Ming Palace mystery left: compared with the Palace Museum in Beijing Which is bigger?

At Mukden door ruins stone wall. This group of pictures provided by Ping Fangyu

Ming Palace within the Golden Water Bridge Ruins

Imperial Palace in Beijing schematic diagram

Extraordinary momentum of the capital and the palace was completed in four steps

600 years ago, in the emperor held a few months before the founding ceremony of the Ming Empire, a new style palace completed in the southeast corner of the ancient city of Nanjing partial.

According to historical records, Liu Ji Assigning location finalized in the emperor Ming Palace enter the engineering design phase, the emperor had told the competent the Palace building Zhongshushing officials said the palace as long as solid can, do not have to cut and polish and flowery. As can be seen from here, born poor and lowly of the emperor has an austere life style. Why did he eventually create an extraordinary momentum of the capital and the palace? Personally believe Another principle related to the construction of the palace with the emperor - solid.

First take a look at the city of Nanjing, is how to build up, roughly divided into four steps:

The first step is the emperor arrived in Nanjing began today Zhonghua Road Palace Park with the use of the the Nantang old city, the Imperial City east of in Jiangning Tainan, plus a square, then repair the walls of the Imperial City outside reinforcement city, this is probably the first emperor of Nanjing Urban Construction.

The second step is the construction of a reinforced today Xuanwu Lake (then called after Lake) south bank of the Taiwan City ", which constitutes" after Lake City, the lake after became the time Chengdong north Allende Lake, this point , the Nanjing City irregular square feature more prominent.

The third step is to fill them in on the east side vast songbirds Lake, was built in the Ming Palace, the development of the city of Nanjing Zijin foothills.

The fourth step, along the following to the construction of tall solid walls will bring the commanding heights of the surrounding natural income eastward major expansion to the Bell Mountain in Nanjing City within:; wealth Mountain in the northeast and north, covered Zhoushan Jilongshan the several commanding heights laps into the city; extends to the northwest to the Lion Rock in the southwest side the several mountains Naru Nan Ma On Shan and Qingliangshan capital, Qinhuai River in the south, other than as a natural barrier, reinforcement Jubao doors city defense. Possession of natural high ground, once the war occurs, it is absolutely prevail. Shows that the emperor build the city of Nanjing to solidify his dominate the world center inevitably want solid on the first place, only able to talk about implementing the aim of "frugal" firmly established premise.

Nanjing Ming Palace and the Forbidden City in Beijing which larger Ricci testify

Certainly visited the Forbidden City in Beijing, for its magnificent marvel endless. But take a realistic approach, the Forbidden City in Beijing was a "second-rate" of 600 years ago, it's "original" - Nanjing Ming Palace, is even larger than it. Some people may not agree that this seems to be an intricate history, one still and one it has already been destroyed, how can comparisons? I think that has been destroyed in the Ming Palace, insufficiency of historical data about the Ming Palace missing records of foreigners can be a supplement can even corrective history -

Ming Palace built in the Ming Dynasty, 200 years after the West has gone halfway around the world missionary Matteo Ricci came to Nanjing. He has issued a praise: "I have not seen such a majestic palace of which country in the world like the Nanjing Ming Palace!" As for the city of Nanjing How grand? The his "Ricci Notes wrote:" It's hard to determine which weight the total length of the wall round about. Locals told a story: two people riding from the opposite two sides of the city opposite the line, spent a whole days before encountered together. "

The foreigner then can believe it? It should be credible.

Ricci from the Atlantic to the West, all the way through almost half the globe, is seen widely;

Second, the fact Ricci later times Nanjing, but it is not very pleasant, because when the Sino-Japanese war going on between the the Nanjing local officials know that a big beard "barbarians" will bring a huge political risk so desperately thrust Ricci left Nanjing, so talk about Ricci Nanjing feelings as to exaggerate the Forbidden City and Nanjing City grand seems impossible, there is no need;

Thirdly, Ricci wrote this reading notes, has left Nanjing for the past 10 years, has been living in the edge of the Forbidden City in Beijing, there are many links with the Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, even become regulars in the Forbidden City in Beijing . So, on the emotions, feelings Ricci in Beijing than much deeper Nanjing him to death is not yet complete "Ricci China Notes on" was written for him to see in Rome, Pope sovereign nor necessary to curry favor with what Chinese officials. He actually rarely mentioned in the book the majesty of the Forbidden City in Beijing, but vigorously inked Ming Palace and Nanjing City, the magnificent, spectacular, should be concerned, this is Ricci made in the control of the north and south two palaces truthfully objective evaluation.

Some people may want to ask: data? There. Released by authorities in Beijing Forbidden City covers an area of ​​720,000 square meters, and according to the information recorded, Nanjing Ming Palace covers an area of ​​1 million square meters, a whole big 280,000 square meters.

Before and spent 20 years at the time before the final completion of the Ming Palace, definitely not today that small patch of the Ming Palace Park. According to research, it is more accurately an area of ​​range, east along the Nanjing Museum within the Zhongshan Gate, the West since Zhu Bridge, the Yixian Bridge area, south to Gwanghwamun first-line, since the Buddha's heart Kiu North. So someone said, the Ming Palace is the largest palace in the medieval world.