Olden Chinese architecture were primary made of timber structures, and due to this, it’s not easy to preserve them. Hence, most of the great crafts and art works of architecture no longer exist. The most important and best preserve architecture in the Chinese world would be the Forbidden City, which was built in the 1420 AD of the Ming Dynasty Emperor.
During the Yuan Dynasty, Beijing was transformed on the basis of a metropolis. Beijing city was in a slightly horizontal square shape. Its has a dimension of 6,650 meters from the east to the west, and 5,350 meters from north to south, with brick walls surrounding the palace on all sides.
The Forbidden City consisted of nine gates, in order to make it look magnificent and solid; the gates consist of two layered three eaved tall building, and four-layered embrasure watch tower.
The Forbidden City is located in the center of axial line of the ancient Beijing city; it stretches 760 meters from 960 meters from north to south. On the other end of Forbidden City was a built-up 50 meter hill called Zhenshan, this was done to suppressing the imperial air of the Yuan Dynasty.
In order to strengthen Beijing’s defense, The Ming Dynasty planned to build an additional outer walls. The construction of the city begins at the south, but the project was never complete on the other three sides, and as time goes by, Beijing became a convex-shape plane.
The newly added city walls were called the outer city, the original city was renamed the inner city.
The expansion of south to the outer city has prolonged the city’s axis, in line with the total length of the axial line stretching from south to north. This causes the city to be divided into three major sections. The Forbidden City lies in the second section of the city of Beijing; the axis is 2,500 meters long and can be divided into three smaller sections.
Europeans have often said that architecture is solidified music, and if architecture is to be compare to music, then the three sections of the grey tiles and walls that are placed amidst green trees represent patterned beauty. British writer Bacon said that Beijing is the greatest human single works on earth surface; this is due to the fact that the Chinese city was designed to be residence of the emperor with the intention being the center of the world.
The Forbidden City is by far the best Chinese architecture in the world. It enjoys a high reputation in the world, where a series of separate spaces are linked together, which is contrary to palaces during the Renaissance age, where the virtual point is completely concentrated in a single structure and the palace is separated from the city. In contrast, the Forbidden City’s concept is very profound and complicated, because it’s a composition organic body of the entire city together with its city walls and streets.
The design and layout of the Forbidden City demonstrates spirits of Chinese and Imperial times, it symbolizes the spiritual significance of the emperor and empress. To achieve this, the Forbidden City was built at the center of the ancient Beijing City.
The imperial residence is considered the pivotal point of the earth and is aligned with the Pole star, which is believed to the center of heaven.
Overall, the design and construction and layout illustrate traditional Chinese philosophy and harmony, for example the south and north axis buildings are arranged like music – beginning, highlight, ending and all buildings along the axis are main buildings.
Planning Principles
The Chinese architecture during the early stage develops its own special characteristics with systematic forms, which was continued in a more or less unbroken tradition. The whole imperial culture was based on monumentality and simple planning principles.
The whole Forbidden City was constructed in accordance with ancient rules of spatial design, which was first used during the Han dynasty. These rulers instruct that all buildings had to be aligned along a straight axis from north to south, flanked by symmetrical arrangement of minor structures on parallel axis. The architecture convention was favorable with Emperor Yung-Lo’s claim that the city had symbolic importance.
The centralized configuration of buildings serves as an emblem of ordered heavens. The chilling north was regarded as a harmful direction. Because all invasions of China originated from the north, it came to represent evil spirits, cold winds and the wicked warriors from the steppes. Hence, the buildings in the Forbidden City face south, the direction of holiness, giving protection from cold winds and also permitting subtle decoration based on catching infinite variations of light. In fact, the only pavilions facing north were for the Emperor's rejected concubines.
The enclosing wall (being synonymous with the word for city in China) was a major component in city planning, with huge forts over the gates and at the corners. Such gates were more than just entrances. Their massive towers were designed to house garrisons, customs and city officials and command a view of the boulevards. Once built for defence, such gates became administrative centres for law and order. Gateways were massive constructions, some 25m high, with an equal depth through the city walls.
Unlike the rigid construction of the triangulated truss developed in the West, which inhibits expansion, the Chinese developed the beam frame system, capable of considerable extension, virtually in all directions. Timber columns of some length and girth were elaborately carved and rested on a stone base. Columns were held in both directions by beams, separated by short vertical members. Roof purlins were placed on these members, so avoiding straight lines. A cantilever bracket called tou-kung was used to carry the eaves overhang as far as possible, beyond the outermost columns.
Major buildings such as the court house had their long sides facing south, with subsidiary ones, often lower on the east and west sides. The proportion and dimension of the buildings increases with the bays without the need to introduce exaggerated forms of architectural mass as in traditional Western palaces. Most of the large groups of buildings were provided by the regularity of their arrangements and systematic styles.
In Harmony with Nature
In search of harmony with nature, the Chinese philosophy of Taoism looked inward. Sustainability with nature was introduced into the city. The Internal planning of houses mirrored the external rectangular layout of the city. All of the important rooms were lined on the north side, facing a central courtyard to the south. The courtyard was the focus of family life where each house had a well.
The pollution of the waterways with human waste was not allowed, night soil was transported to the countryside for fertilizer. Bathrooms was a rare thing, baths were taken in tubs and emptied after each used in the courtyard. As for heating in houses was by means of bowls of glowing charcoal prepared in the courtyard and brought into rooms. In the harsh winter, people kept warm with padded quilt gowns and thick felt shoes. So Chinese cities remained healthy and enjoyed clean air without piped water and sewerage disposal.
Colour in Design
Red is the primary colour in the ancient Chinese custom, it symbolize joy, while the colour yellow represent earth. The earth was the most basic of the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. The colour was widely used because the city was supposed to represent the center of humanity on earth. This can be seen very well through the yellow roof tiles and walls. Not all roof tiles are yellow in colour, this can be seen at the emperor’s roof, which is purple due to the fact that purple represent the heaven. Another structure that does not have yellow colour roof tiles is the library, it has black roof tiles which represent water, and it is believe that with the colour black, it can prevent a fire out break.
Feng Shui and Religion
In believing that a good Feng Shui would prolong the rule of their dynasty, the design of the Forbidden City follows the strict rules of Feng Shui and Religions; it can be clearly seen on the overall design. This can be seen at the Hall of Supreme Harmony, which is by far the largest among the six, which is also considered the center of the city, along the axis line. The city itself consist of 9,999 buildings, which are held together with nails that only contains 9 nails per row, the ancient Chinese believed that the number 9 means everlasting and due to the fact that 9 was the largest number among all, it was reserved for use only by the emperor. The layout of the Forbidden City was meant to represent the Heavenly Palace, it is associated with ancient Chinese philosophy and astrology, the design emphasize on the integration of man and heaven, wher
e the ancient Chinese astrologers divided the constellation into three parts surrounded by 28 stars. Among all the stars the Purple Forbidden (polar star) was thought to be the center of the heaven, center of all stars. By building the structures along the axis, the imperial court was the center of man under heaven.
