The following article mainly visits the West Sixth Palace and learns about some of the architectural attractions of Chonghua Palace Shufangzhai.
The Forbidden City Harem and the East and West Six Palaces
Let's first visit the West Sixth Palace of the Inner Court;
The six palaces in the west of the Forbidden City were used as the residence of the emperor's wives and concubines in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is located on the left side of the central axis, corresponding to the East Sixth House.
Map of the location of the West Sixth Palace of the Forbidden City
The queens of the Qing Dynasty after the Yongzheng Dynasty no longer took Kunning Palace as their dormitory, but chose a palace as their dormitory in the East Sixth Palace or the West Sixth Palace.
From the Qianqing Palace, Kunning Palace to the West Sixth Palace of the central axis, there is a long street in the middle, called the West One Long Street, this street comes out from the west gate of the Imperial Garden to the south, its north end is the right gate of Changkang, the south end is the inner right gate, the east of the street is the end of the gate, Zengrui, Longfu, Fengcai, Yuehua Zhumen.
The north end is the right gate of Changkang
The south end is the inner right door
There is the right door of Dacheng in the west of the long street, and it is the Chuxiu Palace when you enter, and the front of the palace is the body and the hall, and then it is the Lijingxuan.
There is the right gate of Guangsheng in the long street, and it is the Yikun Palace when you enter, and there is the right gate of Xianhe, and it is the Yongshou Palace when you enter.
The west of these three palaces is the West Second Long Street, which is separated from the other three palaces.
West Erchang Street
The north end of this street is Baizimen, the south end is the Mantis Gate, the east of the street is Changtai, Chongxi two gates, the west of the street is Xianxi Gate, and the inside is Xianfu Palace. The back of the palace is a fellow hall.
At the southern end is the Gate of the Mantis
The Gate is located at the south end of Xierchang Street in the West Liugong area of the Forbidden City's Inner Ting West Road, facing south, opposite to the Baizimen at the north end, and was built in the Ming Dynasty.
The allusion of the Mantis Gate comes from the "Book of Songs, Zhou Nan, Mantis": Mantis Yu, Xuxi, Yier descendants, Zhen Zhenxi. Mantis feathers, stingers, descendants of Yier, rope ropes. Mantis feather, Yier's descendants, stinging.
The mantis is an insect that is fertile-producing and chirping. The poem describes the scene of the mantis gathering in one place, the many offspring, and the chirping of insects.
The street gate of the West Sixth Palace of the Imperial Palace is named Mantis, which is intended to pray for the royal family to have many sons and grandchildren, and the emperor will continue forever, which corresponds to the Lintoe Gate of the East Sixth Palace and takes the meaning of Jirui.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Xuantong Puyi sawed off the thresholds of some street gates and courtyard gates in the inner court for the convenience of cycling, including the Mantis Gate. The two ends of the sawn threshold are made of tenons, and the remaining two sections of the threshold are chiseled out separately, and when the door is sealed and locked at night, the threshold must be put back in place to ensure that the door is strictly controlled.
The Mantis Gate goes south to the west, and enters the Jiazhi Gate for the Taiji Hall (Qixiang Palace).
The above six houses are uniformly called the West Sixth House because they are neatly located on the west side of the meridian of the Forbidden City, and the corresponding East Sixth House on the east side of the meridian.
In the late Qing Dynasty, the pattern of the West Sixth Palace changed greatly, and it no longer corresponded to the East Sixth Palace.
The six eastern and western palaces (sometimes called the east and west zodiac signs) are like two armpits sandwiching the central back three houses, so they correspond to the so-called imperial court in ancient times.
Come down and browse the West Sixth Palace one by one;
永寿宫;
Yongshou Palace, one of the six palaces in the west of the inner court. It was built in the eighteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420), and was originally named Changle Palace. In the fourteenth year of Jiajing (1535), it was renamed Yude Palace, and in the forty-fourth year of Wanli (1616), it was renamed Yongshou Palace.
In the 12th year of Shunzhi (1655), the 36th year of Kangxi (1697), and the 23rd year of Guangxu (1897) of the Qing Dynasty, they were all rebuilt or overhauled, but they still basically maintained the pattern of the initial construction of the Ming Dynasty.
Yongshou Palace is a two-entry courtyard
Yongshou Palace is two courtyards, the main hall of the front yard Yongshou Palace is 5 rooms wide, and the yellow glazed tile is on the top of the mountain. Exterior eaves decoration, the front and rear eaves of the bright room are double-crossed four-fold rhombic sash doors, the second room, the tip is the sill wall, and the upper and lower double-crossed four-rhombic rhombic sash windows.
Old photos of Yongshou Palace
In the hall, the Qianlong imperial pen plaque "Lingde Shuyi" is hung high, the east wall hangs Qianlong's "Holy Ban Ji Resignation Praise", and the west wall hangs "Ban Ji Resignation Diagram".
Yongshou Palace Qianlong Imperial Pen Plaque "Ling De Shuyi"
In the sixth year of Qianlong (1741), Emperor Qianlong ordered that the plaques of the eleventh palaces in the east and west of the inner court should be "made according to the style of Yongshou Palace", and they were not allowed to be tampered with or replaced after they were hung.
The main hall of Yongshou Palace has 3 rooms with east and west halls.
The apse of Yongshou Palace
There are 5 main halls in the backyard of Yongshou Palace, there are ear rooms in the east and west, and there are also 3 rooms in the front of the palace and the east and west. There is 1 well pavilion in the southeast of the courtyard.
Yongju 宫
Yongshou Palace is the place where the concubines of the Ming Dynasty and the concubines of the Qing Dynasty lived.
In the eighteenth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1590), the emperor summoned Shen Shixing and others; In the eleventh year of Chongzhen (1638), due to the repeated appearance of domestic disasters, the emperor lived in this palace.
Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Jiaqing once lived here.
In the palace, the Qianlong imperial pen plaque "Lingde Shuyi" was hung in the Qing Dynasty, and the concubine of the Jiaqing Emperor lived here.
