An Analysis of the Public Image of the Forbidden City in Ming Dynasty Paintings

Adopting the perspective of architectural painting and its dissemination, this paper explores the creative milieu, compositional elements, intricate form details, and drawing techniques of these paintings, and scrutinizes the painter’s comprehension, abstraction, and reimagining process of the architectural space within the Forbidden City. It also examines the modalities and settings in which these paintings are exhibited, with the aim to unveil the public perception of the Forbidden City within the social consciousness of Ming dynasty to elucidate the distinctive value that architectural painting holds in historical research.