Who designed the Forbidden City?

The Forbidden City was designed and planned in strict accordance with the feudal patriarchal clan system. The first three halls are the places where foreign dynasties and emperors handle government affairs. The palace complex in the back is the residence of the imperial court and the concubines in the harem, and the residence of the emperor's family. "Zuo Zu (ancestral temple) and Right Society (social altar)" and the traditional theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements were also used in the Palace Museum. According to China's ancient astrology theory, Ziweiyuan (the area centered on Polaris) is the residence of the Emperor of Heaven, and heaven corresponds to human beings, so the Palace of the Emperor of Heaven is called the Forbidden City.

Who is responsible for designing this magnificent building complex?

According to the most popular saying at present, the designer of the Forbidden City is an outstanding craftsman of the Ming Dynasty. His surname is Ku ǐ i Xiang Ming (pronounced "ku m 4 I"). Born in the 31st year of Hongwu (1398) and died in the 17th year of Chenghua (148 1). He was born in Xiangshan, Wuxian, Suzhou (now Wuxian, Jiangsu).

At that time, there was a Xiangshan gang among the craftsmen who went to Beijing, all of whom were Xiangshan people in Wuxian or their disciples. They are often good at carpentry, and many of them are excellent plasterers, painters, masons, ash pickers, sculptors and painters. Kuai Xiang is the leader of the craftsmen of Xiangshan Sect.

One of his stories has been circulated among the people. It is said that during the construction of the palace, Myanmar presented a huge piece of wood to the Ming Dynasty, and Judy ordered it to be made into the threshold of the main hall, but a carpenter accidentally sawed it wrong and it was more than a foot shorter. The carpenter turned pale with fear and hurried to report to Kuai Xiang. Kuai Xiang, let the carpenter cut down more than a foot. Everyone was surprised. After that, Kuaixiang carved two faucets at both ends of the threshold, and then put a bead on each side, and made innovations to make the threshold detachable. The emperor was very happy and praised it. This is commonly known as "Jin'gangtui Rock Rock" (living threshold).

Kuai Xiang is very clever. When building palaces and castles, he can draw design drawings with a little calculation. After the construction is completed, the size and design of the building are exactly the same. Kuai Xiang's architectural attainments were highly respected, and the emperor "often called it Kuailuban".

1420, the Forbidden City was built. Only nine months later, all three halls were burnt down because of lightning. There is also a legend. It is said that after the palace was built, Zhu Di was so proud that he found an official who knew divination and asked him to calculate a divination. The official said: "There will be a fire in the palace on the eighth day of April next year." Judy was furious. Unexpectedly, on this day of the second year, the weather suddenly changed, and the thunder and lightning really hit the three halls. It was not until the orthodox (Ming Yingzong year, 1436- 1449) that the imperial court made repairs. This time, Kuai Xiang is still in power. In a map of Miyagi in Ming Dynasty collected by China History Museum, the figure painted under Chengtianmen (equivalent to Tiananmen Square today) is said to be Kuai Xiang.

Kuai Xiang later served as Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Industry. Fu Yamen of the Ministry of Industry is also a high-ranking official, but he is humble and frugal. Although he resigned and retired in his later years, whenever someone asked him about construction projects, he was very enthusiastic to make suggestions. There used to be a Kuaishilang Hutong in Beijing. It is said that he once lived there. Most of the descendants of Kuaixiang inherited his skills. Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was still a saying that "Jiangnan craftsmen all came from Xiangshan".

History is vast, and how many secrets have been lost. There are also many questions about whether Kuaixiang is the designer of the Forbidden City. Yu Xiansheng, a senior engineer in the ancient architecture department of the former Palace Museum, believes that when Kuai Xiang was young, the construction of the palace was already a critical moment, so it was impossible to start designing at this time. The real designer is the unknown Cai Xin. Li, a researcher in the Department of Ancient Architecture of the Palace Museum, also questioned that when the Palace Museum 14 17 was first built, Kuai Xiang was less than 20 years old, so he was not qualified to design the whole project in terms of age and qualification. Kuai Xiang's contribution should be mainly reflected in the orthodox reconstruction work.

What Yu mentioned is a native of Wujin, South Zhili (now Wujin, Changzhou, Jiangsu). The date of birth is now impossible to verify, but there is a story among the people that he participated in the design of the old palace. It is said that Judy handed the task of building the palace to Song Li, Minister of Industry. To build a palace, you must first have drawings. Song Li found Cai Xin and asked him to design it. That Cai Xin also has two down son, hurriedly handed over the answer sheet. Song Li saw the design and was very satisfied! The new imperial capital moved slightly southward compared with the Yuan Dynasty. The main palace, according to the central axis, is very regular; He also dug the South China Sea and built Jingshan Mountain. The whole design is steady, symbolizing Daming's long-term stability. Song Li was not at ease, but also went on a field trip to ensure that the design was creative and easy to operate, so he reported it to the emperor. Judy knew nothing about design either, but when he heard that there were nine palaces and 9999 half houses in the new palace, he was in high spirits at once. Legend has it that there are only 1000 houses in the Tiangong. The palace is only half as small as the Heavenly Palace, which not only shows the majesty of imperial power, but also shows the modesty of human emperors. So I am very happy to approve Cai Xin's design. 1973, experts also made statistics for this, and found that the Forbidden City has 8707 rooms.

Another expert suggested that the designer of the Forbidden City should be Yang Qing. But he left little information except that he was a bricklayer. It is said that even the name Yang Qing was coined by Judy.

Others believe that Cai Xin and Yang Qing played a great role when the Forbidden City was just built. But at that time, they were all old, so after Kuai Xiang went to Beijing, because he was young and strong, he participated in the design and construction of Nanjing Palace, was good at calculation and painting, and completed the main design and construction work, so his position and role became prominent.

Researcher Li believes that the construction of the palace is ultimately controlled and decided by court officials, whether Kuai Xiang or, in fact, they are only responsible for specific types of work such as wood, stone and painting.

The Forbidden City is a masterpiece of ancient palace art in China and one of the most magnificent palace buildings in the world. A large number of craftsmen and people have made great efforts to this end, and even sacrificed countless lives. Unfortunately, they are all unknown. For us today, the Forbidden City is more like the "collective report performance" of architects hundreds of years ago, and it is the embodiment of the collective wisdom of the Chinese nation.