My 2021 version of the Palace Museum cover post, serialized as "Viewing Red Walls and Golden Tiles, Appreciating Ming and Qing Imperial Palaces" with seventeen pieces, has received many readers' generous reading. Some readers have put forward some opinions and suggestions, pointing out some fallacies. This revised version has been reissued, incorporating the opinions and suggestions of previous readers, enriching some content, correcting typos, and updating and supplementing some images. Although I dare not say that I have corrected all the fallacies, most of them have been corrected. Detailed appreciation of the top ancient Chinese palace architectural art seen in the Ming and Qing imperial palaces, some royal cultural relics exhibited in the Forbidden City, and traces of royal life in the Qing palace. It is also associated with some stories and legends that occurred in the Ming and Qing imperial palaces, and I dare not say "to entertain readers", but I just hope to share them with readers. thank you.

——————————————————————————————

After watching the Tai Chi Hall, you still need to come out of the Tai Chi Gate. Walk north to Xi'er Hengxiang, where the western entrance is Fuhua Gate. The western section of Erheng Lane is not open, but it has been merged with Taiji Hall and Changchun Palace inside.

And there is a courtyard in the eastern section, which is Yikun Palace. There is a wooden screen door inside the palace gate that can be opened and closed.

The Yikun Palace corresponds to the Chengqian Palace in the Dongliu Palace. Cheng Qian over there, Cheng is Shun Cheng, Qian is Tian. Yi Kun here, Yi is Jing, Kun is the ground. The correspondence between the two sides means "following the heavens and respecting the earth", which is similar to the meanings of Qianqing and Kunning in the Three Palaces behind the Middle Road. The Qianqing and Kunning palaces are located on the north-south middle road of the imperial harem, which existed in the early Ming Dynasty. The two palaces of Chengqian and Yikun were located on the east-west middle road of the harem, and were renamed during the Jiajing and Chongzhen periods of the Ming Dynasty. The seemingly respectful attitude of ancient Chinese emperors towards heaven and earth was actually very hypocritical. They said that the monarchy was granted by heaven, and everyone else had to listen. No one dared to disrespect the heavens. And the earth is the plate on which he governs for heaven, and also the plate on which he harvests silver. The Yikun and Chengqian two palaces were called Wan'an Palace and Yongning Palace in the early Ming Dynasty. At that time, the names of the east six palaces became one, while the names of the west six palaces became another. Inside the gate of Chengqian Palace is a wooden screen wall, while here in Yikun Palace is a wooden screen door that is not completely symmetrical.

The main hall in the front yard of Yikun Palace is also five rooms wide, with arch of wooden architecture lifting beams, yellow glazed tiles with single eaves resting on the top of the mountain, five roof figures, and eaves galleries in front and behind. There are still traces of twin phoenixes and seals on the horizontal beam, which must be original from the Qing Dynasty. There is a two foot high platform in front of the main hall, with a hanging belt and a stone in the middle. There are also three spacious east and west side halls in the front yard, and there are also ear rooms on the north wall of the side hall. These are the standard layouts of the six palaces in the east and west.

Take a look at the west side hall of Yikun Palace.

Take a look at the backyard of Yikun Palace.

The layout of the backyard is the same as that of other palaces. The back hall is also on the top of the yellow glazed tile gable roof with eaves gallery. You can see the well platform and cover in the southeast corner, and the well pavilion is no longer there.

In the late Qing Dynasty, the back wall of the Ming Dynasty in the back hall of Yikun Palace was opened up and made into a hall house. Take a look at the back hall of Yikun Palace, now called Tihe Hall. There is a plaque with the inscription of Empress Dowager Cixi hanging on the forehead, saying that this is the "forest" and there will be phoenixes flying over.

