The historical buildings of the Palace Museum with the Taihe Hall as a representation
Have had a rough life, through fires
I've been working in the Forbidden City for 17 years
In 2003 (October, 2002)
The Palace Museum carried out a general restoration
My first project after graduate school was the restoration of the Taihe Hall
Buildings on the axis of the Forbidden city usually face the north
Wu Men was the arena where the emperor announced the New Year, or his wedding
Zhonghe Hall was the place where the emperor rested before important events
Baohe Hall had been used as the venue for final imperial examination since emperor Qianlong's reign 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:56,880 Taihe Hall is the face of the country
It opened just a few times a year
Yet it was the most important one
It was the place where the emperor held important national rituals
Such as ascending the throne, wedding, publishing a list of successful candidates
Taihe Hall was constructed in 1420
This one in front of our eyes was rebuilt in 1695
Under the lead of a constructor, Liang Jiu
Anyone who comes to the Taihe Hall square
Is astonished by its magnificence
Towering on the bases 8.13 meters tall
We call it Xu Mi Zuo
And it works to just one end, to emphasize on the royal power
We also notice the beautiful curves on its roof
Representing human beings are an integral part of nature
Ancient Chinese believe that the universe is Yang and the earth is Yin
Two layers of eaves
Craftsman lengthened the central ridge
Making the slopes naturally steeper
Just as a man when he sticks out his chest
It's all of a sudden grand
The 10 roof-ridge ornaments
Have multiple implications
The last one -- Xing Shi -- is a representation of a god in charge of thunder
In the hope that it protects the building from lightening strikes
In a practical point of view
The roof is sloped quite scientifically
The slope gradually evens out from top to bottom
And when it rains, water gets down to the end of the roof quickly
And when it gets down there, it runs away from the roof smoothly
So that the window and doors are not drenched
And the walls are so rich in details
It sends a strong signal overall
"The building is unlike any other"
The other halls were built with ordinary bricks
While Taihe Hall uses glazed bricks
When it's seen from sides and back
There are hollowed-out brick carvings both above and under
This is an air-circulator
Invented by the ancient craftsman
They are called "Tou Feng" in Chinese
They bring in air from the lower carved bricks
Air circulated along the walls and columns and emits from the higher bricks
This keeps the wood columns dry
Prevents lightening strike and fire
Some believe that the Forbidden City floats here
It makes sense
The Taihe Hall was originally built with Chinese cedar wood during the Ming Dynasty
Which is fragrant, highly resistant to decay and worm
The constructors couldn't ship the cedar wood as soon as they located it
They had to wait till next summer
Then they can rush down the wood with mountain torrents
And figure out a way to move it to the grand canal
Then ship it to the Forbidden City with mules
Yet cedar wood's Achilles' heel
Is that it takes 300 years to grow
That's part of the reason that today's Taihe Hall is built with pine wood for the most part
The historical buildings in the Forbidden City is 600 years old
All of them was built in three days
Nearly ten thousand rooms
They survived 222 earthquakes
No major destruction caused
I hope that we can understand the wisdom of ancient constructors
When we see the Taihe Hall