The Forbidden City

Home to twenty-four emperors, the Forbidden City still occupies the heart and soul of Beijing. This seminar examines the origins of the palace and its construction in the early fifteenth century; the coded symbolisms of its plan and decoration; the rituals of court; and the lives of its most (in)famous residents, from emperors and their concubines to Jesuit missionaries and eunuchs over the past several centuries. 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 and the Olympic Games. Prerequisites: one 300-level course in Art History or East Asian Studies; or permission of instructor.
Course Attributes: FA AH; EN H; BU Hum; BU IS; AS HUM; AS LCD; GF AH; FA HUM; AH NW

The Forbidden City

EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES & CULTURES 444

Section 01