CHINA / National
Ancient document to guide Forbidden City's facelift
By Wang Shanshan (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-04-10 05:44
A giant scaffolding stands towering like some avant-garde art in the
heart of the ancient Forbidden City.
A cameraman takes a picture of the Taihe Hall, or the Hall of Supreme
Harmony, which is going to be renovated on March 28, 2006. The hall is
the central and the most important building of the Forbidden City in
Beijing. [Xinhua]
Li Yongge, a conservation expert up on the scaffold, said he felt a rush
of excitement every time he looked up from his job and caught sight of
Beijing.
Below him lies the red-walled royal palaces, their golden roofs, the
green woods of Jingshan Park and the white Buddhist pagoda beside Beihai
Lake.
"One cannot help wondering how talented our ancestors were in designing
the layout of Beijing and making the city the most beautiful one in the
world more than six centuries ago," he said.
At the centre of this great work of urban planning is the Forbidden City,
home to Chinese emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911)
dynasties.
And the focus of the palatial royal complex is the Hall of Supreme
Harmony, hidden behind the scaffold since January.
After tow months' damage assessments by Chinese and Italian conservation
experts, the Palace Museum, the administrative arm of the Forbidden City,
declared last week that it would give the hall a two-year facelift
starting in June.
This is the first renovation work on the Hall of Supreme Harmony in three
centuries.
The hall, commonly known as the Jinluan Hall, or Hall of the Golden
Throne, is the largest wooden building in the world, according to Jin
Hongkui, deputy director of the Palace Museum.
It is 35 metres high, 60 metres wide, 33 metres on both sides and stands
on a three-flight, 8-metre-high terrace of white marble.
The hall was also the most important building in Chinese politics from
the 14th to the early 20th century. Inside, 24 emperors ascended the
throne.
The nation's highest-ranking events, such as royal marriages, birthday
celebrations and declarations of war, all took place in the hall, whose
foundations are specially designed to fool would-be assassins tunnelling
into the palace on these occasions.
The foundation comprises seven layers of bricks lengthways and eight
layers crosswise.
Its hall floor was paved with "golden bricks," so-called because of the
pleasing sound they make when stepped on. The skills that went into
making them were lost after the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
The hall's interior is largely empty, but for 14 pillars supporting the
roof. The central six are gilded and painted with dragon designs while
the rest are lacquered in red.
The emperor's throne, carved of sandalwood, lies in the middle of the
hall. Above it is a gold painted caisson, or a sunken panel inside the
ceiling. From its centre hangs a large, spherical pearl called Xuanyuan
Mirror. The pearl was supposed to be able to tell right from wrong.
The hall's double-layer arched roof, which slopes down slightly to the
four eaves, has 10 gargoyles nine animals and one phoenix riding on each
of its four ridges. They were supposed to protect the building from evil
spirits.
"Just imagine the majestic scene that unfolded repeatedly in the hall for
six centuries," said Jin. "The emperor sat on his throne, the officials
knelt down below his feet, kowtowed and chanted aloud 'Long Live Your
Majesty,' with incense burning and floating in the air."
According to the deputy director, the vast building has never been
touched, except for minor maintenance work, since it was rebuilt in 1697
after being burnt down in a fire.
Two of the four sides of its arched roof, which are covered with heavy
golden glazed tiles, are sinking, said conservationists.
The glazed tiles and supporting pillars also need urgent attention,
according to Jin.
"We want to restore the hall to its original glory at the height of the
Qing Dynasty, during the reigns of Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722), Yongzheng
(1723-1735) and Qianlong (1736-1795)," he said.
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