During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the resident here was Empress Zheng, who was the famous female pig foot of the Ming Dynasty's stilt attack case. Zheng was originally a concubine when she was granted the title of nine concubines in the tenth year of the Wanli reign (1582 AD). The following year, she became pregnant and was granted the title of Empress Dowager of Jin; In the third year, she became pregnant again and was granted the title of Empress Dowager. In the 14th year of the Wanli reign, she was conferred the title of Empress Dowager and favored by the imperial harem. During the reign of Emperor Chongzhen of the late Ming Dynasty, the mournful Consort Yuan lived here. Before Chongzhen ascended to Jingshan, he had all the imperial concubines in the palace, including Yuan Guifei, commit suicide. After receiving the order, Consort Yuan returned to the Yikun Palace and found the unused sweat scarf from the bottom of the box. She hung the ancient sweatshirt on the beam of the house and hung it herself from the bench. She kicked off the bench, never expecting the handkerchief to collapse due to its antiquity. Yuan Guifei collapsed on the ground and fainted. Chongzhen came to inspect the homework and saw Yuan Guifei fall to the ground. He was afraid that she would be humiliated when the city was destroyed, so he picked up his blade and chopped her a few times. When the soldiers of the King Chuang set fire to the palace, they ignored the unconscious Yuan Guifei, who was dressed in linen and red on the ground. In fact, she was not fatally injured, and then fled the palace to hide. The future is unknown.

During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, Consort Yi lived in the Yikun Palace and gave birth to the fifth son of the emperor, Yin Qi, and the ninth son, Yin Yin. Yin Qi was an ally of Yin Zhen, and Yin Yin was his rival. Yin Zhen became Emperor Yongzheng and locked him up to die in prison. Yifei was also not granted the title of Empress Dowager by Emperor Yongzheng due to her status as Yin Yin. According to Kangxi's last wish, Consort Yi left the Yikun Palace where she had lived for 47 years and moved into her son Yinqi's Prince Hengqin's mansion, located north of the Chaoyang Gate. In the tenth year of Yongzheng (1732 AD), Yin Qi passed away due to illness, and the following year, Consort Yi also passed away. After Empress Yi moved away, Yongzheng gave the Yikun Palace to his Nian Guifei, who was the younger sister of Nian Gengyao. At the beginning of the year, the Nian family was designated by Kangxi as a side blessing for Yinzhen, and after Yongzheng ascended the throne, she was conferred the title of Noble Consort. Empress Nian was highly favored. During her time with Emperor Yongzheng, she collaborated with him to give birth to several children, but none of them were raised. Nian Fei gave birth to the ninth son of the emperor, Fu Pei, in the Yikun Palace, and died on his birth. Finally, Nian Guifei died in the third year of Yongzheng, and was conferred the title of Empress Dowager by Jin before her death. Due to Yongzheng's great love for Nian Fei, after the Nian Gengyao case was committed, Yongzheng ultimately did not implicate the nine families of Nian, and Nian Gengyao's father and brother were able to die peacefully. Nian Fei was jokingly referred to as Hua Fei in a certain TV drama.

