英文介绍北京故宫

FORBIDDEN CITY (

紫禁城

)

(In front of the meridian gate)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am pleased to serve as your guide today.

This is the palace museum; also know as the Purple Forbidden

City. It is the largest and most well reserved imperial

residence in China today. Under Ming Emperor Yongle,

construction began in 1406. It took 14years to build the

Forbidden

City.

The

first

ruler

who

actually

lived

here

was

Ming

Emperor

Zhudi. For

five centuries thereafter,

it

continued to

be

the

residence

of23

successive

emperors

until

1911

when

Qing

Emperor Puyi was forced to abdicate the throne. In 1987, the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization

recognized

the

Forbidden

City

was

a

world

cultural

legacy.

It

is believed that

the

Palace

Museum, or

Zi

Jin

Cheng

(Purple

Forbidden City), got its name from astronomy folklore, The

ancient

astronomers

divided

the

constellations

into

groups

and

centered them around the Ziwei Yuan (North Star) . The

constellation containing the North Star was called the

Constellation of Heavenly God and star itself was called the

purple palace. Because the emperor was supposedly the son of

the

heavenly

gods, his

central

and dominant

position

would be

further highlighted the use of the word purple in the name of

his

residence.

In

folklore,

the

term

“an

eastern

purple

cloud

is drifting” became

a

metaphor

for

auspicious

events after

a

purple

cloud

was

seen

drifting

eastward

immediately

before

the

arrival

of an

ancient philosopher,

LaoZi,

to

the

Hanghu Pass.

Here, purple is associated with auspicious developments. The

word

jin

(forbidden)

is

self-explanatory

as

the

imperial

palace

was

heavily

guarded

and

off-explanatory

as

the

imperial

palace

was heavily guarded and off-limits to ordinary people.

The red

and

yellow

used

on

the

palace walls

and roofs are

also

symbolic. Red represents happiness, good fortune and wealth.

Yellow is the color of the earth on the Loess Plateau, the

original

home

of

the

Chinese

people.

Yellow

became

an

imperial

color during the

Tang dynasty,

when

only

members

of

the royal

family

were

allowed

to

wear

it

and

use

it

in

their

architecture.

The Forbidden City is rectangular in shape. It is 960 meters

long

from north to

south

and 750

meter

wide

from

east west. It

has

9,900

rooms

under

a

total roof

area

150,000

square

meters.

A 52-meter-wide-moat encircles a 9. 9-meter

—

high wall which

encloses

the

complex.

Octagon

—

shaped

turrets

rest

on

the

four

corners of the wall. There are four entrances into the city:

the Meridian Gate to the south, the Shenwu Gate (Gate of

Military Prowess) to the north, and the Xihua Gate (Gate of

military Prowess) to the north, and the Xihua Gate (Western

Flowery Gate

)

to

the

west,

the

Donghua

(Eastern

Flowery Gate)

to the east.

Manpower and materials throughout the country were used to

build the Forbidden

City.

A

total

of

230,000

artisans and

one

million laborers were employed. Marble was quarried from

fangshan

Country

Mount

Pan

in

Jixian

County

in

Hebei

Province.

Granite

was

quarried

in

Quyang

County

in

Hebei

Province.

Paving

blocks

were

fired

in

kilns

in Suzhou

in

southern

China.

Bricks

and

scarlet

pigmentation used on the

palatial walls

came

from

linqing in Shandong Province. Timber was cut, processed and

hauled from the northwestern and southern regions.

The

Palace

Museum

has

served as

the

royal residence

during

the

Ming

and

Qing

dynasties.

It

was

here

that

a

total

of

24

monarchs

ascended the throne

and

wielded

power for some 500 years.

The

Palace Museum, as the most beautiful spot of interest

throughout Beijing, is unique for its location: to the

northwest is Beihai(North Sea) Park, famous for its white

pagoda

and

rippling

lake;

to

the

west

is

the

Zhongnahai

(central

and south sea); to the east lies the the Wangfujing Shopping

Street; and to the north id Jinshan Park. Standing in the

Wanchun (Everlasting Spring) Pavilion at the top of

Jingshan(Charcoal

Hill) Park, you

overlook

the skyline

of

the

palace

Museum.

At

the

southern

end

of

the

palace

is

Tian`

anmen

(Gate

of

Heavenly

Peace)

and

the

famous

square

named

after

it

.

This is the symbol of the People` s Republic of China.

A world- famous historical site, the Palace Museum is on the

World

Heritage

List of

UNESCO

and

is

an

embodiment

of oriental

civilization.

The

Palace

Museum

is

rectangular

in

shape,

960

meters

long

from

north

to

south and 750 meters

wide

from east

to

west, covering

a

space

of

720,000 square

meters

of which

150,000

is building

area

.

It

has

9000-strong

rooms

in

it

.

According

to

legend

there

are 9999.5 room-units in all .The whole compound is enclosed

by

a

10-meter-hign

wall

and

is

accessed

through

four

entrances,

namely, the meridian Gate in the south ,the Gate of Military

Prowess in the north, Donghua(Eastern Flowery ) Gate in the

north, Donghua ( Eastern Flowery) Gate in the east and

Xihua(Western Flowery

)

Gate

in the west.

