My 2021 edition of the Forbidden City stickers, the 17th volume of the serial "Looking at the Red Walls and Gold Tiles, Appreciating the Ming and Qing Palaces", has been generously read by many readers. Among them, some readers put forward some opinions and suggestions, and pointed out some fallacies. This revised edition is republished on the second quarter, adopting the opinions and suggestions of previous readers, enriching some content, correcting clerical errors, and updating and supplementing some pictures. Although I dare not say that all the fallacies have been corrected, most of them should have been corrected. Remember in detail the architectural art of ancient Chinese top palaces seen in the Ming and Qing palaces, some royal cultural relics exhibited in the Forbidden City, and the traces of royal life in the Qing palace, and also think of some stories and legends that happened in the Ming and Qing palaces. Readers", just want to share with readers. thanks.
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The visitor entrance to the Sixth Palace of the West is the inner right door next to the military aircraft office on the west side of the Qianqing Gate.
The inner right door is the same as the inner left door mentioned above, and it is also a glazed wall door. There is a box on the doorpost, but only the upper and lower corners. Inside the inner right door is also a long street leading north to the Imperial Garden, which is Xiyi Long Street. Going north is the right gate of Changkang at the end, and turning east is the west gate of Qiongyuan in the Imperial Garden.
Entering the inner right door, the right hand is the restroom for tourists, and the base of the wall is a place for tourists to hide in the morning, and it is also a place for washing hands of relatives and friends in a hurry.
The East and West Sixth Palaces were left and right symmetrical when they were first built in the early Ming Dynasty. After entering the inner right gate, there is also a house-style gate on the east wall of the Gaoda Palace. This is the Yuehua Gate corresponding to the Rijing Gate on the East Sixth Palace. From these two doors, you can see the essence of the sun and the moon inside the door. Entering the Yuehua Gate is the Qianqing Palace Square. Standing outside the gate, you can see the platform corridor leading from the Qianqing Gate to the Qianqing Palace, and you can also see the Rijing Gate on the opposite side.
Like the East Sixth Palace, this place on Xiyi Long Street does not belong to the West Sixth Palace for concubines. Opposite the Rijing Gate in the east is the Renxiang Gate, and opposite the Yuehua Gate here is the Zunyi Gate. Enter the Renxiang Gate and go east to Zhai Palace and Yuqing Palace, and Zunyi Gate here to go west is the Hall of Mental Cultivation and Imperial Dining Room. The north of the alley is the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and the south of the alley is the Imperial Dining Room. This imperial dining room was dedicated to cooking for the emperor in the Qing Dynasty, and the emperor wanted to eat alone, so it is also called the imperial dining room of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. The Hall of Mental Cultivation began to be overhauled in 2015. It is said to be overhauled, which is probably equivalent to reconstruction. This is the first major repair of the Palace of Mental Cultivation in New China. Even the construction team of the infrastructure madman cannot take the palace overhaul project lightly. As a result, it is not clear when it will be completed by the end of 2021, six years later.
The style of Zunyi Gate is different from that of Renxiang Gate in the east. That Renxiang Gate is a street gate, but this Zunyi Gate is a courtyard gate. There is an apology post from the Forbidden City outside the door, and there is a QR code below it, which says that you can scan it to experience VR. I don’t have a VR device, only a mobile phone that can scan codes. I can’t watch VR, and it’s useless to scan. Who will scan for nothing? Come on, come back after the overhaul is completed, and let it go today.
In Dongyi Long Street, enter the low-light left gate to enter the East Sixth Palace, and the same is true here on the west side, enter the low-light right gate to enter the West Sixth Palace. There are many concubines shining in the harem, so these two doors are low-light doors.
The layout of the West Sixth Palace is the same as that of the East Sixth Palace. The alley gate of the East Sixth Palace is called the Xianhe Left Gate, so the alley gate of the West One Horizontal Alley must be called the Xianhe Right Gate.
You see, the Xianhe right gate is exactly the same as the left gate in the east, and the names correspond to each other. "Xian" means unity, and Xianhe means peace in the world. Go in and have a look. There is a value house at the entrance of Xiyi Hengxiang. In the past, there must have been eunuchs guarding the door. The wind and rain can enter, and the king can enter.