The interior of the Yongshou Palace
The interior of the Yongshou Palace
In the thirteenth year of Yongzheng (1735), Emperor Yongzheng collapsed, the Empress Dowager of Xiaoshengxian lived in Yongshou Palace, and Emperor Qianlong lived in the south corridor of Qianqing Palace, and greeted Yongshou Palace.
In the 37th year of Qianlong (1772), Princess Heshuo and Ke were married, and in the 54th year of Qianlong (1789), Princess Gulun and Princess Xiao married the son of Heshen, all of which were feasted in Yongshou Palace.
In the middle and late Daoguang periods, external insults and internal troubles flourished, and the imperial court blindly decorated them, hiding the secrets of various Xinjiang officials in Yongshou Palace.
After Guangxu, the front and back halls of this palace are set up as large warehouses to store royal objects.
It is now set up as the cultural relics exhibition room of the Palace Museum.
Let's browse Yikun Palace again;
Yikun Palace, one of the six palaces in the west of the inner court, was the residence of concubines in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was built in the eighteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420), and was originally called Wan'an Palace, and changed to Yikun Palace in the fourteenth year of Jiajing (1535).
During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Guifei lived here. Zheng was the first concubine when she was named nine concubines in the tenth year of Wanli (1582 AD), and she was pregnant in the second year. In the third year, she became pregnant again and was promoted to concubine. In the fourteenth year of Wanli, she was promoted to the imperial concubine and favored the harem.
During the period of Emperor Chongzhen at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the one who lived here in Yikun Palace was the sad Yuan Guifei.
Before Chongzhen came to Jingshan, he asked the concubines in the palace to cut themselves, including this Yuan Guifei. After Yuan Guifei received the order, she returned to Yikun Palace and found a sweat towel from the bottom of the box that had not been used for many years. She hung the ancient sweat towel on the beam of the house, and hung it herself from the bench. She kicked the bench, not thinking that the sweaty towel would crumble because of the primevality. Yuan Guifei was prostrate on the ground and fainted, Chongzhen came to check the operation and saw Yuan Guifei fall to the ground, afraid that he would be humiliated when the city was broken, so he stepped forward and chopped a few times. When the soldiers of the king entered the palace and set fire, they ignored the Yuan Guifei who was dead on the ground and wore linen and red, in fact, she was not fatally injured, and then escaped from the palace to hide, and the future is unknown.
Yikun Palace Gate
The Qing Dynasty has been repaired many times, the original is the second courtyard, the late Qing Dynasty will change the apse of the Yikun Palace into the hall hall and the hall, the east and west ear rooms each change one for the passage, so that the Yikun Palace and the Chuxiu Palace are connected, forming the pattern of four courtyards.
Yikun Palace
Yikun Palace
The main hall of Yikun Palace is 5 rooms wide, and the yellow glazed tiles are on the top of the mountain, and the front and back corridors are out. Under the eaves, the bucket arch is applied, and the beam fang is decorated with Soviet-style color paintings. The door is a 10,000-character brocade bottom, five bats holding a longevity skirt plate partition door, and the window is a step-by-step brocade branch picking window, decorated with a 10,000-character group longevity pattern.
In the middle of the bright room, there is a flat throne, a screen, an incense table, a palace fan, and a plaque of Cixi's imperial pen "Rongde Da" is hung on it.
The east side is covered with rosewood openwork magpie climbing plum floor, and the west side is covered with rosewood openwork vine and pine wrapped with branches, separating the main room from the east and west, and separating the east and west times from the tip with a partition fan.
In front of the hall, there is a "bright and prosperous" screen door, and a pair of copper phoenixes, copper cranes, and copper furnaces are furnished under the pedestal.
Emperor Puyi Xun had set up a swing under the front porch of the main hall, and now the swing has been dismantled, and the swing frame is still there.
There are side halls in the east and west, called Yanhong Palace, Yuanhe Palace, all of which are 3 yellow glazed tile hard hilltop buildings.
The matching hall is called Yanhong Palace
The apse body and the hall, in the late Qing Dynasty, connected the Chuxiu Palace and the Yikun Palace, it was changed to wear the hall. The face is wide 5 rooms, the front and back doors are opened, the back eaves are out of the corridor, and the yellow glazed tile is the top of the mountain. There are also east and west side halls, and there is 1 well pavilion in the southeast of the front.
Introduction to the body and temple
The apse body and the hall, in the late Qing Dynasty, connected the Chuxiu Palace and the Yikun Palace, it was changed to wear the hall.
Body and Temple
On the fiftieth birthday of Cixi in the tenth year of Guangxu, he moved to Chuxiu Palace and received congratulations here. Emperor Guangxu's concubine election was also held here.
It is now displayed in the original state of court life.
Interior view of the body and hall
Come down and browse Chuxiu Palace;
Chuxiu Palace, one of the six palaces in the west of the inner court, was lived by concubines in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was built in the eighteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420), formerly known as Shouchang Palace, and changed to Chuxiu Palace in the fourteenth year of Jiajing (1535).
The Qing Dynasty has been repaired many times, in the tenth year of Guangxu (1884) to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of Cixi, it cost 630,000 taels of silver to carry out large-scale renovation, and the existing building is the shape of Guangxu ten years after reconstruction.
Chuxiu Palace
Introduction to the body and temple
Chuxiu Palace was originally a second courtyard, the late Qing Dynasty demolished the Chuxiu Gate and the wall, and changed the apse of Yikun Palace to a hall hall, called the body and the hall, connected Chuxiu Palace and Yikun Palace, formed a communicative four-entry courtyard.
The front porch of Chuxiu Palace is connected with the front porch of the east and west side hall and the corner of the eaves corridor behind the hall to form a corridor.
The glazed firing of longevity on the walls of the cloister was written by the ministers to wish Cixi her birthday.
