Forbidden City - Religion

Figure 4.2: Doors of the Hall for Worshipping Ancestors

It was built in an H-shape with the �high ranking double-eaved, hipped roof,� (Yu 177). The advantage of this roof is to �carry the rainwater quickly down� (Yu 222). The ceiling of the hall was lacquered in different shades of bronze with cloud figures (Dorn 184). Indeed, the lower panels on the doors of the Hall for Worshipping Ancestors are also decorated by cloud-like figures, as shown in figure 4.2.

The Chinese emperor Jia Jing ordered the construction of the Hall for Worshipping Ancestors in memory of his father on the east side of the Hall of Honoring Compassion instead of constructing an ancestral building (Yu 325). It was constructed in the Inner Court of the Forbidden City. Chinese believed in Confucius, who taught people to have respect and filial piety to their parents and elders (Bary 27). Indeed, Confucius said that filial piety includes worshipping and sacrificing to them when they died (Liu 219). Therefore, worshipping them and putting their names on wooden tablets in the hall became ways to respect them. The Chinese emperor Jia Jing established an ideal way to respect the dead elders and expected others to follow him. Chinese believed that each of their dead ancestor�s spirit lived in his/her individual wooden tablets with his/her names written on them. Therefore, the Hall for Worshipping Ancestors in the Forbidden City was built �near the great Retirement Palace, the Imperial Schoolroom, and the Archery Ground� (Dorn 181). In this way, the dead people�s spirits could see who would join them, and guide as well as look after their young descendants. Therefore, the Chinese emperor Jia Jing spread the Chinese tradition belief of ancestor�s spirit looking after his/her descendants by building the hall. The hall was also used to offer sacrifices to the ancestors. These sacrifices started during the Ming Dynasty (Ru 131). During the Ming Dynasty, only the members of the imperial family and their retainers could enter the Hall for Worshipping Ancestors in the Ming Dynasty (Dorn 184). The Chinese emperor would pay tribute to the ancestors on the imperial birthday, the first day of the New Year, and winter solstice (Yu 177). The Chinese emperor Jia Jing showed his love and respect to his dead father and demonstrated Chinese moral code of the people, which is the Confucian filial piety, in the Forbidden City.

Figure 4.3: Outer Eaves' Boards and Capitals of the Hall for Worshipping Ancestors

In the Ching Dynasty, the Manchus still retained the Han religious practices such as worshipping ancestors. The Hall for Worshipping Ancestors was renovated several times. The last renovation of the Hall for Worshiping Ancestors occurred in the reign of the Chinese emperor Qian Long in the Ching Dynasty (Yu 177). Today�s Hall for Worshipping Ancestors is the final renovation in the reign of Qian Long. It still used the original structure during the Ming Dynasty. In the Ching Dynasty, the Ming emperors� wooden tablets were all burned. The Manchus put their own ancestors� wooden tablets in the hall instead (Dorn 185). Indeed, they put �the ancestral tablets to the heirs of Nurhachi, the founder of the Manchu state, in the front hall,� and �those to his antecedents were placed in the rear hall� (Yu 177). The Chinese emperor Qian Long also continued the Han�s entering rules of the hall - the Han officials and servants were not allowed to enter this hall (Dorn 184). He discriminated the Han officials because he believed that his race � Manchu is the best. The Chinese emperor Qian Long in the Ching Dynasty adopted Han�s culture about worshipping ancestors and showed his love and respect to his own ancestors but not the ancestors of the Ming�s imperial family. Moreover, the renovation of the Hall of Worshipping Ancestors during the reign of Qian Long demonstrated the Chinese painting style in the Ching Dynasty, xuan zi painting. The xuan zi painting style was used in the decoration on the outer eaves� boards and capitals of the hall, as shown in figure 4.3.