To the west of Xiyi Hengxiang, the first courtyard gate is Yongshou Gate, which is Yongshou Palace.
The location of Yongshou Palace corresponds to Jingren Palace in the East Sixth Palace. Like Jingren Palace, there is also a white marble screen wall inlaid with marble in Yongshou Gate. There are also wonderful patterns on the marble. There are also Yuan style squatting dragons with long hair fluttering on the four corners of the base of the screen wall. Is this also a relic of the Yuan Palace?
Yongshou Palace was called Changle Palace in the early Ming Dynasty. It was changed to Yude Palace in the 14th year of Jiajing (1535 A.D.), and it was changed to Yongshou Palace in the 44th year of Wanli (1616 A.D.). The architectural layout of Yongshou Palace is the same as Jingren Palace in the East Sixth Palace, but you can see that there are no ear rooms on both sides of the side hall in the front yard.
Look at the main hall of Yongshou Palace. Its architectural form is exactly the same as that of Jingren Palace, with five rooms wide, bucket arch and beam structure, and yellow glazed tile single eaves resting on the top of the mountain. The door opens in the morning, and there is Yulu Danbi under the front platform. The plaque hanging in the main hall of the front yard of Yongshou Palace is a model of the plaque in the main hall of the Six Palaces of the East and West, inscribed by Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.
I don’t know if the two begonias in front of the Yongshou Palace are original from the Ming Dynasty, but they still bloom when it’s in season.
Look at the backyard, the rebuilt well pavilion is still there. The well pavilion in the backyard of the East Sixth Palace is in the southwest corner, and the West Sixth Palace is in the southeast corner, which are symmetrical. There is no eaves corridor in the front hall of Yongshou Palace, but there are front eaves corridors in the back hall.
During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Jianshen, Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty, won the battle in Guangxi and brought back many prisoners. Among these captives was Ji Shi, an orphan girl of the Yao nationality, who was placed by Zhu Jianshen in the inner treasury of the palace as a historian. One day, Zhu Jianshen strolled to the inner treasury, and had a discussion with Ji by chance, and seeing that she was smart and talented, he lucky her. The Ji family was pregnant, and gave birth to a son in Xi Nei'an Letang near Di'anmen outside the palace, and raised him until he was six years old. In the eleventh year of Chenghua (AD 1475), Ji's illness became more and more serious, and the eunuch who was close to him told Emperor Chenghua about having a son outside the palace. Emperor Chenghua, who was suffering from having no heirs because of the death of his first two sons, was overjoyed. He took his son into the palace in April and named him Zhu Youtang (Nian Support). He also moved the Ji family to live in the Yongshou Palace, which was also called Changle Palace at that time, and named him Concubine Shu. Because Concubine Shu was seriously ill, her son Zhu Youtang lived in Concubine Wan Gui's palace to raise him when he entered the palace. Concubine Shu died in June not long after she lived in Yongshou Palace, the palace people felt very strange. When this matter spread outside the palace, private detectives reasoned that the perpetrator was Concubine Wan Gui, and this Ming Dynasty private detective was the predecessor of Chaoyang people. Due to the inability of private detectives to enter the palace to collect evidence, this case eventually became one of the unsolved cases in the Ming Dynasty. In fact, Mrs. Ji entered the palace due to illness, and time is running out. In November, after Zhu Youtang was formally established as the prince, he was brought up by his grandma, the Empress Dowager Zhou, from Concubine Wan Gui to the Renshou Palace, which is now the Compassionate Palace. According to legend, on a warm spring day in the 23rd year of Chenghua, Concubine Wan Gui took Zhu Youtang to eat and drink in her palace. The prince went and not only refused to eat or drink, but also said some unpleasant words, Wan Guifei was so angry that she couldn't afford to get sick and died. Since Emperor Chenghua was two years old, he had been served by Concubine Wan Gui, who was his favorite woman. When Concubine Wan Gui died, Emperor Chenghua was heartbroken and died in August. Concubine Wan Gui, Concubine Shu Ji's