The marital room in the harem
Chuxiu Palace interior decoration
Introduction to Chuxiu Palace
Chuxiu Palace interior decoration
Chuxiu Palace is a single eaves rest on the top of the mountain, with 5 rooms wide and a front corridor. Under the eaves, the beams are decorated with elegant Soviet-style paintings. The door is a Nanmu carved 10,000-character brocade bottom, five bats hold longevity, and Wanfu Wanshou skirt board partition door; Window decoration 10,000 characters group longevity pattern step by step brocade branch pick window. The interior eaves are exquisitely decorated.
Interior of Chuxiu Palace
In the middle of the bright room, there is a ground screen throne, and 5 red sandalwood inlaid longevity mirror heart screens are placed in the back, and the "big round treasure mirror" plaque is hung on it. On the east side, there is a rosewood carved bamboo pattern skirt glass partition, and on the west side, there is a rosewood carved magnolia pattern skirt glass partition, which separates the east and west rooms from the Ming Dynasty.
Chuxiu Palace hangs the plaque of "Big Circle Treasure Mirror".
The east and the tips are separated by rosewood openwork grape pattern floor covers; The west and the pins are separated by a rosewood carved Wanfu longevity pattern as the frame, and the partition door inlaid with large glass is set up inside, and the west pins are used as a warm pavilion and are the bedrooms for living.
Empress Dowager Cixi's handwritten "rules and earth"
The courtyard of Chuxiu Palace is spacious and quiet, two vigorous ancient cypresses stand in it, and the east and west sides of the temple base place a pair of copper dragons and a pair of copper sika deer, which are cast by Cixi in the tenth year of Guangxu when he was 50 years old.
The east and west side halls are the Yanghe Hall and the Suifu Palace, all of which are hard hilltop buildings with 3 rooms.
Empress Dowager Cixi
The apse is Lijingxuan, 5 rooms are wide, the top of the single eaves hard mountain, there are things with the palace called the Fengguang room, the Yilan Pavilion.
In the tenth year of Guangxu, Cixi moved to Chuxiu Palace and named the apse Lijingxuan.
Chuxiu Palace is the most important palace in the life of the Empress Dowager Cixi, Cixi's fiftieth birthday will be Chuxiu Palace and the front of the Yikun Palace to open up, after the demolition of the palace wall separating the two palaces and the Chuxiu Gate, and in the same place to build a new body and hall, as the connection of the Yikun Palace and the Chuxiu Palace.
The opening of Chuxiu Palace and Changchun Palace is slightly different.
Changchun Palace is completely connected with Qixiang Palace, there is no palace wall between the two palaces to separate it, only a body Yuan Hall as the front hall; Although Chuxiu Palace and Yikun Palace are opened, so a new body and hall are built, but on both sides of the body and hall, there is still a palace wall, which is connected with the original palace wall on the left and right sides, therefore, as long as the palace door of the body and the hall through the hall is closed, Chuxiu Palace and Yikun Palace can become independent palaces in two phases.
The door on the verandah between the north side of the Suifu Hall and the Chuxiu Palace
Lijingxuan: It is the apse of Chuxiu Palace, with five rooms wide and a single eaves hard mountaintop. Under the front eaves, hang the horizontal plaque of "Lijingxuan" (the Empress Dowager Cixi), and the couplet on both sides is "Harmony is full of Tongqi Shu Chen Kangle, Yao Guanghui Purple Polar View Ye Shengheng".
The place where Zaichun was born, the Empress Dowager Cixi lived here when she first entered the palace, and gave birth to Zaichun, the only son of Emperor Xianfeng, who later succeeded to the throne of Emperor Tongzhi. On the 50th birthday of the Empress Dowager Cixi, the name of the apse was changed to Lijingxuan.
Regency Heights
The western dining room in the Regency Restaurant
Nowadays, the interior of Lijingxuan is arranged according to the scene of Puyi and graceful life during the Republic of China: the bright room is for tourists to enter and visit; There is a flower cover between the west tip and the west room, and there is a door in the north and south of the partition, and a large glass window is in the middle of the two doors; The west room is a western dining room, a long table is placed in the center of the room, there are Western-style tableware on the table, there are two chairs next to the table, the north side is against the wall for a case, and there is a wooden cabinet on the west side of the case; There is a small tea table in the center of the east room, and there are two chairs next to the table, and the north side is against the wall. There is a partition between the east and the east room, a grand piano is placed in the east room, a floor-to-ceiling mirror is placed in the north and south of the east wall, a table is placed against the wall in the middle of the east wall, and a chair is placed in the north and south.
There are ear chambers on the east and west sides of Lijing Xuan.
Qing Qianlong Dynasty Xiaoxianchun Empress Fucha Clan: She lived for two years before the empress's canonization ceremony and her move to Changchun Palace.
Qing Qianlong Dynasty Huixian Emperor Guifei Gao
Qing Qianlong Dynasty filial piety pure empress Wei Jiashi
Qing Jiaqing Dynasty Xiaoshu Rui Empress Xitara Clan: Before Emperor Jiaqing ascended the throne, he thought that he was the concubine of Emperor Jiaqing, and after Emperor Jiaqing ascended the throne, he was canonized as the queen, and Chuxiu Palace was used as the residence of the Xitara clan. At the same time, she is also the biological mother of Daoguang Emperor Min Ning. But the queen didn't live long in Chuxiu Palace, and died of illness on the seventh day of the second month of February in the second year of Jiaqing, and the Min Ning she gave birth to was also raised by the later Empress Xiaoherui.
Qing Jiaqing Dynasty filial piety and Rui Empress Niu Hulu clan: Jiaqing Emperor ascended the throne before the side of the blessing Jin, Jiaqing Emperor ascended the throne as the emperor and canonized her as a concubine, and then promoted to the imperial concubine. After the death of Empress Xiao Shurui, Emperor Jiaqing honored her as the empress according to the order of Emperor Qianlong. She once lived in Jingren Palace to raise the young Min Ning, and after being canonized as the queen, she moved to Chuxiu Palace. After Daoguang Emperor Min Ning ascended the throne, Empress Xiaoherui was honored as the "Empress Dowager Gongci", after which she moved to live in Shoukang Palace as the Empress Dowager.
