The Japanese camera captures the real Forbidden City
Empress Dowager Cixi, a unique woman, left a profound impact on Chinese history through her life and existence, so much so that later generations have commented on her in many different ways.
But in any case, as a woman, she succeeded in holding power into her own hands in the later years of the Qing Dynasty, and she opposed the actions of the reformers, which eventually led to the decline of the Qing Dynasty.
During this period, the corrupt rule of the late Qing Dynasty made the people live in misery. In order to change this predicament, a number of uprisings broke out in society in the late Qing Dynasty, including the Taiping Rebellion and the Boxer Rebellion.
When the Eight-Nation Coalition invaded Beijing, Cixi fled for her life in a hurry, but during this time, a Japanese captured the Forbidden City with a camera.
Empress Dowager Cixi took charge of the late Qing dynasty and became the de facto ruler of the Qing Dynasty, and although the emperor was a puppet in her eyes, the most important principle in selecting the emperor was to be obedient and not to threaten her interests.
Under the leadership of the conservatives, there is a huge gap between the rich and the poor in society, and the people live in poverty. In the palace, the Empress Dowager Cixi lived a luxurious life and was unaware of the suffering of the people at the bottom.
At this time, the Qing Dynasty was in internal and external difficulties.
Faced with the internal Boxer Rebellion and the threat of external powers, on August 14, 1900, the Eight-Nation Coalition invaded Beijing, burning, killing and looting. The next day, the Eight-Nation Coalition broke through the Donghua Gate of the Forbidden City, and the Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor and Empress fled in a hurry.
In order to shirk her responsibility, she blamed everything on the Boxers, and at the same time sent Li Hongzhang and others to negotiate with the foreign powers, and finally signed the "Xinchou Treaty" that humiliated the country. After three months of hard work, Cixi was able to return to the Forbidden City.
However, in the days when the Eight-Nation Coalition was raging in Beijing, the true face of the Forbidden City was also recorded by camera.
During the chaotic period of the invasion of the Forbidden City by the Eight-Nation Alliance, although the Qing Dynasty left a group of envoys and eunuchs to protect the cultural relics, the hearts of the people were scattered, and they could not protect them wholeheartedly.
The Forbidden City is no longer only accessible to princes and nobles, but has become a place for foreigners to enter and leave at will. The duties of the eunuchs and emissaries also changed in an instant, not only to entertain foreigners, but also to give them a better understanding of the Forbidden City.
At this moment, a Japanese appeared in the Forbidden City, and he used his camera to record the true appearance of the Forbidden City.
This Japanese is the master photographer Kazuma Ogawa, who stepped into the Forbidden City with Tadashi Ito, an expert on Japanese architectural history, to study its unique architectural style. As a photographer, Kazuma Ogawa was by Tada's side throughout the whole process and provided him with filming assistance.
Kazuma Ogawa is not only the earliest, but also the most systematic person to photograph the Forbidden City, his ** is true and credible, and has extremely high historical value for future generations to understand and study the Forbidden City at that time.
Through the lens of Ogawa Kazuma, we can clearly see the style of the palace inside the Forbidden City and truly feel the charm of the Forbidden City.
Of the most of the palaces photographed in the Forbidden City, the Taihe Hall is the first one. The Taihe Palace, also known as the Jinluan Palace, is the first of the three major halls in the East. Its interior is extremely luxurious, with ten ornaments at the tips of the eaves, according to the traditional Chinese architectural concept, the more ornaments a building decorates, the higher its rank.
In Ogawa Kazuma's **, we can clearly see the luxurious decoration inside the Taihe Palace, and the emperor's throne is located in the center, full of majesty. During the shooting, in order to make the interior of the Taihe Hall appear taller, he deliberately found a eunuch and asked him to hold the pillars of the Taihe Palace, which made the height of the Taihe Hall more prominent through strong contrast.
In the Qianqing Palace shown in **, we clearly see the majesty of the throne standing in **. As the core of the Qianqing Gate, the Qianqing Palace is inseparable from the emperor's government affairs, where the emperor studies and examines the twists and turns, and also receives the imperial court**.
Therefore, the Qianqing Palace is also the main hall of the inner court. Kazuma Ogawa not only captured these scenes in the outer palace, but also stepped into the harem to unveil this mysterious realm for us.
The harem is the residence of the emperor's concubines, and generally men other than the emperor need to be approved at various levels before they can enter, so his ** has attracted widespread attention at home and abroad, revealing the true appearance of the harem for the first time.
During this turbulent Qing Dynasty, the people in the court were too busy dealing with various changes to care about cleaning the Forbidden City. As a result, the Forbidden City in ** presents a scene of overgrown weeds and people resting at will.
In particular, Chuxiu Palace, its outer platform is furnished with two copper dragons and copper deer, which is the most exquisite palace in the harem. This was once the place where the Empress Dowager Cixi lived, and when she first entered the palace, she lived in Lijingxuan in Chuxiu Palace, and was deeply loved by Xianfeng.
Despite the chaotic environment, Chuxiu Palace still retains its unique charm.
Chuxiu Palace is the mark of Cixi's life, and her deep favor and the only son of Emperor Xianfeng originate from this. In order to celebrate her 50th birthday, Cixi moved here from Changchun Palace and spared no effort to rebuild the palace.
However, it has not been cleaned for a long time, and the palace looks a little dilapidated. Adjacent to Chuxiu Palace is Yikun Palace, as one of the six palaces in the west of the inner court, its two-entry courtyard layout allows the concubine to assist the queen in managing the affairs of the harem.
On Cixi's 50th birthday, she opened up Chuxiu Palace and Yikun Palace, forming a unique first-class courtyard pattern.
These ** capture the elegant layout and exquisite furnishings of Yikun Palace, even in black and white**, you can still feel its magnificent momentum. And in the ** of Kunning Palace, the west side of the paper paste reveals the wisdom of the ancients in dealing with wind and snow.
These ** show the true style of the Forbidden City, from solemn and majestic to slightly dilapidated, it has witnessed the historical change of a dynasty from glory to decline.