family, and Zhu Youtang are unsolved cases in the Ming Dynasty, but they are only pending among the people, not in the palace. After Zhu Youtang succeeded Emperor Chenghua, he became Emperor Xiaozong of Ming Dynasty. Emperor Hongzhi named his mother Empress Xiaomuji, and buried her in his father's mausoleum. He also specially built the Fengci Hall, and erected the tablet of Empress Xiaomuji in it for sacrifice. Chenghua Emperor Ming Xianzong Zhu Jianshen's mother was the noble concubine Zhou of Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen, and Zhu Jianshen respected her as the Queen Mother of Zhou after succeeding to the throne. After the death of Empress Dowager Zhou during the Hongzhi period, Emperor Hongzhi Zhu Youtang also put her tablet in the Fengci Hall to offer sacrifices, and buried her in Yuling in Zhuqi Town of Ming Yingzong. Concubine Wan Gui was not buried in the tomb of concubines after her death, but she was buried in a single tomb, called the tomb of Concubine Wan Gui, which is now the tomb of Wan Niangniang in the Ming Tombs. Although Concubine Wan Gui was seventeen years older than Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jianshen, the friendship between them is one of the best stories about concubines in Chinese history. Concubine Wan Gui somehow offended the authors of unofficial history. She was said to be a bad woman among the people, which was very controversial. In addition, it is also a mystery which palace Concubine Wan Gui lived in. According to the history books of the Ming Dynasty, Concubine Wan Gui lived in Zhaode Palace at the beginning, and then moved to Anxi Palace to become the imperial concubine. The Zhaode Palace and Anxi Palace cannot be found in the current East and West Six Palaces. According to historical records, the Anxi Palace was built in October of the fourth year of Jiajing (AD 1526). I think it should be rebuilt. This year and Anxi Palace Xigong was completed at the same time as Gyeongbokgung Palace. The current Jingfu Palace in the Forbidden City was rebuilt by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. I think the Jingqi Pavilion and Fuwang Pavilion next to Jingfu Palace should be the Anxi Palace in the Ming Dynasty, which is north of the current Le Shoutang. In that area, Qianlong completely remodeled the old people's home where he lived after retirement. He must have demolished the original Ming Dynasty buildings and built the old people's home.
After Qing Shunzhi entered Beijing, he deposed Dorgon and the empress married to him by the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang. Concubine Jing was moved to live in this Yongshou Palace, and has since disappeared. This Yongshou Palace can be regarded as the first cold palace in the Qing Dynasty. The deposed concubine Jing should not have lived in Yongshou Palace for long, and it is very likely that she moved to Cining Palace to live with her aunt, the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang. In the thirteenth year of Shunzhi (1656 A.D.), Shi Shi, a Han woman, was selected as Fujin. Although she was the concubine of the Eastern Palace in name, she was actually inferior to the concubine. Shunzhi ordered the concubine Shi of the East Palace to live in the Yongshou Palace in the West Sixth Palace. She was specially approved to wear Hanfu, and her mother was also specially approved to take a sedan chair from the Xihua Gate and get off the sedan chair by the inner right door, and then entered the palace for family ceremonies. , And give it to the imperial meal. After Shi's death in the Kangxi period, she was conferred the title of imperial concubine Kaoke, and was finally buried in the Xiaodong Tomb in Shunzhi. I don't know if it is the ashes. Shunzhi was the first Qing emperor after entering the customs. In order to rule the world, he married a Mongolian queen, and there were Han people among the concubines. In fact, Emperor Shunzhi's favorite was the Manchu concubine Dong E. When Kangxi was emperor, in order to improve the status of Ye Bilong, he married his eldest daughter Niu Colu in the fifteenth year of Kangxi (AD 1676). She was canonized as the second queen in sixteen years and lived in Kunning Palace . The Kunning Palace was transformed into a place for worshiping gods during the Shunzhi period. The empress of Kangxi was the last queen of the Qing Dynasty who lived in the Kunning Palace, and she probably lived in the remodeled Dongnuan Pavilion. This empress had a short life, and died in