The Forbidden City is the largest palace complex that has been kept intact in China. For more than six hundred years, this mysterious area had been inhabited by 24 emperors and their households in Ming and Qing dynasties. Housing many rare treasures in the world, its magnificence demonstrates its supreme wealth and power. No wonder that Murphy, the renowned US architect, after visiting the Palace Museum, said, ” …I was struck by its overwhelming magnificence and the beauty that holds one’s breath.”
With the ending of imperial rule, the Forbidden City has become the largest comprehensive museum in China. The Palace Museum Publishing House mainly publishes books related to its history and culture. The House urgently needs to leverage a servo space in the old Forbidden City to present its books and enable the readers to appreciate such books as if they were personally on the scene, with an ultimate goal of better understanding, disseminating the knowledge of and protecting the Forbidden City.
Therefore, the Library of Forbidden City is designed to show its respect to the Palace Museum, while displaying the historical books and conserving the ancient buildings. With a modern architectural style, it is ideally combined with the ancient buildings. By integrating great history, ancient architecture and classic books, the unique reading environment will make all the visitors remain calm and humble—isn’t it the state of mind that we should have in reading