Unique Vision Special：The Imperial Palace
The 1st Series: Initiation of the Forbidden City
Who made history? And who created the great civilization in history?
On the thirteenth day of lunar January of the first year of the reign of Emperor Yongle, Li Zhigang, the minister in the Ministry of Rites, made a proposal that Beiping should be designated as a secondary capital. Emperor Yongle accepted his suggestion very gladly on the spot.
Within hours after this proposal was made, an imperial edict bequeathing the name Beijing to Beiping and designating it as the second capital of the Ming Dynasty was issued. The news reached every place of the country very soon, and a great palace would come into being as a result.
The 2nd Series: The Pinnacle of the Flourishing Age
The carmine walls of the palace and the golden glazed roof tile are the most eye-catching characteristic of this palace.
Built on a base of white marbles which is 8 meters high and in three layers, the Taihe Hall is the core of the Forbidden City, and also the climax of the architectural music movement of the whole Forbidden City. The design of all parts of the Taihe Hall focuses on one purpose, that is, highlighting the supremacy of the imperial power.
During the period from the years of the reign of Emperor Yongle in the Ming Dynasty to the years of the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, the Forbidden City underwent three hundred years of construction, reconstruction and renovation. The Forbidden City we see today is the result of the efforts of several emperors. The Forbidden City witnessed the development of the history for three hundred years by far, and the wheel of history would be carried still further.
The 3rd Series: Commentary of A Country of Rites
The norms of rituals in China can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty. In Zhou Li: Dazong Bozhi Zhi, rituals are divided into five categories, namely, Ji Li, Jia Li, Xiong Li, Jun Li, and Bin Li. The rituals are applied to the Son of Heaven and to the common people as well. It can be said that rituals play very important roles at every place and at any time.
As the stage for practicing the highest norms of rituals, the buildings in the Forbidden City indicate their role of standardizing norms of rituals.
The 4th Series: Government Affairs in the Imperial Palace
On the first day of the eleventh month of the lunar year of 1861, the ceremony of holding court was different from the past. It was the first time in the history of the Forbidden City. This ceremony was called "attending court affairs from behind a screen."
The place of attending court affairs was moved from the Qian Chao to the Hou Gong, which implied the change of political system in China during the 500 years in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
In the 500 years between the beginning of the Ming Dynasty and the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Forbidden City was gradually built into an unrivalled imperial palace; at the same time, the centralization of state power in feudal China experienced rise and decline and finally came to the end.
The 5th Episode: Between the State and the family
The Imperial Palace has a history of more than 500 years. Two families used to live here. One was a family with the family name of Zhu, and another was a family with the family name of Aisin Gioro. There are many hearsays about things happened in this house, but very few people know what really happened here. The Hou Gong seemed to be a quiet place, but actually it was a place full of envy, hatred, and killing. This episode will unveil the mystery of the life in the imperial court.
The 6th Episode: Porcelains in the Palace Museum
Porcelains used to be unique articles made by the creative Chinese people. They have the fieriness of fire, the elegance of water, the honesty of earth. The Chinese people make common clay into such beautiful articles with fire and water along with the sublimation of the mind and spirit of the Chinese people. This episode will show you the unique porcelains that made in different dynasties. It is a rare opportunity to see the elaborate works.
The 7th Episode: Paintings and Calligraphic Works in the Imperial Palace
A journey through China's calligraphic history…
Works dating back 600 years are restored at the Forbidden City.
Join us Saturday as we examine artwork symbolizing ancient Chinese civilization.
The 8th Episode: Jade Wares in the Palace Museum
From jade seals to jade gifts presented to foreign governments
We discover the rich history of one of China's most precious stones.
The Guangzhou English Channel is proud to present our ongoing series Imperial Palace - all this weekend.
The 9th Episode: Western Influences on the Court
Matteo Ricci was an Italian missionary. In the 29th year of the reign of Emperor Wanli, namely, 1601, he became the first westerner who entered the Forbidden City. He dressed in the same way as a traditional Chinese intellectual. This was a strategy used by Matteo Ricci to get close to the scholar-bureaucrat class in China, and his ultimate goal was to spread Catholicism in China. From the first clocks to modern technology, we will find out how missionaries used gifts to try and spread Catholicism inside the Gates of the Forbidden City.
The 10th Episode: From the Imperial Palace to the Palace Museum
The name of this palace was changed from the Forbidden City to the Palace Museum, which meant that, from this day on, it would not be an imperial palace any more; instead it would be a museum. A forbidden place in the past several hundred years was officially opened to the outside, and millions of common people could enter this mysterious imperial palace in former days. Let's get to know the story of the last emperor-Pu Yi: his joy of playing with children, his abdication, and being forced from the Palace at gunpoint.
The 11th Episode: Commentary of The Great Loss and Evacuation of Cultural Relics
At the night of February 5, 1933, large numbers of wooden handcarts entered the Imperial Palace. On the Shenwu Gate Square, cultural relics were loaded on the carts, and then were moved to the Qianmen Railway Station. Na Zhiliang, a staff member of the Palace Museum, recalled what happened that night, "It was very quiet. Except for the sound of the carts, there was no other sound. No one spoke, and no one sang. Everybody felt sad and cold." No one knew when they could be returned.
The 12th Episode:Forever the Palace Museum
The Palace Museum was founded in 1925.During the past 80 years,It has undergone ups and downs and then has been revived and finally has become the common treasure house of art and culture of the humankind. Today the Forbidden City is both old and new.It is carrying on history,and creating the future as well.
|
