Deep red, brilliant yellow and white, the Forbidden City, a massive seventy-two-hectare enclosure, is a block of colour at the centre of the grey Chinese capital, Beijing. For some five hundred years, it was successively occupied by twenty-four emperors and their vast retinuc of scrvants, as well as housing the centre of government. It was set apart by its immense walls and gates, through its symbolism as the residence ofhcaven's rcprcscntativc on carth,and by those vibrant colours, forbidden by law to the ordinary residents of Beijing who lived in low grey houses. The sea of grey, high walls, washed a decp red, enclosed a series of long courtyards filled with buildings of all sizcs set on white marble platforms and topped with roofs of brilliant yellow-glazed tilcs.

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The Forbidden City in the centre of Beijing was the hub of imperial China from the fifteenth to the twentieth century. A city within a city, its inhospitable red wails enclosed the seat of government,the imperial palace, huge takes dotted with islands and pLeasure-boats, workshops producing Luxury items for the court, and a zoo with horses, cats, elephants and the occasional giraffe.

For hundreds of years, thousands of eunuchs served their imperiat masters within the Forbidden City, taking control of the flow of administrative documents and the daily needs of the emperor and the women of the palace. This LiveLy book introduces the reader to the cotourfut characters who inhabited the Forbidden City, and vividly evokes the strictly prescribed rituals that made up Life behind its watts. From the strong inteLLectuaL and poLiticaL character of the Ming dynasty to the robust warrior spirit of the Qing, Frances Wood's thematic tour recaLLs the most intriguing and exciting moments -whether officiat or domestic - of that extraordinary era.

It was not until the very end of the nineteenth century that westerners managed to penetrate the Forbidden City to explore the beguiling heart of imperial China. This book aLLows you to do just that, under the guidance of one of its most enthusiastic admirers.

  Introduction: Origins

1 Building a palace

2 Officials and eunuchs

3 Banquets and bedchambers

4 Garden parties

5 Temples and shrines

6 Entertaining the emperors

7 Collecting and consuming

8 From palace to museum

  Notes

  Notes on Romanization and pronunciation

  Chronological table

  Further reading

  Index

  Picture credits