Qing Xianfeng Dynasty Lan nobles: that is, the Empress Dowager Cixi, she has been living in Chuxiu Palace after entering the palace, and after her son ascended the throne as Emperor Tongzhi, she lived in Changchun Palace as the empress dowager. Guangxu relived in the Chuxiu Palace where he lived in the past ten years, and ordered the palace to be rebuilt.
Qing Xianfeng Dynasty Ying Concubine: Xianfeng lived here for three to four years
Qing Xianfeng Chaoli nobles: Xianfeng lived here for three years
Qing Xianfeng Dynasty nobles: Xianfeng lived here for five years
Qing Xianfeng Dynasty Xuan nobles: Xianfeng should live here for six years
Qing Xianfeng Dynasty Jade nobles: Xianfeng lived here for nine years, and later became a jade concubine
Emperor Puyi's Empress Wanrong: After marrying Puyi in 1922, she lived in Chuxiu Palace. When she first moved in, there were still traces of the life of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and Wanrong made many changes to this palace:
Come down and browse the Xianfu Palace;
Xianfumen
Xianfu Palace, one of the six palaces in the west of the inner court. It was built in the eighteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420), and was originally named Shou'an Palace. In the fourteenth year of Jiajing (1535), it was renamed Xianfu Palace.
It was rebuilt in the 22nd year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1683) and repaired in the 23rd year of Guangxu (1897).
Xianfu Palace is a two-entry courtyard, the main gate Xianfu Gate is a glazed door, and there are 4 wooden screen doors and shadow walls.
The front yard main hall is called "Xianfu Palace", the face is 3 rooms wide, the top of the yellow glazed tile palace, the shape is higher than the other five palaces in the west six palaces, and the shape of the Jingyang Palace in the relative symmetrical position of the east six palaces is the same.
Xianfu Palace
Old photos of Xianfu Palace
The front eaves of Xianfu Palace are bright and open, and the rest are male windows, and the indoor wellhead ceiling. The back eaves are only bright and open, and the rest are eaves walls. The east wall of the hall hangs Emperor Qianlong's "Holy System Jieyu as a Bear Praise", and the west wall hangs "Jieyu as a Bear". There are card walls on both sides of the gable, and there are small doors with the wall to open to the backyard.
In front of the palace, there are 3 rooms with east and west halls, and the top of the hard hill has an ear room.
The name of the main hall in the backyard of Xianfu Palace is "Tongdaotang"
The main hall of the backyard is called "Tongdao Hall", with 5 rooms wide, a hard hilltop, and 3 ear rooms in the east and west. The front eaves are bright and open with a door, a curtain frame, and the rest is a branch window; The back eaves wall does not open windows. The interior is equipped with a floor cover partition, and the ceiling is a ceiling.
The plaque in the east room of the hall is "Qin De Xuan", which once hid the guqin; The "Painting Zen Room" in the west room, the storage of Wang Wei's "Snow Creek Picture", Mi Zhihui's "Xiaoxiang White Cloud Picture" and other picture scrolls are all Dong Qichang's old collection of painting Zen Room, so the room is named.
The name of the main hall in the backyard of Xianfu Palace is "Tongdaotang"
The backyard of Xianfu Palace also has the east and west side halls, and there is 1 well pavilion in the southeast in front of the hall.
1 well pavilion in the backyard of Xianfu Palace
Xianfu Palace is the residence of the concubine, the front hall is the place where the salute is promoted, the apse is the sleeping palace, and the emperor occasionally lives during the Qianlong period. In the first month of the fourth year of Jiaqing (1799), Emperor Qianlong collapsed, Emperor Jiaqing lived in Xianfu Palace to keep filial piety, ordered not to set up beds, only to lay white felt, lamp grass mattress, to this palace for the times, only in October of the same year to move to the Yangxin Palace.
After that, Xianfu Palace was once restored as the residence of concubines, and Daoguang Dilin nobles (Zhuangshun Imperial Concubine), Cheng Guifei, Tong Guifei, Chang Fei and so on all lived here.
In the thirtieth year of Daoguang (1850), Emperor Xianfeng lived in Xianfu Palace to guard filial piety for Emperor Daoguang, and he still often lived here after the expiration of filial piety.
Come down and browse the Changchun Palace;
Changchun Palace, one of the six palaces in the west of the inner court, was built in the eighteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420), the original name was Changchun Palace, the fourteenth year of Jiajing (1535) was renamed Yongning Palace, and the forty-third year of Wanli (1615) was renamed Changchun Palace.
It was rebuilt in the twenty-second year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1683), and then repaired many times.
In the ninth year of Xianfeng (1859), the palace gate of Changchun Palace was demolished, and the apse of Qixiang Palace was changed to a hall hall, and Emperor Xianfeng inscribed "Tiyuan Palace". Changchun Palace and Qixiang Palace are connected by this
The front palace of Changchun Palace
Changchun Palace is 5 rooms wide, yellow glazed tile mountain top, front porch, open door in the bright room, partition door door, bamboo skirt plate, the second and tip are sill windows, step by step brocade branch windows.
The bright room is set up with a throne screen, and a plaque of "respecting the inner rule" is hung on it.
Hang the plaque of "respecting the inner rules".
There are curtains on the left and right sides and are separated from the second room, and the floor cover kang is set up in the north between the pins, which is the bedroom. In front of the hall, there are 1 pair of copper turtles and copper cranes.
Changchun Palace East Tip Room
The west side of Changchun Palace
The bronze crane furnished in front of the Changchun Palace
The gilded small bronze lion in front of the Changchun Palace
The east side hall is called the Suishou Palace, the west side hall is called the Chengxi Palace, each 3 rooms, the front corridor, connected with the corner corridor, can pass through each hall. On the inner wall of the gallery, there are 18 huge murals with the theme of "Dream of Red Mansions", which belong to the late Qing Dynasty.
The mural of the Dream of Red Mansions in Changchun Palace is collected by the Palace Museum
The south of Changchun Palace, that is, the back hugging building of the Tiyuan Palace, is the stage in the courtyard of Changchun Palace.
