Geomorphology and geomantic omen of the Forbidden City in Beijing

When the Forbidden City was built, it was slightly tilted to prevent water from accumulating inside the Forbidden City during heavy rain. Some inclinations can ensure drainage. When the Forbidden City was built, its surroundings were square and symmetrical. In order to prevent someone from entering the palace with ulterior motives to assassinate the king, the Forbidden City was designed to be difficult to get in and out when it was built. However, there is also a disadvantage. The Forbidden City, which is too closed, may also lead to the water flow not being discharged in time, so the designer considered this problem when designing, so he chose a slightly inclined way to build the Forbidden City.

From the appearance, there seems to be nothing wrong with the Forbidden City, but after careful observation, we can still find that the Forbidden City is somewhat tilted. The Forbidden City is like a besieged city, and the city walls include all the palaces inside. But once it rains heavily, the drainage system inside the Forbidden City is likely to collapse. Although Beijing, where the Forbidden City is located, is in the north, there is little rain, but once it rains heavily, the drainage inside the Forbidden City will be too late. During the Ming Dynasty, there was a rainstorm in Beijing, which almost flooded all the city gates and had to be prevented.

In fact, when the Forbidden City was first built, the terrain was not particularly flat, but was built along the terrain. There are mountains in the north of Beijing and Bohai Sea in the east. The terrain determines that the Forbidden City will not be flat. Furthermore, in order to prevent the Forbidden City from accumulating water, many ditches were dug inside the Forbidden City. The sloping terrain of the Forbidden City allows the accumulated water in the Forbidden City to be directly discharged according to the terrain, which is the biggest advantage of the sloping terrain of the Forbidden City, so the Forbidden City has never been affected by heavy rain and thus was submerged.

The construction of the Forbidden City is indeed a great building in the history of China. I don't know how much manpower and material resources were spent in the construction, and finally the magnificent Forbidden City we see today was formed. The architectural skills of the Forbidden City and the culture it contains are worth exploring, and it is also an important carrier for us to study the ancient culture of China.