Kunning Palace in the seventeenth year of Kangxi, posthumously Empress Xiao Zhaoren. Kangxi was not reconciled, and married Ye Bilong's youngest daughter as a noble concubine, that is, Wen Xi noble concubine. Concubine Wen Xi lived in Yongshou Palace and gave birth to the emperor's tenth son Yinchen (Nian Mo). The imperial concubine Wen Xi passed away in the 33rd year of Kangxi, and "Wen Xi" was her posthumous title after death. Only imperial concubines in the Qing Dynasty had posthumous titles, and Wen Xi was the only noble concubine in the Qing Dynasty to have a posthumous title. After the death of Empress Niu Gulu, Kangxi never made an empress, and the Kunning Palace remained empty. The harem was in charge of Chengqian Palace Tong Guifei for ten years. In the twenty-eighth year of Kangxi, Tong Guifei was named queen before her death. Although Tong Jiashi only served as queen for one day, she can be regarded as Kangxi's third queen. When Tong Jiashi was a noble concubine, she would choose the most beautiful ones among the court ladies to go to the imperial court. She once sent a court lady Zhang Jiashi to serve the emperor. From the 25th to the 30th year of Kangxi, she gave birth to the thirteenth son of the emperor, Yinxiang and two Princess. Ordinarily, this woman should be quite popular with Emperor Kangxi, but although she lived in Yongshou Palace with Concubine Wen Xi, she was never canonized during her lifetime and was just a concubine. In the thirty-eighth year of Kangxi, Zhang Jia's family died, and after his death, he was named Concubine Min by Kangxi. After Yongzheng came to power, because the thirteenth master Yinxiang was a great sage, he chased his mother, Concubine Min, as the imperial concubine Jingmin, and was buried in Jingzhen of Kangxi. After Concubine Wen Xi and Concubine Min, Kangxi's good concubine lived in Yongshou Palace. She was the good concubine conferred in the thirty-ninth year of Kangxi, and later concubine. The good concubine who entered the palace in the 14th year of Kangxi was also a court lady pushed by concubine Tong Gui to Kangxi. In the 20th year of Kangxi, she gave birth to the eighth son Yinhu (Nian Si), who was raised by Concubine Hui and later became the leader of the Baye Party.
When Yinzhen, the fourth son of Emperor Kangxi, became Emperor Yongzheng, he made Niu Colu, a side Fujin, the concubine Xi (Nianxi), and lived in Jingren Palace in the Sixth East Palace until the death of Emperor Yongzheng. After Hongli, the fourth son of Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne of Emperor Qianlong, he named his concubine Niu Gulu the Empress Dowager of Chongqing, and lived in Yongshou Palace for a while before living in Shoukang Palace. After the Empress Dowager Chongqing moved to Shoukang Palace, Qianlong made his own concubine Gao Jia a noble concubine, and moved from Zhongcui Palace to Yongshou Palace where his mother lived. This was the first noble concubine of the Qianlong Dynasty. In the tenth year of Qianlong's reign, Concubine Gao was conferred the title of Imperial Concubine before her death, the first imperial concubine of Qianlong. After that, Concubine Ying and Concubine Shu of Qianlong lived in Yongshou Palace. According to the records of the Qing Palace, Concubine Shu and Concubine Ling were conferred by the Jin Dynasty in the 13th year of Qianlong (AD 1748). It may be this year that Concubine Shu moved from Chengqian Palace to Yongshou Palace. Concubine Ying used to live in the Jingren Palace of the East Sixth Palace, and did not move to Yongshou Palace until Qianlong took the Zen throne. In the third year of Jiaqing after the Zen throne, Qianlong saw that Concubine Ying had been with him all her life and was almost seventy years old, so he couldn't bear to make her a noble concubine. During the Jiaqing period, it was Rufei who lived in Yongshou Palace. Concubine Ru was born in the fifty-two year of Qianlong (1787 A.D.), and entered the palace during the Jiaqing period to become a concubine. After the death of Emperor Jiaqing, Emperor Daoguang named Concubine Ru the Imperial Concubine Kaoru. She did not live in Shoukang Palace, but lived in Shoukang Palace. The Shouan Palace in the Qing Dynasty and the Xianxi Palace in the Ming Dynasty. During the Xianfeng period, she was granted the title of imperial concubine Ru. She died in the tenth year of Xianfeng (1860 AD) at the age of seventy-four. This concubine is also a legend in the Qing Dynasty, and has experienced four emperors in her life.
