Editing Forbidden City (section)

== Etymology ==
The [[Chinese palace|palace]] gained its name from its enormous scale and severely restricted access to all but the [[Emperor of China|Emperor]], the [[Royal family|Imperial family]], and [[Eunuch]]s; hence the Chinese term "Forbidden City" emerged. The punishment for unauthorised entry to the palace was immediate execution. The common English name "Forbidden City" is a translation of the Chinese name ''Zijincheng'' ({{zh|c={{linktext|紫|禁|城}}|p=|l=|labels=no}}; {{Literally|Purple Forbidden City}}), which first formally appeared in 1576.<ref>p. 26, [[Geremie Barmé|Barmé, Geremie R]] (2008). The Forbidden City. Harvard University Press.</ref> Another English name of similar origin is "Forbidden Palace", though "city" is much closer to the original Chinese meaning.<ref>See, e.g., {{cite journal |title=Perspective of urban land use in Beijing |journal=GeoJournal |date=April 1990 |first=Guo-hui |last=Gan |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=359–364 |doi=10.1007/bf00174975 |bibcode=1990GeoJo..20..359G |s2cid=154980396}}</ref>

The name "''Zijincheng''" has significance on many levels. ''Zi'', or "purple", refers to the [[Polaris|North Star]], which in ancient China was called the ''Ziwei'' Star, and in traditional [[Chinese astrology]] was the heavenly abode of the [[Jade Emperor]]. The surrounding celestial region, the [[Three enclosures|Ziwei Enclosure]] ({{zh|c={{linktext|紫|微|垣}}|p=Zǐwēiyuán|labels=no}}), was the realm of the Jade Emperor and his family. The Forbidden City, as the residence of the terrestrial emperor, was its earthly counterpart. ''Jin'' refers to a prohibition or [[taboo]]. ''Cheng'' originally meant a castle, fortress, or fortification, but in modern Chinese, the character means city.

Today, the site is most commonly known in Chinese as ''Gugong'' ({{Zh|c={{linktext|故|宮}}|labels=no}}), which means the "Former Palace".<ref>"Gùgōng" in a generic sense also refers to all former palaces, another prominent example being the former Imperial Palaces ([[Mukden Palace]]) in [[Shenyang]]; see [[Gugong (disambiguation)]].</ref> The museum which is based in these buildings is known as the "Palace Museum" ({{zh|p=Gùgōng Bówùyùan|c={{linktext|故|宮|博|物|院}}|labels=no}}).

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Forbidden City was also known as ''Danei'' ({{Zh|c={{linktext|大|内}}|labels=no}}) or "Palace City" ({{Zh|c={{linktext|宮|城}}|labels=no|p=Gōngchéng}}).