Main entry:

Holdsworth, May.

Title & Author:

The forbidden City / May Holdsworth.

Publication:

Hong Kong ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1998.

Description:

viii, 88 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm.

Series:

Images of Asia

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 83-84) and index.
Prologue : a grand audience -- Capital of the celestial empire : the Forbidden City 1420-1911 -- Fearful symmetry : architecture and fengshui -- Diligent administration : ruling from the Forbidden City -- The Jade Document : births, marriages, and deaths in the Forbidden City -- Pleasures of an Imperial life : festivals, theatre, and summer palaces -- Good housekeeping : domestic matters in the Forbidden City -- A passion for collecting : treasures of the palace museum. Far East Cruise.

Summary:

"Halls of dazzling glory or an 'ill-omened pile of buildings'? A sight unforgettably lovely or merely commonplace? Long shrouded in mystery, Beijing's Forbidden City has provoked all these conflicting descriptions." "This illustrated introduction exposes the private world hidden behind imperial walls, bringing to light the palace's grand ceremonies and detailing the mundane processes of its everyday life. Ritual procedures and domestic arrangements, weddings, births and deaths, the practical concerns of heating, lighting, and cooking: each of these topics is explored in this unique portrait of one of Asia's premier historical and cultural sites."--BOOK JACKET.

Resources:
Publisher description

ISBN:

019590608X (alk. paper)
9780195906080 (alk. paper)

Subject:

Forbidden City (Beijing, China)
Forbidden City (Peking, China)
Cité interdite (Pékin, Chine)
Palaces China Beijing.
Palais Chine Pékin.
Palaces.
China Social life and customs.
China Beijing.

Added entries:

Images of Asia.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 241356
Call No.: DS795.8.F67 H65 1998
Status: Available