Interesting Facts Of The Forbidden City

                                                                    1/ THE SCALE
The Forbidden City is shaped in a rectangle, It's 3,153 feet long from north to south and 2,470 feet wide from east to west, covering an area of 7,747,200 sq feet, that is approximately twice the size of the Vatican City in Rome. Today there are a total of 980 buildings existing in this City, with 8886 rooms. Some buildings were destroyed in fire accidents which occurred many times in the history of the Forbidden City. It is said that the palace complex originally had a total of 9999 rooms. A moat surrounds this City, which can be found on all of the four side of the rectangle of the Forbidden City. The moat is 3800 meters long in total by the four sides of the rectangle and 52 meters wide.

                                                                        2/THE NAME
Today, the name is translated into "Purple Forbidden City", the word Purple symbolizing Imperial Power. It is also "Forbidden" because it was used as a Palace built only for the Emperor, royal family, etc --- common people were forbidden to enter. The most used name today is "Former Palace" as the City has been transformed into the "palace Museum" which is open to the public for sightseeing.

LIFE INSIDE THE FORBIDDEN CITY

                                 HOW WOMEN WERE SELECTED FOR SERVICE

All females within the Forbidden City were carefully chosen and carefully sequestered in the imperial quarters deep inside the palace. They were requested to the inner court and forbidden from venturing out of the northern section. Most women in the Forbidden City were employed as maids and servants, but there was also a select group of concubines whose task was to bear children for the Emperor --- as many as he could father. Those who gave birth to male offspring were elevated to imperial consorts, with the Empress at the top of the pecking order.

Women were selected as "Xiuni" (elegant females) for the court as early as the Jin Dynasty (265 - 420 AD) and the selection criteria ranged from Emperor to Emperor. In the Ming Dynasty, no household was exempt from the selection. All unmarried women, who had no disabilities or deformities, went through the "Xiunu" selection.

The Qing Emperor Shunzhi (1638 - 61) began to exclude most of the Han population by limiting selection to 'Eight Banners' families, who were mainly Manchurian and Mongolian. (Eight Banners was a Manchurian administrative and military framework).
The women were put through a series of physical and mental tasks and only the best were chosen. These were initiated into the forms of acceptable behaviour and how to speak, gesture and walk. They also learnt arts such as painting, reading, writing, chess and dancing. Those who stood out spent several days serving as the Emperor's mother's maids and taking care of her daily needs.

Those chosen as concubines were strictly forbidden from having sex with anyone other than the Emperor. The eunuchs would oversee all of the activities, monitoring the concubines at all times. Concubines were required to bathe and were examined by a court doctor before the Emperor visited their bed chambers. They had their own rooms and would fill their days applying make-up, sewing, practicing various arts and socializing with other concubines. Some spent their entire lives in the palace without any contact with the Emperor.

Maids were female servants in the palace. They were ranked according to their families social position and they would only be recruited from the Eight Banners families that were mainly Manchurians and Mangolians. They were selected when they reached the age of 13. Their role was to attend to the daily needs of the Empress, imperial consorts and concubines. They could not leave their ladies' side, day or night, seven days a week. The maid-in-waiting held the highest rank. Their families were banned from visiting until they turned 25.

THE FORBIDDEN CITY

The Forbidden City is a palace complex in central Beijing, China. The former Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty, it now houses the Palace Museum. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987. It is called The Forbidden City as no "ordinary" people were allowed in without permission.

This City was used as a Palace from 1420 to 1912, and served as the home of Emperors and their households as well being the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years. Having been constructed from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers over 180 acres.

After being the home of 24 Emperors --- 14 of the Ming dynasty and 10 of the Qing dynasty --- the Forbidden City ceased being the political centre of China in 1912 with the abdication of Puyi, the last Emperor of China.

Religion was an important part of life for the Imperial Court. In the Qing dynasty, the Palace of Earthly Harmony became a place of Manchu Shamanist ceremony. At the same time, the native Chinese Taoist religion continued to have an important role throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. There were two Taoist shrines, on in the imperial garden and another in the central area of the inner court. Another prevalent form of religion in the Qing dynasty palace was Buddhism. A number of temples and shrines were scattered throughout the inner court, including that of Tibetan Buddhism or Lamaism. Buddhist iconography also proliferated in the interior decorations of many buildings. Of these, the Pavilion of the Rain of Flowers is one of the most important. It housed a large number of Buddhist statues, icons, and mandalas, placed in ritualistic arrangements.

