Donghua Gate

　　Donghua Gate is the eastern gate of the Forbidden City, initially built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign during the Ming Dynasty (1420). It faces east and corresponds in position to Xihua Gate. Outside the gate, there is a stone stele marking the spot where officials were required to dismount. Inside the gate, the Golden Water River flows from north to south, with a stone bridge spanning it. To the north of the bridge are three archways. To the west lies the Hall of Literary Glory, and further south is the Grand Storage of the Imperial Guards. Donghua Gate shares the same structure as Xihua Gate: a rectangular plan, a red city platform, a white marble Sumeru pedestal, and three arched gateways in the center — the outer frames square and the inner openings round. On the city platform stands a gate tower with a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof covered in yellow glazed tiles, surrounded by a white marble balustrade. The tower has five bays in width and three in depth, with corridors extending around all sides. The beams and brackets are painted with ink-outlined golden Danzi-style colored designs. The plaque under the eastern eaves originally bore inscriptions in Manchu, Mongolian, and Chinese; later reduced to Manchu and Chinese, and after the Xinhai Revolution, only the bronze Chinese characters remained.

　　Since the 23rd year of the Qianlong reign in the Qing Dynasty (1758), the gate tower has been used to store cotton armor for military reviews, which was aired out once every two years. In March of the 28th year of Qianlong (1763), an order was issued to select 70 vacant rooms in the enclosure along the moat outside Donghua Gate to establish granaries for storing rice allotted to eunuchs, and it was named “Enfeng Granary.” Unlike the other three gates, Donghua Gate is close to the Crown Prince’s residence and was designated exclusively for the crown prince’s entry and exit from the Forbidden City. Therefore, Donghua Gate has only eight rows of door studs.

　　In the early Qing Dynasty, only the Grand Secretariat was permitted to use Donghua Gate. By the mid-Qianlong period, high-ranking officials of the first and second ranks who were advanced in age were also granted special permission. Among the four gates of the Forbidden City, the Meridian Gate, the Gate of Divine Prowess, and Xihua Gate all have nine vertical and nine horizontal door studs (a total of 81, an odd number), while Donghua Gate on the east side uniquely has nine vertical and eight horizontal studs (a total of 72, an even number), incorporating a yin number. Tradition has it that this is related to its association with the crown prince. During the Jiaqing era, during the Lin Qing Rebellion, rebel forces were led into the Forbidden City through Donghua Gate by eunuch Liu Decai and others. However, they were spotted by the guards when they argued with a coal vendor at the gate entrance and hastily revealed their hidden weapons, prompting the guards to suddenly shut the gate. As a result, only a dozen or so rebels managed to enter, and the uprising quickly failed.

　　The common explanation is: after the death of a Qing emperor, the imperial coffin would pass through Donghua Gate. Since funeral processions and spirit tablet escorts both entered and exited through Donghua Gate, it became colloquially known as the “Ghost Gate.” Hence, the number of door studs is an even (yin) number — nine vertical and eight horizontal, totaling 72. In contrast, the other three gates of the Forbidden City — the Meridian Gate, Xihua Gate, and the Gate of Divine Prowess — each have nine vertical and nine horizontal studs, totaling 81 (an odd or yang number), in accordance with the established rules.

　　The relationship between the four palace walls’ gates and the main hall, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, forms a system based on the Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) in Chinese cosmology. There exists a certain mutual generation and overcoming relationship among them. For palaces, auspiciousness is paramount — this is the most fundamental requirement. In Yin-Yang and Five Elements theory, the directions are East, West, South, North, and Center, corresponding to Wood, Metal, Fire, Water, and Earth respectively.

　　Along the north-south axis, there is a relationship of Fire generating Earth and Earth overcoming Water — that is, the exterior generates the interior, and the interior overcomes the exterior. Thus, generation entering and overcoming exiting makes for an auspicious dwelling. Meanwhile, along the east-west axis, there is a relationship of Wood overcoming Earth and Earth generating Metal — that is, the exterior overcomes the interior, and the interior generates the exterior. This leads to overcoming entering and generation exiting, resulting in an inauspicious dwelling. Of these inauspicious signs, the overcoming of Wood over Earth is considered the most severe. To avoid misfortune and invite good fortune, ancient Chinese architects applied the principles of mutual generation and overcoming in Yin-Yang and the Five Elements.

The Palace Museum

Palace of Purity and Tranquility

Hall of Supreme Harmony

Gate of Divine Prowess

Hall of Preserving Harmony

Hall of Imperial Supremacy

Hall of Martial Valor

Palace of Earthly Tranquility

Hall of Heavenly Purity

Palace of Longevity and Health

Studio of the Three Rarities

Hall of Mental Cultivation

Palace of Longevity and Peace

Imperial Garden

Palace of Eternal Spring