16 | Thursday, July 23, 2020 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY LIFE Editor's Note: 2020 marks the 600th anniversary of the founding of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China’s last imperial palace. China Daily journalists will talk with researchers and scholars this year to chronicle the history and legends surrounding this architectural splendor that houses over 1.86 million cultural relics. Comparing forbidden cities Similarities and differences between Beijing’s Palace Museum and the ruins of earlier palatial structures in Anhui are revealing more about little-known periods of history, Wang Kaihao reports. ow many “forbidden cit- to the Zhongdu site. ies” are there in China? “And the decorative reliefs on Several. And their simi- foundations and railings in Zhongdu larities and differences look more complicated than in Bei- Hare shedding light on ancient mys- jing. A glimpse is enough to predict teries as excavations uncover them. that the city could have been more For centuries, the Forbidden City, extravagant than the Forbidden City officially known as the Palace Muse- if its construction was completed.” um today, has stood in the heart of When the emperor returned to Beijing and witnessed the rise and Fengyang and inspected the con- fall of dynastic power and the struction site of his future palatial nation’s ongoing rejuvenation. city, he had second thoughts, Yang This roughly 720,000-square-me- says, citing Ming Shilu. It’s estimat- ter compound that served as the ed over 1 million people participated imperial palace from 1420 to 1911 is in Zhongdu’s construction. also the world’s largest surviving “Zhu Yuanzhang used to be poor, palatial complex. and he once mentioned that he tried But the prequel to this architec- to distance himself from ostenta- tural splendor, hidden about 1,000 tiousness,” Yang says. kilometers away in Fengyang coun- “For example, he ordered the dec- ty, Anhui province, is much lesser orative pavement patterns to be known worldwide, although it was simple rather than ornate.” inscribed on the list of key heritage The city was rising in the most sites under national-level protection glamorous way imaginable before as early as 1982. his eyes. The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) It’s still unknown exactly why he Zhongdu (literally, the central capi- abandoned it. tal) site could be thought of as “the “It’d be an even bigger waste to Forbidden City 1.0”. just abandon a half-constructed city, As the Forbidden City in Beijing wouldn’t it?” Wang Zhi says. embraces the 600th anniversary of “So, the common explanation is its founding this year, archaeologists’ not sufficiently convincing.” shovels will gradually reveal more History of Ming suggests the remarkable facades of the Anhui site. emperor once heard brawling on After several months of suspen- the roof when he inspected a palace. sion due to the COVID-19 outbreak, a His adviser told him that the over- new round of archaeological excava- worked craftsmen had used necro- tions on the site resumed in late May. mancy to curse the palace as a silent Since 2017, scholars from the Pal- protest. The emperor decided to ace Museum in Beijing have joined move because of this omen, accord- the Anhui Provincial Institute of ing to this account. Cultural Relics and Archaeology Nanjing, which is today’s capital of and several other institutions to Jiangsu province, became the emper- conduct research at the site, which or’s alternative as the national capital. the founding Ming emperor origi- Zhu Yuanzhang ordered builders nally planned as his capital. to prioritize stability instead of lux- The 840,000-square-meter impe- ury in his “Forbidden City 2.0” there. rial city in Zhongdu is slightly bigger His son, Zhu Di, the third Ming than its younger cousin in Beijing. Its emperor, inherited that principle. construction began in 1369, one year Zhu Di, who previously resided in after the Ming Dynasty’s founding. Beijing as a prince, won a civil war in Soon after Zhu Yuanzhang, who 1402 and moved the national capital was once a poor peasant, toppled to his home city. the ethnic Mongolian Yuan Dynasty After massive construction start- (1271-1368) in China and built up his ing from 1417 and lasting for three own empire, he decided to make his years, the “Forbidden City 3.0” in hometown the national capital. Beijing was finished, and the city An ambitious urban-infrastructure became the Ming capital a year later. project began, and the emperor later However, its predecessors, includ- bestowed the auspicious name Feng- ing the abandoned one in Fengyang yang (literally, a rising sun like a flying and the completed one in Nanjing, phoenix) upon his home county. both crumbled in the following cen- Wu Wei, the archaeologist from turies, as continuous wars and the Palace Museum in charge of the social upheavals destroyed most