During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the one who lived in Yikun Palace was the Fu Jinnara clan on his side before ascending the throne, which was his consort Xian after ascending the throne. In the tenth year of the Qianlong reign (1745 AD), Consort Xian was conferred the title of Consort Xian. In the thirteenth year of the Qianlong reign, Empress Fucha passed away. This dealt a great blow to Lao Qian, and his temperament changed greatly from then on. Previously, Emperor Qianlong rarely executed ministers who were found guilty; After the death of Empress Fucha, Qianlong began to send the guilty officials to the market in batches. In the 14th year of the Qianlong reign, Consort Xian was granted the title of Empress Dowager and was responsible for overseeing the affairs of the six palaces. Qianlong paid for the construction of the Guangming Shengchang Screen Gate inside the Yikun Gate, which is why the Yikun Palace was not made of wooden shadow walls. In the fifteenth year of Emperor Qianlong's reign, she was posthumously honored as the successor empress. In the thirtieth year of the Qianlong reign, the emperor made his fourth southern tour, and the Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager, and other concubines gathered together. After arriving in Hangzhou, Qianlong had a dispute with the Empress for some reason. The Empress cut her hair privately and threatened to become a monk. Qianlong thus formed a grudge against her and attempted to depose her, but was unsuccessful, only reclaiming the Jinfeng Book Treasure. After returning to the palace, the empress was ordered by Qianlong to reside in the back hall of Yikun Palace and not allowed to go out, but was actually sent to the cold palace. In the 31st year, Empress Nala passed away and was buried in the imperial garden of the Eastern Tombs of the Qing Dynasty according to the imperial concubine system, but not in the Yuling of Emperor Qianlong. The story of this stepmother is also jokingly told in some TV dramas. After the death of Empress Nala, in the 33rd year of the Qianlong reign, newly appointed Consort Qing moved into the Yikun Palace and suffered a difficult life. She passed away due to illness in the 39th year. Subsequently, Dun Fei (Nian Ku Fei) moved into the Yikun Palace, where she gave birth to Qianlong's favorite daughter and Princess Xiao. Princess Hexiao married Heshen's son. When Emperor Jiaqing punished Heshen, he did not eliminate his son because he wanted to keep him as his husband for Jiaqing's sister. Jiaqing also left half of the Heshen Mansion for Princess Hexiao and her husband, and the other half for his younger brother Prince Qing Yonglin, who was also born to Empress Wei Jia. It was not until Princess Hexiao passed away that all the houses were given to Yonglin. Yonglin's son Mian Xing inherited the title of Yonglin and continued to live in the Heshen Mansion until Xianfeng redeemed it from Yonglin's grandson Yihong and gave it to Prince Gong Yixin, becoming Prince Gong's Mansion. Yi Kuang rebuilt a Qing Wang Mansion across two alleys to the west of Prince Gong's Mansion, which no longer exists.

Like the Tai Chi Palace and Changchun Palace, the Yikun Palace connects with the Chu Xiu Palace behind it to form a courtyard. Go take a look at the Chuxiu Palace, first take a look at the main hall in the front courtyard.

The layout of the front courtyard of the Yikun Palace is the same, with the front eaves of the main hall and the east and west side halls connected by corner corridors, forming a circle of corridors. Go take a look in the backyard again.

It also has the same layout as the backyard of Yikun Palace.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Chuxiu Palace was called Shouchang Palace, and in the 14th year of Jiajing (1533 AD), it was renamed Chuxiu Palace, which is still known today.

There is definitely a record of which imperial concubine lived in the Chu Xiu Palace during the Ming Dynasty, but it is not publicly disclosed and generally unknown. In the early Qing Dynasty, Empress Ping of Emperor Kangxi lived here. In the fourth year of Kangxi's reign (1665 AD), she got married and married the granddaughter of Sonny, one of the four appointed ministers by Emperor Shunzhi, as the Queen of Kunning Palace. This was the first Empress of Kangxi. In the eighth year of the Kangxi reign, the empress gave birth to her eldest son, who had no lifespan and died at the age of four. In the thirteenth year of the Kangxi reign, the Empress had difficulty giving birth to her second son, Yin Ren. Royal childbirth is all about protecting children, but the queen was not saved and died at the age of 21. When Kangxi chatted with the Empress's Ama and Soni's eldest son Gabula, he heard that he also had a daughter. Kangxi then brought this daughter into the palace, indicating that Kangxi still missed the first Empress very much. This is the nineteenth year of the Kangxi reign, when the daughter of Gabulah was only ten years old. She lived, ate, played, and was waiting to grow up in the Chu Xiu Palace, which was called Dai Nian. In the 23rd year of the Kangxi reign, this little girl grew up to the age of fourteen and was specially appointed as the Consort of the Imperial Palace, also known as Hesheri II. She is one of the five concubines of Kang Zao, the youngest. In the thirtieth year of the Kangxi reign, Consort Chu Xiugong gave birth to a prince who only lived for five weeks. In the 35th year of Kangxi's reign, Consort Chu Xiugong passed away due to illness, and Kangxi posthumously conferred the title of Consort Ping.

