Passersby of the Forbidden City

Author: Wang Chongxiao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: This book (Ming Dynasty Edition) revolves around the residents of the Forbidden City— the Zhu family—presenting the destinies and human nature of those associated with them. The author, with delicate brushwork and abundant sentiment, allows readers to perceive the richness and emptiness of the characters, even down to the subtle glances that pass through their eyes during moments of sorrow. A heart of compassion is revealed here. It is through this that he manages to transcend the flow of time, delve into the inner world of those characters, and narrate their stories. The great architecture has finally become an immortal symbol. This vast historical city, from the day it was born, seems to have destined those within it to be merely hurried passersby in its empty interior. Perhaps, the author, while filming the documentary The Forbidden City, wandering beside the silent palace walls, allowed those fleeting glimpses, the sorrow of passersby, to linger in his ears until they flowed out from his pen.