NI HAO from China
E-ZINE / Editors Picks
Numbers inside the Forbidden City
Updated: 2007-07-19 08:37
Like the sanctuaries and pyramids in ancient Egypt, the Forbidden City in
Beijing has a set of rules governing the choice of its architectural
dimensions. Measurements show the layout of individual courtyards in the
Forbidden City was designed according to specific ratio.
The rear courtyard is 218 meters long and 118 meters wide, and the front
courtyard is 437 meters long and 234 meters wide. As a result, the ratios
of the length to the width in both courtyards turned out to be the same,
reaching six to 11, and the courtyard in the front is twice as long and
wide as the rear courtyard, which means the front courtyard is four times
the size of the rear one.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony was designed according to a nine-by-five
standard, displaying overwhelming imperial power. There are nine bays
(rooms that are each marked by 4 poles) in length and five bays in width.
The ratio of its length and width is nine to five.
Both nine and five carried special meanings in ancient Chinese
architecture. Numbers can be divided into odds and evens, which fall into
the categories of Yang and Yin respectively, the Chinese principle of
opposing elements. Within the odds less than ten, nine is the highest one
and five ranks in the middle. Accordingly, both nine and five connoted
the supreme imperial power in ancient China.
However, there are some exceptions.
Tourists may find that there are 11 instead of nine bays in length in
today's Hall of Supreme Harmony. The reason lies in the fact that the
original Hall of Supreme Harmony was destroyed by the end of Ming Dynasty
(1368-1644) and repaired in 1669 under the reign of the Emperor Kangxi in
the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Due to the lack of a specific special
superior wood during the restoration, the width was adjusted to 11 bays.
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