Preface.......................................................................................01
Chapter I  Undoubtedly the World’s Premier Palace
Section 1 Birth of the Forbidden City.........................................................002
Section 2 The Initial Appearance of the Forbidden City..............................018
Section 3 The Forbidden City as State Administrative Center......................031
Section 4 The Three Rear Palaces and the Eastern-Western Six Palaces in the Forbidden City.....073
Section 5 The Architectural Concept of the Forbidden City.........................088
Chapter II  Emperors, Princes, Generals, and
Ministers in the Forbidden City
Section 1 Emperors of the Ming Dynasty in the Forbidden City...................102
Section 2 Emperors of the Qing Dynasty at its Zenith in the Forbidden City ....122
Section 3 The Turbulence in the Forbidden City During the Late Qing Period.........138
Section 4 Courtiers of the Forbidden City..................................................148
Section 5 Residents of the Forbidden City..................................................158
Chapter III  Daily Life in the Forbidden City
Section 1 Record of the Inner Court—Daily Life in the Ming Imperial Palace....178
Section 2 Entertainment in the Imperial Palace..........................................184
Section 3 The Belvedere of Literary Profundity: the Forbidden City Library...193
Section 4 Coexistence of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism in the Forbidden City........198
Section 5 The Eastward Spread of Western Learning in the Forbidden City......210
Chapter IV  From Palace to Museum
Section 1 Epitome of Ancient Chinese Architectural Art..............................220
Section 2 The Challenging Beginning of a New Era...................................225
Section 3 Rebirth Amidst National Peril.....................................................230
Section 4 The Prospect of a Premier Museum............................................237
Appendix  A Brief Chinese Chronology......................................................243

The Forbidden City, the imperial palace of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties in China, was commissioned by Zhu Di(1360-1424), Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty. The decree to construct it was issued on the 5th day of the leap seventh montha in 1406. The construction was completed on December 8th, 1420. To this day, the Forbidden City has a history spanning over 600 years. While this palace complex underwent continuous renovations and expansions during both the Ming and Qing periods, its fundamental scale and framework largely retained the planned appearance from the Yongle era (1402-1424) of the Ming Dynasty.
Historical records and surveys of previous imperial palace sites show that, when compared to imperial palaces in China since the Qin (221-206 BCE) and Han (206 BCE-220) dynasties, the Ming-Qing Forbidden City in Beijing is not only smaller in scale but also slightly less extensive than the Forbidden City built by Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398), Empeor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, in Nanjing. In terms of individual building sizes, even the largest single structure in the Ming-Qing Forbidden City, the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihe dian), falls notably short of the Tang Dynasty’s Kylin Virtue Hall (Linde dian).
Nevertheless, the Forbidden City in Beijing indisputably stands as the world's oldest surviving palace complex from a feudal dynasty, boasting the largest architectural area and the most comprehensive preservation.
In modern China, there are three places bearing the name “imperial palace”: the Imperial Palace in Beijing, the Imperial Palace in Shenyang, and the Imperial Palce in Taibei. The first two, though differing in construction periods, architectural scales, and collections of cultural relics, have now both transformed into museum-like cultural institutions established on the original sites of the Ming and Qing palace complexes. Their official names are as follows: The Palace Museum (founded on October 10, 1925), which does not require a geographic modifier, and the Shenyang Palace Museum (founded in 1926), which includes a geographic identifier. As for the third location, the National Palace Museum in Taipei, it emerged as a branch from the Imperial Palace in Beijing during a unique historical period.a In everyday conversation, when people refer to the “imperial palace” without specifying a location, it is commonly understood to be the Beijing Imperial Palace rather than the Shenyang or Taipei Imperial Palace.
Not just in China, but also for foreign visitors to the country, when “imperial palace” is mentioned, whether it’s in French as Le Palais impérial or in English as the Forbidden City, there is no need to specify a location; it is widely understood to refer to the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Whether regarded as an architectural relic of past imperial eras or as a museum holding cultural significance in contemporary society, the Imperial Palace in Beijing stands as a distinctive symbol of Chinese culture.
The allure of the Imperial Palace primarily resides in its architecture. The esteemed architectural historian, Liang Sicheng (1901-1972), once remarked, “Among the surviving Qing Dynasty structures, none surpasses the grandeur of the Imperial Palace in Peking (Beijing) ... When compared to imperial palaces around the world today, its scale and vastness are unparalleled.”b Here, let’s take a moment to compare it with some other globally renowned imperial and royal palaces.
The Louvre Palace in Paris, France, originally a medieval castle, rebuilt in 1541, has undergone four renovations over the course of more than two centuries. It was once the political and cultural center of Europe, celebrated for its grandeur and opulence, yet its actual architectural area is less than onefourth that of the Imperial Palace in Beijing.
The Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, was originally constructed in 1156 and underwent reconstruction in 1838. It is said that when it was first built, its total architectural area was equivalent to one-fourth of the entire city of Moscow. However, when compared with the Forbidden City in Beijing, it occupies less than half the area.
The Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom, constructed in 1703, continues to function as the residence and official workspace for the British royal family. However, its total architectural area is approximately one-tenth that of the Imperial Palace in Beijing.
The Tokyo Imperial Palace in Japan was reconstructed in 1873. Its entire area, including the Imperial Gardens, amounts to under one-third of the size of the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Certainly, when evaluating architecture as either excellent or inferior, the size of its architectural area is just one element that contributes to the overall structure. The aforementioned foreign palaces often impress with their grand individual buildings and their display of architectural styles from different eras (such as Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Byzantine), each with its unique characteristics. In contrast, the architecture of the Imperial Palace doesn’t seek individual building supremacy; instead, it extends the depth of its overall spatial layout, presenting a harmonious coexistence of multiple elements, including classical Chinese halls, towers,
pavilions as well as landscape features. Its vast footprint perfectly complements its rich cultural significance, which is why the Imperial Palace in Beijing is widely recognized as truly distinctive.
Another aspect of the Imperial Palace that garners global attention is its continued presence among the world’s most renowned museums. As modern civilization has evolved, both in China and abroad, former imperial palaces and gardens have often been transformed into public cultural spaces in the form of museums. Notable examples include the Louvre Palace in Paris, France, and the Winter Palace in Russia (now commonly referred to as the Hermitage Museum). In contrast, institutions like the British Museum in London, the United Kingdom, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the United States, can be categorized as purpose-built museums.
One may question the emphasis on whether a museum was purpose-built or transformed from a former imperial palace when both serve as museums. The reason is straightforward. Museums transformed from former imperial palaces, as opposed to purpose-built museums, have the buildings themselves as their most significant and precious exhibits. The valuable artifacts they display, the historical narratives they carry, and their cultural significance all constitute everlasting topics of interest.
It is precisely the Imperial Palace’s dual identity—formerly the exclusive quarters of the imperial family, known as the Forbidden City, and now a public cultural institution, the Palace Museum—that this book aims to introduce to the public. In sequence, it covers the historical buildings within the Forbidden City, the people and events within these buildings, and the modern transformation of the Imperial Palace into the world’s most culturally rich museum.