I have been photographing the Forbidden City for more than 30 years, having visited it hundreds of times, including the three main halls, the three rear palaces, the east six palaces, the west six palaces, and the Imperial Garden. Wherever visitors are allowed to go, I have been there again and again. I have taken thousands of photos of this magnificent palace complex, sorted them and published more than 10 books.
After so many visits, I had a new idea and focused on the fact that the Forbidden City is a palace complex built for many generations of Chinese emperors. The supreme ruler of China was also called the Son of Heaven. How did this come about? It is because the emperor was deemed to have been created by the heavenly deities and thus have enjoyed all the rights naturally granted by Heaven. Therefore, the core of Chinese culture has long focused on the unity of humanity and nature. The construction of the Forbidden City also clearly embodies the core of Chinese culture in displaying this same unity.
The Forbidden City got its name from the fact that the ancients divided the sky into several zones, the center of which stood Polaris. Standing on the top of the sky, it also known as Supreme Purple Star. Its bright luster represents tenacity and dignity, and also represents the emperor on the earth. Therefore, the residence of the Son of Heaven on Earth is called the Purple Forbidden City. This palace is surrounded by tall and extremely thick walls. It has four heavily guarded gates, and the only space left unguarded is the sky or Heaven. The emperor is the Son of Heaven but is still controlled by the Heaven that controls the climate, the seasons, the sun, the moon, stars, cloudy and sunny days, dusk and dawn, rain, snow, wind and frost. We Chinese distinguish these climatic aspects into the 24 Solar Terms. This is the difference between Chinese culture and others in the world. Compared with other cultures, we have a more detailed and accurate understanding of the existence and relationship between the sky and humans. Therefore, unlike other cultures, we do not simply divide the astronomical phenomenon into four simple seasons, but the 24 Solar Terms.
During the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period 770 BC-221 BC, it was found that the fundamental cause of changes in the sky and of the weather patterns were due to the sun that kept moving throughout the year. The light from the sun forms shadows when it reaches the ground. The length of the shadow can show the change in the sun''s position. So, people began to use a bamboo pole to measure the length of the sun''s shadow. The shortest shadow became the summer solstice, the longest the winter solstice, and other changes in season were determined by the length of the bamboo pole shadow in turn.
When I gained understanding of this, I went to the Forbidden City again with my camera, paying special attention to the 24 Solar Terms. Because the division of these terms is determined by the length of the sun''s projection on the ground, and the importance of sunlight is known to every photographer, in recognition that the change and combination of light and shadow become important means to determine whether a photo is successful or not.
I consciously arranged my time to go to the Forbidden City around the Winter Solstice. The reason was that, in this period of time, as long as it is sunny, the sun rises in the morning from the southeast, and sets in the evening from the southwest. The longest projection of the sun on the ground means that the incidence angle of the sun is the lowest. The buildings in the Forbidden City all face south. Therefore, only during the period around the winter solstice can the sunlight illuminate these fronts. Only during this period can the sunlight penetrate the interior of the buildings through the doors and windows at a low angle, and can we see and truly appreciate the furnishings and structures inside. On the contrary, in the period before and after the Summer Solstice, I will strive to climb the Wanchun Pavilion on the top of the Coal Hill Jingshan Hill just to the north of the Forbidden City, because, at this time, the morning sun rises from the northeast in the morning and sets from the northwest in the evening, that is to say, in this position, nearly 10,000 structures in the Forbidden City are best illuminated. In the sunshine, the countless roofs of the palaces there have layers of golden glass, which shine and glitter one after another, just like the waves in the golden ocean. This is an amazing spectacle of the Sea of Palaces!
There is also a solar term that makes the Forbidden City particularly fascinating Pure Brightness or the Qingming Festival [Tomb-Sweeping Day to venerate the ancestors in early spring]. Many are familiar with the line by the famous poet Du Mu of the Tang Dynasty 618-907： The rain falls thick during the Qingming Festival. During that period, all kinds of flowers are blooming in the palace. Among them, the pear blossom in the Palace of Celestial Favor creates the most beautiful sense of reverie and sentimental attachment. It blooms quietly in the rain like a maiden. Bai Juyi''s poem, Song of Eternal Sorrow, has a line：
But her pale face was sad,
Tears filled her eyes,
Like a blossoming pear tree in spring,
With raindrops on its petals.
This always reminds one the lament in the sad and beautiful love story of Concubine Dong''e and Emperor Shunzhi [first ruler of the Qing Dynasty established in the 17th Century by the Manchu People] in the Palace of Celestial Favor.
With growing understanding of the 24 Solar Terms, I have new ideas and clues in ways to shoot scenes in the Forbidden City, making a new exploration and expression of the Chinese culture contained therein from different aspects and at different levels through visual language.
In order to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the completion of the Forbidden City, I have reached a consensus with China Intercontinental Press that we will publish an atlas of Chinese culture with the 24 Solar Terms as the main guide. It depicts the great palaces with a history of 600 years the Forbidden City of China.
Shaobai Li
2020.9
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