The Forbidden City

3 units

Home to 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), the Forbidden City today occupies the heart of Beijing and comprises the largest ensembles of premodern architecture in China. This seminar examines the origins of the palace; its construction in the early Ming; the coded symbolisms of its plan and decoration; the rituals of court; and the lives of its denizens, from emperors (including Pu Yi, the last emperor) to concubines and from Jesuit missionaries to eunuchs. The course also considers the 20th-century identity of the site as a public museum and a backdrop to major political events, as well as its role in the urban design and contemporary art of 21st-century Beijing. Prerequisites: L01 113 or L01 215, or permission of instructor. One 300-level course in Art History preferred.