Rumour of Forbidden City Using 600,000 Tonnes of Pig's Blood to Dispel Evil Debunked

Beijing's Forbidden City does not use 600,000 tonnes of pig's blood each year to dispel evil, contrary to a long-standing rumour that has now been debunked. The blood is instead applied as an adhesive on the palace's signature red walls and pillars, South China Morning Post reported.

The clarification comes from a recently published book titled Sitting under the Roof of the Forbidden City: Answering 50 Questions about the Forbidden City.

The book was written by Zhou Qian, who has served as a researcher at the Forbidden City for 20 years and specializes in ancient architecture. In the book, Zhou explains that the mixture painted on the outside of wooden structures or walls is called di zhang ceng. This layer contains pig's blood, which functions as an adhesive rather than a means to drive away evil, he stated.

Zhou's work refutes several groundless rumours about the palace, including the one involving pig's blood. A rumour had circulated that the Forbidden City relies on this massive quantity of blood annually for supernatural protection. The book draws on Zhou's two decades of expertise at the site, providing answers to 50 common questions about its history and maintenance.