Forbidden City Roofs

Imperial roof decoration of a minor building at the forbidden city.

Forbidden city roofs.

Roofs had to meet institutional requirements. Yellow tiles and stately roof shapes only the imperial buildings of the forbidden city were permitted to have yellow tiles. Mysterious animals on the palace roofs of the forbidden city there are more or less rows of small animal statues on the roofs of each palace in the forbidden city. They are mythical creatures in ancient chinese legends which represent all kinds of magic and wonderful things.

Double eave hip roofs were the classiest roofs in the empire reserved for the top imperial buildings. The roof shape of the forbidden city s most important buildings also had significance. One of the most beautiful parts of the forbidden city s architecture is its roofs and their eaves. The roofs are generally big featured with the smooth lines distinct eaves and delicate animal statues.

These are often made of glazed ceramic and form an outward marching procession. Along the ridges unions between the roof panels near the corner a row of small figures is placed. Multiple gables with decorations. The forbidden city roof architecture showed different levels of importance for buildings.

In support of this argument the forbidden city features seven pink gold rooftops four on the rooftop of five phoenix towers one on the rooftop of hall of central harmony one on the rooftop of hall of union and peace and one on the rooftop of the hall of imperial peace. Resting hill roofs were used for official buildings hanging hill roofs for better off premises and hard hill roofs for civil buildings. Theforbidden city beijing china. Walls came to serve merely as enclosing screens.

Yellow was the emperor s color. There are only two exceptions. The types of roofs mainly include single eave hip roof hipped gable roof and pyramidal hipped roof. The gate is also one of the tallest buildings of the complex standing 125 feet 38 metres high at its roof ridge.

As early as the neolithic period a basic principle of chinese architecture was already established wherein columns spaced at intervals rather than walls provided the support for the roof. More than ten kinds of roofs exist in forbidden city and the three main halls in the outer court have three different roofs respectively. Yellow is the color of the emperor. The library at the pavilion of literary profundity 文 渊 阁 had black tiles because black was associated with water and thus fire prevention.

The wu gate is the imposing formal southern entrance to the forbidden city. Its auxiliary wings which flank the entryway are outstretched like the forepaws of a guardian lion or sphinx. Meanwhile the palace is the residence of immortals on the earth so the outsiders are forbad entering later known as the forbidden city. Hip roofs were mainly used for imperial palaces.