Chapter 2 2. Treasures of the world

When talking about "The Forbidden City", first look at the world, and then look at China. First look at the four ancient civilizations in the world.The civilization of ancient Egypt was interrupted, the civilization of ancient India was interrupted, and the civilization of ancient Babylon was also interrupted. Only the civilization of ancient China remained uninterrupted. In the ancient Egyptian civilization, the palace buildings of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs were destroyed by war and nature, and did not survive.Ancient Egypt left a deep impression on the pyramid complex, rather than the palace complex.What we see today is the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh - the pyramid, which is magnificent and shocking; but it is not a palace, but it is regrettable.

In the ancient Indian civilization, the palace buildings of ancient India were not completely preserved.When people talk about ancient Indian architecture, they must mention the Taj Mahal.The Taj Mahal is located in Agra, 195 kilometers away from New Delhi. It is the mausoleum built by Jahan of the Mughal Empire (1526-1638) for his beloved wife Taj, so it is called the Taj Mahal.The mausoleum was built in 1631 (the fourth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty). It was built with pure white marble, with a total height of 74 meters and an area of ​​700,000 square meters. The reflection of the pool in front of the mausoleum, under the moonlight, is like a fairyland. It is known as "the perfect art in the world". A model of the world" and was listed as one of the "Seven Wonders of the World".In the Agra Fort in India, although there are inner palaces (inner court) and outer palaces (outer courts) in the city, the palace complex has not been completely preserved.The palace complexes of ancient Indian emperors are either historical remnants, such as the Agra Fort, or they have been razed to the ground.What people can see at the moment, such as the Taj Mahal, is not the palace of the emperor, but the mausoleum of the queen.

In the ancient Babylonian civilization, the magnificent palaces of the past have long since ceased to exist.People today can hardly see the palace buildings of the ancient emperor era.However, the "Sky Garden", which is regarded as one of the "Seven Wonders of the World", still survives in written records. According to legend, in the sixth century BC, King Nebuchadnezzar II of New Babylon built a special garden for his concubine. The garden adopts a three-dimensional gardening technique. On a 20-meter-high platform, various trees and flowers are planted. From a distance, it looks like it is suspended in the air, so it is called the Sky Garden.The Hanging Garden is famous far and wide, and today people can no longer see its original appearance, and can only appreciate its magnificence and elegance in literary descriptions.

In ancient Greece, there were magnificent temples, and only from the remains of the Parthenon, we can imagine its former glory. In ancient Rome, there were magnificent buildings such as the Colosseum, the Pantheon (Pantion Temple), and the magnificent and magnificent palaces of the Roman Empire in various regions. Most of them are historical relics. People can only admire the glory of the Roman Palace in the past. Unfortunately, There is no complete ancient palace complex left. In ancient civilizations such as the Maya in America, there may have been magnificent palaces, but now there is nothing left. Only historical remnants such as the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon, and temples are left. Groups survive.

So, which of the existing ancient palaces in the world have left a magnificent appearance in people's minds?for example: The Louvre and Versailles in Paris, France.The Louvre was originally a castle in the 15th century, and it was rebuilt into a royal palace in 1541 (the 20th year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty).After being rebuilt and expanded many times by King Louis XIV of France and Napoleon Bonaparte, it had the later scale and became a magnificent palace in France.Later, it once became the political center and cultural center of Europe.However, compared with the Ming and Qing Forbidden City, the Louvre's construction area is less than a quarter of that of the Forbidden City in terms of area.The Palace of Versailles, known as the Summer Palace, is equivalent to the Changchun Garden, Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace in Beijing in the Qing Dynasty.However, the construction area of ​​the Palace of Versailles is less than one-tenth of the construction area of ​​the Summer Palace.

Russia has two important imperial palaces: the Winter Palace in Petersburg and the Kremlin in Moscow.The Petersburg Winter Palace was built in 1764 (the 29th year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty), and it was flooded in 1837 (the 17th year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty). It was rebuilt later, and it is roughly what people see now.However, the construction area of ​​the Petersburg Winter Palace is only equivalent to one-ninth of the area of ​​the Forbidden City in Beijing.The original meaning of Kremlin in Russian is "Acropolis", which is the same as the meaning of "the city defends the emperor" in ancient China.Because of the "Weijun", there are walls and moats, and it is located in the center of Moscow.Some people call the Kremlin the largest palace in Europe.Later it was expanded.However, the area of ​​the Kremlin after the expansion is less than half of the area of ​​the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Buckingham Palace in England was built by George Felt, Duke of Buckingham in 1703 (the forty-second year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty). In 1825 (the fifth year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty), it was expanded by King George IV of England. In 1837 (the seventeenth year of Qing Daoguang), Queen Victoria moved to Buckingham Palace.However, Buckingham Palace is roughly one-tenth the size of the Forbidden City in Beijing.The most luxurious palace in Buckingham Palace, where the British king sits, is equivalent to the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing. Its area is about 600 square meters, while the area of ​​the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City is 2,377 square meters.The main hall of Buckingham Palace is about a quarter of the area of ​​the Hall of Supreme Harmony in Beijing.

In Japan in Asia, there are two main existing imperial palaces (imperial palaces): one is the imperial palace in Kyoto.Kyoto began as the capital of Japan in 794 A.D. (the tenth year of Zhenyuan, Emperor Dezong of Tang Dynasty).Known as the "Millennium Ancient Capital" by Japan.Kyoto has left people with the most famous buildings such as Toji Temple, Kinkakuji Temple, and Imperial Palace.The area of ​​the Kyoto Imperial Palace is 110,400 square meters. The ground is not like the Forbidden City in Beijing, which is paved with bricks, but with stones.The wall of the imperial palace is only more than one meter high, and trees are planted on it, forming a forbidden wall.The area of ​​the Kyoto Imperial Palace in Japan is about one-sixth of the area of ​​the Forbidden City in Beijing.The second is the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. In 1868 (the seventh year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty), Japan's Meiji Restoration moved the capital from Kyoto to Edo, and the name of Edo was changed to Tokyo the following year.The Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan is naturally taller and more magnificent than the Kyoto Imperial Palace, with an area of ​​about 217,000 square meters. The area of ​​the Tokyo Imperial Palace is less than one-third of the area of ​​the Beijing Forbidden City.

In addition, there are other remains or remains of ancient palaces in the world, such as the palaces (royal palaces) of Thailand, Cambodia, and Nepal. The scale is smaller and will not be discussed in this article. It can be seen from the above that the Beijing Imperial Palace built in the eighteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420) is the largest and most complete ancient palace complex in the world.