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<p align="CENTER"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">Zijin Cheng - A Terrestrial Connection to Something More</span></span></p>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> The many dynasties and cultures of China have provided the world with countless artifacts and works of art that deserve our admiration and respect. Among these, however, one stands tallest, not just in height, but as a representation of Chinese history and culture. Constructed between 1406 and 1420, The Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties, located in the Forbidden City is a massive endeavor that in many ways shaped the way we view those cultures and histories now. This palace is a feat of architecture that needs to be preserved for future generations to appreciate, as it is one of the best insights into Chinese art, life, culture and history that has ever been produced.<!--more--></span></span>

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">Literally translated as “Purple Forbidden City” from the Chinese Zijin Cheng, the walled off area served as the terrestrial home of the Emperor, who was believed to be of Celestial origin (Beijing Attractions). In this city was the specific palace where the Emperor resided. It is interesting to note that the idea of the city being forbidden was relating to the concept that no one could enter or leave the city without the Emperor's express permission. </span></span>

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> Upon its initial establishment, under the reign of Zhu Di, The Forbidden City relocated the capital of the empire back to Beijing. The construction was a massive endeavor requiring over a million works of all types and lasted just over 15 years. From this point, it served at the political capital for those in charge of the country until 1912, when the last Emperor of China was abdicated. Over the next 13 years, Puyi, the abdicated Emperor, remained in the inner city, and the outer court was given to the public. In 1925, after a coup, the Palace Museum was created of the Forbidden City (UNESCO). Countless works of art and history had been preserved in the city for ages, and would continue to be stored and protected there, even through various occupations and damages to the city itself. One of the best facts I was able to grab that just gave the scope of the lasting power of the palace was that “</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">the Forbidden City was the imperial home of 24 emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties” (Architecture) .</span></span>

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> One of they key elements to the city being preserved for so long was it's initial construction. The walls reach nearly 10 meters high, spanning a circumference 3,430 meters(Architecture) . Each corner plays host to a magnificent watchtower. Each wall was crafted with a technique of “rammed earth” core. This was essentially a triple layered wall with custom bricks on both sides filled with mortar. The towers, two in the outer court and two in the inner were representations of ancient lore and recreations of older pavilions. The remaining inner area then played host to “90 palaces and courtyards, 980 buildings and 8704 rooms” (Beijing Attractions). All of this was also done in such a way that it would be aligned with a central axis of Beijing, tying it indefinitely to the world and the terrestrial realm. </span></span>

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> Initially when looking at the palace, aside from it's awe-inspiring span, it feels very representative of the time and culture. Like the palaces of dynasties past, it maintains the inner and outer court format. As stated previously, some aspects of the construction even drew upon the older palaces and pavilions, such as the Yellow Crane Pavilion. It held true to many of the construction standards, with symbolism specifically. Many yellow tones were used, to show the significance of the Emperor and his divine origins. Each hall is arranged in groups of three, a triagram depicting Heaven (Architecture). We also see many of the decorations adhering to a similar standard, with imagery such as dragons and phoenixes and maintaining specific numbering patterns important to the religious beliefs of the time (UNESCO). If we look at the Ming Dynasty Tombs, we can see much of the same imagery and deification of specific numbering patterns as well.</span></span>

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> Where we begin to see a divergence from the norm is actually in how much of the workforce's culture made it into the Forbidden City. While most jobs of this nature, including this one to an extent, were fueled by slave labor, the construction of Zijin Cheng was primarily utilizing the local citizens of Beijing. Between being directly focused on improving their own presence in the city, many of these citizens were also able to create thriving livelihoods because of the new capital area. This shift in labor forces led the construction to take on new elements. Instead of containing exclusively religious iconography from a central belief system, multiple religions were represented in the décor and art. Eventually, in 1644, shamanism actually gained a much larger representation in the palace, though elements of it had been present from its origins (Imperial Palaces). That stands in direct opposition to other construction projects of the era, even within the Ming and Qing dynasties. Take for instance the previous capital of Nanjing. Many of the buildings are basic stone, lacking large amounts of detail or iconography past the basics. </span></span>

