Why does the Donghua Gate in the Forbidden City only have 72 door nails, while the other doors have 81?

The Forbidden City is the most outstanding representative of ancient my country. It was the royal palace of 24 emperors of China's Ming and Qing dynasties. It has four gates, the Meridian Gate, the Divine Meridian Gate, the Xihua Gate, and the Meridian Gate. Donghua Gate, the most special one is Donghua Gate. The reason why people call Donghua Gate "Ghost Gate" and "Yin Gate" is because the three gates of Meridian Gate, Shenwu Gate and Xihua Gate are All have eighty-one nails, arranged in the order of nine horizontally and nine vertically. However, this Donghua Gate only has seventy-two nails, arranged in the order of nine horizontally and eight vertically. The total number is a negative number. Why does Donghua Gate only have seventy-two nails?

Royal door nails are usually arranged in 9 rows and 9 columns. The ancients always regarded 9 as the largest yang number, and the emperor's system was based on "nine". Donghua Gate has only 72 door nails, and there have always been various speculations: some said that they were confused with the door nails of Xuanwu Gate during construction; some said that the door was a "ghost door" for royal funerals, so the even number was used. Reduce evil spirits.

In fact, in official-style buildings, door nails are not only decorative components of the door, but their use levels are strictly institutional; during the construction process, the steps cannot be completed independently by a certain type of work. . Therefore, it is impossible for misinstallation to occur. Records of the Ming and Qing dynasties in the palace indicate that the mourning ceremonies for emperors and empresses in the Ming Dynasty all started from the Meridian Gate and passed through the Daming Gate; only concubines, princes, and princesses went out from the Donghua Gate and went east to the South Gate or east to the North Gate. , Visit the tombs and houses in Xishan and other places. Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, Donghuamen had nothing to do with the emperor's life or death.

There is also a rumor related to the Feng Shui that was followed when the Forbidden City was built. The buildings of the Forbidden City are spread out along the east-west central axis, and the doornails are arranged in a nine-horizontal and nine-vertical arrangement, which is related to Feng Shui. The location of the Donghua Gate needs to be set to 72 because the odd number 72 represents "yin". The wooden door with 72 door nails standing behind the Donghua Gate represents "wood yin". Wood can overcome earth. This also changes the theory of Lord Menke’s haunted house.

In fact, there are regulations for doornails in the palaces of princes, princes and ministers: 63 nails in 7 rows and 9 columns for princes, 7***49 nails for princes and princes, and 25 nails in 5 rows and 5 columns for the following orders. No matter how many or how little, iron door nails should be used. According to the law, common people's houses are not allowed to have doornails. Even if the owner is rich, he cannot go beyond the rules.