Qing Dynasty Imperial Court

Author: Wan Yi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-16
Features: At the turn of the 20th century, the Forbidden City was still a heavily guarded imperial palace, where common people were not allowed to approach easily. From the early Ming Dynasty in 1421 to the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, for four hundred and ninety years, on this 720,000-square-meter restricted area, the arrogant emperors and nobles performed a series of real tragedies and comedies. Those people with different faces gradually disappeared over time, but their remnants—majestic palaces, luxurious furnishings, rare jewelry, elegant cultural artifacts, and everyday utensils—are still vividly present. On the worn-down square bricks trampled by cloth shoes, people can still see the layered footprints of the noble lords, warriors, literary officials, eunuchs, palace maids, craftsmen, and laborers of that time. Court life, especially the lives of the Qing emperors, empresses, and concubines, has always been shrouded in secrecy in imperial documents, making it even more mysterious. Since the Xinhai Revolution, there have been many unofficial histories, novels, films, and dramas about Qing court life, but they are often imaginative and hard to believe. In this book, you can see many contents that cannot be seen when visiting the Palace Museum. Because not only were many unpublished court artifacts used, but to recreate the historical scene, the author stayed up all night to capture extremely difficult-to-shoot night scenes and other special landscapes. Especially in pursuit of the traces of the Kang and Qian emperors' southern tours and northern hunts, the author traveled over 10,000 kilometers, and many scenes were taken through wind, rain, severe cold, and intense heat. The topic of this book is a bold attempt, covering a wide range of content, and the workload is immense.