Was the "Dragon Chair" really made of gold in real history?
Those who have been to the Forbidden City must be deeply impressed by the central position in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. This is the Dragon Throne that we see in many film and television works, which is the emperor's throne. Looking from a distance, this chair seems to be inlaid with gold. From a distance, people can feel the awe-inspiring power of the emperor's power.
So, is this chair really made of gold as we imagined?
In fact, in everyone's mind, the whole world belongs to the emperor, and it is not an excessive thing for the emperor's "special seat" to be made of gold. But in fact, this chair, which looks very impressive, is just painted with a layer of golden paint on the outside. Now, the "dragon chair" we see has a history of 500 years.
In other words, the dragon chair on which the Qing emperor sat was made in the Ming Dynasty. The outer frame of this chair is made of rosewood, the core is made of birch, and golden nanmu is also used. Therefore, the "dragon chair" that looks very luxurious is just a "splicing" of three kinds of wood. However, even the powerful Cixi did not dare to touch this chair, which symbolized supreme power.
It has a very domineering official name, called the gold-plated dragon-wooden chair. Because it was placed where the emperor discussed political affairs, its status was the highest among all dragon chairs. However, the emperor did not sit on the dragon chair in the Golden Palace every day. Only during major celebrations or important events, he would dress up and sit on the dragon chair in the palace to receive congratulations and issue decrees.
So, why is rosewood used to make dragon chairs?
Because this kind of wood is quite strong. The slower the wood grows, the harder it is. What's more, it also has a natural light fragrance, which makes people relax physically and mentally, and is excellent for physical health. Therefore, until now, collectors are very fond of rosewood wood products.
Let’s talk about birch. Maybe we think this kind of wood is very common now, but 500 years ago, it was extremely rare. Thinking about people from the royal family, of course, they would use the most precious things in the world, so using birch became an inevitable choice. As for golden nanmu, it has always been a precious wood unique to China.
Especially in the architecture of the Ming Dynasty, golden nanmu was regarded as the most precious and highest-level building material. Because there are gold threads in the wood grain, this kind of wood is extremely rare among nanmu, and it was the first choice wood for royal furniture at that time.
However, the chair that only the emperor could sit on was used by the Western invaders in 1900. I don’t know if the person sitting there felt like an emperor. Maybe he just thought it was fun.
However, for Yuan Shikai, as a short-lived emperor, he believed in Feng Shui, so he believed that this chair was unlucky. So, he treated this "Dragon Chair" as ordinary furniture and put it in the Forbidden City warehouse. Because, in Yuan Shikai's mind, the subsequent emperors who sat on this chair did not end well.
What’s interesting is why the Qing Dynasty retained this dragon chair after replacing the Ming Dynasty. Did the emperor of the Qing Dynasty not worry about the bad luck of the Ming Dynasty emperor? Would he keep it? In fact, this is just an excuse made by Yuan Shikai. He did not want everyone to compare him with the emperor of the "old system".
In fact, they are the same at heart. Will they change because of a chair? In fact, Yuan Shikai later ordered someone to re-create a chair in a Western style, just to fit in with what he called the "new system." Just imagine putting a Western chair in a traditional Chinese palace. Such a combination would look out of place.
It wasn't until 1959 that experts discovered the real "dragon chair" placed in the warehouse from a photo of the old Temple of Supreme Harmony. At this point, the dragon chair, which had been away from the Hall of Supreme Harmony for a long time, was moved back to its original place. This chair was made during the Jiajing period and was used until the reign of Puyi. It can be seen that the emperors of the Qing Dynasty loved it.
Due to improper storage, this throne was very old when it was discovered. Later, after repairs by experts, it was restored to its original appearance.
In fact, the dragon chair is not just a simple "emperor's seat" as ordinary people think as a symbol of imperial power. It has the same status as the jade seal.
This can also explain that even if Emperor Guangxu no longer has real power, he must sit in that position, while Cixi, who has real power, can only sit elsewhere.
Because the emperor at that time was still Guangxu, not Cixi. Therefore, the dragon chair, which is covered with a layer of "royal color" gold paint and looks gleaming, is a symbol of royal majesty and exists to set off the emperor in dragon robes. For thousands of years, dynasties have changed, and the dream of many ambitious people is to one day sit in that position.
Even, for this position, how many people paid the price with their lives. History also proves that to sit in this position requires extraordinary efforts. It can be seen that this is probably the most difficult chair in the world to sit on and the most difficult to sit firmly.
No matter whether the dragon chair is easy to sit on or not, as long as you are the current emperor, you can sit on it and command the world with peace of mind. But as an emperor, being an emperor is not that easy. They have to deal with various trivial matters of the country every day, and they must be diligent, otherwise, the country will be destroyed and the family will be destroyed in just an instant.
Therefore, there were very few emperors who lived long in ancient times, and even fewer emperors who could truly sit on the throne.