Roofs of the Forbidden City

The Forbidden City in Beijing was the palace of the Ming and Qing emperors and is among the best-preserved groups of traditional timber buildings in the world. Its roofs, almost all covered in glazed yellow tiles, are its defining image.

History

The palace was built between 1406 and 1420 under the Ming emperor Zhu Di (the Yongle Emperor). It was the seat of imperial power until 1911, during which 14 Ming and 10 Qing emperors were enthroned. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987. The complex covers about 72 ha (180 acres) and has 980 surviving buildings.

Roof colour

Yellow was the emperor's colour, so nearly every roof is yellow-glazed. There are notable exceptions:

• The Pavilion of Literary Profundity, the imperial library, has black tiles; black was linked with water and so with protection against fire.
• The crown prince's residences have green tiles, linked with wood and growth.

Roof forms

Roof shape was also ranked. The palace includes double-eaved halls such as the Palace of Heavenly Purity and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, the square Hall of Union with a pyramidal roof, and corner towers with intricate roofs of 72 ridges modelled on famous pavilions in Song dynasty paintings. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the largest surviving wooden structure in China, about 30 m (98 ft) tall.

Ridge figures

A procession of glazed figures runs along the hip ridges, led by a man riding a phoenix and ending with a dragon. Minor buildings have three or five. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the only building in China permitted ten, including a unique tenth figure called the hangshi.

Fire and rebuilding

Timber halls under heavy tile roofs were vulnerable to fire. UNESCO notes that the palace was almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1644 and restored under the Qing. Many halls have been rebuilt or repaired several times, so the roofs seen today represent centuries of maintenance by imperial and later craftsmen.