The most famous person living in the Chu Xiu Palace during the Qianlong Dynasty was the Empress Dowager Wei Jia. Wei Jia may have entered the palace before the ninth year of the Qianlong reign (1744 AD), but there is no record of whether it was embroidery or weaving. Later, she was somehow favored by Empress Fucha and recommended to the emperor. In the tenth year of the Qianlong reign, she was first granted the title of noblewoman, and in November, she became the leading concubine among all the concubines. In the thirteenth year of the Qianlong reign, she became the imperial consort again, second only to those who had good relationships with her elders before the reign of Hongli. In the 24th year of the Qianlong reign, she continued to be conferred the title of Empress Dowager and gave birth to the 15th son of the Emperor, Yongyan. In the thirtieth year of the Qianlong reign, while accompanying the emperor on a southern tour, there was an incident where Empress Nala broke out without authorization. After returning to the capital from the southern tour, the noble consort was appointed as the Imperial Noble Consort and moved from Chengqian Palace to Chu Xiu Palace for residence. After the death of Empress Nala, Emperor Qianlong did not bestow the title of Empress, but instead appointed her as the actual Empress. In the snowy winter of the 39th year of the Qianlong reign, the imperial consort accompanied the emperor north to Rehe to step on the snow and search for plum blossoms, but upon returning, she fell ill. Qianlong moved her into the east ear room of the rear hall of the Heart Nourishing Hall. This room should have been the residence of the empress, and the concubine should have lived in the west ear room. At the beginning of the forty year reign of Emperor Qianlong, the imperial consort finally passed away in this eastern ear room.

After the reign of Emperor Qianlong, Fang Fujin, who was before Emperor Jiaqing ascended the throne, and Niu Kelu, the second empress after ascending the throne, finally lived in the Chuxiu Palace. Afterwards, Empress Tong Jia of Emperor Daoguang stayed in the Chu Xiu Palace. In the second year of the Xianfeng reign (1852 AD), a female candidate named Yehenara was selected and given the title of Lan Guiren. Two years later, she was fortunate enough to be honored by Xianfeng and was granted the title of Yipin. She then moved into the dormitory in the back hall of the Chu Xiu Palace. At that time, there may have been a jade nobleman living in the Chu Xiu Palace. In the sixth year of the Xianfeng reign, Yipin gave birth to a prince named Zaichun in the Chuxiu Palace. In the early years of the Tongzhi reign (1862 AD), when the Empress Dowagers of the Two Palaces were hanging the curtains to listen to politics, Empress Dowager Cixi lived in Changchun Palace. For the convenience of listening to politics, the two of them later lived in the backyard of the Heart Nourishing Hall, Ci'an lived in the east ear room of the sleeping palace, and Cixi lived in the west ear room. In the eleventh year of the Tongzhi reign, the emperor got married and Empress Arute moved into the Chu Xiu Palace. She died in the Chu Xiu Palace in the first year of the Guangxu reign (1875 AD) at the age of 22. In January of the first year of Guangxu, at the age of five, Zai Tian ascended to the throne as emperor in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. After the ceremony, he walked to the Qianqing Palace to pay his respects to the statue of Emperor Tongzhi. Then go to Zhongcui Palace to bow to Empress Dowager Ci'an, then go to Changchun Palace to bow to Empress Dowager Cixi, and finally go to Chu Xiu Palace to bow to Empress Jiashun Arute of Tongzhi Emperor. This passage is very strange. When Emperor Tongzhi was young, Empress Dowager Ci'an and Empress Dowager Cixi had a story about hanging the curtain to listen to politics. In the eleventh year of the reign of Emperor Tongzhi, he got married, and in the twelfth year, the two empresses returned to power. At the end of the thirteenth year, when Emperor Tongzhi passed away, he had already been in power for a full year. However, it is already wrong to choose an heir emperor without Empress Tongzhi. If Emperor Guangxu needed a Empress Dowager to listen to politics from a young age, then it should also be the Empress Arute of Emperor Tongzhi who listened to politics? It's impossible to have two Empresses Dowagers, and besides, this Arute Empress was chosen by the Empresses Dowagers of the Two Palaces. The Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces acted recklessly, and it is estimated that the Empress Dowager of Emperor Tongzhi was killed by their anger. I don't think because Emperor Guangxu was the cousin of Emperor Tongzhi, I can't let the sister-in-law of the Arute family listen to politics from the sidelines. Emperor Guangxu Zai Tian succeeded Emperor Tongzhi Zai Chun as his younger brother and elder brother. During the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Jiajing Zhu Houzhao succeeded Emperor Zhengde Zhu Houzhao as his younger brother and elder brother.

