With our visit to Beijing, here is a comparison that I always like to make, that of imperial palaces in Asia.
Not far from Nijo Castle in Kyoto is the former Imperial Palace of Japan. Kyoto was the capital of Japan for about a thousand years. It was built as the new capital of Japan, and was modeled on the Chinese city of Xian.During the Tokugawa Shogunate the shogun, the military leader of the Japan of the time lived in Edo Castle (now part of the Imperial Palace complex in Tokyo), while the Emperor who held a mostly ceremonial position lived in the palace in Kyoto. After what is known as the Meiji Restoration, in 1869, where the most feudal shogun was abolished and the emperor took full power, the capital was moved permanently to Tokyo, where the Tokugawas had been based and where it remains today.
Tokyo used to be known as Edo, and what I have always noticed is that the letters in Tokyo, when the names of the cities is expressed in English, is a rearrangement of the letters in Kyoto.
The Imperial Palace of Kyoto incorporates some of the design of the original nearby Heian Palace, which was destroyed by fire in 1227, and never rebuilt. This is the Imperial Palace today, it has been rebuilt a number of times in this location since the Twelfth Century:
There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.0247231,135.7627106,3a,75y,81.77h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-PM1ZYsuoCCM%2FVFMjDYSwQVI%2FAAAAAAAABtk%2FQjU42rckYq05WUZffNVyN2gKA7me8vemA!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2F-PM1ZYsuoCCM%2FVFMjDYSwQVI%2FAAAAAAAABtk%2FQjU42rckYq05WUZffNVyN2gKA7me8vemA%2Fw203-h101-n-k-no%2F!7i3584!8i1792
This is a royal palace in Seoul, from the Fourteenth Century, Changdeokgung Palace. There are actually four other palaces, from the Joseon Dynasty, located nearby:
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.5789441,126.9947342,3a,75y,296.9h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sdMTdYtYQ4boR7cMLgGk8vg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DdMTdYtYQ4boR7cMLgGk8vg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D302.62018%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656
Next, we come to the most famous Imperial Palace of all, China's Forbidden City, in Beijing. This was China's palace for about five hundred years, until the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. The north-south axis of the Forbidden City continues in the layout of Beijing. I have wondered if the roofs of McDonald's around where I live was inspired by the yellow roofs seen in the Forbidden City.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9166863,116.3965785,3a,75y,64.19h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-3UhPETJXyt4%2FVittyrD-gVI%2FAAAAAAAAOFc%2FdNwRMSX-VYg_LCFwTw-z3PgfPvLIIrKzwCLIB!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh4.googleusercontent.com%2F-3UhPETJXyt4%2FVittyrD-gVI%2FAAAAAAAAOFc%2FdNwRMSX-VYg_LCFwTw-z3PgfPvLIIrKzwCLIB%2Fw203-h101-n-k-no%2F!7i8704!8i4352
There is a great museum of Chinese history just outside the Forbidden City, the Palace Museum. China underwent a civil war during the late 1940s, in which the Communists ultimately triumphed over the Nationalists. The Nationalists withdrew to Taiwan, but still claimed to be the legitimate government of China. But before they left the mainland, they took much of the historical artifacts and treasures of China with them. In the city of Taipei, on the island of Taiwan, the National Palace Museum was established to display these artifacts. The National Palace Museum was built in the form of a traditional imperial palace. This is the National Palace Museum, with some of it's surroundings in Taipei:
https://www.google.com/maps/@25.1019789,121.5486828,3a,75y,270h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-uZ-6lDVx0i0%2FUzGQifE21bI%2FAAAAAAAAD9U%2FziTzxWBHSq48-77o2WLVWrp-e2i2I52Bw!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-uZ-6lDVx0i0%2FUzGQifE21bI%2FAAAAAAAAD9U%2FziTzxWBHSq48-77o2WLVWrp-e2i2I52Bw%2Fw203-h101-n-k-no%2F!7i3840!8i1919
One thing that becomes clear is that the Koreans tend to peak the roofs at the corners much more than do the Chinese or Japanese. The exception is the National Palace Museum of Taiwan which, although a much more recent building than the imperial palaces, peaks the corners of the roofs in a way similar to the Korean palaces.
Tokyo used to be known as Edo, and what I have always noticed is that the letters in Tokyo, when the names of the cities is expressed in English, is a rearrangement of the letters in Kyoto.
The Imperial Palace of Kyoto incorporates some of the design of the original nearby Heian Palace, which was destroyed by fire in 1227, and never rebuilt. This is the Imperial Palace today, it has been rebuilt a number of times in this location since the Twelfth Century:
There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.0247231,135.7627106,3a,75y,81.77h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-PM1ZYsuoCCM%2FVFMjDYSwQVI%2FAAAAAAAABtk%2FQjU42rckYq05WUZffNVyN2gKA7me8vemA!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2F-PM1ZYsuoCCM%2FVFMjDYSwQVI%2FAAAAAAAABtk%2FQjU42rckYq05WUZffNVyN2gKA7me8vemA%2Fw203-h101-n-k-no%2F!7i3584!8i1792
This is a royal palace in Seoul, from the Fourteenth Century, Changdeokgung Palace. There are actually four other palaces, from the Joseon Dynasty, located nearby:
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.5789441,126.9947342,3a,75y,296.9h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sdMTdYtYQ4boR7cMLgGk8vg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DdMTdYtYQ4boR7cMLgGk8vg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D302.62018%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656
Next, we come to the most famous Imperial Palace of all, China's Forbidden City, in Beijing. This was China's palace for about five hundred years, until the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. The north-south axis of the Forbidden City continues in the layout of Beijing. I have wondered if the roofs of McDonald's around where I live was inspired by the yellow roofs seen in the Forbidden City.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9166863,116.3965785,3a,75y,64.19h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-3UhPETJXyt4%2FVittyrD-gVI%2FAAAAAAAAOFc%2FdNwRMSX-VYg_LCFwTw-z3PgfPvLIIrKzwCLIB!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh4.googleusercontent.com%2F-3UhPETJXyt4%2FVittyrD-gVI%2FAAAAAAAAOFc%2FdNwRMSX-VYg_LCFwTw-z3PgfPvLIIrKzwCLIB%2Fw203-h101-n-k-no%2F!7i8704!8i4352
There is a great museum of Chinese history just outside the Forbidden City, the Palace Museum. China underwent a civil war during the late 1940s, in which the Communists ultimately triumphed over the Nationalists. The Nationalists withdrew to Taiwan, but still claimed to be the legitimate government of China. But before they left the mainland, they took much of the historical artifacts and treasures of China with them. In the city of Taipei, on the island of Taiwan, the National Palace Museum was established to display these artifacts. The National Palace Museum was built in the form of a traditional imperial palace. This is the National Palace Museum, with some of it's surroundings in Taipei:
https://www.google.com/maps/@25.1019789,121.5486828,3a,75y,270h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-uZ-6lDVx0i0%2FUzGQifE21bI%2FAAAAAAAAD9U%2FziTzxWBHSq48-77o2WLVWrp-e2i2I52Bw!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-uZ-6lDVx0i0%2FUzGQifE21bI%2FAAAAAAAAD9U%2FziTzxWBHSq48-77o2WLVWrp-e2i2I52Bw%2Fw203-h101-n-k-no%2F!7i3840!8i1919
One thing that becomes clear is that the Koreans tend to peak the roofs at the corners much more than do the Chinese or Japanese. The exception is the National Palace Museum of Taiwan which, although a much more recent building than the imperial palaces, peaks the corners of the roofs in a way similar to the Korean palaces.
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