Forbidden City of China - Inside and Out

The other night, I saw a very interesting documentary about China's Forbidden City. I've seen a number of documentaries on the Forbidden City but none as interesting or as factful as this one.

For example, when Beijing was under seige on a few occasions, the palace relics were carted out of the palace to Nanjing and then split up into three consignments and were safely transported to Sichuan, the south-western province of China. Eventually, they were returned to Beijing after the dust had settled.

Amazingly, every piece was accounted for. However, some of them were brought over to Taiwan by Chang Kai Shek but the bulk remains in China. These exquisite pieces of Chinese history are on display at the Palace Museum.

Restoratiion work took 19 years and was carried out with the help of foreign experts. It was interesting to note that the Forbidden City being in such a dilapidated state, was slated to be destroyed but thanks to a warlord who spoke out that if it were to be destroyed, China would lose its history and that other countries will think badly of China. Thus, it was retained and restoration work began.

While restoring the Toaist temple in the palace grounds, Buddhist scriptures were found. These are in Tibetan and not Chinese and to this day, it is still a mystery as to why these Buddhist scriptures were in a Taoist temple. After the restoration work has been completed, the scriptures were put back in the original place where they were found.

Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, was the last of China's 24 emperors. His autobiography would make for interesting reading about his life and the state of affairs in China during his time.

While China is gearing up for the Olympics and the amount of Yuan being spent on readying the nation for the big event next year, for some, life goes on in its little ways. If you think your life is bad, you will think differently after you see the following story. It's from an email whose writer is unknown though she's in the photos. Her story is in Mandarin and was translated into English by a friend, Patrick Tam.

At the end, it reminds us too of things we take lightly or for granted - recycling, delicious ready-cooked food, a cozy bed, money to spend, to name a few.

I'm only showing some of the photographs from the email. The first picture you see is of an old lady waiting for the writer to finish her drink so that she can collect the cup to make some money from recycling it. Some pictures are about the area where recyclers live. Notice the simple stove and stacks of "garbage" both in the homes and the area.



The writer was kind enough to help the old lady home with her bountiful "harvest" for the day. I want to share the sentiment and feelings of the writer by posting excerpts from the writer's text.

From the writer:
"At the entrance to the alley, this lady warmly invited me into her home. Standing beside all this rubbish, she was very proud of them. The lady introduced her as the richest person in the area. Facing these plain folks, I kept my smile on my face; but inside, I wanted to cry."



Writer's caption in reference to last row left photo above:
"In a darkened door way, I met the oldest resident of the area. From what I saw, it was hard to describe the scene with words.

Like all the hospitable residents, the old lady, shakily held on the door frame to welcome us. But her rickets made it impossible for her to look up.

The old lady is in her 80s. One of her sons was handicapped, the other son got married and left her. The handicapped son rode a tricycle to make a living. She herself gathered plastic bags and the like from garbage to make a living. She could make less than 20 yuan a month. She also had pulmonary emphysema but did not have the money to looked after it. All she could do was live day-to-day."

"All I saw and heard made my heart ache, couldn’t stay any longer. Before I escape, I gave the allowance my mother gave me to the old lady. Even now, her heart-breaking eyes still haunts my mind."

"When I got to the city centre, all I could see was prosperity. All the colourful lights and the decorations were like a wealthy lady bedecked with gold and silver jewellery. Before, I was deeply immersed in the scene, bewitched by her expensive and classy looks, often lingering in the expensive brand-name stores. But today, I don’t have the heart any more. I’ll ask, when you are enchanted by the beauty of this high-class lady, how many of you still care for the old lady who raised you?"



"Once I returned to my little world to find that everything is still warm and comfortable but there is unrest in my heart. I record everything I saw today as my growing experience."



~ English translation by Patrick TAM 談伯楷, Vancouver, BC, CANADA.