Time to exit the Imperial Garden now
Another look at the delightful gazebo in the Imperial Garden, which is in all probability the Pavilion of Floating Spring. (subject to confirmation). Note the paved pathway. These footpaths are paved with varied patterns of coloured pebbles, symbolizing good luck and fortune. I read on a website that if one cares to pay attention, one would observe a group of pictures set in the footpath stones which depict shrews punishing their husbands. It seems strange that such pictures should appear here in feudal China at a time when male dominance and more especially the omnipotence of the emperor prevailed! Maybe the emperor was a poor henpecked soul, like most of us poor males are? (joke!) (Beijing (Peking), China, May 2017)
Time to exit the Imperial Garden now
Another look at the delightful gazebo in the Imperial Garden, which is in all probability the Pavilion of Floating Spring. (subject to confirmation). Note the paved pathway. These footpaths are paved with varied patterns of coloured pebbles, symbolizing good luck and fortune. I read on a website that if one cares to pay attention, one would observe a group of pictures set in the footpath stones which depict shrews punishing their husbands. It seems strange that such pictures should appear here in feudal China at a time when male dominance and more especially the omnipotence of the emperor prevailed! Maybe the emperor was a poor henpecked soul, like most of us poor males are? (joke!) (Beijing (Peking), China, May 2017)