The intersection going west from Yongshou Gate is the north-south Xierchang Street.
After passing the intersection of Xierchang Street, the next courtyard gate in Xiyiheng Lane is Taiji Gate. Inside the gate is a wooden screen, or wooden screen wall.
Inside the Taiji Gate is of course the Taiji Hall.
The main hall in the front yard of the Taiji Hall is similar to other palaces in the east and west. It has a structure of brackets and beams, five rooms wide and three rooms deep, with yellow glazed tiles and single eaves resting on the top of the mountain. There is a two-foot-high bluestone platform in front, the front of the platform is a vertical belt, and there is a Danbi stone in the middle. The difference is that there are eaves corridors at the front and back of the Taiji Hall, and the double dragons and seals on the horizontal architrave, which should be painted in the 16th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1890 A.D.). There are side halls three rooms wide in the east and west of the front yard. The backyard is similar to the other palaces in the east and west, with a main hall with a width of five rooms and a side hall with a width of three rooms. The Taiji Hall corresponds to the Yanxi Palace in the East Sixth Palace, which had the same architectural layout as this Taiji Hall before it caught fire in the Daoguang period.
Taiji Hall was called Weiyang Palace in the early Ming Dynasty, and was renamed Qixiang Palace in the 14th year of Jiaqing. During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, Shao Shi, the concubine of Emperor Xianzong Zhu Jianshen of the Ming Dynasty (Nian Shen), lived here and gave birth to the fourth son of the emperor Zhu Youzhu here. The title of Concubine Chen is very special, it has the meaning of an emperor, and is the highest-level concubine. At first Tang Gaozong wanted to make Wu Zetian a concubine, but everyone objected later, saying that this title was too high. In history, there were several concubines in each dynasty, most of whom were the emperor's favorite women. Huang Taiji's favorite concubine, Hai Lanzhu, was also called Concubine Chen. Emperor Chenghua loved Concubine Wan Gui the most, but he also loved Concubine Chen very much. Concubine Wan Gui's own son died early. After the daughter of the Ji family brought her son into the palace, Concubine Wan Gui once urged Zhu Jianshen to abolish the prince Zhu Youzhang, and Li Chenfei concubine Zhu Youzhang, the son of the Shao family. In the 23rd year of Chenghua (AD 1487), Concubine Wan Gui died of illness. A few months later, Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jianshen also ascended to heaven, and the third prince Zhu Youtang succeeded to the throne as Hongzhi Emperor Ming Xiaozong. Emperor Hongzhi was talented, but in the eighteenth year of Hongzhi (AD 1505), he died young at the age of thirty-six. According to legend, he was the crown prince Zhu Houzhao, who was Emperor Zhengde Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty. Concubine Chen's son Xingwang Zhu Youzhu is the uncle of Emperor Zhengde. This Zhu Houzhao was worse than his father. He died before giving birth to a prince at the age of thirty-one. According to the ancestral motto of "brothers end up with younger brothers" when the emperor had no heirs, the empress dowager and the chief minister of the cabinet decided to let the cousin who was closest to the throne succeed him. Emperor Ming Sejong. This is the fourteenth year of Ming Zhengde (AD 1519). The history of the Ming Dynasty is a bit confusing, and it is hard to explain it clearly. Therefore, Emperor Jiajing renamed Weiyang Palace, where his father was born, Qixiang Palace, to celebrate the title of emperor in his branch. After Emperor Jiajing ascended the throne, he named his blind grandma, Concubine Chen, the Queen Mother of Shou'an, made his father Xingwang Zhu Youzhu a Ruizong, made his mother Jiang the Queen Mother of Xingguo, and