The Forbidden City is located in Beijing, China, and was the residence of 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Built from 1406 to 1420, the Forbidden City covers an area of 720,000 m2. Of which, the area of more than 70 palaces and 9,999 rooms is 150,000 m2. Most of these rooms use wood as a building material. Despite having gone through more than 600 years and being visited by "fire" many times, the Forbidden City still stands tall and proud.
According to historical records, the Forbidden City has experienced a total of nearly 100 large and small fires. The palace houses many valuable artifacts and objects, so each time a major fire occurs, the loss is immeasurable. Among the many fires, the most notable are the serious fires in the Thai Hoa, Trung Hoa and Bao Hoa palaces during the Ming Dynasty (1922).
Just two years after its inauguration, Thai Hoa Palace - one of the three main palaces - was struck by lightning and burned down. The fire then spread to Trung Hoa Palace and Bao Hoa Palace, leaving the entire area a barren wasteland. At that time, it took Minh Thanh To Chu De more than three years to restore all the palaces to their original state.
Although the Forbidden City was made of wood and has been hit by fire many times, it still stands the test of time. (Photo: Sohu)
Fires were carefully recorded. According to records, fires started from candles and torches used to illuminate the palace, fireworks during festivals, fireplaces in winter, and lightning strikes during rain.
However, as we see the Forbidden City still exists today. Scientists say that the ancients applied effective fire prevention methods. What were those methods?
Lightning protection system
According to statistics from records, out of more than 100 large and small fires in the Forbidden City, 34 were caused by lightning. Important palaces in the Forbidden City were roofed with glazed tiles to cover the wooden structures below, reducing the risk of lightning strikes causing fires.
During the Qing Dynasty, the imperial court installed lightning protection systems in the palace. However, not all of these devices worked, so the ancients invented many other methods.
Giant water jars
The Forbidden City has a total of 308 giant water jars. Each jar can hold 3,000 liters of water. They are placed in the palaces and scattered around the Forbidden City.
Inside the Forbidden City, there are hundreds of giant water jars used to put out fires in case of fire. (Photo: Sohu)
According to records from the Qianlong period, these jars were 1.66 meters in diameter and weighed nearly 2 tons. Eunuchs were responsible for filling and cleaning the jars to prevent them from smelling bad.
During the Ming Dynasty, these water jars were simply designed and had round rings on the outside. During the Qing Dynasty, they were more elaborately designed.
The water jars were placed on stone pedestals with a round hole in the middle. In winter, the weather was so cold that the water could easily freeze. To prevent it from freezing, the eunuchs would burn coal underneath to boil the water.
Form fire brigades
Specialized tools used to put out fires in the Forbidden City in ancient times. (Photo: Sohu)
During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, the emperor established a fire brigade. This brigade later grew to 200 men. They often used a device with two ends. When a fire broke out, people would put water on one end of the device and push the other end, and the water would shoot up to put out the fire. Thanks to this device, water could spray up to 20 meters high, playing an extremely important role in fire fighting.
Quoc Thai (Source: Sohu)
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