"Pattern of the Forbidden City" Author: Wen Zang / Huang Qingsui and Li Jianfei Publisher: CITIC Publishing Group

Introduction · · · · · ·
☆ Embroidery, porcelain, carpets, enamelware, and architecture - five major carriers

☆Selected 117 patterns hidden in the Forbidden City

Tracing the origins, interpreting the meaning, and exploring the meaning behind each pattern

☆ 117 patterns and color palettes are extracted, all with CMYK color values

Design ideas, painting copying, clothing color matching, home decoration combinations can all be referenced

☆The pattern is as rhythmic as poetry. The scenery depicts leisurely beauty. It implies good luck and no disaster. It is the pattern of the Forbidden City.

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The 600-year-old Forbidden City is the epitome of 5,000-year-old Chinese culture. It condenses the philosophical thinking and exploration of beauty of the predecessors and transforms them into thousands of magnificent and complex patterns of the Forbidden City. We have carefully selected and integrated 117 exquisite patterns with unique styles. We use the dragon and phoenix patterns of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to decorate the caisson, paint the winding grass patterns of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties on the inner eaves of Shoukang Palace and the colored paintings of the seals, engrave the happy encounter patterns of the Tang and Song Dynasties on the auspicious clothes of Qing concubines, and make the egret patterns of the Qing Dynasty shine on the red-ground white crane porcelain bowls...

From the buildings with blue tiles and red roofs to the exquisite porcelain, the myriad patterns are roaming on the yellow roofs and red walls, carved beams and painted buildings, and are engraved into cultural relics, utensils, and gorgeous clothes and brocades. The beauty of the Forbidden City is breathtaking! It also condenses thousands of years of oriental civilization and aesthetics, anecdotes and legends, ingenuity and magical skills between the lines.

"The picture must have meaning, and the meaning must be auspicious." The patterns of the Forbidden City are derived from mountain and field celestial phenomena, plant life, and mythological wonders. They are beautiful and auspicious patterns, and they also have hidden meanings. The persimmon pedicle pattern has four pointed petals, and is named because it resembles the pedicle of a persimmon. When used in architecture, it means solidity, and when used in fabrics, it means "persimmons bring good luck." Liu Yuxi has a poem that says, "Only the peony is the true national color, and the capital is moved when it blooms." The peony pattern, which is derived from the shape of the peony, has multiple petals, richness and grace, and is used to express a noble and proud character.

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Through the patterns hidden in the Forbidden City, we can see the vivid Chinese patterns of thousands of years, perceive the changes and epitomes of aesthetics, and appreciate the continuation and inheritance of culture. It also provides rare reference materials for art decoration, design illustrations, and historical research, enriching the source of inspiration.

About the Author
☆ Wenzang is dedicated to exploring, restoring and recreating Chinese patterns and establishing a Chinese pattern data system.

Since 2018, Wenzang has been building a visual gene project of Chinese culture with patterns as specimens. So far, it has developed more than 200 special pattern databases based on five major contexts (historical context - divided by various periods from the Neolithic period to modern times, carrier context - divided by artistic carriers such as ceramics, fabrics, architectural decoration, and food, regional context - divided by China's 34 provincial administrative regions, ethnic context - divided by various ethnic groups in China, and theme context - divided by the meaning of patterns), and pre-sorted and designed more than 20,000 groups of pattern information and models. Cooperating with many public cultural institutions, higher scientific research institutions and cultural production institutions across the country, we have deeply excavated, sorted, and deciphered, and used AI artificial intelligence to establish vector pattern digital models and establish cultural databases.