Forbidden City Pt 3

Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Sun 13 May 2018 22:37
The Forbidden City - Part Three
 
 
 
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Continuing on exploring the Forbidden City. The Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing gong) was built in 1420 and rebuilt iin 1798. The character qian, used in the palace’s name, derives from the trigrams in the Book of Changes (I Ching or Yi Ling) and stands for heaven.
From the Yongle Emperor’s reign (1402-1424) in the Ming Dynasty to the Kangxi Emperor’s reign (1661-1722) in the Qing Dynasty, the Palace of Heavenly Purity served as a residence in which the emperors both lived and dealt with state affairs. The Yongzheng Emperor (r.1722-1735) of the Qing Dynasty moved his sleeping quarters from the Palace of Heavenly Purity to the rear chamber of the Hall on Mental Cultivation (Yangxin Dian), and also handled state affairs from there. However, his successor the Qinglong Emperor (r.1735-1796) brought the Palace of Heavenly Purity back into use for state affairs. In addition, in the Ming and Qing Dynasties this palace was where the coffin of the deceased emperor was placed, in accordance with the belief that he should ‘end his days in his bedchamber’ (shou zhong zheng qin).
 
 
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A tablet bearing the legend ‘justice and honour’ (zheng da guang ming) hangs in the the Palace of Heavenly Purity, From the Yongzheng Emperor (r.1722-1735) onwards, the Qing Dynasty emperors designated their heirs in secret, personally writing the chosen heir’s name and storing it in a case behind this tablet. After the emperor died, the case would be opened and the secretly designated prince would ascend the throne. I bet that caused dropped mouths, shock-horror and much gnashing of teeth......
 
 
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The Hall of Union (Jiaotai dian) was originally called the Hall of Central Perfection (Zhongyuan dian), the Hall of Union got its present name in the Ming Dynasty in 1535, the names comes from the Book of Changes and refers to the union of heaven and earth and harmony between yin and yang. For this reason, the hall is located between the Palace of Heavenly Purity (heaven) and Palace of Earthly Tranquility (earth).
 
 
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With a square floor plan, the Hall of Union features a gilt bronze filial on the roof, of similar design to that at the Hall of Central Harmony.
 
 
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In the centre of the hall is a throne, and a tablet inscribed with ‘non-action’ (wu wei, a key Daoist principle), in calligraphy by the Qianlong Emperor in imitation of the Kangxi Emperor’s handwriting, hangs above and behind it. Directly beneath the tablet is a screen bearing the Ode to the Hall of Union, composed by the Qianlong Emperor.
 
 
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To the left is a copper clepsydra (a water clock used in Imperial China), and to the right is a large striking clock. In the Qing Dynasty, the empress received homage here on three occasions each year: her birthday, the first day of the lunar year, and the winter solstice. In 1748, the thirteenth year of the Qinglong Emperor’s reign, the emperor used this hall to store 25 Imperial Seals symbolizing his power. (Closer look at the writings and tablet and one of the intricate windows).
 
 
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The Palace of Earthly Tranquillity (Kunning gong) served as the residence of the empress in the Ming Dynasty. In traditional thought it formed a pair with the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the residence of the emperor, with heaven characterized by lofty wisdom while the earth represented rich breadth and lenience.
The Palace of Earthly Tranquillity was built in the Ming Dynasty in 1420, the structure we see today was rebuilt in 1655, in imitation of the Palace of Pure Tranquillity (Qingning gong) in Shengjing (present-day Shenyang). The entrance.
 
 
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The entrance is located on the east end of the building’s face, rather than in the middle, giving the palace a ‘pocket-style’ with distinctively Manchu features. During the Kangxi Emperor’s reign, the two bays on the east side were used as the emperor’s bridal chamber. Emperors Kangxi, Tongzhi, Guangxu, and the last emperor Puyi, all of whom ascended the throne at a young age, completed their wedding ceremonies here. The four bays on the west side were used as a shrine for shamanic sacrifices, housing a circular kang (a flat oven commonly used as a bed in northern China) on which the statues of deities were placed, and large cauldrons for cooking sacrificial meat.
 
 
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We went through what we thought was the final interior gate to reach the Palace Garden.
 
 
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Oh, we expected more, it was small and a bit overgrown........
 
 
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To the far left was my favourite, little building. The Hall of Imperial Peace.
 
 
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The Hall of Imperial Peace (Qin’an dian). First constructed in the Ming Dynasty, this became an independent building after walls were built during the Jiajing reign in 1535. Standing on a single-tier xumizuo base of carved white marble, it features double eaves and a flat-topped roof covered with yellow glazed tiles, and measures five bays wide and three bays deep. The Supreme Lord of the Numinous Heaven was worshipped inside; the Qing Court set up an altar within the Gate of Heaven’s Primacy (Tianyi men) on every New Year’s Day, and the emperor would burn joss sticks and pay homage here. On festive occasions rites would be held in this hall. Taoist eunuchs managed the hall’s daily affairs, but from the year 1839, during the Daoguang reign, the participation of eunuchs was forbidden. Loved the subtle carved stone path between the steps and the ancient trees.
 
 
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There was a gorgeous little patio area with heron inset tiles in the walls, a stone garden feature and pretty edging to all the roof tiles. The building was so in keeping with the rest of the Forbidden City but somehow shone out as a gorgeous building and a comfortable residence.
 
 
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We ducked through a low side gate and found a courtyard with lovely paths set with patterns, more buildings and a gnarly old tree supported by a twisty log.
 
 
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The Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwu men) was built in 1420, it is the northern gate and like everything else we have seen began with a different name - The Gate of Mysterious Warrior (Xuanwu men) after the ancient Chinese deity of the North. When it was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty during the Kangxi Emperor’s reign (1661-1722), it was renamed to avoid using the character Xuan, which was taboo as it was part of the Kangxi Emperor’s birth name Aisin Gioro Xuanye.
 
 
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As the rear gate of the imperial palace, the Gate of Divine Prowess played an important role id daily access. In the Qing Dynasty, the empress would use the main passage of this gate when offering sacrifices to the Silkworm Goddess (agriculture). In addition, every three years Qing statutes required young girls from certain social groups to present themselves for selection for the royal harem, and they would enter the Forbidden City via the side passage of this gate. Then it was out passing the moat and with one final backward glance it was off to bimble the hutongs.......
 
 
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ALL IN ALL INCREDIBLE THAT IT HAS SURVIVED THROUGH THE AGES

                    VAST, CROWDED AND VERY UNIQUE