The Not-So "Forbidden" City

What imp of perversity in human nature dislikes the word "forbidden" so much that whatever that description is applied to immediately becomes the object of our utmost desire?  According to the oft-told tale of the Garden of Eden, the first human beings were perfectly happy in their innocence.  That is, they were happy until one small thing was "forbidden" to them.  Ever since the taboo relating to that forbidden fruit was broken by an Eve manipulated by her curiosity and her feckless Adam, all of humankind has suffered the consequences.  One might believe - somewhat apocryphally - that an Almighty and All-Knowing Being would know exactly what would happen in this instance and that the so-called "test" was rigged from the first.  But that is a whole other story.

No matter who and where we are, the word "forbidden" too often lures us into situations where common sense might suggest we had better not go.  Fortunately, for HWMBO and his study group, the word "forbidden," used to describe the Forbidden City, the imperial palace complex used by Chinese emperors from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, no longer has the meaning it originally held.  Then, it meant that no one could enter or leave the palace without the Emperor's permission.  The consequences of disobedience were dire.  Fortunately, that is no longer the case.

The palace complex of the Forbidden City was built from 1406 to 1420, consists of 980 buildings, and covers 720,000 square meters (7,800,000 square feet).  This makes it, according to one source, among the five most important palace complexes in the world.  According to that same source, the other "palaces" include Versailles in France, Buckingham Palace in the UK, the Kremlin in Russia and, surprisingly, the White House in the US.  I never have thought of the White House as a palace.  However we may venerate (or not, as the case may be) our Presidents, they are not royalty in the sense of the rois of France, the Kings and Queens of England, the Tsars in Russia and, most certainly not in the sense of the former Emperors of China.  In any event, the Forbidden City has its own map posted

for today's visitors, who come in multitudes.

Visitors are greeted at the outer gates by a stern depiction of the late Chairman Mao.

Statues of fierce lions are positioned about the courtyards.

And there are plaques that describe the history of areas such as the Hall of Preserved (or Preserving) Harmony,

that have been destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries.

Today, visitors from all countries of the world can wander freely among the buildings in the palatial complex.

They can even view the throne used by Emperors for centuries

and ponder how Power - no matter how long it may seem to last - is ultimately fleeting.