Forbidden City

The Forbidden City was an Imperial Palace used from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty. Located in Beijing, China, it is now a museum under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Structure
Shaped as an immense rectangle in the middle of the capital, legend has it that it contained 9999 rooms. This number, as well as the various names of the structures of the City, were part of the sacred and symbolic aspect of the locations.

Four gigantic towers are located on the corners of the walls, while four gates allow access to the inner city. From Tian'anmen square, the main gate of the City is called the Meridian Gate, and leads the way through the City, across multiple areas and gates.

After crossing a first court, another interior wall leads to the most famous area, through the Gate of Supreme Harmony. Farther inside the city, the Gate of Heavenly Purity leads to the inner court which was even more protected. Symbolism has a great part in the architecture of the city, influencing colors, shapes, names and decorations.

History
The Forbidden City was built at the beginning of the 15th century, and was made of 980 buildings of typical Chinese architecture. Emperors used to live there with their family, concubines and government. It was at the same time a fortress designed to protect the Emperor and his own, and the shelter for countless concubines guarded by eunuchs, so they could only bear the child of the Emperor.

At 1504, during the Ming Dynasty, a concubine by the name of Zhang was born here. A close friend of the Assassin Shao Jun, she would eventually rise to power as the Empress of the Jiajing Emperor.

At 1505, another concubine, by the name of Shao Jun, was born and raised here under the lackluster rule of the Zhengde Emperor. During her time there, she was often used by the Emperor for mischief and humiliating the court. She and Zhang would eventually form a bond and become best friends.

However, after Zhengde's death in April 1521, when Shao Jun was sixteen, the royal ministers fell into disarray and bickered over who should succeed the heir-less Zhengde; Jun realized that her opportunities to becoming an Imperial Consort would be lost, unless the new ruler took a liking to her. She used her spying talents to find a way to maintain her Imperial Concubine priveleges, and uncovered a secret war between the Tigers which were working for the Templar Order and a Brotherhood of Assassins. Soon, Jun fathomed that the Tigers were plotting to control China by using their power to place their puppet on the throne. She saw a chance for freedom in the Assassins and since the Tigers already controlled the most influential people in the court, she decided to contact the Assassin Order through Wang Yangming and joined them. Shao Jun was rescued along with several other concubines after the Assassins broke into the royal palace.

Years after her rescue, Jun, now an Assassin, and her Mentor decided to save the remaining concubines whom she had grown up with. After breaking into the Imperial Palace, Jun discovered that most of her friends had been tortured and killed through the use of Ling Chi, by order of Zhengde's cousin and successor, Jiajing.

Before leaving, Shao Jun took the incredible risk of infiltrating the Forbidden City to free her friend Zhang. Although she knew the place by heart, the eunuch guards would have slaughtered her if she'd been caught. Fortunately, the level of security was lower than usual, for Jiajing was often away in his own private palaces. Jun found Zhang and was astonished to hear that she wanted to stay, even if the Emperor was a brutal man. Zhang was lucky enough to please him and was now the Imperial Consort. She told her old friend to leave in peace, and did not want to hear about the Templars controlling the Tigers, even less of the man she'd expect to become her husband. Jun accepted Zhang's decision and remembered how important her career as a concubine was; she then left the Forbidden City for what she perceived to be the last time.

In 1530, Zhang Yong and Qiu Ju used Zhang to set a trap for Shao Jun. The Templars threatened her life and so she agreed. When Jun arrived, she was horrified to find that Zhang Yong and Qiu Ju had threatened the Empress to set a trap, for which she forgave her friend and understood the risk Zhang had to take if she refused. As Shao Jun dueled Qiu while Zhang Yong fled, lanterns dropped during the fight spread fire across the city. Shao Jun escaped after killing Qiu by jumping into the nearby river.

Eventually, by the 20th Century, the Forbidden City became a UNESCO protected site.

Trivia

 * The common English name, "the Forbidden City", is a translation of the Chinese name Zijin Cheng (Chinese: 紫禁城; pinyin: Zǐjinchéng; literally: "Purple Forbidden City").
 * The name "Zijin Cheng" is a name with significance on many levels. Zi, or "Purple", refers to the North Star, which in ancient China was called the Ziwei Star, and in traditional Chinese astrology was the heavenly abode of the Celestial Emperor. The surrounding celestial region, the Ziwei Enclosure, was the realm of the Celestial Emperor and his family. The Forbidden City, as the residence of the terrestrial emperor, was its earthly counterpart. Jin, or "Forbidden", referred to the fact that no one could enter or leave the palace without the emperor's permission. Cheng means a city.

Reference
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China