Right next to Tiananmen Square is the Forbidden Palace. The
Forbidden Palace is where the emperor and his household lived. How far inside
you could go depended on your rank in society.
Many of the buildings are quite empty. The artifacts themselves are not that impressive because
the KMT took many when they evacuated the capital and Chairman Mao ordered the rest destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. That is
why people say go to Taiwan if you want to see real ancient Chinese history.
Wikipedia says he wrote the following inscription on his
robes, “I am insufficient in virtues and weak in conducts, hence
the heavenly punishment, and the ministers also failed me. Having no dignity to
face my ancestors, I would undress my crown and cover my face with hair.
Mutilate my body as you wish, but do not harm a single civilian.”
If those sentiments were true, it furthers the point that being a nice and kind guy does not necessarily make you an effective leader. As well, it supports the point that your friends are like an elevator: either they will bring you up or down. His own inability combined with the lack of good advice from his ministers (and a Manchu invasion that tied up his army) brought about his downfall.
They were checking everyone (including foreigners) for their ID papers near the
entrance, but I channeled my inner Kung Fu Panda (enhanced by my hat) and walked straight through
the line. It’s amazing how far confidence and ninja skills will take you in life.
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| Safe inside! |
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| This is the emperor's throne. The emperor wrote the name of his chosen successor and placed the parchment behind the panel where the black writing is. Some scholars believe that one candidate raced to the room after the emperor died and successfully changed the names before anyone found out so that he would be made emperor |
I really liked how the palace is now nestled inside the
modern city. Behind the palace is Jingshan, which is an artificial hill created
to improve the feng shui of the palace.
Transition of power
Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty fled the
palace in order to hang himself at the place of this tree when the revolutionaries were
about to take over.
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| Before hanging himself, he ordered his entire household killed |
If those sentiments were true, it furthers the point that being a nice and kind guy does not necessarily make you an effective leader. As well, it supports the point that your friends are like an elevator: either they will bring you up or down. His own inability combined with the lack of good advice from his ministers (and a Manchu invasion that tied up his army) brought about his downfall.
One of the most amazing aspects of democracy, especially the
American version, is how it allows the peaceful transition of power. For most
of history, a new ruler annihilated his former rivals. Now rulers can fall out
of favor, but still keep their lives. This is much better for society as people are more willing to relinquish their power, which leads to fewer wars and deaths.
Pollution
I talked to many American ex-pats while I was in Beijing and
the vast majority of them couldn’t imagine staying for more than two years.
They said it was a tough place to live, hard to build community in the
transient ex-pat society, and overall an undesirable place to live. One of the
biggest deterrents to living and/or raising a family in Beijing is the
pollution. It didn’t bother me that much because I inadvertently timed it
perfectly as the pollution readings were low the days I was there, perhaps due
to the recent snow.
The pollution did help to create beautiful sunsets.
While I was in Beijing, Chinese citizens would ask me what I thought of China. Whenever I answered, "I like it," they responded with, "Really!?! I don't like it." When I've asked some Chinese friends if I've been too harsh on China on my blog, they said, "No. You have a much better opinion than I do." In so many countries, people I meet think they live in the best country ever. Not so in China.
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