Gate of Divine Might

The Gate of Divine Might or Gate of Divine Prowess (Chinese: 神武门; pinyin: Shénwǔmén) is the northern gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. It faces Jingshan Park. A tablet above the doorway reads "The Palace Museum" in Chinese.

The Gate was originally named The Black Tortoise Gate (Chinese: 玄武门; pinyin: Xuánwǔmén), this being the traditional name for the northern gate of a Chinese Imperial Palace. However when the Kangxi Emperor, whose birth name was Xuanye (玄燁), ascended to the throne, the word Xuán (玄) became a sacred taboo. The character "Xuán" (玄) also has the meaning of "sacred mystery", which correlates well with the new character "Shén" (神), meaning "divine".

Coordinates: 39°55′15.4″N 116°23′25.5″E / 39.920944°N 116.390417°E / 39.920944; 116.390417

Old city of Beijing
Subdivisions
  • Imperial City
  • Forbidden City
Fortifications and towers
  • Yongdingmen Gate
  • Zhengyangmen Gate
  • Zhonghuamen
  • Tiananmen Gate
  • Deshengmen Gate
  • Bell and Drum towers
Forbidden City
  • Meridian Gate
  • Gate of Supreme Harmony
  • Hall of Mental Cultivation
  • Hall of Supreme Harmony
  • Hall of Central Harmony
  • Hall of Preserving Harmony
  • Palace of Heavenly Purity
  • Hall of Union
  • Palace of Earthly Tranquility
  • Gate of Divine Might
Imperial gardens,
temples and offices
  • Beihai Park
  • Beijing Ancient Observatory
  • Confucius Temple
  • Guozijian
  • Jingshan Park
  • Old Summer Palace
  • Shichahai
  • Summer Palace
  • Taimiao (Imperial Ancestral Temple)
  • Temple of Heaven
  • Temple of Earth
  • Temple of the Sun
  • Temple of the Moon
  • Xiannongtan (Temple of Agriculture)
  • Zhongnanhai
  • Zhongshan Park
Temples and gardens
  • Fragrant Hills
  • Yonghe Temple
  • Fayuan Temple
  • White Cloud Temple
  • Zhen Jue Temple
  • Miaoying Temple
  • Wanshou Temple
  • Temple of Azure Clouds
  • Badachu
  • Dongyue Temple
  • Guanghua Temple
  • Tanzhe Temple
  • Wofo Temple
  • Big Bell Temple
  • Bailin Temple
  • Guangji Temple
  • Fahai Temple
  • Changchun Temple
  • Zhihua Temple
  • Yunju Temple
  • Tianning Temple
Mosques and churches
  • Xuanwumen Cathedral
  • Xizhimen Cathedral
  • Niujie Mosque
  • Wangfujing Cathedral
  • Xishiku Cathedral


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Famous quotes containing the words gate of, gate and/or divine:

    “You, mistress,
    That have the office opposite to Saint Peter,
    And keeps the gate of hell!”
    —William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    “Duns at his lordship’s gate began to meet;
    And brickdust Moll had screamed through half the street.
    The turnkey now his flock returning sees,
    Duly let out a-nights to steal for fees:
    The watchful bailiffs take their silent stands,
    And schoolboys lag with satchels in their hands.”
    —Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)

    “Under the spell of moonlight, music, flowers or the cut and smell of good tweeds, I sometimes feel the divine urge for an hour, a day or maybe a week. Then it is gone an my interest returns to corn pone and mustard greens, or rubbing a paragraph with a soft cloth.”
    —Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)