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The Dragon Throne is the English term used to identify the throne of the Emperor of China. As the dragon was the emblem of divine imperial power, the throne of the Emperor, who was considered a living god, was known as the Dragon Throne.〔Arnold, Julean Herbert. (1920). ( ''Commercial Handbook of China,'' p. 446. )〕 The term can refer to very specific seating, as in the special seating in various structures in the Forbidden City of Beijing or in the palaces of the Old Summer Palace. In an abstract sense, the "Dragon Throne" also refers rhetorically to the head of state and to the monarchy itself.〔Williams, David. (1858). ( ''The preceptor's assistant, or, Miscellaneous questions in general history, literature, and science,'' p. 153. )〕 The Daoguang Emperor is said to have referred to his throne as "the divine utensil." ::"My sacred and indulgent father had, in the year that he began to rule alone, silently settled that the divine utensil (the throne) should devolve on my contemptible person. I, knowing the feebleness of my virtue, at first felt much afraid I should not be competent to the office; but on reflecting that the sages, my ancestors, have left to posterity their plans; that his late majesty has laid the duty on me -— and heaven's throne should not be long vacant -— I have done violence to my feelings, and forced myself to intermit awhile my heartfelt grief, that I may with reverence obey the unalterable decree and on the 27th of the 8th moon (October 3rd), I purpose devoutly to announce the event to heaven, to earth, to my ancestors, and to the gods of the land and of the grain, and shall then sit down on the imperial throne."〔Williams, Samuel Wells. (1848). (''The Middle Kingdom: A Survey of the ... Chinese Empire and Its Inhabitants,'' p. 312. )〕 ==Seat of State== The dragon was the symbol on the imperial flag and other imperial objects, including the throne or imperial utensil.〔( "A Chineze Puzzle." ) ''New York Times.'' April 6, 1875.〕 The dragon was said to have the power to become visible or invisible—in short, the dragon was a factotum in the "divinity business" of the Chinese emperors. The dragon was the crest on royal monuments. The dragon was displayed on the Emperor's robes. The Grand Chair of State was called the "Dragon Throne."〔Ricalton, James. (1901). ( ''China Through the Stereoscope: A Journey Through the Dragon Empire at the Time of the Boxer Uprising,'' p. 103. )〕 The term can be used to refer to a very specific Seat of State in the "Hall of Supreme Harmony" (also known as the "Hall of Highest Peace"). This is a uniquely crafted object which was used only by the Emperor.〔Ricalton, ( p. 308. )〕 When European and American military forces pushed their way into the Pekin after the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, they were the first men from the West to appear in the presence of the Dragon Throne since Isaac Titsingh and Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest were received with grace and ceremony by the Qianlong Emperor in 1795.〔Ricalton, ( p. 309. )〕 William Elliot Griffis was among those who did actually stand with cameras and notebooks before the Dragon Throne on a sunny September day in 1900; and he described what he saw: ::There was the throne itself, a great three-leaved affair. Over the ample seat in the centre, with a high reredos, two great wings spread off from the central division. All was white marble and jade, liberally sculptured according to the canons of Chinese art. Along the top lay and leered dragons, each one " swinging the scaly horror of his folded tail" toward the central seat, his head projecting outward in the air. Below the throne were the three steps, on the broad second one of which the suppliant performed the nine prostrations or knocks of the head.〔Griffis, William Elliot. (1901). ( ''In the Mikado's Service: A Story of Two Battle Summers in China,'' p. 358. )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dragon Throne」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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