In the thirteenth year of the Tongzhi reign, Empress Dowager Cixi celebrated her 40th birthday at the Changchun Palace. In the tenth year of the Guangxu reign, Cixi celebrated his 50th birthday. Emperor Guangxu, in order to get rid of the Empress Dowager, said to hold a birthday celebration at the Chu Xiu Palace. Empress Dowager Cixi was very happy and merged the Yikun Palace and the Chu Xiu Palace in the same way as the Qixiang Palace and Changchun Palace. For hundreds of years, Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty renovated the Qixiang Palace and Changchun Palace, his nephew Emperor Guangxu renovated the Yikun Palace and the Chu Xiu Palace, and his grandson Emperor Xuantong renovated the Yanxi Palace.

Now Yikun Palace and Chuxiu Palace look very different from other palaces, which is the result of the renovation of Cixi's 50th birthday. At that time, Empress Dowager Ci'an had already passed away, and Empress Dowager Cixi alone held great power, so this layout, decoration, and decoration were all the highest values that women in the Qing Dynasty could achieve. According to the rules, Empress Dowager Cixi can only listen to politics from the inner court, and she cannot go to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, so she can only act recklessly in the inner court. The main hall of Yikun Palace is the public hall where Empress Dowager Cixi receives birthday wishes, and her throne is located there. There are redwood door covers between the east and west sides and the bright room, and inside the side rooms, there are Baibao Pavilion and Tiaoping, on which various things are placed. These are all birthday gifts, according to research, they are mostly fake goods. They were not worth much money back then, and ministers were afraid of revealing their wealth. The decoration in front of the hall should also imitate the Hall of Supreme Harmony. In front of the platform, there is a pair of copper cauldrons and furnaces, a pair of copper phoenixes, a pair of copper cranes, and a pair of copper cylinders. There are cranes and turtles on the platforms of the Taihe Palace and Qianqing Palace in the Forbidden City, both of which should be male. Cixi placed a bronze phoenix in front of her birthday ceremony hall. Although the phoenix was also male, it had the meaning of empress when both dragons and phoenixes appeared. The main hall of Yikun Palace is the pseudo Taihe Hall of Cixi, the Hall of Rites and Music. After the renovation of the rear hall of Yikun Palace, it became the tea restaurant of Cixi, which is the Hall of Body Harmony, with copper phoenixes placed in front of the hall. The middle room is a hallway, the east room is a restaurant, and the west room is a teahouse. Guangxu once made a blind date here at the Hall of Supreme Harmony. He sat on the throne with five candidates standing in the court. Emperor Guangxu could observe their front face and back, and take two more steps to see if they were stumbling. The east and west ear rooms of the Hall of Supreme Harmony have been converted into corridors, which can connect the front and rear eaves of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and the front courtyard of the Chu Xiu Palace. If the Dacheng right door of Xiyi Changjie Sanheng Lane is opened, you can directly enter this corridor.

After the renovation of the main hall of the Chu Xiu Palace, it was used for the daily living of Empress Dowager Cixi. In the Ming Dynasty, there was no floor but a carpet, with a throne on the carpet. Behind the throne was a mirror called a mirror screen, embedded with the word "longevity". There is a plaque above the screen called "Big Round Treasure Mirror".

The east room is a small living room, and the west room is a north kang for taking a nap and a south window wooden bed for eating melon seeds. Cixi can usually listen to reports from ministers or make friends in the main hall of this Chu Xiu Palace, and she can basically stay here during the day. Under the front platform, a pair of copper dragons and a pair of copper deer are placed on both sides. The main hall of the Chu Xiu Palace is the pseudo Qianqing Palace of Empress Dowager Cixi, where emperors reside. Due to being the residence of concubines, the Eastern and Western Six Palaces do not have official palace functions, so there are no ceremonial bronze beasts in front of the palaces. Empresses in the Qing Dynasty had their own halls, and when encountering ceremonial rituals, they went to Kunning Palace and Jiaotai Palace, so the empress did not need ceremonial bronze beasts for her residence in the harem. Cixi is not the Empress of the Central Palace, and according to regulations, she cannot receive gifts in Kunning Palace and Jiaotai Palace. Therefore, she only displayed these ceremonial bronze beasts in the harem at her 50th birthday, and by this time there was no Empress Dowager Ci'an blocking her. In fact, Cixi still showed respect for Ci'an in terms of face, after all, she was the Empress of the Central Palace, and she herself was just a noble consort. When the Empress Dowagers of the two palaces were hanging the curtains to listen to politics, they also sat in the east room with Ci'an as their assistant.

