What is the significance of the decoration on the gate of the Forbidden City? Come on! ~

The decoration on the door of the Forbidden City is a nail, which symbolizes the supremacy of imperial power.

This round nail placed on the gate is called a "doornail". At first, the purpose of the doornail was to reinforce it. At that time, a gate was often made up of several boards. Over time, it will inevitably spread. In order to avoid this phenomenon, people put a wooden belt on the inside of the door panel and add a row of wooden nails from the outside to make the door more firm.

Later, this row of doornails was gradually arranged neatly, and the material changed from wood to iron and copper, which played a role in fire prevention.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the doors of wealthy families were gilded with bronze nails, which was golden yellow, and it was particularly beautiful against the red door. At this time, the doornail has decorative significance and beautification function.

Before the Qing dynasty, there was no regulation on the number of doornails, so you could use as many as you wanted. But in the Qing dynasty, this was impossible. There were clear regulations on the number and arrangement of doornails in Qing Dynasty. The illegal use of doornails is suspected of trespassing and may be punished. At this time, the doornail has the function of representing the level.

Extended data:

Number of grades of doornails:

The doornail, like many ordinary things, was actually an ornament when it was invented. However, in the feudal society with strict hierarchy, doornails were also given the mission of distinguishing social hierarchies. In order to show different status levels, the feudal ruling class stipulated the number of doornails at the door, and the number of doornails was different for different status.

The specific provisions are as follows: there are 9981at the palace gate; There are 7,963 gates in Wang Fu; There are 7749 on the duke's gate; The number of officials is five, five and twenty-five; As the lowest existence, ordinary people are not allowed to have doornails, so they are also called "Ding Bai".

Baidu Encyclopedia-Beijing Forbidden City

Baidu encyclopedia-doornail