The northeast corner and the northwest corner each have a screen door, which communicates with the apse.
Changchun Palace
The apse is said to be the history of love books, built at the same time as Changchun Palace, 5 rooms are wide, and there are 3 ear rooms in the east and west. The east side hall is called Yishou Zhai, and the west side hall is called Le Zhixuan, each with 3 rooms. There is 1 well pavilion in the southeast of the backyard.
The apse of Changchun Palace is famous and loves the history of the book, the face is 5 rooms wide, and there are 3 ear rooms in the east and west.
The east side hall is called Yishou Zhai, and the west side hall is called Le Zhixuan, each with 3 rooms. There is 1 well pavilion in the southeast of the backyard.
Qianlong Xiaoxianchun Empress Fucha once lived in Changchun Palace
Changchun Palace
This palace was lived by concubines in the Ming Dynasty, and Concubine Li Cheng lived in this palace during the Apocalypse.
In the Qing Dynasty, the concubines lived, and the Empress Xiaoxian of the Qianlong Emperor lived in Changchun Palace, and the coffin was parked here after her death.
When Qianlong did not ascend the throne, he was given the title of Changchun monk by Emperor Yongzheng, and after succeeding to the throne, Qianlong's wife, Empress Xiaoxian, lived in this palace.
Qianlong had a deep love for Empress Xiaoxian, and after the death of Empress Xiaoxian, Qianlong ordered that the furnishings in the Changchun Palace should remain the same, and no one was allowed to live here until Qianlong's death, and the ban was lifted.
Therefore, the status of Changchun Palace in the harem of the Qing Dynasty is self-evident.
In the thirteenth year of Tongzhi, Changchun Palace ushered in a new owner, she was the Empress Dowager Cixi, the de facto ruler of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, although Emperor Tongzhi was nominally pro-government, Cixi was not willing to lose the power in her hands.
Cixi, who is in power, whenever she returns to the palace and sees the plaque of "respecting and cultivating the inner rules", she will despise it very much, and the meaning of these four words is to warn the concubines to standardize their words and deeds, abide by their duties, and not interfere in national affairs.
Cixi felt that these four words were simply a slap in the face, but after all, it was Qianlong's imperial pen, and Cixi had no choice but to move to Chuxiu Palace, where she lived when she entered the palace.
From Tongzhi to the tenth year of Guangxu (1884), the Empress Dowager Cixi has been living in this palace.
Changchun Palace, the front hall has the Qianlong imperial pen plaque "Jing Xiu Inner Rule", the apse has the Qianlong imperial pen plaque "Dexie Kunyuan", and its west room has a plaque "Dexie Six Palaces".
The plaque of the Qianlong Emperor in the west room of the apse of the Changchun Palace gave his own Fucha Empress the inscription "Deqia Six Palaces",
The Changchun Palace is furnished with Empress Qianlong's Dongzhu crown, Dongzhu, Chaozhu and other items, and after the succeeding emperor ascended the throne, his queen could use these items.
During the Tongzhi period, Ci'an and Cixi both lived in Changchun Palace, and after Guangxu succeeded to the throne, Ci'an moved to Zhongcui Palace, and Cixi still lived in Changchun Palace.
Changchun Palace stage
The stage in the harem
On the fifth day of October in the tenth year of Guangxu, the Changchun Palace performed every day, and many princes and princes of the inner government could come in to watch the play. Cixi was sometimes bored, and she also summoned blind singers into the palace to give speeches and tell various stories.
Qixiang Palace (Taiji Palace);
Qixiang Palace (Taiji Palace), one of the six palaces in the west of the inner court, was built in the eighteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420). Originally known as Weiyang Palace, because Emperor Jiajing's biological father Xingxian Wang Zhu Youqi was born here, so in the fourteenth year of Jiajing (1535) renamed Qixiang Palace, the late Qing Dynasty changed its name to Taiji Palace. It was repaired many times in the Qing Dynasty.
Qixiang Palace Gate
Taiji Hall was originally the second courtyard, Xianfeng nine years (1859), Xianfeng Emperor because of leg disease, one year riding a horse fell injured, became lame, and because of long-term weakness, inconvenient to move around, in order to go to the heart of the palace to work conveniently, so the Changchun Palace and the Taiji Hall opened, so from the Changchun Palace to the heart of the palace to work closest distance is only 7 meters. But soon after the completion of the project, Emperor Xianfeng fled to Chengde Villa, and died of illness the next year, and the new palace became the palace of the Empress Dowager Cixi and Ci'an.
When Emperor Xianfeng renovated Changchun Palace, the apse of the Taiji Hall was opened up as a hall through the hall, and the back eaves were connected to the hugging building, and connected with the Changchun Palace and its east and west side halls with the corner verandah, forming a corridor, and the east and west ear rooms each opened a passage, so that the Taiji Hall and the Changchun Palace were connected into the four courtyards that penetrated each other.
The Taiji hall is 5 rooms wide, and the yellow glazed tile rests on the top of the mountain, and the front and back corridors are out. The outer eaves are painted with Soviet-style paintings, and the doors and windows are decorated with 10,000-character brocade bottom group longevity patterns, and the windows are picked step by step. The interior is decorated with gypsum and molded five blessings to hold the longevity pattern ceiling, which was changed at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China.
The bright room and the east and west times are separated by rosewood openwork flower railing cover and spherical brocade phoenix bird floor cover, and the ground screen throne is set in the middle. In front of the hall, there is a tall auspicious phoenix longevity pattern glazed screen door, and the east and west side halls form a spacious courtyard.
Tai Chi Temple
The apse of the Taiji Hall is the body yuan hall, the yellow glazed tile is the top of the hard mountain, the face is 5 rooms wide, and the front and back are open in the bright room. The back eaves are connected to 3 hugging buildings, which are the stage of Changchun Palace. In the tenth year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1884), in order to celebrate Cixi's 50th birthday, he had acted here for half a month.
