Heritage with Related Tags
Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang
The Forbidden City in Beijing was the center of the highest power in China, which ruled Beijing for five centuries (1416-1911). The Forbidden City contains gardens and numerous buildings (nearly 10,000 rooms with furniture and works of art) and is a valuable witness to Chinese civilization during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Qing Palace in Shenyang consists of 114 buildings and was built between 1625-26 and 1783. It has an important library and bears witness to the establishment of the last dynasty that ruled China, after which it expanded its power to become the center of China during the Qing Dynasty and moved the capital to Beijing. The palace later became an annex to the Forbidden City in Beijing. This magnificent building provides important historical witness to the history of the Qing Dynasty and the cultural traditions of the Manchus and other tribes in the north of China.
Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang
The Forbidden City in Beijing was the center of the highest power in China, which ruled Beijing for five centuries (1416-1911). The Forbidden City contains gardens and numerous buildings (nearly 10,000 rooms with furniture and works of art) and is a valuable witness to Chinese civilization during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Qing Palace in Shenyang consists of 114 buildings and was built between 1625-26 and 1783. It has an important library and bears witness to the establishment of the last dynasty that ruled China, after which it expanded its power to become the center of China during the Qing Dynasty and moved the capital to Beijing. The palace later became an annex to the Forbidden City in Beijing. This magnificent building provides important historical witness to the history of the Qing Dynasty and the cultural traditions of the Manchus and other tribes in the north of China.
Duanmen
Duanmen is located between Tiananmen and Wumen Gate of the Forbidden City. Between Tiananmen and Duanmen, the court rooms are arranged symmetrically on the east and west sides, with a street gate in the middle, leading to the southern part of the Ancestral Temple and the Altar of Sheji. Duanmen and Wumen also have symmetrical duty rooms on the east and west sides. The right door of the temple and the left door of the community are on the south side, leading to the middle of the Ancestral Temple and the Altar of Sheji; the left door of the que and the right door of the que are on the north side. Duanmen, Wumen, Tiananmen and the inner Thousand-Step Corridors on both sides together form two courtyards with a strong sense of depth, which become the leading ceremonial sequence for entering the palace city. The oppressive and contracted spatial atmosphere formed by the heavy doors and high walls is in sharp contrast to the Taihemen Square that suddenly opens up behind the Wumen Gate, highlighting the majesty of the emperor. Duanmen consists of a city platform and a tower, and its architectural form and volume are basically the same as those of the Tiananmen Tower. The tower is nine bays wide and five bays deep, with a double-eaved hip roof style on the roof, covered with yellow glazed tiles. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the functions of Duanmen Gate were basically the same. It was a place to store the emperor's ceremonial supplies and also a place to organize the ceremonial guards. When the emperor went on tour, he boarded the imperial carriage from Duanmen Gate, which was the beginning of etiquette. When going on tour or returning from activities such as morning court, festivals, and sacrifices, the ceremonial guards lined up neatly on both sides of the corridor, and the bells were struck at Duanmen Gate and the drums were beaten at Wumen Gate. The court rooms on both sides of Duanmen Gate were places for officials to rest and wait before going to court. Today, Duanmen Gate is officially open to the public after renovation. Duanmen Gate was first built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420) and rebuilt in the 6th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1667). In 1999, Duanmen Gate was officially opened to the public after renovation.
