Forbidden City Research Paper

To understand the design behind the Forbidden City, one must look at Ancient Chinese beliefs and architecture. Feudal China was around for thousands of years going through several dynasties but still maintaining their beliefs and customs. Even after the Chinese monarchy came to an end structures like the Forbidden City continued to stand the test of time.
The Chinese are a very spiritual people with many beliefs that go back to the beginning of its culture. One of these core beliefs are the five cardinal points that everything in life, whether spiritual or physical, is somehow subjected to. In order of best to worst they are the center, the south, the east, the west, and the north. From the north came invaders and all sorts of strange peoples

The Inner City, later called the Tatar City by the Manchu’s, was roughly square in shape and about four by three and half miles. Included within the Inner City limits was the Imperial City, which enclosed the palaces of the Forbidden City. The overall plan for the Forbidden City, commonly called the Great Within, called for a rectangular enclosure about three-quarters of a mile long and about half a mile wide containing about two hundred and forty acres of ground. Two and a quarter miles of ramparts with four towered gates surrounded the enclosure. Two great gates stood in the center of their respective walls one on the north side and the main gate, or Meridian Gate, on the south wall. The Forbidden City was linked to the rest of the Empire through this gate by a straight road. It progressed from the far outer gate of the Chinese city through the front gate of the Tatar City, through the lesser Dynastic Gate, and finally through the Meridian Gate of the palace city itself and into the first courtyard of the Great Within. To make Embasseries or northern chieftains feel more humble this road, a great three-mile stretch, would be spread with gold dust prior to their arrival. Two other large, but less impressive, gates on the east and west sides of the Great Within stood just to the south of the center in their respective walls. On each side of the north to south central core of buildings many smaller buildings were built. These buildings included smaller palaces, living quarters and offices. Each of these buildings were carefully placed according to the importance of its role of the palace life. With only a few exceptions all of the buildings faced south. He could enjoy the shows put on while still facing south. The palaces of the Great Within were screened from the North by a man-made hill commonly called Coal Hill. It was believed by the common people