The Palace Museum: A Panoramic Record of the Forbidden City: A Panoramic Record of the Forbidden City

Author: Wang Jinglun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-09-01
Features: The world's largest palace, located at the center of Beijing, China, it is the Forbidden City of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is the only complete imperial palace that has survived to this day from ancient China. The term "Forbidden City" is an alias for imperial palaces throughout history. Ancient emperors called their own palaces "Da Nei," while ancient officials referred to the imperial palace as "Jin Zhong." The term "Zi Jin" (Purple Forbidden) was created by incorporating the concept of astrology. Ancient astrological beliefs held that there was a Purple Forbidden Star Enclosure in heaven, the palace of the celestial emperor, and thus, the imperial palaces on earth were naturally corresponding to it. The term "Zi Jin" was formed by combining "Purple Forbidden" and "Jin Zhong." Tang Dynasty poets frequently used "Zi Jin" to refer to imperial palaces in their poems, not because they were superstitious about astrology, but because "Zi Jin" sounded more elegant than "Jin Zhong." The character "Cheng" (City) in "Zi Jin Cheng" clearly refers to the imperial palace being a city within a city. However, even in ancient times, the term "Zi Jin Cheng" was generally not used as the formal official name for the imperial palace by the court.