The Gate of the Devine Might, the northern gate of the Forbidden City as well as the front door of the Palace Museum, was founded in 1420 (the 18th year of Emperor Yongle), with the name of Xuanwu Men in Ming Dynasty. Xuanwu is one of the ancient mythological beasts. According to ancient beliefs, Blue Dragon is in charge of the left, White Tiger the right, Zhuque the front and Xuanwu the back. As Xuanwu supervise the north, the North gates of imperial palaces are usually named as Xuanwu. When it was reconstructed during the reign of Kangxi of Qing Dynasty, the emperor changed its name into Shenwu (the Gate of Devine Might) to avoid Xuanwu as taboo because of the Emperor Kangxi’s name Xuanye. As the back door of the palace, the Gate of Devine Might used to be an important entrance for people living in the palace. It served as a passageway for empresses during silkworm ceremony in Ming and Qing Dynasty. In Qing Dynasty, the emperor chose Xiunv (women chosen from the folk for the emperors) every three years and the Xiunv entered the palace through this gate. When the last emperor of Qing Dynasty, Fuyi, was expelled out of the palace in 1924, he exits the palace through this gate. As the Palace Museum set up in 1925, the plaque of ”the Palace Museum” was hung over the entrance and the gate was appointed as the front door of the Palace Museum. With the height of 31 meters, the gate was set as a rectangle. The base of the gate is white marble Xu Mizuo, and the city tower has three door openings and with a gate tower on it.
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