elevated his father's princely mausoleum in Zhongxiang, Hubei, to the Imperial Mausoleum. Concubine Chen died in the first year of Jiajing (AD 1521) and was buried in Zhu Jianshen's mausoleum. In the 15th year of Jiajing, she moved into the main mausoleum together with Concubine Shu of the Ji family. This mausoleum is very magical. Zhu Jianshen collapsed in the 23rd year of Chenghua (AD 1487). The construction of Maoling Mausoleum was started after his death. When the hole was dug, Zhu Jianshen himself led the burial. Emperor Hongzhi Zhu Youtang also buried his biological mother Concubine Shu Ji, and named her posthumously Empress Xiaomu. Zhu Jianshen's queen and queen later entered the main mausoleum of Maoling after her death in the thirteenth year of Zhengde (1518 A.D.). Except for Zhu Jianshen himself in the main hall of Maoling, all the others were inserted by his children and grandchildren. Zhu Jianshen would definitely agree to the king and empress, but not necessarily the two concubines Chen and Shu. By the way, the Xianfei Baishi, the mother of the second prince Zhu Youji who died early, is also buried in the supporting hall of Maoling. Zhu Jianshen's favorite concubine Wan Gui, who gave birth to the eldest son of the deceased emperor, was not buried here. However, Concubine Wan Gui's spirit in heaven turned Concubine Chen's son Zhu Youtang into Mingruizong, and Concubine Chen's grandson Zhu Houcong into Emperor Jiajing.
In March of the twenty-fourth year of Wanli (AD 1596), Zhu Yijun, Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty, was secretly refining new alchemy in the then Hall of Mental Cultivation, when he suddenly saw a red light emitting from Kunning Palace. In a few moments, the fireworks exploded, and the palaces of Kunning and Qianqing were completely burnt. After that, he couldn't go back to Qianqing Palace. After living in Yongshou Palace, which was called Yude Palace at that time, he moved to this Qixiang Palace for a few days until the reconstruction of Qianqing Palace was completed in the 32nd year of Wanli. Speaking of "secret refining new alchemy", I think of an interesting story. Now restaurants have a good dish called "secret recipe". Once a few of our colleagues went out to eat, and one of the German colleagues who knew a few Chinese characters asked me, what does the "secret system" on the menu mean? I was speechless, so I told him it was "Made in a dark room", he was stunned, and asked "Why"? I said "No why", and he stared angrily. As a result, the head waiter in the store said that it was "Made in a secret prescription", and this time it was my turn to be stunned.
In the sixth year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1856 A.D.), concubine Yi who lived in Chuxiu Palace gave birth to a prince named Zaichun, who was Xianfeng's only son. Because of the meritorious service in giving birth to the prince, the concubine Yi conferred the title of concubine Yi, and this was the later Empress Dowager Cixi of the West Palace. In the seventh year of Xianfeng, Concubine Yi was granted the title of Noble Concubine Yi again. Concubine Yi is literate, and often corrects memorials for the sick young Xianfeng, accompanied by acts of acting like a baby. In recent years, Xianfeng, who was sick, was fortunate enough not to move those concubines, and he had no children, and he did not survive after giving birth. Concubine Yi was always whispering in Xianfeng's ear that she wanted to live in a big house, but Xianfeng couldn't resist her, so in the ninth year of Xianfeng, she agreed to renovate the two courtyards of Changchun Palace and Qixiang Palace in front, planning to live in Concubine Yi. The front hall of Qixiang Palace was renamed Taiji Hall, and a hole was opened in the back wall of the main hall in the backyard. The two sides of the main hall of the Taiji Hall are now surrounded by fences, so the Tiyuan Hall and Changchun Palace in the back are now invisible.
