyang Forbidden City lived before entering the customs.

Besides the queen, there are many emperors' concubines in the harem. They live in palaces on both sides of the last three palaces, which are always called the East, West and Sixth Palace.

Wang Zilin, Deputy Research Librarian of the Palace Museum:

The six palaces of the East and the West are taken from Zhou Li's system of six rooms and six palaces, but they are more integrated into the philosophy of Yin and Yang in Zhouyi formed since the Han Dynasty. Seen from the plane, its architectural layout is an image of Kun Gua, symbolizing Yin, that is to say, concubines live in this place. Its function can be reflected in the naming of the palace. For example, Chenggong Palace, why is it called Chenggong Palace? That is to say, concubines who live in this place should inherit the emperor, so the buildings in the East, West and Six Palaces embody the ethical thoughts of the Three Cardinals and the Five Permanent Principles, especially the husband's wife.

The architectural form of the six palaces in the East and West is much lower than that of the last three palaces, which reflects the subordinate position of the concubines living here.

This is a beautiful painting by Yong Zhengdi. Every emperor hopes that Long Mai will continue and its descendants will prosper, so that the dynasties will prosper and the country will be stable forever.

1856, with a baby crying, the fate of a woman's life was changed. She was the Empress Dowager Cixi who later ruled China for 48 years.

Palace of Gathered Elegance was her residence when she first entered the palace, but the interior decoration we see now was renovated and decorated with 632,000 silver on her 50th birthday.

Orchid, considered by the ancients in China to have the fragrance of king and the symbol of giving birth to a boy, combined with the pattern of longevity stone, suggests that it is suitable for men to live longer, so this kind of painting is widely used in partition fans in Palace of Gathered Elegance.

Perhaps coincidentally, Empress Dowager Cixi was made a noble orchid when she first entered the palace, and soon gave birth to the later Tongzhi emperor. Mothers are more important than children, and their status is more and more prominent. The bedroom decoration is also very luxurious. Dragons have appeared in the courtyard furnishings in Palace of Gathered Elegance, which is the only example among the six eastern and western palaces.

The Forbidden City hall of mental cultivation was an ordinary palace before Yong Zhengdi.

After Yong Zhengdi ascended the throne, he did not live in Gan Qing Palace as usual. He said: His father Emperor Kangxi lived in Gan Qing Palace for more than 60 years, and he really couldn't bear to live there again. He decided to move to hall of mental cultivation outside Yuehuamen, and asked the temple to be slightly repaired and kept simple.

Yong Zhengdi's decision changed the pattern of the imperial palace in the Forbidden City. Since then, hall of mental cultivation has become more and more important in the Forbidden City.

After the sudden emergence of Yangxintang, it has not been simple, and the supporting decoration has quickly followed. In the Forbidden City, the quality of lighting is one of the important symbols to measure the status of the palace. In order to improve the lighting in hall of mental cultivation, it became the first palace with glass in the Forbidden City. In the first year of Yongzheng, the Qing government office "working documents?" "Woodwork" records that "there is a decree on the first day of October, hall of mental cultivation is the back bedroom, and two pieces of glass are installed in the east and west windows of the hall north".

At that time, glass was a rare thing, all imported from overseas.

Hall of mental cultivation is located near the former dynasty, where the emperor rested and worked. The second half of the palace is the bedroom, where the emperor rests. If he wants to handle government affairs, he can go to the front office to handle his work in less than a minute through this aisle, which greatly improves efficiency.

From Yong Zhengdi to the demise of the Qing Dynasty, eight emperors in the Qing Dynasty used hall of mental cultivation as a place to live and handle government affairs. Here, they left their own different life marks.

A small palace witnessed the history of a dynasty from prosperity to decline.

In the hierarchical and solemn Forbidden City, there is a building with different styles that reveals a smart and romantic atmosphere. This is Ningshou Palace Garden, commonly known as Ganlong Garden. It is the masterpiece of Emperor Qianlong. He is handsome and likes to travel.

This garden was built in the northeast corner of the Forbidden City. Long and narrow, winding and secluded, the four hospitals are connected and the scenery is different.

Emperor Qianlong visited Jiangnan six times, and the most beautiful scenery in Jiangnan was in the garden.

The garden also shows the profound influence of Han traditional culture on Emperor Qianlong.

In ancient China, there was a ritual activity of praying for blessings called appreciating the moon, which later evolved into a custom for adults to go for an outing in late spring. At this time, the literati also invited Fang, the most famous of which was recorded in Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Lanting Pavilion.

The clear water flows in the meandering canal. Whoever stops in front of the seat with the floating glass will have to sing poetry, otherwise, he will be punished and admit defeat. This is "winding water, happy." Based on this, Emperor Qianlong named this pavilion "Appreciation Pavilion".

There is also a building named "Sanyouxuan" in the garden, the interior of which is decorated with pine, bamboo and plum. Pine trees are tall and straight, wintersweet is cold and open, and bamboo poles are tall and straight. All three are cold and ungrateful, so they are called "Three Friends of the Year". Ancient literati compared integrity with these three plants. Emperor Qianlong not only used Sanyouxuan to show his elegance, but more importantly, he conveyed an attitude of ideological integration between Qing emperors and Han intellectuals.

