The Forbidden City – the largest imperial palace in the world – is situated in the center of Beijing and covers more than 178 acres of land in China. As an ancient Chinese legend goes, “the God resided in the heavens, known to all as the “Purple City.”” During the 17th Century, Chinese emperors claimed to be the sons of the God in an effort to justify their absolute power, and thus their homes would be considered a forbidden area to the common people. As a result, “Purple Forbidden City” became the official name for the emperor’s palace.

Since 1624, 24 emperors have called the “Purple Forbidden City” home, though many of their lives were riddled with grief and unhappiness. Instead of enjoying a long life full of opulence and happiness, as most people would imagine, the Chinese emperors were confined to a large “courtyard” within the palace and forced to live a life of solitude. It was believed that the less interaction an emperor had with society, the better they were able to maintain a mysterious image in front of the public.

Although some of the emperors died with glory by conquering enemies, ironically, the majority died having lived a life full of mockery and endless lust. One emperor in particular even committed suicide – unable to bear the anguish and solitude that came with the responsibilities of the throne. With the magnificent red walls and yellow roofs shining in the middle of the city, the palace quickly became a graveyard – engulfing the laughs, tears and dreams of its former residents.

During the 18th Century, there once were more than 100,000 employed servants who also lived in the palace of the Forbidden City during the Ming Dynasty. Even after 1911, when the last emperor of Qing Dynasty stepped down from the throne, the imperial family still maintained more than 2,000 servants to take care of their daily lives. It is said that there are 9,999.5 rooms in the palace – only half of a room less than the “Purple Palace” where the God lives in the legend. Throughout history, many of the buildings in the Forbidden City were once destroyed by fire, but most have been re-constructed.

Today, visitors to the Forbidden City can experience the palace in all of it historical beauty – exploring the Palace Museum while learning about the luxurious lives of the historic rulers of Chinese history.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 7th, 2008 at 2:59 pm and is filed under China. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.