Prior to this, the twelve inscribed plaques of the East and West Six Palaces were all inscribed by Qianlong. At that time, the inscribed plaque of this palace was "Qixiang Palace". After Xianfeng remodeled Qixiang Palace, the plaque of Taiji Hall was the only non-Qianlong script in the East and West Palaces. Qixiang Palace and Changchun Palace became a courtyard with four entrances, which was bigger than the Hall of Mental Cultivation where the emperor lived. According to research, although Emperor Xianfeng lived in the Hall of Mental Cultivation at that time, he often lived and worked in the Xianfu Palace behind the Changchun Palace. At that time, the Queen of the Central Palace, Niu Colu, lived in the Zhongcui Palace of the Sixth East Palace, and she was later the Queen of the East Palace, Ci'an. Zhongcui Palace is also not as big as Qixiang Palace and Changchun Palace after the merger. The circle of copying corridors in Zhongcui Palace is after the renovation of Changchun Palace.
Looking at the late Qing Dynasty furnishings in the Taiji Hall, this should not be the throne of Empress Dowager Cixi. In the Ming Dynasty, the main halls of the East and West Six Palaces used to have such a set of floor throne back screens. This throne was not owned by the mistress of the palace, but by the emperor. When the emperor came to a certain palace, he had to sit down here first, and the mistress of the palace had to come out of a certain room to pick him up. If the emperor went directly to the hostess' dormitory in the back hall, the hostess had to kneel down quickly and shouted, "Your servant is late to pick you up, you deserve death."
The Changchun Palace is currently under maintenance and is not open, so there are no pictures. In the Ming Dynasty, Concubine Li Cheng of Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youxiao lived in Changchun Palace. Concubine Li Cheng is a tragic figure. She defended Concubine Fan Hui who lived with her in the Changchun Palace when she came to power, and was conspired against and demoted to be a court lady. Concubine Li Cheng was not rehabilitated until Emperor Chongzhen came to power after Emperor Tianqi.
In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Yongzheng called himself the abbot of Changchun, and named his fourth son Hongli Changchun Jushi. After Qianlong ascended the throne, he arranged for his favorite queen Fucha to live in Changchun Palace. After the death of Empress Fucha, Qianlong ordered the Changchun Palace to remain as it was, and all the original objects were put in place. From then on, every Chinese New Year, Qianlong would come to Changchun Palace to pay respects to Empress Fucha. It was not until the 60th year of Qianlong's reign that Empress Fucha and imperial concubine Wei Jia had passed away for many years, and Qianlong himself was no longer emperor, so the Changchun Palace was opened to Emperor Jiaqing for other concubines to live in.
During the Xianfeng period, after the renovation of the Changchun Palace, there were no people living there, so Emperor Xianfeng could no longer live there. After Xianfeng's death, his concubines did not move to Shoukang Palace, but all lived in the original palace. Empress Niu Gulu was revered as Empress Dowager Ci'an of the East Palace, and Concubine Yi Gui was revered as Empress Dowager Cixi of the West Palace. There were two empress dowagers, Ci'an of the East Palace and Cixi of the West Palace. Tongzhi ascended the throne at the age of six and still could not hold power. Although Xianfeng appointed eight ministers Gu Ming before his death, Cixi and Prince Gong Yixin launched the Xinyou Coup and eliminated the eight ministers. The empress dowagers of the two palaces created a person who listened to the government behind the curtain, seized power, and made Emperor Xianfeng's half-brother Yixin the king of affairs. From the beginning of the early years of Tongzhi (1862 A.D.), the Empress Dowager of the Second Palace lived in the Changchun Palace, Ci'an lived in the East Side Hall, and Cixi lived in the West Side Hall. Later, for the convenience of listening to the government, both of them lived in the backyard of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Ci'an lived in the east side room, and Cixi lived in the west side room. In the eleventh year of Tongzhi, the empress dowagers of the two palaces married Tongzhi Emperor Zaichun; in the twelfth year, the empress dowagers of the two palaces returned to the government, and Tongzhi began to rule in person. Ci'an built the Hanging Flower Gate and Chaoshou Corridor for Zhongcui Palace with reference to Changchun Palace, and then moved back to live there. Cixi moved to Changchun Palace and finally