During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the two palaces of Qianqing and Kunning were fired, and Zhu Yijun of Shenzong temporarily lived in Qixiang Palace.
Before Emperor Puyi left the palace, Concubine Tongzhi Emperor Yu lived in the Taiji Palace.
Tai Chi Temple
Interior view of the Tai Chi Palace
At this point, the tour of the West Sixth Palace of the Forbidden City has come to an end.
Shufangzhai and Chonghuatang
Next, take a tour to learn about the Chonghua Palace in the north of the West Sixth Palace.
Chonghua Palace;
There is Chonghua Gate in the north of the West Sixth Palace, the door is the Hall of Reverence, the north of the palace is the Chonghua Palace, the east of the palace is the Baozhong Palace, the west is the Yude Palace, the back of the palace is the Cuiyun Pavilion, the east of the palace is Shufang Zhai, and the front of the Zhai is the acting stage.
Chonghua Palace was originally the second of the five Qianxi Institutes in the Ming Dynasty, and it was changed to Chonghua Palace during the Qianlong period.
The regulation of the Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace, Kunning Palace is in the middle of Ziwei, there is a long street on the left and right, also known as Yongxiang, called Yongxiang left and right, also known as the east and west long street. There are three houses in each row outside each street, and six houses in the east and west, making a total of 12 houses. There are five in each of the six palaces in the east and west, and the Chonghua Palace is the original two in Qianxi.
When Hongli was the prince, he first lived in Yuqing Palace, Yongzheng five years (1727) moved to Qianxi two after getting married, Yongzheng eleven years (1733), Hongli was named "Prince Heshuo Bao", and the place of residence was named "Leshantang". After Hongli ascended the throne, this place was promoted to a palace as a place of auspiciousness, and the name was heavy.
The name of Chonghua comes from "Shu Shundian", Kong Yingda Shu: "This Shun can follow Yao, and value the glory of its virtue." Yao Shun is the ancient wise emperor, Shun succeeded Yao, and the descendants took Yao Tian Shun Ri as a metaphor for the ideal peaceful and prosperous era. The name of this palace was proposed by scholars Zhang Tingyu and Ortai, which was intended to praise the virtue of Emperor Qianlong and the succession to the throne, so that the country could have the rule of Yao Shun.
After Qianlong succeeded to the throne, he often met with the princes and close ministers in Chonghua Palace, and gave banquets and poems. Sometimes he acts in Chonghua Palace, and Huizi and Fanzi are allowed to enter to watch, and other outsiders are not allowed to enter. However, during the Tongzhi period, the envoys of the Ryukyu Kingdom were allowed to enter the Chonghua Palace, give tea fruits, and set up dramas for fun.
In his later years, Qianlong turned the Chonghua Palace, where he lived when he was Prince Bao, into a small museum. He had the place decorated in the original appearance of the room where he used to live with the Empress Fucha, surrounded by various household items that he used when he was not on the throne, as well as various valuable souvenirs from his grandfather and father from two generations of old emperors.
This shows that he fantasizes that time can stop forever in that beautiful era, so that he can remember it for a long time. This is an impulse that many ordinary Chinese often have in their later years but are difficult to achieve, and at this time, this ancient emperor finally completely changed back to mortal.
Chonghua Palace plaque
Emperor Long believes that this is a monumental building, which stores old daily objects from his youth, including items given by Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong's mothers, relics of Empress Fucha (Empress Fucha died in the thirteenth year of Qianlong), and clothes and supplies from the prince's era. "Chonghua Palace is the former residence of my domain, and I have frequently repaired it. …… Now Chonghua Palace furnishes a pair of large cabinets, which is the makeup of Empress Xiaoxian's ceremony, the first top cabinet in the east, the objects given by the Emperor and the Emperor in the west, the east of the top cabinet in the west, the objects given by the Emperor Examination, and the objects given by the Queen Mother in the West. The two cabinets are stored under the cabinets, and they are all commonly used clothes when I dive into the palace."
In front of Chonghua Palace, there is Leshan Hall, which is the study room of Qianlong's youth. Shun's so-called "happiness is taken from people and thought it is good", and the so-called "happiness for goodness" of King Dongping of the Later Han Dynasty is "the happiest for goodness". Qianlong proclaimed: "In the goodness of Dashun and the world, although there is ambition, but it has not been caught, and the king of Dongping is the happiest for goodness, he does not dare not be reluctant." Therefore, he named his study "Le Shan Tang", and the poems he wrote before his accession to the throne were also named "Le Shan Tang".
Qianlong's "Chonghua Palace Chronicle" reminiscing about the past recorded: Living in the little and living in it for a long time, and the politics of more than 40 years are all out of the past...... The old sword (referring to Empress Xiaoxian) cannot be forgotten, and it has been sitting here for 48 years, New Year's Day and Chinese New Year's Eve.
Chonghua Palace and location map
Chonghua Palace follows the three-entry courtyard pattern of the second Qianxi Institute.
Front view of the Chonghua Palace Reverence Hall
The main hall of the front yard is the reverence hall, 5 rooms are wide, 3 rooms are deep, the top of the yellow glazed tile rests, the front eaves are in the middle to hug the building 3 rooms, which are added after the reconstruction. Open the door in the bright room, 4 ancient money pattern lattice flower sash doors, and the rest are sill windows. There is a plaque "Leshan Hall" in the hall, it is the Spring Festival of the 12th year of Yongzheng (1734), the Hongli of the first seal and the prince of Shuobao is inscribed, and the throne is placed in the middle.
Chonghua Palace Reverence Hall
The dowry cabinet of Empress Xiaoxian furnished in Chonghua Palace
The main hall of the middle courtyard is Chonghua Palace, 5 rooms are wide, 1 room is deep, the yellow glazed tile is the top of the mountain, the door is open in the bright room, the rest are all sill windows, and 3 rooms are connected to the building in front. The bright room in the hall and the east and west times are separated by the red sandalwood carved maple fan, the fan is exquisitely carved, it is the superior work of the eaves decoration of the palace of the Forbidden City, the east time between the fog fan was dismantled in the seventeenth year of Guangxu (1891), changed to the gourd floor cover of the descendants of Wandai. The middle hall Chonghua Palace is the bedroom where Hongli lived in the old days, and the west room is the cave room of Hongli's wedding, and the Nanmu cabinet of the bride's maiden family is still standing next to the north wall of the west room.
