How Ming and Qing Dynasties kept Imperial Palace safe from fire
In 1420 A.D., the Forbidden City, the predecessor of the Imperial Palace, was built in Beijing. As the largest cluster of wooden palaces in the world, it needed protection from fire. How to protect the palace from flames was a challenge faced by the emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Ancient Chinese buildings have high cornices and high roofs. Thunderstorm and lighting pose risk to these buildings. Beijing has more thunderstorms in summer and autumn and the Imperial Palace being the highest building in the city during Ming and Qing Dynasties faced an increased risk. In addition, the Chinese traditional Fengshui pattern, which is close to the mountain and near the water, also made the wooden materials more susceptible to moisture and electricity. So craftsmen cleverly set a lightning device at both ends of the roof ridge of the palace named Chiwen (also called Chiwei) which looked like ornamental animals on roof ridge. Chiwei was connected with a thin iron wire and went directly underground. Not only did it display the mighty force of the kingdom, it also kept the royal family safe. In traditional Chinese culture, Chi is also associated with eliminating fire. For the construction of Wenku (emperor's library) and other important places, the palace adopted Yingshan type yellow glazed tile roof which didn’t expose the wooden components, but reduced the possibility of lightning and fire.
On the other hand, the Forbidden City had two water systems, the inner Jinshui River and the outer Jinshui River, which helped in internal drainage and fire protection. There were 308 large iron, copper and gilded copper tanks in the palace. These water tanks were set up for fire protection in Ming and Qing Dynasties. There were specially assigned personnel in charge of water storage throughout the year. They are also called "auspicious tanks". Some "auspicious tanks" are used for water storage even now.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a group of full-time "firefighters" had been put up in the palace. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, there was a fire brigade. During the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, there were more than 300 full-time fire troupes. They used a kind of fire-fighting equipment called Jitong, which was first seen in the Song Dynasty of China. They ejected water through simple mechanical devices, with a lift of up to 20 meters. Because of its simple operation, it played an extremely important role in the fire-fighting history of the Qing Dynasty and even the Republic of China. During the Yongzheng period, the Qing Dynasty sent the shock tube to Li's North Korea, which shows that the fire-fighting equipment and fire-fighting level of the imperial palace were relatively advanced at that time.Compared with the Ming Dynasty, the fire risk in the Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty was greatly reduced. One reason for this was that the emperor of the Qing Dynasty built a fire wall of up to 4,000 meters around the palace. There were no doors and windows or wooden decoration on the wall, which prevent a blaze from spreading.Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the fire protection setting of the Imperial Palace has become more rigorous, and the former fire protection measures have gradually been withdrawn. But their contribution in the history of fire protection of the Imperial Palace is etched in the memory of people. It is because of this awareness that we can appreciate the beauty of the Forbidden City today.
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