Speaking of this big yard, there are cows all the way. Judy, an old family, lived in the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years after moving to the capital. After the Qing dynasty, it was also from the mighty Mao Dourgen to the Empress Dowager Cixi. Today, it has changed from a royal garden to a "Palace Museum", and tourists still love it in an endless stream.
However, it is precisely because this yard is really too big. Although tens of thousands of people move every day, some unknown secrets are hidden in the yard and may not be known to everyone. Today, Bian Xiao will tell you ten little secrets hidden in the Forbidden City. Although they are hidden in small places that people don't pay much attention to, Bian Xiao guarantees that there is definitely something!
First of all, break the hip lion on Hongqiao
This lion is really famous! Because of its strange shape, it scratched its head and grinned with pain. The most prominent thing is that it also supported its crotch with one hand.
Do you find it strange? This is completely out of line with the overall style of the Forbidden City, and the "hip-hop" style is still a bit impolite. This little lion stands on a stone bridge called Broken Hongqiao. The bridge is located outside the Taihe Gate of the Forbidden City, on the east side of Wuying Hall, and is a single stone bridge. The bridge spans the Neijinshui River. As for the origin of this bridge, it is speculated that it is basically a stone bridge built before the Ming Dynasty and the main entrance of the Yuan Dynasty Palace. The word "broken rainbow" is very suitable for this bridge, just like a broken rainbow.
Legend has it that Daoguang Emperor wanted to train Yi Wei, his eldest son, as his successor, but Yi Wei was ignorant and didn't listen to the teachings, and once even went against his master. When Daoguang heard about it, he called Yi Wei and kicked him in the crotch in a rage. A few days later, Yi Wei died. Then Daoguang regretted it. So every time I pass by the broken Hongqiao, I will think of my son when I see this lion, and I will feel sad, so I ordered the eunuch to cover the lion with red cloth.
Of course, this is just a legend. ...
Second, the wooden dragon belly on the Nine Dragon Wall
Located in front of the Forbidden City, the Nine Dragon Wall is a must for almost every visitor to the Forbidden City. Kowloon wall is made of complicated glass technology, and each dragon is assembled from many glass components. But on the body of the third white dragon on the east side of the Nine Dragon Wall, there is a part carved from wood instead of glass. Can you see it?
Why is this? Was the craftsman trying to cut corners at that time? Of course not! You know, the cost of wood carving is much higher than that of glass firing.
In fact, when the Jiulong Wall was built, a component was burnt out because the firing process was too complicated. But the deadline set above is coming, and it will be too late to fire again. What can we do?
Many craftsmen are like ants on hot bricks, anxious to turn around. It suddenly occurred to a craftsman that if he carved it with wood and painted it with white paint, it would be impossible to confuse the real with the fake.
So the craftsmen found an old carpenter, carved this wooden dragon belly with excellent nanmu overnight, painted it with white paint and put it on the white dragon. Not to mention, you really can't tell when it is good, and this wooden dragon belly has saved many craftsmen from a fatal disaster.
Although Mulongdu fooled the acceptance officials at that time, he could not fool the passage of time. After hundreds of years, the white paint on the wood had already fallen out, and everyone saw this unusual dragon belly.
In ancient times, in order to do projects for the emperor, craftsmen often had to exert their wisdom against the sky. Of course, they don't have to give up, but they always risk being scratched!
Third, the etiquette pier on the Hall of Supreme Harmony Square.
To the north of the Hall of Supreme Harmony is a huge square in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, covering an area of 30,000 square meters. On the ground of the square, there are a row of small square bricks on the left and right sides, which are neatly arranged on the ground and extend to the Taihe Gate in a figure of eight. Are you curious about what it is for?
This small white brick is called "Etiquette Pier". In ancient times, when the emperor went out of the palace or held a big court meeting, he could not just sneak out alone, but in order to show his imperial power, he had to have a guard of honor named "Jia Fa Lu Shu".
Some people in the team held banners, tokens, ritual vessels, etc. , they are magnificent; Some people still hold chairs and urinals that the emperor wants to use, which is also very imposing. (After all, the emperor is a human being, and he should eat, drink and sleep. ) and these people are standing on these small squares, and there is a person standing on each square, just like the little white dots that our teacher drew with white powder when we were young.
Fourth, the arrow on the tablet of Longzong Gate
Longzongmen is a gate to the west of Baohe Hall, and it is an important passage for the first three halls and the last three halls to the Cining Palace.
However, there is an arrow 18 13 on such an important door!
Who is so bold? Dare to shoot arrows here?
It turns out that this happened in 18 13-
After Kanggan's heyday, the Qing Dynasty was like a long-distance runner, pushing too hard. Although he is still struggling to move forward, it is a spent force.
In the 18th year of Jiaqing, that is, in 18 13, a large-scale uprising broke out in Tian Li. Supposedly, the uprising is nothing new in every dynasty and generation, but an ordinary event. But this rebel army is quite fierce and unusual, and it goes straight to the vicinity of Longzongmen in the Forbidden City.
The geographical location of Longzongmen is very important! After this door, there are three halls and three palaces, and you can directly hit the kang of Emperor Jiaqing. The Shinrikyo rebels are actively fighting and victory is in sight. The Qing dynasty also knew the importance of Longzongmen and assembled a large number of troops to prepare for guarding the city. The two sides put on a desperate posture, and after a fight, the Qing army won.
When the Qing army cleaned up the battlefield afterwards, it was found that an arrow had been shot on the tablet of Longzongmen, but Emperor Jiaqing wouldn't let anyone take it down. Instead, he used it as a warning to remind himself not to forget that there are all kinds of awesome people in the world who want to grab his position.
