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The Forbidden City |
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The Forbidden City |
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The Large Stone Carving
On the ascents and descents to the raised marble platforms there are large stone carvings forming ramps flanked by stairs. The emperor would be carried in his sedan over the stone carving and was the only person allowed to pass over it.
The largest stone carving lies on the descent from the raised platform of the Outer Court, heading north towards the Inner Court, behind the Hall of Preserved Harmony.
The carvings always involved the dragon, symbol of celestial power and the emporer.
This single stone is 16.75 meters long, 3.07 meters wide and 1.7 meters thick. It weighs more than 200 tonnes. Quarried from the FangShan mountains west of Beijing, it was heaved to the Forbidden City using logs in summer and by pouring water along the way in winter till it froze and sliding the huge block along the ice. It was put in place at the time the three main Halls were built around 1418.
In 1761, Emperor QianLong ordered that the original carvings be hewn away and replaced with new designs. At the bottom are curling waves and above there are nine dragons playing in the clouds. Around the edge are interlocking lotus flowers.
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