excavation, says a much larger outer aboveground structures. city was then planned around the palatial section. Wider horizons Archaeological investigation Wu and Yang agree that the fact shows the city could cover 50 square that there’s little archaeological evi- kilometers, including military facili- dence related to the Forbidden ties, temples, mausoleums and Top: The Forbidden City in Beijing seen from Jingshan Hill. WANG KAIHAO / CHINA DAILY City’s infancy makes doing research nobles’ residential areas in addition Middle: A bird’s­eye view of the Zhongdu site in Fengyang county, Anhui province. Above left: One of in the Palace Museum difficult. to the palatial compound. the three biggest pillar cornerstones discovered at the Zhongdu site. Above right: An excavated corner of “Just like ordinary people deco- “Zhongdu plays a crucial role in the constructional foundation of the “No 1 Palace” at the Zhongdu site. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY rate their new homes, Ming and the history of China’s urban devel- Qing emperors kept renovating and opment,” Wu tells China Daily. redesigning the palaces,” Yang says. “It inherited elements and men- layouts of its major buildings, roads jing, which was renamed Tian’anmen H-shaped layout of (Zhongdu’s) pal- “Many buildings in today’s Palace talities from previous dynasties. and waterways,” Anhui Provincial (the Gate of Heavenly Peace) in 1651. ace grounds, which is similar to the Museum were rebuilt during the And its layout, in particular, contrib- Institute of Cultural Relics research- Some local legends say there were Forbidden City,” Wu says. Qing Dynasty, partly due to fires uted to the later period. It drew a er Wang Zhi says. “five dragon bridges” underground in “The craftsmanship used to cre- Top: Wu Wei, an throughout history. And most blueprint for the Forbidden City.” “And our understanding of their the area, but Wu’s team found seven. ate the stone foundations in the two archaeologist from the remaining Ming structures like the According to Ming Shilu (The construction methods are also The bridges also have famous places is also alike.” Palace Museum, does Hall of Central Harmony are from Veritable Records of the Ming) — improving. We’ve thus gathered pre- counterparts in front of But differences have been discov- research at the Zhongdu site. the dynasty’s middle or late periods.” the comprehensive imperial annu- cious experience doing research on Tian’anmen, known as Jinshuiqiao. ered, too. Above: Tiles unearthed in The surviving imperial Ming als written by historians during the other large-scale heritage sites. Though information about Zhong- For example, remains of a corri- the “Jinshuiqiao” area of court files are also scarce. So, the dynasty — a map of the imperial city “We can’t protect Zhongdu as a du’s city gates is clearly recorded in dor were found in the western wing Zhongdu feature dragon Forbidden City’s earliest history is of the Yuan Dynasty in Beijing cluster of individual spots. Only history, detailed information about of the northern part of the “No 1 Pal- and phoenix patterns. mostly sealed underground, Yang (known during the Yuan Dynasty as when its integrity is well preserved its inner palaces are vague. ace”. Some speculate these belonged PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY points out. Dadu, or Khanbaliq) was offered as can its historical significance and “We feel like we’re filling in voids to the “Hall of Preserving Harmony”. “Fortunately, the Forbidden City is a tribute to Zhu Yuanzhang in 1369 connection with the environment in history,” Wu says. A firewall stands at the same loca- very well preserved as a zenith of Chi- as a reference to construct his own be better revealed.” tion in the Forbidden City, but Wu during the Qing Dynasty, the nese palace construction,” Wu says. capital. Indeed, more similarities among “No 1 Palace” explains that the wall was added emperor once “sat in the palace”, “However, because it’s so intact, we “From the design locating palaces the palace compounds in Zhongdu Since September, the archaeologi- during the Qing Dynasty (1644- indicating some structures were rarely have the chance to conduct along the city’s axis to the three-layer and Beijing may become apparent cal team has dug deeply in the core 1911), and the original layout during completed and even put to use, but underground excavations on the structure — the outer walled city, the as excavations of the greater area of the palatial city to further scruti- Ming Dynasty matched this new it’s unknown whether or not the “No (UNESCO) World Heritage site. After forbidden city and the palatial city — around Zhongdu proceed. nize connections between Zhongdu finding in Zhongdu. 1 Palace” was finished. all, we can’t demolish those buildings. we can see the layout of Zhongdu was For instance, there’s a hill to the and Beijing’s Forbidden City.