The left and right sides of the Chonghua Palace are 3 rooms wide, 1 room deep, and the yellow glazed tile is the top of the mountain. The east side hall is called "Baozhong Temple", and the forehead in the hall is called "Ancient Xiangzhai", which has stored the "Collection of Ancient and Modern Books of the King James Dynasty"; The west side hall is called "Yude Palace", and the forehead in the hall is called "Suppressing Fasting", which is the study room of Emperor Qianlong. There is one well pavilion in the east and west of the courtyard, there is a well in the east well pavilion, and the west well pavilion is only symmetrical.
The main hall of the backyard is the Cuiyun Pavilion, and there are ear rooms and east and west side halls on both sides. Cuiyun Pavilion is 5 rooms wide, 1 room deep, yellow glazed tile hard mountaintop, open the door in the bright room, and the rest are sill windows. The palace is decorated with black lacquer and gold, which is very exquisite. The plaque in the east is called "Changchun Book House", which is the reading place of Emperor Qianlong before his accession to the throne.
In his later years, Qianlong turned the Chonghua Palace, where he lived when he was Prince Bao, into a small museum. He had the place decorated in the original appearance of the room where he used to live with the Empress Fucha, surrounded by various household items that he used when he was not on the throne, as well as various valuable souvenirs from his grandfather and father from two generations of old emperors.
In the ninth year of Qianlong, the office was ordered to be given to Hongli by Kangxi and Yongzheng, and the items were respectively made of Nanmu tire paste white paper and yellow silk noodle boxes, and the words "Holy Ancestor Imperial Gift" and "Sejong Imperial Gift" were written on paper sticks. Among them, there are fewer gifts from the Holy Ancestors, with 15 pieces (sets); There are more than 90 pieces (sets) of gifts from King Sejong, including lacquerware, bronze ware, enamel ware, glassware, porcelain, jade, agate ware, ivory ware, tortoiseshell ware, wood ware, etc., and the categories are quite rich.
Coincidentally, in an edict issued in the 60th year of Qianlong, we see the following content:
In accordance with the order, he accompanied the crown prince and elder brother to Chonghua Palace, and inspected the Holy Ancestor and Emperor Shizong one by one. Sincerely.
Chonghua Palace is the former residence of my domain, especially for worship, it is bound to be closed and strict, so that the land of Xiqing in the year is not the joy of recovering Yan rust, how to still follow the old, the descendants of the generations will celebrate the feelings, and the more auspicious and blessed the land is! Now there is a pair of large cabinets in Chonghua Palace, which is the makeup of Empress Xiaoxian. The objects given by the emperor in the east of the top cabinet, the objects given by the emperor in the east of the top cabinet in the west, and the objects given by the Queen Mother in the west. It is the great one of filial piety, who is not many, for worship, so that he will follow the rituals, and if he is troubled, he will be chaotic, and he will not be disciplined. In order to record this decree two passes, one is stored in the Chonghua Palace, and the other is stored in the study, with Zhao Shishou.
It can be seen that in the last years of Qianlong, a number of commemorative items have been stored in the large cabinet of the Qiandi-Chonghua Palace, and the large cabinet is the dowry of the Xiaoxian Empress Fucha. Fucha was the first queen of Qianlong, the most favored, after her death, Hongli wrote a special article "Shu Sadness Fu". The memorials were placed in the dowry cabinet of the Fucha clan, presumably to express their grief.
Empress Xiaoxian's dowry cabinet is carved from mahogany, and it is still intact in the Cuiyun Pavilion of Chonghua Palace, but the cabinet is empty.
The items stored in the cabinet are as follows: partial;
Kangxi gifts hidden in the large cabinet of Chonghua Palace
Kangxi gifts hidden in the large cabinet of Chonghua Palace
Kangxi gifts hidden in the large cabinet of Chonghua Palace
Since the eighth year of Qianlong (1743), every year of Xinzheng convened the scholars of the Inner Court, Hanlin and others to give tea banquets in Chonghua Palace. Emperor Qianlong often composed one or two other poems, and ordered people to engrave plaques and hang them in the eaves of the reverence hall, which was hung all around in the 60th year of Qianlong (1795). After that, Emperor Jiaqing took the Chonghua Palace tea banquet couplet as a family law, which was held from the second day of the first month to the tenth day of the first month of each year. It was still held from time to time during the Daoguang period, and it was terminated after Xianfeng.
Next, learn about Shufangzhai;
Shufangzhai
Shufangzhai was founded in the eighteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420), located in the east side of the Chonghua Palace in the Palace Museum, and was originally the head of the five institutes in Qianxi. After Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty ascended the throne, he changed the second place in Qianxi to Chonghua Palace, and then changed the head office to Shufangzhai, and built a stage as a place for banquets and performances in Chonghua Palace. The building and interior decoration of Shufangzhai are in good condition, and it is the VIP reception area of the Palace Museum, which is used for state leaders and foreign heads of state to rest when visiting the Forbidden City, and is a non-open area that visitors are not allowed to enter.
Shufangzhai
Shufangzhai is an I-shaped hall, there are two halls before and after, and there is a hall in the middle to connect. Among them, the front hall and the south room, the east and west side halls are surrounded by an independent small courtyard, and there are verandahs in between.
The front hall is five rooms wide, three rooms deep, the yellow glazed tile rests on the top of the mountain, the front eaves are bright and the wind door is open, and the rest are the sill windows. The indoor bright room and the second room are separated by the floor flower cover, made of Nanmu, very fine, the east room is called "Quiet Rest Xuan", it is the imperial title of the seventh year of Qianlong (1742 AD), it is the place where Hongli studied when he was young.
