Rumours of China Forbidden City using 600,000 tonnes of pig blood to ‘dispel evil’ debunked

A long-standing and widely-circulated rumour that the Forbidden City in Beijing uses 600,000 tonnes of pig’s blood each year to dispel evil has been debunked.The liquid is actually used as a form of adhesive which is painted on the famous palace’s signature red walls and pillars, according to a recently published book.The book Sitting under the Roof of the Forbidden City: Answering 50 Questions about the Forbidden City is wrote by Zhou Qian, a researcher at the palace for 20 years who is also an ancient architecture specialist, the Beijing Daily reported.Zhou refutes some groundless rumours about the palace, including that of the pig’s blood.Two workers, one using a steel trowel, right, work on a wall at the Forbidden City. Photo: www.ettoday.net“The mixture painted outside the wooden structure or wall is called di zhang ceng, which really does contain pig’s blood. However, pig’s blood is not adopted to drive away evil, but used as an adhesive,” said Zhou in his book.He also says that the blood is mixed with brick ash, tung oil, hemp and other materials to form a mortar.This is then applied to the surface of wooden components to protect the wood from sun, rain and insect damage.“The use of pig’s blood can increase adhesion and durability of di zhang ceng. It is a scientific invention by ancient craftsmen,” he concluded.Workers paint red colours or draw pictures on the layer of di zhang ceng.A girl in traditional Chinese clothing poses for a picture in front of a red wall outside the Forbidden City. Photo: Eugene LeeThe technology has been used in the Forbidden City since the Ming dynasty (1366–1644), Zhou said.Further ReadingThe Forbidden City is the imperial palace complex located in the centre of Beijing.It was the residence of emperors and remained as the centre of political power in China for more than 500 years from 1420 to the early 20th century.Included on the World Heritage List by the UNESCO in 1987, the Forbidden City is the largest preserved royal palace complex still standing in the world.It is among the most popular tourist sites in China, receiving 18 million visitors last year, up from the 17.6 million the year before.The adhesive mixture of pig’s blood and plaster in a bucket, ready for use. Photo: www.ettoday.netThe pig’s blood rumour stems from a folk legend that the Forbidden City has many ghosts since countless officials, royal clans or servants were killed there for various reasons.As a result, the palace has never been short of mysterious events.One happened in summer of 1992 when it rained heavily and there was lightening. At the time, many visitors at the palace saw a group of maids of the palace walk past a red wall.Experts said this was because the paint on the wall contains ferriferous oxide, an important element for photo-imaging, causing the apparent “appearance” of the “maids”.However, this explanation is not generally accepted by the mainland public.Another rumour is that of a small well called Concubine Zhen Well in the corner of the palace. Concubine Zhen was ordered by Empress Dowager Cixi to be thrown into the well and killed in 1900.After that, some people said they saw a woman rising from the well or often heard a woman crying from its inside.Nowadays, the well is covered by iron bars.The Palace Museum viewed from Jingshan Park in Beijing. Photo: Eugene LeeThe Forbidden City usually closes at 5pm every day, a bit earlier than the public’s expectation.This has prompted many people to speculate that it is because the palace is haunted in the evening, thereby requiring the authorities to drive away people before dusk.The Forbidden City has denied this rumour and explained that their workers need time to check items on display every day after visitors leave.Zhou’s clarification on the pig’s blood soon became an online sensation.“I salute the smart and diligent craftsmen in ancient China,” one online observer said.Another person quipped: “I still believe it has two functions: protect the wooden structure and dispel evil.”