Question

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The Forbidden City is also called “Zijincheng (purple forbidden city)”. It is the largest and greatest palace in China today. Under Ming Emperor ,people began to build the Forbidden City in 1406,and it took 14 years to finish it.

The palace is 960 meters long from north to south and 750 meters wide from east to west. It has 9,900 rooms under a total roof area 150,000 square meters. A 52-meter-wide-moat（护城河） encircles a 9.9 –meter- high wall which encloses the complex(综合设施).

The Forbidden City in Beijing was the emperors’ palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Though its walls are red and its roofs are yellow, the palace’s name mentions the color purple. How did it get this name? In fact, this has more to do with what the palace stands for than what it looks like.

The character “ zi ” refers to (指代) the Ziwei star. According to ancient Chinese astronomy (天文学), the Ziwei star was surrounded (包围) by 28 other stars, meaning it was the heart of the sky. People believed that the palace of the God Emperor, which is called Ziweigong, or Ziwei palace, was located on this star.

Chinese emperors were believed to be the sons of the God Emperor. It was believed that their palace on the earth should be like the Ziweigong in the sky. That’s how the Forbidden City got its name.

In Chinese culture, the color purple stands for good luck. This belief began with Laozi, the founder of Taoism (道教) who lived around 2,500 years ago. One day, when Laozi was traveling through the Hangu Pass (函谷关) in Henan from the east, a purple mist suddenly appeared in the air. This “purple air from the east” (紫气东来) story led people to connect the color to great sages (圣人), and it also stands for nobility (高贵).

1.When did people finish building The Forbidden City?

2.Does the name of “Zijincheng” have more to do with what it looks like?

3.How wide is the moat which encircles the high wall?

4.Where was the God Emperor’s palace located according to ancient Chinese belief?

5.What does the color “purple” stand for in Chinese culture?

Answer 1