An American friend, an architect, suggested that I visit the Museum of Ancient Chinese
Architecture in Beijing. It turns out that the museum is housed in a compound of old buildings, some built during the Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644) and others during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). There are two temples serving various purposes, an
outdoor altar for a planting ceremony which was performed by the Emperor each year, as well as storage facilities, a kitchen,
even a special building for the Emperor to change into ceremonial clothes. The buildings in this compound are not on the grand scale of those in the better known Forbidden City or Temple of
Heaven. Nor are they swarming with tourists. In fact when
I went I found myself almost alone, in a quiet corner of the city surrounded by magnificent reminders of China's imperial past.
A Beijing moment. |