In which palace is the Nine Dragon Wall of the Forbidden City?
The Nine Dragon Wall belongs to the shadow wall of traditional buildings in China, which can be used to block the view. There are three authentic Nine Dragon Walls, one in Xi 'an and two in Beijing. Among them, the Kowloon Wall in the Palace Museum has always been the most famous. It was built in the thirty-seventh year of Qianlong, and is located opposite to the Imperial Gate in Ningshou Palace District of the Forbidden City. It consists of 27 pieces of glass with nine dragon-shaped reliefs in different shapes. It is exquisite in workmanship and magnificent, and it is the condensation of the architectural art of ancient screen walls in China and a symbol of imperial power.
Friends who haven't visited the Forbidden City may be confused about what Ningshou Palace is for and where it is located. It turns out that Ningshou Palace is the palace where Qianlong Emperor ordered the casting of the Nine Dragon Walls of the Forbidden City for retirement, and as a small quadrangle of Qianlong Emperor, it has a high specification, with an imperial gate in front and Ningshou Gate, and a nourishing temple built inside to imitate hall of mental cultivation, which is a condensed version of the Forbidden City. The Nine Dragon Wall is the zhaobi of Ningshou Palace. From the perspective of geomantic omen, this zhaobi can ensure the smooth air in the palace, and the dragon in the middle is particularly prominent, which means the statue of the Ninth Five-Year Plan. The other eight dragons are divided into ascending dragons and descending dragons, which means the children of the Eight Banners. Nine dragons are distributed in five spaces, and 27 pieces of colored glass are also multiples of the Ninth Five-Year Plan, further embodying the dignity of imperial power. From an aesthetic point of view, Kowloon is lifelike, powerful and domineering, colorful, and not ostentatious, adding color to the whole building.
There is also a short story hidden in the Nine Dragon Wall of the Forbidden City: the belly of the third white dragon counted from the east is made of colored glass instead of wood. It turned out that the casting time of the Nine Dragons Wall was very short at that time, and the craftsmen broke a piece of white glass for a moment. Some people used wood carving in a hurry to replace it, and then painted it with white paint. On the surface, it had no effect at all, which made the project delivered on time. Over time, the white paint that was painted in those years faded, which was easily seen by future generations. This small defect has not affected the artistic value of the Nine Dragon Wall of the Forbidden City, but has become one of its characteristics.
If you have a chance to visit the Palace Museum, don't forget to take a look at the shadow wall of the Ninth Five-Year Plan.
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