The construction of Gan Long Garden is only a small part of this huge construction project.

Since the Kangxi Dynasty, after more than 70 years of governance, China's agricultural economy and comprehensive national strength reached its peak in the Qianlong period.

Emperor Qianlong began to rebuild the Forbidden City on the largest scale since it was built in 1420. Among them, two important projects are closely related to the reform of the political system.

The first is the reconstruction of the Second Hospital of West Jiangxi and its surroundings.

Ganxi No.2 was the residence of Emperor Qianlong when he was a prince. Why did he carry out a large-scale renovation here? This should also start with the emperor's storage system.

Before Yong Zhengdi, the establishment of the Crown Prince was often accompanied by fierce and bloody court struggles, so Yong Zhengdi switched to the secret storage method. He personally wrote two letters to decide the heir to the throne. One was hidden behind the fair plaque in Gan Qing Palace, and the other was carried by him. When the emperor was alive, he kept this secret. After the death of the emperor, the comparison between the two sides is correct, and a new king can be announced.

Emperor Qianlong, as the first emperor who came to power under the secret storage system, did not enjoy the treatment of the prince for a day, so he wanted to upgrade the status of his former residence, Gan Xi Second Hospital, from the palace to the palace, in order to emphasize the legitimacy of his succession to the throne.

After the renovation, the main building of Sanjin Courtyard was renamed as Jingshitang, Zhonghua Palace and Cui Yun Pavilion. Traditionally, it is called China Palace. The name of China Palace comes from the proposal of Han Minister Zhang. Zhong Hua refers to "Shun", an ancient sage monarch. Emperor Qianlong, who was quite proficient in China culture, was happy to adopt this suggestion.

After the renovation of Ganxi No.2 Hospital was completed, several surrounding palaces were also renovated, which became the ancillary facilities of China Palace: Ganxi No.1 Hospital in the east was changed to Shufangzhai, and a small stage was built indoors, named Ya, for the emperor to watch some small plays, and a big stage was added in the courtyard. They are the earliest stages in the Forbidden City.

Emperor Qianlong moved to hall of mental cultivation after he ascended the throne, but he always used the comfortable China Palace as a place to meet his family and secret officials.

Emperor Qianlong, who believed in Tibetan Buddhism, also built Yuhua Pavilion, the most important Tibetan Buddhist building in the Forbidden City, in the southwest of China Palace. Tibetan Buddhism entered the palace in Yuan Dynasty and reached its peak in Qing Dynasty. The building of Yuhua Pavilion not only met the emperor's personal needs of worshipping Buddha, but also played a more important role in connecting the religious beliefs of various ministries in Mongolia and Tibet in China's border areas, strengthening national integration and consolidating national unity.

The second important project closely related to the reform in the renovation of the Forbidden City is the construction of Ningshou Palace.

Shortly after his accession to the throne, Emperor Qianlong announced that he would abdicate the throne to his son in order not to surpass his grandfather Emperor Kangxi, who had been in power for 6 1 year. This change in the way of succession to the throne means that a retired emperor will appear in the Forbidden City for the first time.

Ningshou Palace is the retirement place of Emperor Qianlong. As the palace of the emperor, Ningshou Palace is no less than the residence of the emperor. It is also divided into the former dynasty and the imperial court, and various supporting facilities are complete. This is almost a miniature Forbidden City. The cost of Ningshou Palace reached1300,000 taels of silver. Only this pair of gilded bronze lions in front of Ningshou Gate spent 334 taels of gold.

It is undoubtedly the most important project to build a retired palace for the emperors of the dynasties. The Ministry of Industry has concentrated the top craftsmen in the country. One of them is an architectural design family named Lei.

This is the exterior design of all buildings from the central axis of the Forbidden City to the Kunning Palace, which is more than five meters long. The names of all buildings and the distance between them are clearly marked on them, and the data is accurate to inches.

This family has been engaged in royal architectural design for more than 200 years since Kangxi.

In the renovation project they presided over, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven were listed as world cultural heritage.

This design family with seven generations living under one roof is also called "Style Lei" family.

The architectural design in ancient China adopted the combination of text description, drawings and thermal samples. The so-called hot sample is a three-dimensional design model. It is a unique product of ancient architectural design in China. Now, the Forbidden City still retains the hot samples made by Lei's family.

Hot samples are made of cardboard, straw and wood. After the model is made, you need to iron the details with a small soldering iron, hence the name ironing sample.

This is a hot sample designed by the Lei family for Changchun Palace in the Forbidden City in the late Qing Dynasty. In summer, a huge pavilion was built in Changchun Palace. In the relevant part of the hot sample, there are specific text descriptions and building dimensions. After layers of exhibition, we can clearly see the internal structure of the building. At that time, the hot samples were mainly for the emperor to watch. The emperor's will is the ultimate basis for determining the construction of the palace.

After the completion of Ningshou Palace, a luxurious little Forbidden City, Emperor Qianlong never lived there for a day. After his abdication, he still lived in hall of mental cultivation and was in charge of state affairs until his death in A.D. 1799 at the age of 89.

From Yongle period of Ming Dynasty to Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty, the Forbidden City has been built, rebuilt and repaired for more than 300 years, and finally achieved today's appearance. And the history of the interpretation of the Forbidden City will continue in a magnificent way.