Floor cover between the bright and western rooms
The small stage in the west of the hall is elegant
There is a small stage in the east pavilion type sitting on the west side between the west ends of the hall, which is the place to undertake the banquet. Qianlong's handwritten plaque [Feng Ya Cun], so it is also called the "Feng Ya Cun" stage. There is a small window at the back of the stage, and on both sides of the window are the doors of "going out" and "entering the phase". The golden pillars of the front and back eaves of the interior are used as the corner pillars of the stage to form the stage entrance. The small door at the back of the stage communicates with the west ear room
On the pillars painted with strong bamboo patterns on both sides, there are carved couplets with the imperial inscription of Qianlong: "Zixi Xuan window has no vulgar rhyme, and the landscape will be sent to the clear sound." ”
The bottom plate of the couplet is cleverly made into the style of two guqins: the top is slightly wider for the headstock, and the bottom is slightly closed for the tail, and the slightly raised surface is lightly carved with green Lishu characters.
In front of the palace, there are three rooms in the east and west with the hall, and the east side of the hall is open before and after, and the east is the imperial garden.
There is a stage in the middle of the courtyard, which is opposite to the front hall of Shufangzhai
The south side of the courtyard is connected to a stage, opposite to the front hall of Shufangzhai. The stage is a pavilion-style building, with three rooms of width and depth, the table is about 90 square meters, the four corners of the yellow glazed tile heavy eaves gather the spire, the style is elegant, and the plaque name is "Shengping Yeqing". There is an upstairs on the stage, and a patio is set up on the ceiling, which can be used to put mechanical equipment such as derrick rollers for performing fairy dramas, and there is a large well under the stage. It is a stage in the palace second only to the Changyin Pavilion stage, and it is also the largest single-story stage in the palace, and there are often performances during the New Year's Festival.
Sofang Zhai stage
Sofang Zhai stage
The name of the apse is "Jin Zhao Yucui", the face is wide and five, one is deep, the front eaves are connected with the front hall through the hall indirectly, and the rest are the sill windows. There is also one west ear room and three west side rooms. Repair a small stage between the west ends of the hall in the palace, face the east, for the bamboo and wood structure, the style is small, the square pavilion is type, built in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, it is designed for the emperor and the queen mother to perform a 15-minute small play when eating, the square pavilion hangs the Qianlong Emperor to write the "Feng Yacun" plaque, the front eaves on the left and right pillars of each hanging guqin-shaped wooden couplet said, "since the joy of the Xuan window has no vulgar rhyme, talk about the landscape to send the clear sound". The small door at the back of the stage communicates with the west ear room. The east room of the palace is called "high cloud love", opposite to the small stage, and is the place where the banquet is watched.
The east room of the palace is called "high cloud love", opposite to the small stage, and is the place where the banquet is watched.
The plaque in Zhai is "Zhengyi Mingdao", and there are two plaques hanging in the east room, "Zhuang Jing Riqiang" and "Gao Yunqing", and the couplet is "Flowers and birds, and the group is happy; The moon is clear and the wind is clear", the plaque and the couplet are the imperial pen of the Qianlong Emperor. Several other anonymous inscriptions in Shufangzhai include: "Treat ten thousand with sincerity; Congratulate yourself and serve three yuan", "self-rejoicing in the window without vulgar things; Talk about sending the mountains and rivers to the clear sound", "Ruijing Qionglou opens splendor; Joy Zhu Pavilion plays Yun Shao", "Green Qiqin plays white snow; Wu Silk wrote the Huang Ting Sutra", "Thinking of the government is only peaceful, and dare not be self-indulgent; From the old classics, it will never be sorrowful", "write a sincere and respectful heart, and the etiquette is bright; Painting the image of Tianxi, the sun is beautiful and the wind is harmonious", "Qingyan concentrates, the sky and the idle place to raise; Calm and upright, Yuanhua Jing Zhonghan", "Spring and Autumn Rich Day, Pine and Bamboo Bao Long" and so on.
As the place where the Qianlong Emperor rested and held banquets, during the Qianlong period, the emperor first went to the Xiyuan Shenfu Temple to make incense, and then went to Shufangzhai to write the blessing word to the minister, in order to show blessings; On major festivals and auspicious days such as Wanshou Festival, Shengshou Festival, Zhongyuan Festival, and Chinese New Year's Eve, he often served the Empress Dowager to dine and watch plays in the apse, and gave banquets to the princes and ministers to celebrate. Also, the tea banquet is the Qing Dynasty emperor fixed in Chonghua Palace, Shufangzhai held banquet, the banquet emperor and ministers have to focus on a theme to compose poems and couplets, starting from the emperor, one person and one poem, together is a complete poem. Daoguang, Xianfeng, Tongzhi and other dynasties still serve the empress dowager or imperial concubine and others to dine here. After Emperor Xuantong abdicated, Concubine Yu and Concubine Jin of Tongzhi Emperor once lived in the Zhilan room of Shufangzhai, and on the birthday of the concubine, they still passed the drama here until Pu Yi was forced to "leave the palace on the same day".
During the small court period at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang was invited to the palace and acted in Shufangzhai. When Pu Yi got married in 1922, he performed here for three days, and Mei Lanfang, Yang Xiaolou, Yu Shuyan, Ma Lianliang, Li Wanchun and other famous actors were invited to the stage, for example, Mei Lanfang performed "Dream in the Garden" and "Farewell My Concubine". Outside troupes generally do not bring props when they enter the palace to act, but only bring makeup boxes, because these items are available in the palace, and the quality, embroidery and style are one level higher than those outside. The only thing that is not in the palace is the costume of "Farewell My Concubine", which is brought by Mei Lanfang and other actors. The last performance in Shufangzhai was in the summer of the twentieth year of the Republic of China, when an academic group entertained foreign guests, borrowed the stage, and invited Mingdan Shang Xiaoyun and others to perform a "Dream in the Garden".
At this point, the tour of the West Sixth Palace and Chonghua Palace of the Forbidden City has come to an end.
Enjoy the following Walk into the Forbidden City (12) and walk into the Treasure Hall again.