Take a look at the Eight Immortals Table and Grand Tutor's Chair under the south window of the East Second Room of the Chu Xiu Palace. They are all made of Nanmu.

The paper plaque above is written by Empress Dowager Cixi as "Carved Zhang Xia Bu", which means that the carved and painted decorations in the palace are like the sky covered with colorful clouds. It comes from the Tang Dynasty's Jia Denzan Palace's "Shangyang Palace Fu", which reads "Carved Zhang Xia Bu, Surrounded by Satellite Chen". Cixi hired her as a secretary by Xianfeng because she could write, giving her the opportunity to debut. However, to be honest, the large characters on this monument are quite well written, and it is said that someone ghostwrote it. Let's take a look at Xicijian again.

The western corner is a bedroom, with several layers of curtains falling heavily in front of the kang. A tourist said, "How stuffy is Cixi sleeping in such multiple layers of curtains?"?

There is a plaque written by Empress Dowager Cixi titled "Renqiadao Feng" hanging in the morning of the Chuxiu Palace, which is from Zhang Heng's "Tokyo Ode" that reads "both Guangjue Wu and Renqiadao Feng". Ren is the benevolent and righteous benevolence, and Dao is the Dao that receives many benefits. On the plaque, there is still a set of three seals, known as the "Treasure of Empress Dowager Cixi's Imperial Pen". Look at that door, made of golden nanmu.

Looking at another picture of Cixi's character, there is a paper plaque hanging under the eastern side hall with the words "Xi Tian Yao Ri". Xi Tian Yao Ri means a clear sky, metaphorically referring to the smooth passage of fortune. From Cao Zhi's "Qi Qi" in the Three Kingdoms, it reads "Green leaves and Zhu Rong, the day is bright and sunny.".

The rear hall of the Chu Xiu Palace was renamed Li Jingxuan by Empress Dowager Cixi because she downloaded Chun in this lifetime, making it beautiful. After renovation, this is the dormitory of Empress Dowager Cixi, with a throne in the Ming Dynasty. On the west side, there is a sleeping bed on the north kang, and on the south window, there is a wooden bed where melon seeds are eaten. This is the bedroom of Empress Dowager Cixi. On the east side is the small stage of Empress Dowager Cixi.

The renovation by Empress Dowager Cixi has also changed the colored paintings under the corridor. In the past, they should have been all painted with imperial seals, but now they have all been changed to Su style spiral painting.

The colored paintings under the Zhongcui Palace corridor in the Dongliu Palace are also in the Su style spiral painting, which was renovated by Empress Dowager Ci'an. The painting in Changchun Palace is also like this. The other parts of the palace have undergone various renovations and renovations, all of which are still painted with imperial seals. These changes in painting are the result of the transformation of two women, Cixi and Ci'an. When women make decisions, they should be more comfortable and have less court atmosphere.

In the eleventh year of the Republic of China (1922 AD), Emperor Sun Puyi got married and married his eldest wife Wanrong. Wanrong lived in the Chu Xiu Palace. Wanrong is a member of the Daur ethnic group. According to research, her ancestor was Yelv Yanxi, the Tianzuo Emperor of the late Liao Dynasty. Wanrong is a new-style woman who transformed the West Side Room of the Li Jing Xuan in the Chu Xiu Palace into a Western restaurant. The eldest wife Wanrong lives in the Chuxiu Palace, the second wife Wenxiu lives in the Changchun Palace, and Mr. Puyi's two wives both live in the big house.

