题二：故宫前朝(太和门及太和门广场; 太和殿及太和殿广场;中和殿、保和殿) 　　The gate of supreme harmony is the front gate of the three main halls in the outer court of the Forbidden City. During the Ming and qing dynasties, here was the place where the emperor held the imperial audience, accepted documents from his ministers and made decisions. The big square in front of the hall of supreme harmony was the place for accommodating many people for important ceremonies. 　　The 3 big halls are located on a three-tiered marble terrace shaped like the Chinese character earth. There are 18 bronze incense burners on the marble terrace representing 18 provinces in the qing dynasty. On the top layer there is a sundial on the east and an imperial grain measure on the west. It could be used when there was sunlight. The grain measure was used as the national standard measure in agriculture in the old days. There are two pairs of bronze incense burners in the shape of tortoise and crane placed on each side. They symbolize longevity.......详细信息

　　题二：故宫前朝(太和门及太和门广场; 太和殿及太和殿广场;中和殿、保和殿)

　　The gate of supreme harmony is the front gate of the three main halls in the outer court of the Forbidden City. During the Ming and qing dynasties, here was the place where the emperor held the imperial audience, accepted documents from his ministers and made decisions. The big square in front of the hall of supreme harmony was the place for accommodating many people for important ceremonies.

　　The 3 big halls are located on a three-tiered marble terrace shaped like the Chinese character earth. There are 18 bronze incense burners on the marble terrace representing 18 provinces in the qing dynasty. On the top layer there is a sundial on the east and an imperial grain measure on the west. It could be used when there was sunlight. The grain measure was used as the national standard measure in agriculture in the old days. There are two pairs of bronze incense burners in the shape of tortoise and crane placed on each side. They symbolize longevity.

　　The hall of supreme harmony was first built in 1420 and it was the most important building in the whole imperial palace. It was here the emperor exercised his rule in the country. During the ming and qing dynasties, here was the place where the emperor had grand ceremonies and important festival celebrations ，such as the emperor’s enthronement ceremony, the emperor’s wedding ceremony, the emperor’s dispatching generals on an expedition to the battles, and the emperor receiving the successful candidates of the imperial palace examination. It was also the place to celebrate important festivals on three big occasions such as: the emperor’s birthday, the winter solstice and the Chinese lunar New Year. Inside the hall, we can see the emperor’s throne in the center. Behind the throne, there is a pair of incense burners in the shape of elephant symbolizing universal peace. There are two incense burners in the shape of an animal called luduan. It can speak all the languages of the nearby kingdoms. Above the throne, there is a caisson ceiling with a sculpture of a dragon playing with a big pearl. It is a symbol of the emperor who was the legitimate successor and a symbol to subdue fire. On the top of the roof of the hall, there are 2 mythical animal statues on both end of the roof called dawen. It used to prevent the building from catching fire. And we can see animal statues on the eaves of the Forbidden City. Originally, there used to be big wooden nails on the roof to prevent the tiles from sliding down. Later, they were replaced by blazed tiles; they were shaped into animal statues for beautification. In the Forbidden City, even roofs were divided into ranks. The numbers of the animal statues on the roof of each building are all set according to the importance of the building. There are altogether 10 animal statues on the roof of the hall of supreme harmony. It represents the highest rank.

　　On the north of the hall of supreme harmony is the hall of middle harmony. Inside the hall , there is an emperor’s throne with the incense burners in front of it. There are two braziers on both sides for heat in winter. The hall of middle harmony was the place where the emperor would take a short rest before he went to the hall of supreme harmony for grand ceremonies. Every year, before the emperor went to the altars and temples, the emperor would receive and read the sacrificial address here. Before the emperor went to the altar of agriculture for offering the sacrifice, the seeds for spring sowing and the ploughs were examined here, just to show the emperor’s concern to the agriculture.

　　The last hall of the three main halls of in the outer court is the hall of preserving harmony. In the ming dynasty, the emperor would change into full ceremonial dress before gonging to the hall of supreme harmony for a grand ceremony. It was also the place to have banquets to certain the civil and military officials. In the qing dynasty, the emperor held an banquet on Chinese lunar new year’s eve to certain the princes and envoys of the Mongolian nobles and other nationalities. During the qing dynasty, the imperial palace exam was held here once every 3 years.

　　Just behind the hall of preserving harmony, there is a big marble ramp caved with cloud and dragon designs. It is the largest stone carving in the Forbidden City. It is more than 200 tons. The marble ramp was quarried from fanshan district, located 70kilometers southwest of Beijing. It was difficult to transport such a big stone at that time. But people invented a method of transporting it over ice. In winter, people dug wells every 500 meters along the way, and from the wells, they brought up water and poured the water on the ground to make an ice road. In summer, rolling logs were used instead. According to the historical records, 20,000 people and 1000horses and mules were involved in transporting this huge stone.