lived in a big house. Cixi felt that the pictures in the verandah of Ci'an Zhongcui Palace were good, so she also drew many pictures on the wall of the veranda of Changchun Palace. Cixi also erected a hut on the back eaves corridor of the back hall of the Taiji Hall, using it as a stage to listen to private dramas. Later, Concubine Jin of Guangxu also learned this method, and recruited opera troupes to sing operas in Yonghe Palace, the East Sixth Palace where she lived. In the thirteenth year of Tongzhi, the emperor held the 40th birthday for his mother, Empress Dowager Cixi, in Changchun Palace. He wanted to lock up his troublesome mother-in-law in the Changchun Palace to watch operas and listen to books every day, but Cixi still often came out to do politics. But Tongzhi himself returned home with a big dream at the end of the year, only nineteen years old. The Empress Dowager Cixi asked Prince Chun's four-year-old son Zai Tian to become Emperor Guangxu, and the empress dowagers of the two palaces returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to listen to politics behind the curtain. Prince Chun is Yizhen, another half-brother of Emperor Xianfeng, and Prince Chun's descendant Fujin is Cixi's sister. The Chunwang Mansion at that time is now the State Bureau of Religious Affairs, and the Chunwang Mansion Garden is the former residence of Soong Ching Ling. In the seventh year of Guangxu (AD 1881), the Empress Dowager Ci'an died in Zhongcui Palace due to cerebral hemorrhage. Some people said that Cixi gave her an overdose of aspirin sugar pills. Since then, Cixi has almost covered the sky with one hand. In the fifteenth year of Guangxu, the emperor got married, and the queen was chosen by Cixi. She was the daughter of Cixi's younger brother, that is, her niece, Yehenala Jingfen. Since then, the Empress Dowager Cixi returned to Guangxu, but she still controlled the government in the name of political training, which was extremely reactionary. In the 30th year of Guangxu, Empress Dowager Cixi moved to the palace for Yiluan Hall in Zhongnanhai, where she lived after returning to power. In the early years of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai changed its name to Huairen Hall. In the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu's reign, he was seriously ill and was in danger. Cixi asked someone to bring Puyi, the grandson of Prince Chun. As soon as Guangxu flew away, Puyi was placed on the throne of the Hall of Supreme Harmony that day and became Emperor Xuantong, and Cixi became the Empress Dowager. In fact, at this time, Cixi was already dying of illness in the ward of the Yiluan Hall. She waited until Guangxu died and waited for Xuantong to ascend the throne. She swallowed her last breath the next day and said the last sentence "No women are allowed in the future." Interfering with politics". Emperor Xianfeng's middle palace queen, Niu Colu, became a queen in 40 days, and she was the fastest-rising woman in the Qing Dynasty; He himself was the emperor with the shortest reign in the Qing Dynasty, only eleven years. Therefore, Xianfeng was the worst emperor in the Qing Dynasty. He had neither courage nor talent, and he failed to right the collapsed Empire State Building. The most important thing is that because of his incompetence, Cixi ascended to the peak of power in the late Qing Dynasty, and gave another hard push to the building.
After Cixi's death, Emperor Guangxu's empress Yehenara moved from Zhongcui Palace to Changchun Palace and became Empress Dowager Longyu. Because Emperor Xuantong Puyi was only four years old at the time, Empress Dowager Longyu followed Cixi and started to listen to politics behind the curtain. Not only did she ignore the politics of the Qing Dynasty, she also died in Changchun Palace in the second year of the Republic of China (1913 AD). Xundi Puyi was still living in the harem at this time. In the eleventh year of the Republic of China (AD 1922), Puyi married Wanrong, the first wife, and Wenxiu, the second wife. The second wife, Wenxiu, lives in Changchun Palace. We often refer to the emperors of the Qing Dynasty as Chacha Emperors, such as Qianlong and Daoguang. In fact, the emperor of the late Qing Dynasty should also be called Emperor Xuantong, and he himself called himself Xuantong. However, we are still used to calling the emperor of the late Qing Dynasty Puyi, probably because he was too young when he was emperor, and he didn't be emperor for a few years, and he ended up being emperor for a longer time.
After watching the Taiji Hall and Changchun Palace, you have to come out from the Taiji Gate. Then look at the other courtyards of the West Sixth Palace.
(to be continued)
