What was the gilt water tank in the Forbidden City used for in the past?

Since the beginning of Chinese history, divination and feng shui have been inseparable from people’s lives. People from the previous feudal dynasty to today's new society love the theory of Feng Shui. Everything must be related to Feng Shui. The so-called "hiding the wind and gathering Qi, and getting water is the most important thing." This has been the saying for thousands of years. The accumulation of culture. Therefore, in many Chinese homes, when ordinary natural conditions cannot meet the needs of being close to mountains and rivers, they will place some water tanks, fish tanks and the like to achieve Feng Shui. Let’s not talk about anything else today, let’s talk about this water tank! Speaking of the place with the most water tanks, it has to be the Forbidden City, which is "the first in the world".

Friends who have been to the Forbidden City must have heard that the several gilt-copper vats in front of the three main halls of the Forbidden City were bayoneted by the money-minded Western powers of the Eight-Power Allied Forces more than a hundred years ago. Scrape off all the gold on it. According to historical records, when the Qing Dynasty fell, there were still 308 jars in the palace, but by now there are not many left! The Qing Dynasty spent the most on casting urns. The cost of casting 18 copper urns was equivalent to 11 million yuan. Why did they make so many "furnishings" regardless of the cost? In the imperial palace, which has always paid attention to the solemnity of hierarchy, there are many water tanks arranged from the front court to the harem. Is it possible that the palace does this to adjust Feng Shui?

You must know that in ancient China's feudal hierarchical society, utensils were also divided into hierarchies. However, this vat is a low-class and vulgar object that cannot be put on the table. It is similar to the incense burner and the incense burner on the white marble platform of the palace. Compared with turtles and cranes, they are really not worth mentioning and extremely inconspicuous! But it happened that only these large tanks were filled with gold. Emperors who always pay attention to their dignity would place such large vats in the most solemn places in the world, and evenly spread them with precious gold. Of course, their special needs must be considered in this.

In the eyes of these aloof emperors, it is their mascot. The so-called ruling group needs such auspiciousness to pray for peace! These large vats are called auspicious vats, also known as peace vats. Generally speaking, they are cast with iron and copper. According to their materials, they can be divided into iron vats, burnt ancient bronze vats and gilt vats. , and these three types of tanks also have a common name, which is "Menhai".

Of course, their most important role was not decoration, but the "fire pool" at that time. It can be said that their thinking was much advanced! As we all know, the main components of ancient buildings in my country are made of wood. Once they catch fire, they will be out of control, so fire prevention is extremely important. Some people may ask, how useful can a tank be? In fact, that’s not necessarily the case. Even if it doesn’t have a big effect, it can always start to work! There were no advanced fire-fighting facilities at that time, so a large number of large water tanks had to be cast to prevent fires and provide disaster relief. Because the winter in Beijing is extremely cold, in order to prevent the water in the vat from freezing, each large vat will be wrapped in quilts and coal will be burned under the vat.

There was really only one fire in this palace in history. In 1420 AD, the Forbidden City was built. In the following year, a major fire broke out in the Forbidden City, destroying the three magnificent and expensive halls. That is, we often hear that the Jinluan Palace was burned into a pile of rubble. This was a huge blow to the court at that time and even Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, because he recruited 100,000 craftsmen and countless craftsmen to build this unparalleled palace. One hundred thousand people labored and countless national financial resources were spent to build it. It was also a symbol of the emperor's power. This fire not only burned down the material palace, but also burned away the emperor's majesty and face. In the following time, the burned Jinluan Hall lay in ruins. It was not until the emperor of the Ming Dynasty accumulated enough wealth 19 years later that the three main halls were rebuilt.

The oldest existing one in the Forbidden City was cast in the fourth year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1491), more than 500 years ago. During the reign of Emperor Wanli, gilt copper jars had been cast, and four of them were placed in front of the Qianqing Palace, the palace of the Qing emperor.

During the Qing Dynasty, there were 18 golden seas in the Forbidden City, which are what ordinary people call big tanks. They were all cast by Qianlong, a son of a wealthy family. Each one could hold three tons of water. Think about it. How big this must be!

According to relevant records, each jar weighs 1,696 kilograms and costs about 500 taels of silver. With the 100 taels of gold wrapped in the outer layer, the casting cost is equivalent to RMB 600,000, totaling 18 jars* **Total 10.8 million yuan! The cost of 18 copper vats cast in the Qing Dynasty was equivalent to 11 million yuan. Why did they make so many "displays" regardless of the cost?

To sum up, it seems that the ancients placed water tanks in yards and houses not all for the illusory goals of today's people such as gathering energy and making money, but more for nip in the bud and in the event of a fire. It can protect your family and property to the maximum extent when it comes, and it has more practical functions. Of course, we say that there are many things in life that may seem like mysterious and mysterious nonsense, but those that can be passed down in history naturally have the simplest truth. Therefore, when facing those historical legacies, we must not only You know what it is, and you also need to know why it is so.