When describing those splendid and magnificent scenes and ceremonies, people often use words such as "splendid clusters" and "brilliant as gold". Originally, this was just a decoration of the text, but when people saw the dazzling array of gold, silver, jewelry, and rare antiques in the palace, one could not help but wonder if the scene described in the book was really more than that...... Is the Forbidden City, a sacred place where the world's treasures gather, really paved with gold bricks, as the legend says?
The use of bricks for the floor is not a tradition unique to the Forbidden City, and according to historical records, people began to use bricks to pave roads when building houses as early as the Spring and Autumn period. In the Ming Dynasty, when the construction of the Forbidden City began, the emperor pursued perfection in every detail in order to create a magnificent palace complex, even the ground under his feet. In fact, such a request of the emperor was also satisfied. The splendor of the Forbidden City made the people only look up, so the folk spread the legend that "the ground of the Forbidden City is paved with gold bricks". However, everyone understands that this is nothing more than an exaggeration, because if the ground was really made of gold and bricks, it would be an unimaginable project.
Although the ground of the Forbidden City is not really "gold bricks", they are by no means ordinary bricks. These bricks look smooth as jade, and they are neither slippery nor astringent when stepped on.
When the Ming Dynasty built the Forbidden City, the fine bricks used were all from Suzhou and other five prefectures. These places are located on the banks of the Grand Canal, and the soil is delicate, colloidal, easy to shape and easy to slurry, so the bricks are made of a compact texture. Moreover, after these bricks are made, they can also take advantage of the water transportation advantages of the Grand Canal and transport them to Beijing conveniently and quickly.
The production process of these bricks is extremely complex, according to the Ming Dynasty Song Yingxing's "Heavenly Creations" record, the whole production process needs to go through more than 20 cumbersome processes, each step can not be the slightest sloppiness. First of all, high-quality clay is selected as raw material, and after careful mud training, it is filled into a wooden frame, compacted and dried, and then fired in a kiln. The firing process is equally complex, with many different fuels and long firing periods. After leaving the kiln, the bricks need to be soaked in special tung oil for 100 days before they are finally completed. At that time, there were three main specifications of these gold bricks: 1 foot 7 inches, 2 feet, and 2 feet 2 inches.
In the process of laying these gold bricks, the craftsmen are equally demanding. First of all, the bricks need to be chopped and ground to ensure that the surface is smooth and seamless after laying. Then, carry out the steps of mud paving, elastic line, trial paving, etc., and finally lay and scrape according to the requirements of the test paving, and soak it with raw tung oil. According to the official book of the Qing Dynasty, "Engineering Practices", it takes a lot of man-hours to cut and grind a 2-foot gold brick, and the laying process also requires the close cooperation of bricklayers and strong workers, and only a small amount of laying work can be completed every day.
It can be seen that these gold bricks are so elaborate and elaborate just to lay the floor of the palace, and it is not difficult to understand why people call them "gold bricks". As for the origin of its name, there is a theory that these bricks are named because of their fine texture, pure color, and the sound of gold and stone when struck; Another theory is that because these bricks were used exclusively for the imperial palace, they were called "Kyoto bricks", which gradually evolved into "gold bricks". Either way, it reflects the value of these bricks and the craftsmanship of their workmanship. In this sense, it is indeed appropriate to call it "BRICS".