Built to a grand scale, its design determined by the art of fengshui,the Forbidden" City was at once a palace and a prison. Good luck didnot always bless its denizens, and life was cold, lonely, and stifling formany of the emperors, empresses, and imperial concubines who livedwithin it. Today the palace receives many visitors, yet the realities of imperial life in the Forbidden City are still little known.
This illustrated introduction exposes the private world hidden behind imperial walls, bringing to light the palace's grand ceremonies anddetailing the mundane processes of its everyday life. Ritual proceduresand domestic arrangements, weddings, births and deaths, the practical concerns of heating, lighting, and cooking: each of these topics is explored in this unique portrait of one of Asia's premier historical and cultural sites.