Klaas Ruitenbeek

Building the Forbidden City Since the initial construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing in 1406-1420 its wooden buildings have been continuously repaired and rebuilt. My research aims to explain how the Forbidden City was built and kept in repair, paying attention to technical and economic matters, and to the people who planned, supervised and executed the work. At the center are two particular rebuilding projects after fires in 1596-98 and 1797-98, for which detailed sources exist.