The Forbidden City’s 600-Year History Should Not Be Smudged By Commercial Dust

The Chinese Forbidden City hit the headlines frequently these days.

According to Sixth Tone, the Corner Tower Restaurant which locates next to the Palace Museum (the national museum housed in the Forbidden City), cancelled its Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinners. With an extremely high price of 6,888yuan($1,000) per table of up to 10 guests, this commercial behaviour was faced with a controversial situation. A few days later, on Weibo(one of the Chinese microblogging platforms), a woman who posted her behaviour of driving a car into the Forbidden City on its closed day was slammed by netizens, for the Forbidden City has banned vehicles from entering its grounds since 2013 due to heritage conservation issue. Later The Paper stated that Wang Xudong, the curator of the Palace Museum, apologized to the public and attributed it to an unscheduled change of the parking lot for a business event.

The Forbidden City, known as the former Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty (1420-1912), was designated as a World Heritage Site. The Palace Museum housed inside is now home to over 1.8 million pieces of art as well as the traditional Chinese palatial architecture. However, its 600 years’ glory and rich artworks seem to be inferior to increasing commercial activities. The cases shown above are not accidental ones. From seeking for cooperation with other companies and institutions to selling outsourcing products and services like souvenirs, cosmetics, foods, and apps through providing brand use rights, the Palace Museum is going viral.

It is ridiculous that, instead of the historical and cultural meaning, the Palace Museum promotes its exposure through these commercial affairs taking advantage of the IP of the Forbidden City nowadays.

Shan Jixiang, the former curator of the Palace Museum, declared that this tendency of commercialization was passive because the Palace Museum is a differential funding institution. Specifically, 54% of the Palace Museum’s budget comes from national supporting and it should afford the 46% leftover by itself. Thus we have to admit that commercialization helps the Palace Museum generate more revenue for repair, operation and development. What is more, it attracts more young audience in terms of its fabulous creative products and service.

However, the trend is so hot that it even exceeds the importance of academic research and culture inheriting, which are the original responsibilities it should take. According to The Beijing News, An anonymous academic said that the Palace Museum’s work of historical and cultural research in progress is now one step behind the world. It will be rather disappointing when the Forbidden City turns out to be a superficial image used in the commercial world, which is a great blasphemy of its historical and cultural dignity.

The Forbidden City is a space that connects history with modernity, a cultural recall rooted in people’s hearts, and a spiritual home for Chinese people allowing all the abundant imagination and creativity. The Forbidden City is essentially a cultural institution, and commercialization should be the icing on the cake, not the dust smudge it. For its long-last charm and reputation, the boom of commercializing should be cooled down.

Linked news:

Palace Museum Restaurant Cancels Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinners

Women Slammed for Driving Vehicle Into Forbidden City