Aerial view of the Forbidden City

The Forbidden City served as the imperial residence and seat of government for twenty-four emperors of the Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. The complex includes ceremonial halls, governmental offices, and housing for servants and staff, as well as the palaces and courtyards, in which the members of the royal family lived, studied, worshipped, and entertained. The Forbidden City covers 720,000 square meters, and contains 9,999.5 rooms. It took 300,000 workers 14 years to complete this massive building project.

The Forbidden City embodies the Confucian divisions between ruler and official, husband and wife, and principal wife and concubine.

The area where the Emperor dealt with official business was located at the front of the Forbidden City complex. Important ceremonial functions and audiences with civil and military officials were carried out in three large halls. These halls were constructed on a raised platform that extended from south to north, along the Forbidden City's revered central axis. The magnificence and central location of their construction were expressions of respect for imperial power.

Hall of Supreme Harmony

Behind the three main halls were the imperial residences of the emperor and empress, as well as numerous auxiliary courtyards. This layout was an expression of the Confucian concept of "public in front, private in back."

The ruling class of ancient China practiced polygamy, with one principal wife and multiple concubines in one family. Only the empress, as the sole legal wife of the emperor, had quarters located on the revered central axis of the Forbidden City. The residences of the imperial concubines were located in twelve courtyards to the east and west of the centerline. This arrangement was a graphic representation of the main wife's superior position over the concubines.

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