What we are now approaching is the main entrance to the Palace Museum-the Meridian Gate,which is characterized by red walls,yellow glazed-tile roofs and upturned eaves.On top of these walls,yellow glazed-tile roofs and upturned eaves.On top of this magnificent building,there stand five lofty halls with a main hall in the center.The main hall is roofed by multiple eaves and covers a space of 9 room-units.It is flanked by two wings on each side.The wings are square in shape,complete with multiple and four edged eaves and pinnacles.All of these structures are connected by a colonnade.Because these halls resemble a soaring bird,it was also know as wufenglou(Five-phoenix Tower).Inside the main hall there is a throne.Drums and bells were stored in the wings.Whenever the emperor presided over grand ceremonies or observed rites in the Hall of Supreme Harmony,drums,bells and gongs would be struck to mark the occasion.
As the legend goes,the Meridian Gate used to be a place where condemned ranking officials would be executed.This is not true.However,flogging was carried out here by the Ming emperors,If a courtier falls afoul of the emperor,he would be stripped of his court dress and flogging with a stick.At one point the punishment became so harsh that a total of 11 people died from fatal wound on a single occasion.On the other hand,this building was also used to observe important occasions like the traditional Chinese Lantern Festival(15th day of the first lunar month).On these occasions,Chinese lanterns would be hanged and sumptuous banquets would be given in honor of the whole court of ministers and other ranking officials.
Upon entering the Meridian Gate we begin our tour of the Palace Museum.The river flowing in front of us is known as Jin Shui He(Golden Water River)and the five marbles bridges spanning it are known as the Inner Golden Water Bridges.The one in the middle was used exclusive by the emperor and its banisters were carved with dragon and phoenix designs.The bridges flanking the imperial one were reserved for princes and other royal members.The rest were used by palatines.Aside from decoration,the golden Water River was also dug as precaution against fire.Most of the structures within the Palace Museum are made of wood.What is more,according to ancient Chinese cosmology,the South is the abode of fire,so this brook was dug on the southern tip of the Palace.In this way,the Palace Museum reflects traditional Chinese culture.
This building is called the Gate of Supreme Harmony.In the foreground stands two bronze lions.Can anybody tell which is male and which is female?The one on the east playing with a ball is male,symbolizing power and universal unity.The other on the west with a cub cuddling underneath its claw is female,representing prosperity the endless succession.A layout of the Palace Museum is posted by the entrance.From it,you can see that the Palace Museum has two main parts:the forecourt and the inner court.The three main halls constitute the mainstay of the forecourt,and it was here that the emperor announced decisions and observed rites.Behind the forecourt there is the inner court,consisting of major halls and the Imperial Garden.It was where the emperor attended state affairs,lived and enjoyed his luxurious life.The exhibition system of the Palace Museum involves historical court relics and articles of ancient art and culture.
The Palace Museum houses nearly one million articles of rare treasure,or one sixth of the total number in all of China's museums.There are the three main halls of the Palace Museum,built on a triple marble terrace.Since most of China's architecture is made of wood,the buildings cannot be too tall.To gain the height of the architecture,ingenious ancient artisans built the hall on a gigantic stone terrace.It is also to this end that not a single plant was grown in the square.On stairways of triple marble terrace there are 18 bronze tripods.The verandah is flanked by bronze tortoises and cranes,which served as symbols of longevity.On the east is a sundial,an ancient timepiece.On the west there is a grain measure suggesting that the emperor was just and equitable.
In the front and on each flank,there is a pair of gilt bronze vats(caldrons)molded during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.Each of these weights 2 tons and is filled with water as a precaution in the event of a fire.The structure in the very middle is the Hall of Supreme Harmony,also known as the throne hall.It is 64 meters in width and is 38 meters from entrance to rear.With terrace exclusive,the hall is 26.92 meters in height and is 35.03 meters in all.Covering and area of 2,377 square meters,the Hall of Supreme Harmony is China's largest existing wooden structure.The hall is supported by 6 thick,round pillars carved in a design of coiling dragons.As the holiest place in the hall,the ceiling and colored patterns were made of the finest material available at that time.The throne was placed on a terrace and is flanked by statues of elephants,Luduan(a unicorn which could travel 18,000 kilometers a day and understand all languages),cranes and incense barrels.
Over the throne there is the caisson,or covered ceiling,which consists of a coiling dragon playing with a ball in its mouth.This ball is known as Xuanyuan Mirror,and was supposedly made by a Chinese emperor of remote times to serve as a reminder that thee rulers to follow were his hereditary heirs.The throne is made of nanmu and painted in gold.Magnificently built and luxuriously decorated;this hall did not serve as a place in which the emperor attended to daily affairs.He used his hall for major events such as his birthday,conferral of title of empress or dispatch of generals to war.