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> The people of China, and Beijing in particular almost immediately accepted the relocation of the capital. Between the refocus of political power and the beauty of Zijin Cheng, it was an immediate success. It became a center for politics, learning and art. Even though it was not a museum, tons of art was stored there and the people understood that it was for the protection and preservation. Also by choosing to align the palace with the central axis of Beijing, it was tied to the city and the population of Beijing saw that to tie it to them directly as well.</span></span>

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> We see much of that same reaction in this day and age. Though with the scope of all history to judge, we can also see more. We can see The Forbidden City as much more than just a palace and home of the divine. We can see it as the culmination of thousands of years of culture, religion, technology and advancement of Chinese culture. </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">Zijin Cheng also acts as a tourist hub for northern China. To this day, people flock from across the world to experience the inspiring nature of the palace. It could definitely be assumed that the establishment of the museum is representative of today's view of the city. Still today we can appreciate the massive endeavor that was the construction. A 15 year time frame, in the 1400 is an amazing feat, especially considering that the structure is still standing. </span></span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">For cultural hubs and bastions of culture and information about a people, it is hard to find an equal of the Forbidden City. We actually have one readily accessible to us however, though its construction came long after the fact. Built between 1847 to 1855, in Washington D.C. the Smithsonian's central building, also known as "The Castle" stands today as a symbol of American innovation, ingenuity and culture. While this was a much smaller scale project that Zijing Cheng, it represents many of the same goals. Zijin Cheng was a house for an emperor, and designed drawing from the past of their own culture. The Smithsonian Castle was designed drawing from other cultures, in a more Gothic style (GoSmithsonian). Instead of having a central and ancient culture to draw from, the architects had to look to other cultures. </span></span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">Construction wise, we see the division between how these two projects unified a culture. Zijin Cheng was glorious in the way that it called upon the locale to help build and lend its voice. The Smithsonian Castle, while representing a culture, used an incredibly small representation of that culture to construct it. This says more about the societies and times these were constructed in than anything else, but it is definitely worth a consideration. The Forbidden City also has infinitely more symbolism and religious representation in the actual buildings and construction. By containing the symbols and construction techniques dictated by a faith and commitment to a world beyond, there is an added beauty, though it was not an intent. The Castle on the other side of the same coin, was intentionally devoid of symbols and iconography. It was instead carefully selected what bricks would be used for aesthetic purposes. Much of this also lies in necessity and how that was determined and valued by the cultures at the time. The Chinese Dynasties sought more importance out of the Celestial realm and its representation, where as the Americans had more value in the importance of ease and innovation.</span></span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">Now, this may seem like these two projects have more differences that similarities at this point, but the similarities they have hold a great deal of significance. These similarities are representative of a deep level of humanity I feel. Both the Forbidden City and the Smithsonian Castle hold a great degree of significance in numbers. Where we see threes and fives traditional to Chinese religion, The Castle holds fours and twos, which are numbers central to Christianity and those traditions. Now it may not have been the intent to include those numbers religiously, but they were deeply embedded into the culture. The two are also aligned in what initially appears as a random way, but upon further investigation, we can see their true axis. The Castle was centered so it could act as a focal point, which was also the idea behind constructing something so large and important as Zijin Cheng. The Forbidden City was set up strangely on its axis with Beijing, but that served to make it a perfect capital and point of pride for the city. Both structures also hold a great degree of importance in towers. Towers are man's way of being able to watch over their kingdom and protect what has been created. And of course, the two also have housed important and great art since their completion and now both function as museums.</span></span></span>

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> Researching Zijin Cheng and learning about everything it holds actually felt rather overwhelming at times. I can only hope that mirrored even a slight bit what someone must feel when standing in the courtyards and gazing upon the palace and buildings. This entire Forbidden City is one of the largest and most important symbols of Chinese culture and the vast history that made up centuries. The entire time writing this proposal, I was astounded that this massive enterprise was complete and functioning before the Americas had even been discovered by the rest of the world, it was rather humbling. I truly hope that this Palace can be preserved for future generations to experience the history it holds.</span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif">The Forbidden City holds some of the greatest treasures of Chinese art and culture that the world will ever have. It is one of the most important museums that has ever been established, and to this day they continue to locate and uncover new pieces that were not previously catalogged. As a bastion for Chinese representation of culture and history this place must be preserved, but it steps even further than that. Zijin Cheng is a massive endeavor representative of the power, timelessness and unflinching nature of those who built it, occupied it and revere it. The innovations in architecture an d shift towards a structure for the people by the people are one of the best examples of society progressing and creating something that can last for hundreds of years on its own strength.</span></span>