Adjacent to the Chuxiu Palace and to the west of Xi'er Changjie is Xianfu Palace. Xianfu Palace is currently closed and can only stand on West Second Long Street to admire and sigh from afar. Xianfu Palace was called Shou'an Palace in the early Ming Dynasty, and there were former empresses and concubines living here. In the 14th year of the Jiajing reign, it was renamed Xianfu Palace. The layout of Xianfu Palace is consistent with that of Jingyang Palace, which corresponds to the Eastern Six Palaces. The main hall is three bays wide, with a yellow glazed tile single eave roof, higher in specifications than the other five palaces of the Western Six Palaces.

Li Jingfei, the concubine of Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yijun, lived in this Xianfu Palace. Li Jingfei was the favored concubine of Zhu Yijun, second only to Zheng Guifei. In the 22nd year of the Wanli reign (1594 AD), after giving birth to the sixth son of the emperor, she was conferred the title of Empress Jing. In the 25th year, after giving birth to the seventh son of the emperor, she was conferred the title of Empress Guifei. Li Jingfei passed away ten days after giving birth to the seventh son of the emperor, which was truly astonishing. There were rumors from various sources that she had been spoiled by Empress Zheng due to illness. According to the eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, her postpartum illness was very similar to the current postpartum depression, and the imperial doctors of the Ming Dynasty were still unaware of this disease, even if it was cured, it would not be cured.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, the one living in Xianfu Palace was Lady Xuanfei Jili Gulu. She was the cousin of Emperor Kangxi, and perhaps because she got married to a close relative, Empress Xuan did not appear. In the 26th year of the Kangxi reign (1687 AD), the Jiligulu clan was granted the title of Empress Dowager, but it was not until the 58th year of the Kangxi reign that she was conferred the title of Empress Dowager. She was one of the six great concubines of the Kangxi dynasty. After Kangxi's death, Empress Xuan moved to the Ningshou Palace built by Kangxi instead of the Cining Palace. In the first year of the Qianlong reign (1736 AD), he traveled westward from the Ningshou Palace. Later generations only knew that he died in his seventies, and it is unknown whether he was in his seventies, which can be considered advanced age. When Emperor Qianlong was in power, he liked to go out of the palace and make private visits in his humble attire, visiting factories or courtyards, such as those of Heshen Ji Xiaolan. When he comes back late, he occasionally makes do with the night at Xianfu Palace, because this is the most remote corner of the West Sixth Palace. Therefore, Qianlong regarded this place as an external residence and did not allocate it to any concubines. During his leisure time, Emperor Qianlong played the qin and recited scriptures here, practicing elegance and Zen meditation. After the death of Emperor Qianlong, Emperor Jiaqing also lived in the rear hall of Xianfu Palace during his filial piety period. In order to express his sorrow, Emperor Jiaqing pretended not to be able to climb up the bed, so he spread a wool felt and grass mat on the ground to sleep on it, which was called tarpaulin. After Emperor Jiaqing, Empress Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowager Dowage. Emperor Xianfeng conferred the title of Prince of Yichun, and Emperor Tongzhi conferred the title of Prince of Yichun. In the tenth year of Tongzhi (1871 AD), he collaborated with the sister of Empress Dowager Cixi to give birth to his second son Zaitian, who later became the pitiful Emperor Guangxu. Concubine Lin is the biological grandmother of Emperor Guangxu.

