This top photo is where the Emperor slept in the summer to keep cool. All the stone was quarried from the bottom of a lake. They apparently don't have a lot of stone in Beijing!
On front and back of every building entrance dragons were carved into the stone. They are BIG on Dragons! At the corner of every eave they had them carved as well. One large dragon and his sons in front with a little man to "drive" them to heaven. Not sure on the translation of that. I think that's what Sunny said!
My experience here taught me much about the life of the Emperor and his family. They lived a very secluded life even from each other. The protocol was very strict. The Emperor must have been a very lonely man. Very few people, including his wives could see him without a ceremony or event. I don't know what the inside of this city looked liked then but it was a lot of stone...every where. I was a bit disappointed to find that there were no gardens to speak of. A few trees and very little grass. Beijing is actually very hot in the summer with little rain. That is why they built the Summer Palace. It was their attempt at getting away from the heat. It seemed just as hot to me at both locations! Each building has a purpose and a saying over each door. Some were for celebrating, some for politics, some for worship, some for gathering, some for reading, some for holding court and counsels. Lining the city walls
The exterior wall that surrounded the Forbidden City. It was huge. It also had a mote around it to further protect the palace.
My experience here taught me much about the life of the Emperor and his family. They lived a very secluded life even from each other. The protocol was very strict. The Emperor must have been a very lonely man. Very few people, including his wives could see him without a ceremony or event. I don't know what the inside of this city looked liked then but it was a lot of stone...every where. I was a bit disappointed to find that there were no gardens to speak of. A few trees and very little grass. Beijing is actually very hot in the summer with little rain. That is why they built the Summer Palace. It was their attempt at getting away from the heat. It seemed just as hot to me at both locations! Each building has a purpose and a saying over each door. Some were for celebrating, some for politics, some for worship, some for gathering, some for reading, some for holding court and counsels. Lining the city walls
were the buildings that housed the army and the servants. I tried to remember all the history of the buildings as Sunny was teaching me but there were so many buildings and not enough memory! I decided if I really wanted to know I would just go buy the book! It was my first glimpse into the belief system of the Chinese people. With communism, much of it is not practiced which is a shame. It seems that Buddha had some things right.
What I enjoyed most were the
conversations Sunny and I had about our lives. She is getting married next February during the Spring Festival. Over the two days we spent together I marveled at how similar we all are regardless of our customs and cultures. She wants to be happily married and raise a child and wanted advice as to how to do that. Our hopes and dreams are the same even on the other side of the world. It was a sweet reminder of how grateful I am for my faith and my family and how I could not have one without the other. I think everyone we met were intrigued by our life, six children, 10 grandchildren, 31 years of marriage, our Mormon faith. There were so many opportunities to "see" the gospel in our lives that talking about it was easy because they kept asking.
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