There are abundant historical documents about the Forbidden City, but there are few records about its designers and builders. "Scholars, farmers and businessmen" was a social law that had been followed at that time, so the social status of craftsmen at that time was not high. Therefore, even though the construction of this city cost millions of construction workers, only a few people left their names in the history books. As for who designed it, it has become a mystery of history.

Finally, with the unremitting efforts of many experts, the identity of the builder of the Forbidden City gradually surfaced. There are several reasonable speculations about the identity of this great builder:

First of all, some experts think that its builder should be a man named Kuai Xiang.

The second theory holds that its builder should be Cai Xin.

According to the third theory, his builder should be a bricklayer named Yang Qing.

In short, experts have different opinions, each of which sounds quite reasonable, so let's introduce these three people one by one.

First of all, let's talk about Kuaixiang. Speaking of Kuai Xiang, he is a legend. To exaggerate, his life experience can probably be written into a book. If we want to talk about Kuai Xiang, we should talk about why the Forbidden City was built.

Speaking of Judy, I think everyone is familiar with it. There were not many emperors in the Ming dynasty, and there were not many capable ones. When it comes to Judy, there are different views on him in history. Some people say that he is cruel and suspicious, and his hands are covered with blood. Some people think that he is one of the few wise monarchs in the history of the Ming Dynasty.

We won't comment on the merits and demerits of the controversial emperor for the time being today. Let's look at his relationship with the Forbidden City. According to legend, after he captured Nanking, Wen Jian's whereabouts were unknown. For him who has just ascended the throne, a former emperor who doesn't know whether he is alive or dead will inevitably become a heart disease for him. After all, his throne is not bright.

The first statement: Fast Xiang.

According to the most popular saying, the designer of the Forbidden City was an outstanding craftsman in the Ming Dynasty, and his surname was Mingxiang ("Ku m 4 I"). Born in the thirty-first year of Hongwu and died in the seventeenth year of Chenghua, he was born in Xiangshan, Wuxian County, Suzhou. At that time, there was a Xiangshan gang among the craftsmen who went to Beijing, all of whom were Xiangshan people in Wuxian or their disciples. They are often good at carpentry, among which there are many excellent masons, painters, masons, dust collectors, sculptors and painters, and Kuai Xiang is the best among the craftsmen of Xiangshan School.

Xiang Kuai

The emperor called him "Kuailuban".

Kuai Xiang is very clever. When building palaces and castles, he can draw design drawings with a little calculation. After the construction is completed, the size and design of the building are exactly the same. Kuai Xiang's architectural attainments are highly respected, and the emperor "often calls it Kuailuban". The Forbidden City was built in 1420, and it caught fire only nine months later because of lightning. It was not until the orthodox years that the imperial court was renovated, and this time Kuai Xiang was in charge. In a map of Miyagi in Ming Dynasty collected by China History Museum, the figure painted under Chengtianmen (equivalent to Tiananmen Square today) is said to be Kuai Xiang.

Kuai Xiang later served as Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Industry. Although he resigned and retired in his later years, whenever someone asked him about construction projects, he was very enthusiastic to make suggestions. There used to be a Kuaishilang Hutong in Beijing. It is said that he once lived there. Most of the descendants of Kuaixiang inherited his skills. Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was still a saying that "Jiangnan craftsmen all came from Xiangshan".