On each

corner there

is

a

turret

consisted

of

9

roof

beams,

18

pillars

and

72

ridge

.

Encircling the compound there is a 3,800-meter-long and 52

meter-wide moat, making the Palace Museum a self-defensive

city-within-a city.

The Palace Museum was made a center of rule during the Ming

Dynasty by Zhun Di, The fourth son of the founding emperor

Zhuyuanzhang. The whole complex straddles on an

8-kilometers-long central axis that stretches from Yongding

(Forever

Stable)

Gate

in

the

south

to

Gulou

(Drum

Tower)

in

the

north.

Prominence

was

given to

the royal

power by

putting

the

while arrange other subsidiary structure around them .The

construction of the Palace Museum involved manpower and

resources across China. For example, the bricks laid in the

halls ,known as

processes. As

the

final

touch

,the

fired

bricks were

dipped in

Chinese

wood

oil.

Involving

complicated

processes

and

high

cost,

these brick are called

serves as a living embodiment of good tradition and styles

unique

to

China`

s

ancient

architecture.

It

reflects

to

the

full

the

ingenuity and

creativity

of

the

Chinese

working

people.

A

carefully

preserved

and

complete

group

of

royal

residences,

the

Palace Museum is a prominent historical and tourist site.

What we are now approaching

is

the

main entrance

to

the

Palace

Museum-the

Meridian

Gate,

which

is

characterized

by

red

walls,

yellow glazed -tile roofs and upturned eaves. On top of this

walls,

yellow glazed- tile

roofs

and upturned

eaves. On

top of

this magnificent building ,there stand five lofty halls with

a

main hall

in

the

center.

The

main

hall

is

roofed by multiple

eaves

and covers

a

space

of

9

room-units.

It is flanked

by

two

wings

on

each

side

.The

wings

are

square

in

shape

,complete

with

multiple and four edged eaves and pinnacles. All of these

structures are connected by a colonnade. Because these halls

resemble a soaring bird, it was also know as wufenglou

(Five-phoenix Tower)

. Inside

the

main hall

there

is

a

throne.

Drums

and

bells

were

stored

in

the

wings. Whenever

the

emperor

presided over grand ceremonies or observed rites in the Hall

of Upreme Harmony, drums, bells and gongs would be struck to

mark the occasion.

As

the legend goes, the

Meridian

Gate used

to

be

a place where

condemned ranking officials

would

be

executed. This

not true.

However,

flogging

was

carried

out

here

by

the

Ming

emperors

,If

a courtier falls

afoul

of the

emperor, he

would

be

stripped of

his court dress and flogging with a stick .At one point the

punishment became

so harsh

that a

total

of 11

people died

from

fatal wound on a single occasion .On the other hand, this

building

was

also

used

to

observe

important

occasions

like

the

traditional Chinese Lantern Festival (15th day of the first

lunar month). On these occasions, Chinese lanterns would be

hanged

and

sumptuous banquets

would be

given in

honour

of

the

whole court of ministers and other ranking officials.

Upon

entering

the

Meridian

Gate

we

began

our

tour

of

the

Palace

Museum. The river foowing in front of us is known as Jin Shui

He (Golden Water

River) and

the five marbles bridges spanning

it are known as the Inner Golden Water Bridges. The on in the

middle

was

used

exclusive

by

the

emperor

and

its

banisters

were

carved with dragon and phoenix designs. The bridges flanking

the imperial one were reserved for princes and other royal

members.

The

rest

were

used

by

palatines.

Aside

from

decoration,

the

golden

Water

River

was

also

dug

as

precaution

against

fire.

Most

of

the

structures

within

the

palace

Museum

are

made

of

wood.

What

is

more

,according

to

ancient

Chinese

cosmology,

the

South

is

the

abode

of

fire,

so

this

brook

was

dug

on

the

southern

tip

of the Palace. In this way, the Palace Museum reflects

traditional Chinese culture.

This building is called the Gate of Supreme Harmony .In the

foreground stand two bronze lions. Can anybody tell which is

male

and

which

is

female

The

one

on

the

east

playing

with

a

ball

is male, symbolizing power and universal unity. The other on

the

west

with

a cub cuddling underneath

its

claw

is

female

The

one

on

the

east playing

with a

ball

is

male,

symbolizing power

and

universal unity. The other

on

the

west with

a cub cuddling

underneath its claw is female, representing prosperity the

endless succession.

A

layout

of the Palace

Museum

is

posted by

the entrance .

From it ,you

can see

that

the Palace

Museum

has

two main parts: the forecourt and the inner court. The three

main

halls

constitute

the

mainstay

of

the

forecourt,

and

it

was

here

that the

emperor

announced

decisions and

observed

rites.

Behind the forecourt there is the inner court, consisting of

major halls

and

the

Imperial

Garden

.It was where

the

emperor

attended

state affairs, lived and

enjoyed his

luxurious life.

The

exhibition

system

of

the

Palace

Museum

involves

historical

court

relics

and

articles

of

ancient

art

and

culture.

The

Palace

Museum

houses

nearly

one

million

articles

of

rare

treasure,

or

one

sixth

of

the

total

number

in

all

of

China

`s

museums.

There

are

the

three

main

halls

of

the

Palace

museum,

built

on

a

triple

marble terrace . Since most of China `s architecture is made