At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People's Republic, the Forbidden City was greatly damaged, which made the benevolent people in the Chinese architectural community extremely distressed. Between 1934 and 1941, Zhu Qizhao, president of the Construction Society, organized a large-scale surveying and mapping campaign on the central axis of Beijing, including the Forbidden City, to protect cultural relics and ancient buildings. Mr. Liang Sicheng, who has a good relationship with the Forbidden City, also emphasized the role of surveying and mapping in the protection of cultural relics: "It is necessary to make systematic and orderly records of various typical architectural objects by surveying, mapping and photography; because the fate of antiquities is in danger, investigation and destructive forces are like a competition." Many interview examples can be used for academic research on the one hand, and on the other hand, it can also promote social protection. ”
Before the Construction Society in China, the Japanese scholar Tadao Ito had completed the mapping of the Forbidden City. With the results of his investigation and mapping of ancient Chinese architecture since 1901, Ito Tadao became one of the authoritative figures in the study of ancient architecture in Japan.
The Modern Publishing House has previously published a book, Hand-Painted Heavenly Dynasties: A History of Chinese Architecture Lost in Japan, which focuses on the different styles of ancient buildings by Ito Tadao from April 1902 to June 1903 during his expeditions to various provinces in China. The recently published book of the same series, "Hand-Painted Forbidden City: Lost architecture of the Imperial City in Japan", focuses on the 1901 Mapping of the Forbidden City led by Ito Tadao, with more than 700 exquisite hand-drawn pictures, perfectly presenting the original appearance of the Forbidden City 120 years ago.
Ito Tadanoda's departure from Japan to his return journey took more than 50 days, but the real time spent on surveying and mapping was only 22 days. This is too tight for the Forbidden City, which has thousands of houses. Ito's party surveyed and photographed during the day and wrote a journal at night to completely record what he saw in China, which also provided valuable information for understanding the original appearance of the Forbidden City in the early 20th century.
"Hand-Painted Forbidden City: Architecture of the Imperial City of Beijing Lost in Japan" is divided into four chapters, the first three chapters are from the types, combinations, simplifications and decorative colors of the Imperial City architecture, the overall characteristics of the Ming and Qing Dynasty architecture of the Forbidden City, the overall layout, the details of the color of the ornaments and the overall architecture of the Forbidden City are evaluated. The fourth chapter is a comprehensive presentation of the pattern, color, and structure of the Forbidden City from the details.
Perhaps influenced by the history of Western art, whether in Hand-Painted Heavenly Dynasties: A History of Chinese Architecture Lost in Japan or In Hand-Painted Forbidden City: Architecture of the Imperial City of Beijing Lost in Japan, Ito Tadao paid much more attention to the details of ancient Chinese architecture than the overall structure. This can also be seen from the book "Hand-Painted Forbidden City", in addition to a number of overall drawings of the imperial city architecture, most of Ito's hand-drawn drawings focus on the decoration and details of the architectural details.
Through mapping and photography, Ito Tadata gained insight into the evolution of Chinese Ming and Qing architecture, and has influenced his understanding of other ancient buildings in China. To sum up, Ito Believe that the Forbidden City has four advantages: absolute symmetry, rich patterns, color use, and variety of techniques. But at the same time, the architecture of the Forbidden City has four shortcomings: complex decoration, excessive space and patterns, lack of change, and rough techniques.
Among the palaces on the central axis of the Forbidden City, the Qianqing Palace, in particular, is regarded as the typical of the opposite, considered to be "the most clumsy, and the degree of clumsiness of the Taihe Gate is even higher." This statement is derived from the comparison of details by Ito Tadata, mainly from the aspects of the door, the chiti, the algae well, and the painting, which is actually still a bit biased. Ito Tadao obviously did not have enough knowledge of the grandeur of ancient Chinese royal architecture, in contrast, Liang Sicheng's description of the Forbidden City in the History of Chinese Architecture is as follows:
"The deepest impression of the Qing Palace architecture is in its consistent majesty and its monotony without fear. Its buildings are all painted with yellow tiles and red walls as the standard style (only a few use green tiles), and its more important solemn ones are lined with white jade steps. In the thousands of rooms in the Forbidden City, as far as the eye can see, it is as neat and serious as the weather is majestic, which is beyond the reach of any group of buildings in the world. ”
In Liang Sicheng's eyes, what Ito Tadao described could not only not be called a shortcoming, but a manifestation of his majesty. In particular, "unattainable for any group of buildings in the world" is to show the pride of his country's ancient architecture vividly.
The central axis of Beijing, especially the Forbidden City, has stood tall through vicissitudes, witnessing the rise of the Chinese nation and confirming the soul of the Chinese nation that will never end.
Original title: Hand-painted Forbidden City a hundred years ago
Text/Huang Xianghua
Source/Beijing Evening News