Five, the knife marks on the water tank in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony
In front of almost every hall in the Forbidden City, there are several huge water tanks, which we all know are for fire fighting.
These large water tanks are called "Taiping tanks" and are made of iron, copper and copper-plated gold. Each tank weighs 1000 kilograms.
There are four vats in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. If you look closely, you will find that there are traces of being scratched by a knife on the dye vat. This is the hard evidence left by Eight-Nation Alliance when he invaded Beijing!
At that time, a group of intruders gathered around the water tank and took out knives to scrape gold. In an instant, a golden vat turned black. Then a group of people jumped on another vat. ...
Bian Xiao suddenly remembered, locusts seem to be such a workflow!
6. Yunlong stone carving behind Baohe Hall
On the front and back sides of every palace in the Forbidden City, there are stone steps. There is an inclined stone in the middle of the steps, which is carved with various patterns such as dragons, phoenixes and cliffs. This thing is called "Lingbi".
There is the largest coffin in the Forbidden City, which is well worth seeing! Behind the Baohe Hall, this coffin is carved from a whole stone. It is said that it was mined in Fangshan, weighing more than 300 tons. It is called "Yunlong Stone Carving".
When there was no crane, how did this big guy weighing more than 300 tons come over?
It turned out that this big guy fully dispatched more than 10 thousand workers during transportation, and specially chose the coldest three or nine days. Their method is that on the way from Fangshan to Beijing, workers dig a well every mile, sprinkle water on the ground to make ice, use ice to reduce friction, and then pull the boulder to Beijing bit by bit.
Now, the wisdom of young workers has gone against the sky!
Seven, hanging lions in front of the door.
The lions in the Forbidden City are all majestic, and all ears are staring at the front. But there are always exceptions. There are two "exceptional" lions in front of Gan Qing!
At first glance, there is no difference between the two gilded lions. A closer look reveals that their ears are drooping like pugs ... Is it really good for a lion to pose in such a lovely posture?
In fact, there are historical reasons for this design. As the gateway to the last three palaces, Ganqingmen put two lions with drooping ears, just to tell the concubines in the harem: Don't ask what you shouldn't listen to, and don't ask what you shouldn't care about.
There are some things you know that should be ignored. This is the way to survive in the harem.
Eight, stone boxes and stone pavilions in front of Taihe Gate
After we enter the Forbidden City, we usually can't wait to go through the Taihe Gate to see the towering three halls and the harem hall, but we ignore two things in front of the Taihe Gate.
In front of the Taihe Gate, next to a pair of stone lions, there is a stone box and a stone pavilion. I don't know if you have noticed.
What are they for?
It is said that the stone box on the left can really be opened, of course, if you invite a dozen people to work together and there is no security guard to drive you out.
According to historical records, there are grains, red lines and gold and silver ingots in the stone box, which represent money, grain and cloth, that is, some town things.
The stone pavilion on the right is called "Imperial Decree Pavilion". When the emperor issues the imperial edict, he should put it in this pavilion first.
Nine, the gold-plated bronze dragon on the top of Yuhuating Hall
Emperors are called real dragons, and they often accompany dragons all their lives. Most sculptures in the Forbidden City are about dragons. An expert in the Forbidden City made an incomplete statistics. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the most important building in the Forbidden City, with 65,438+03,844 dragon patterns and sculptures inside and outside.
The Forbidden City boasts more than 8,600 palaces. If there are only six dragons in each hall, that's 50 thousand dragons. In fact, the number is far more than that.
In the time and space of this dragon, the gold-plated bronze dragon on the top of Yuhua Pavilion Hall is particularly strange. It is 3 meters long, which seems to stop at the cornice, so it is called "running dragon".
Ten, turtle crane in the hall of supreme harmony
When you walk into the Forbidden City and the Hall of Supreme Harmony, you will first see the memorial made by the emperor. In fact, there is nothing to see, only from the outside.
In fact, the most worth seeing here in the Hall of Supreme Harmony is a bronze turtle crane opposite the entrance of the main hall. I believe many people have overlooked them, but they are the things that can best reflect the emperor's dream in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
First, let's talk about bronze cranes. The ancients had a special worship of cranes, which represented a desire to become immortals. In many Taoist and Buddhist classics we know, people who become immortals usually fly to heaven with cranes and drive them west.
In front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the emperors installed a crane, implying that they hoped to become immortals and rule the empire forever!
Behind the crane, there is a dragon-headed turtle. Remember, this is a leading turtle! Not just any turtle. Turtle! It is a symbol of longevity.
Copper tortoise and copper crane are a powerful combination, symbolizing the eternal firmness and endless longevity of mountains and rivers. Besides, the turtle crane is empty inside! Why is it empty? Is it because there is not enough copper, and the process can't be done, so we can only make a hollow one?
Totally wrong. It's empty for one reason. It needs to burn incense.
We know that the Hall of Supreme Harmony is only used for important ceremonies such as the emperor's accession to the throne, conferring the title of queen, and issuing imperial edicts. When this so-called grand ceremony was held, the civil and military officials knelt in front of the already high Hall of Supreme Harmony. At this time, if the bronze turtle and crane burn incense in the body, the aroma is diffuse, and the whole hall is shrouded in aroma. Think about it, isn't it like a heavenly palace shrouded in fairy dust!
A little secret, a little history neglected or even forgotten by future generations, may be hidden in a trivial place. This is the real charm of the Forbidden City! Knowing these little secrets, have you started to have new expectations for the Forbidden City?
Go shopping, maybe you will find more!