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<p align="CENTER"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif">Works Cited</span></span></p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">Elliott, Jeannette Shambaugh, and David L. Shambaugh. </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"><em>The Odyssey of China's Imperial Art Treasures</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">. Seattle: University of Washington, 2005. Print.</span></span></span></p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">A good base to get a pretty broad picture of Chinese Art and Architecture. I used it to get a feel for what was natural and common to the era.</span></span></span></p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">"The Forbidden City." </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Chinese Culture</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. &lt;</span></span></span><span style="color: #000080"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa121297.htm"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa121297.htm</span></span></a></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">&gt;.</span></span></span></p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">A brief history of the city along with some more detailed descriptions of specific structures. I was able to take some of this info to look into other structures for comparison.</span></span></span></p>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">"Forbidden City in Beijing China - Architecture in the Forbidden City in Beijing." </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Architecture and House Styles and Building Design</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">. Web. 05 Oct. 2011. &lt;</span></span></span><span style="color: #000080"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://architecture.about.com/od/asiasouthasia/ig/Ancient-Beijing/Forbidden-City.htm"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">http://architecture.about.com/od/asiasouthasia/ig/Ancient-Beijing/Forbidden-City.htm</span></span></a></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">&gt;.</span></span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">Some quick and easy facts, mainly used to catalog the varying structures. Very useful as a tool for comparison.</span></span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">"Forbidden City, The Forbidden City in Beijing, The Forbidden City in China</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">， </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">Beijing Attractions." </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"><em>China Travel, China Travel Agency, China Tours, Yangtze River Cruise</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">. Web. 05 Oct. 2011. &lt;</span></span></span><span style="color: #000080"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://www.chinahighlights.com/beijing/forbidden-city/"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">http://www.chinahighlights.com/beijing/forbidden-city/</span></span></a></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">&gt;.</span></span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">A travel guide ranking spots in China. Incredibly useful for historical information. I got much of history and background from this site, as well as a lot of the religious info.</span></span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">"Imperial China: The Art of the Horse." </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Kentucky Educational Television: Explore Kentucky. Explore the World.</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> Web. 07 Oct. 2011. &lt;</span></span></span><span style="color: #000080"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://www.ket.org/artofthehorse/"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">http://www.ket.org/artofthehorse/</span></span></a></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">&gt;.</span></span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">Another great catalog of art of China. Gave me a great perspective of how important symbolism was and how rooted it was in culture.</span></span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">"Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang." </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"><em>China.org.cn - China News, Weather, Business, Travel &amp; Language Courses</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">. Shenyang Imperial Palace Management Office. Web. 06 Oct. 2011. &lt;</span></span></span><span style="color: #000080"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://www.china.org.cn/english/kuaixun/74855.htm"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">http://www.china.org.cn/english/kuaixun/74855.htm</span></span></a></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">&gt;.</span></span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">Great site with lots of straight factual information. I used this is get a lot of the info about the decorations and iconography and the measurements.</span></span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">"Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang." </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"><em>UNESCO World Heritage Centre</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">. UNESCO. Web. 05 Oct. 2011. &lt;</span></span></span><span style="color: #000080"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/439"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/439</span></span></a></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">&gt;.</span></span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">The UNESCO website, the people who established the Museum. Fantastic historical resource. I used this to get the info about construction and the population.</span></span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">"Smithsonian Institution Building The Castle, Washington DC Museums | GoSmithsonian." </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Smithsonian Museums, Exhibits, Washington DC Travel, Dining, Lodging | GoSmithsonian</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. &lt;</span></span></span><span style="color: #000080"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://www.gosmithsonian.com/museums/smithsonian-"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">http://www.gosmithsonian.com/museums/smithsonian-</span></span></a></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> institution-building-the-castle/&gt;. </span></span></span>

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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif">The Smithsonian website, contains information about the institution and its history. This is where I grabbed my info for the Smithsonian specific comparison.</span></span>

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Image links in order:

http://www.china.org.cn/images/49111.jpg

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http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/thumbs/site_0439_0001-469-0-20110920200856.JPG

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