The Symbolism within the actual building itself was meticulously planned to reflect philosophical and religious principles, and above all to symbolize the majesty of imperial power. Two examples are =
YELLOW is the colour of the Emperor. Almost all roofs within the Forbidden City bear yellow glazed tiles.
The main halls of the Outer and Inner Courts are all arranged in groups of three --- the shape of the Qing triagram, representing Heaven.

Being the largest Imperial Palace in the world, it has over 8,728 rooms and is the world's largest collection of well-preserved medieval wooden structures.

THE TOWER OF LONDON (part 2)

                                                          THE TOWER OF LONDON

Construction of The Bell Tower started in 1190 and was completed in 1210. The bell at the top of the tower (again, hence the name "The Bell Tower") was rung to warn of emergencies, such as a fire or impending enemy attack.

The Wardrobe Tower was also commissioned in 1190 and completed in 1199. Again, as the name indicates, the tower was used to hold the Royal Garments and the famous Crown Jewels of England.

                                                          THE WAKEFIELD TOWER

                                                         THE LANTHORN TOWER
10 years after the completion of the Bell Tower, King Henry III ordered  construction of The Wakefield and Lanthorn Towers, the latter being the old English spelling of the present day word "Lantern". Again, as the name suggests, a lantern was positioned at night at the top of the Lanthorn Tower to help guide ships entering the River Thames and the historic part of London.

THE TOWER OF LONDON

                                                             THE TOWER OF LONDON
The Tower Of London is one of the world's oldest and most famous prisons. However, It's original purpose was to protect London, the Capitol City of the British Empire. The Tower, which is actually a complex of several towers and structures, was built in the latter part of the 11th Century as a fortress.

                                                                THE WHITE TOWER
The oldest structure in the Tower of London complex, the initial construction of "The White Tower" started in 1078 and was completed in 1100, during the reign of King William II. It was designed and built by Gundulf of Rochester, a Norman Bishop. Being made from white limestone (hence the name "The White Tower") imported from Caen in northwestern France as well as a local building material called Kentish Ragstone.

While designed as a battlement, the Tower of London soon found use as a prison. When King Henry I  assumed the throne in 1100, following the assassination of William II, his brother, one of Henry's first acts was to order the arrest of the Bishop of Durham, Rannulf Flambard. Flambard was charged with selling administrative positions in the church for money and became the first prisoner within the Tower of London, though later he escaped.

The Kings of the Medieval Era

During the Medieval Era, we had several Kings and Queens in England, starting from 1066 through to 1377 :

WILLIAM I   1066 - 1087
William the Conqueror founded Windsor Castle at "New" Windsor.

WILLIAM RUFUS   1087 - 1100
Was buried at Winchester

HENRY I   1100 - 1135
Kept Court at Windsor for the first time in 1100

STEPHEN   1135 - 1154
Buried at Faversham Abbey, Kent.

HENRY II   1154 - 1187
Held a Great Council (Parliament) at Windsor in 1175

RICHARD I   1189 - 1199
Richard Coeur de Lion (Richard the Lion Heart).

JOHN   1199 - 1216
Of Magna Carta fame.

HENRY III   1216 - 1272
Buried at Westminster Abbey.

EDWARD I   1272 - 1307
Made Windsor a Free Borough and granted the town its first Charter in 1276. He stayed often at Windsor Castle.

EDWARD II   1307 - 1327
Stayed at Windsor regularly, some if his children were born there.

EDWARD III   1327 - 1377
Born at Windsor and known as Edward of Windsor.

Medieval Health Care

Health Care in the Medieval Era was very different to today. No one knew what caused diseases back then. There was no knowledge of germs. Medieval peasants had been taught by the church that any illness was a punishment from God for sinful behaviour. Therefore, any illness was self-imposed, the result of the individual's behaviour.

Other theories put forward for diseases included "humours". It was believed that the body had four humours (fluids in the body) and if these became unbalanced the person became ill.

As no-one knew how diseases spread, no-one realized that a whole village living close to each other --- family upon family as it were --- meant that diseases, such as the black death, became rampant when they appeared and whole villages were wiped out.

Physicians, although considered skilled, had a very poor knowledge of the human anatomy when compared with our doctors today. These physicians charged for their services which meant that only the rich could afford their services. "Cures" included bleeding and the use of herbs. Interestingly --- we still use herbs today in many medicines.