Altar of the Land and Grain
The Sheji Altar is located in the southwest of the Forbidden City, close to the central axis and symmetrical with the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The building complex is a rectangular building complex that is slightly longer from north to south, and is surrounded by two inner and outer walls to form a ring-shaped courtyard. The inner altar is a ritual and sacrificial space, surrounded by a square inner wall in the center, with a door on each of the four sides of the inner altar wall and the inner wall, and the altar in the center. The God Storehouse and God Kitchen are located in the southwest corner of the inner altar, and the slaughter pavilion building complex is located outside the west wall. 612 ancient trees are planted in the outer altar, creating a quiet atmosphere of the royal altar. In addition, the outer altar area also creates a garden landscape with a strong Chinese traditional interest. There are two rockery in the west, and a free-form pond in the southwest. There are waterside pavilions, Tanghuawu and other buildings around the pond. The Sheji Altar is the most complete ceremonial building complex for the royal sacrifice to Taishe and Taiji in ancient China. The outer altar, inner altar, and inner triple altar walls create a sacred sacrificial atmosphere with rich levels of change. The inner altar is the core of the sacrificial space. From south to north, along the central axis of the inner altar, there are Nantanmen, Nanxingmen, Shejitan altar, Beilingxingmen, Baidian, Jimen, Beitanmen and other buildings. After entering the inner altar, you can see the inner wall. The center of the inner wall is the Shejitan altar. The north of the inner wall is the Baidian. Jimen is located directly north of the Baidian and is slightly lower than the Baidian. Beitanmen was the entrance to the ritual sacrificial route during the Ming and Qing dynasties, so it is taller than the South Gate. Shejitan was a place for worshiping She (land) and (grains) during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The significance of worshiping Sheji and Ji is not limited to the worship of land and grains themselves, but it shows the importance of the country's territory, and has the extended meaning of praying for the country's solid foundation, prosperity, and integrity of the territory. The worship of Sheji emphasizes the influence of land and grains on the country and society, thus closely linking the national and social order with the relationship between people and land. Shetan became a park in modern times. It is the earliest royal temple in Beijing to be transformed into an urban park, and it is still open to the public as a park. The Altar of Land and Grain was first built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1420). Initially, there was only an altar in the inner altar. In the Ming Dynasty, the slaughter pavilion, the god's storehouse and god's kitchen, the worship hall and the gate were successively built. The resulting structure has been preserved to this day. Only the main buildings were repaired in the Qing Dynasty. On October 10, 1914, the Altar of Land and Grain was opened to the public as the Central Park. It was the first royal temple in Beijing to be transformed into an urban park, and witnessed the process of the publicization of the central axis of Beijing. In 1928, the Central Park was renamed Zhongshan Park and is still open to the public today.
Imperial Ancestral Temple
The Imperial Ancestral Temple is located in the southeast of the Forbidden City, and is symmetrically arranged with the Altar of Land and Grain along the central axis of Beijing. This layout emphasizes the importance of ritual traditions in the planning of the capital and strengthens the orderly urban landscape. The Imperial Ancestral Temple complex faces south and is in a regular rectangular courtyard, surrounded by the inner wall and the outer wall to form a double-ring courtyard. The main sacrificial buildings are all located in the inner wall, symmetrically distributed in the center. The sacrifice site is set up in the southeast of the outer wall. There are ancient cypresses planted in the outer wall, with 714 existing trees, creating a solemn atmosphere. The core sacrificial buildings of the Imperial Ancestral Temple are distributed in the inner wall area, from south to north, they are the Glazed Gate, the Golden Water Bridge, the Ji Gate, the Imperial Ancestral Temple Hall, the Sleeping Hall and the Peach Temple. The east and west side halls, the well pavilion, the kitchen and the storehouse are symmetrically arranged on both sides. The Hall of Sacrifice, located on a three-story Xumi pedestal, is particularly majestic and grand. As a place for the royal family of the Ming and Qing dynasties to worship their ancestors, the Imperial Ancestral Temple not only reflects the cultural tradition of "ruling the world with filial piety", but also symbolizes the legitimacy of the dynasty's ruling power being passed on within the family. It became the highest-level ancestral temple sacrificial building in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The construction of the three core buildings of the Imperial Ancestral Temple is closely related to the ancestral temple system. The Hall of Enjoyment is the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties held ancestral worship ceremonies. The side halls on the east side are used to enshrine the tablets of the meritorious royal family, and the side halls on the west side are used to enshrine the tablets of meritorious officials. The Sleeping Hall is where the tablets of ancestors are placed on weekdays; the Tao Temple is the place where the tablets of the emperor's distant ancestors are enshrined. Today, the Imperial Ancestral Temple is open to the public as the Cultural Palace of the Working People, and cultural activities such as garden tours, performances, training, and exhibitions are held for the public. The Imperial Ancestral Temple was first built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420). When it was first built, the Hall of Enjoyment and the Sleeping Hall were built in the inner wall. In the fourth year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty (1491), the Tao Temple was built to the north of the Sleeping Hall. Later, due to the change of the national sacrificial system during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial Ancestral Temple was newly built on the east and west sides of the inner wall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the 15th year of Jiajing (1536). It was later burned down by thunder and fire, and rebuilt in the 24th year of Jiajing (1545), restoring the original "same hall, different rooms" system. The planning pattern of the Imperial Ancestral Temple of the Ming Dynasty was used in the Qing Dynasty. After 1925, the Imperial Ancestral Temple was managed by the Forbidden City Museum. After the 1950s, the Imperial Ancestral Temple was opened to the public as the Beijing Working People's Cultural Palace, and cultural activities such as garden tours, performances, training, and exhibitions were held for the public and have been used to this day.