In the thirtieth year of the Daoguang reign (1850), the emperor passed away. In the box behind the Zhengda Guangming Plaque, there is a posthumous edict that the fourth son of the emperor, Yi Heng, will succeed to the throne, which is Emperor Xianfeng. Emperor Xianfeng also observed filial piety for his father in the Xianfu Palace. Afterwards, Emperor Xianfeng worked in the same hall behind the Xianfu Palace. In the second year of the Xianfeng reign, the new emperor held a beauty pageant, and one of the N-class winners, Yehenara, entered the Xianfu Palace as a servant and was given the title of Lan Guiren. Yehenara was seventeen years old at the time and considered to be of advanced age among the ladies. She came from a poor farming family in Changzhi, Shanxi. Due to poverty, she was sold to the family of Huizheng, the governor of Lu'an Prefecture in Changzhi, after being sold several times. Huizheng, seeing its quality and wisdom, carefully watered it and gradually became more knowledgeable about writing. Huizheng raised her and presented her as a tribute to the emperor in the name of her own daughter, in order to prevent her from being requisitioned. Lan Guiren entered the Xianfu Palace and polished the ink for Emperor Xianfeng. The ink she grinds is not as hard to smell as in the Yide Pavilion. Xianfeng couldn't help but write a few more words and even took the time to celebrate Lan Guiren. Due to his meritorious service in the imperial court, Lan Guiren was granted the title of Yi Pin two years later and resided in the rear hall of the Chu Xiu Palace. Yi Pin continued to enter the Xianfu Palace as needed to assist with work and imperial duties. In two years, she took over a dragon seed and gave birth to the only son of the emperor, Zaichun, and Jin Yi Fei, in the Chuxiu Palace. In October, Empress Yi gave birth to a prince, Empress Jin Yi, and after ten months, she was promoted to the title of Noble Consort. Among the women in the harem, there were more than ten thousand. Afterwards, although Yi Guifei was not the left or right hand of Emperor Xianfeng, she was also almost the third hand. Not only is she diligent in writing, but she also practices drawing circles and annotations on memorials. Xianfeng also asked her to comment on political matters and listen to them for fun, which has increased Empress Yi's willingness to engage in politics. It can be said that Qianlong planted the seeds of the Qing Dynasty's downfall, but Xianfeng used Empress Yi as a farmhouse fertilizer to irrigate the seeds. Before the death of Xianfeng, he left behind two souvenirs, one of which was the ancestral Qianlong Emperor Tian Huangshi "Imperial Reward" small seal; The other one is the Shoushan stone "Tongdao Tang" small seal used by Xianfeng himself. The "Imperial Reward" chapter is kept at the Empress's office, while the "Tongdao Hall" chapter is passed down to Emperor Tongzhi. The meaning of Xianfeng is "to issue edicts, divide them into starting and ending points, and eliminate malpractices", which means that edicts before the reign of Emperor Tongzhi should be stamped with "imperial rewards" and "Tongdao Hall" seals at the beginning and end. As Tongzhi was too small to keep the seal, the "Tongdao Hall" seal was stolen by his mother Princess Yi. According to the will of Xianfeng, the imperial edict should be fabricated by the assistant minister, and then read and stamped by the Empress Dowager and Xiao Tongzhi, without any involvement of Empress Dowager Cixi. After the Xinyou Coup, it became a situation where the Empress Dowagers of the Two Palaces hung over the curtains to listen to politics. The edict was to be sealed by the Empress Dowagers of the Two Palaces behind the curtains, but there was no need to govern the emperor.

After Emperor Xianfeng went west, Emperor Tongzhi did not sleep in the Xianfu Palace to observe filial piety; After Tongzhi, Emperor Guangxu did not observe filial piety in Xianfu Palace. Finally, Puyi ascended the throne, and because he was too young, he dared not go there to sleep. Tongzhi had already finished the play early, and not many concubines were scattered everywhere, leaving the Xianfu Palace idle for several years. Although Guangxu was tough for many years, there were not many concubines, and most of the concubines lived in the Dongliu Palace; In addition, he is constantly under house arrest by Empress Dowager Cixi, and there is no chance for him to come to Xianfu Palace. The Xianfu Palace later became a leather warehouse, and the emperor's mink coat probably didn't exist here, but dog skin mats must have existed here in summer.

Don't be fooled by what I said about Xianfu Palace above, but it's not open now, so I don't have any photos to post. Returning from Xianfu Palace to West Second Changjie, you will reach the end here, which is Baizimen. Go out from the Baizi Gate and turn to enter the Imperial Garden through a door.

After seeing the Six Palaces of the East and West, the front and back palaces where the Ming and Qing emperors worked and lived are considered finished. There are also some buildings on both sides outside the inner court of the palace, which have important functions and should be taken a look.

(To be continued)