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.

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The tourist entrance to Xiliu Palace is the inner right door next to the military aircraft office to the west of Qianqing Gate.

The inner right door, like the inner left door mentioned earlier, is also a glazed wall door. There is a box on the doorpost, but only two forks on the top and bottom. Inside the inner right gate, there is also a long street heading north to the Imperial Garden, which is the West First Long Street. Heading north leads to the right gate of Changkang, and turning east leads to the west gate of Qiongyuan in the Imperial Garden.

On the right side of the inner right door, there is a tourist restroom. Under the wall, there is a shady place for tourists to hide in the morning, and it also serves as a place for emergency and other relatives and friends to wash their hands.

When the Eastern and Western Six Palaces were first built in the early Ming Dynasty, they were symmetrical from left to right. There was also a house type gate on the wall of the high palace on the east side of the inner right gate. This is the Yuehua Gate corresponding to the Rijing Gate on the other side of the Eastern Six Palaces, from which you can see the essence of the sun and the moon inside. Entering the Yuehua Gate is the Qianqing Palace Square. Standing outside the door, you can see the platform corridor from the Qianqing Gate to the Qianqing Palace, and you can also see the Rijing Gate across from it.

Just like on the other side of Dongliu Palace, this place on Xiyi Changjie does not belong to the Xiliu Palace of the concubines. Opposite the Rijing Gate to the east is the Renxiang Gate, and opposite the Yuehua Gate here is the Zunyi Gate, where benevolence and righteousness coexist. To the east of Renxiang Gate leads to Zhai Palace and Yuqing Palace, while to the west of Zunyi Gate leads to Yangxin Hall and Imperial Kitchen. To the north of the alley is the Heart Nourishing Hall, and to the south is the Imperial Kitchen. This imperial dining room was specially designed for the emperor in the Qing Dynasty to cook. The emperor had to eat alone, so it is also called the Heart Nourishing Palace Imperial Kitchen. The Heart Nourishing Hall began major repairs in 2015, which may be equivalent to reconstruction. This is the first major renovation of the Heart Nourishing Hall in New China. Even with the construction team of infrastructure enthusiasts, the palace renovation project cannot be taken lightly. As a result, by the end of 2021, six years later, it is not clear when it will be completed.

The format of Zunyi Gate is different from that of Renxiang Gate in the east. That Renxiang Gate is a street gate, while this Zunyi Gate is a courtyard gate. The four corners of the gate pillar have forks, and there is no box in the middle. There is an apology sticker for the Forbidden City outside the door, and there is also a QR code below that says it can be scanned for VR experience. I don't have a VR device, only a phone that can scan the QR code. I can't watch VR, and even if I scan it, it's useless. Who else can scan it for free? Come on, come back after the major overhaul is completed. Let's let it go today.

Entering the left gate of the low beam on Dongyi Long Street is the East Six Palaces, and this is also the case on the west side. Entering the right gate of the low beam is the West Six Palaces. There are numerous concubines shining brightly in the harem, so these two gates are low beam gates.

The layout of the West Six Palaces is the same as that of the East Six Palaces. The alleyway gate of the East Six Palaces is called the Xianhe Left Gate, while the alleyway gate of the West One Horizontal Lane here must be called the Xianhe Right Gate.

You see, this Xianhe right gate is exactly the same as the left gate to the east, and its name corresponds accordingly. "Xian" means the same, Xianhe means peace in the world. Go inside and take a look. There is a guard room at the entrance of Xiyi Alley. In the past, there must have been eunuchs guarding the door here. Wind and rain can enter, and even the king can enter.

To the west of Xiyi Alley, the first gate is Yongshou Gate, which is the Yongshou Palace.

The location of Yongshou Palace corresponds to Jingren Palace in the East Six Palaces. Like Jingren Palace, there is also a White Marble inlaid screen wall inside Yongshou Gate. The marble also has wonderful patterns. There are Yuan style squatting dragons with long hair on the four corners of the screen wall base. Is this also a relic of the Yuan Palace?

In the early Ming Dynasty, Yongshou Palace was called Changle Palace. In the 14th year of Jiajing (1535 AD), it was renamed Yude Palace. It was not until the 44th year of Wanli (1616 AD) that it was renamed Yongshou Palace. The architectural layout of Yongshou Palace is the same as Jingren Palace in Dongliu Palace, but you can see that there are no ear rooms on both sides of its front courtyard and side halls.

Take a look at the main hall of Yongshou Palace. Its architectural form is exactly the same as that of Jingren Palace. It is five rooms wide, with arch of wooden architecture lifting beam structure, and yellow glazed tiles with single eaves resting on the top of the mountain. Open the door in the morning, and there was Emperor Yulu Dan below the platform two months ago. The plaque hanging on the main hall in the front courtyard of Yongshou Palace is a model of the plaque on the main hall of the six palaces in the east and west, inscribed by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.

The two crabapple trees in front of the Yongshou Palace are not sure if they are original from the Ming Dynasty. They still have flower hair when it comes to the season.

Look at the backyard, the renovated well pavilion is still there. The courtyard pavilion of the East Six Palaces is located in the southwest corner, while the West Six Palaces are located in the southeast corner, which is symmetrical. The front hall of Yongshou Palace does not have a eaves corridor, but the back hall has a front eaves corridor.

During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Jianshen, won a battle in Guangxi and captured many prisoners of war. Among these prisoners was an orphan daughter of the Yao ethnic group, Ji Shi, who was inserted by Zhu Jian Shen An into the palace treasury as a historian. One day, Zhu Jian firmly believed that he had walked to the inner treasury and had a chance encounter with Ji Shi. Seeing her wit and talent, he blessed her. Ji became pregnant and gave birth to a son at the Xinei Anle Hall near the Di'an Gate outside the palace, raising him to the age of six. In the eleventh year of the Chenghua reign (1475 AD), Ji became seriously ill, and his eunuch informed Emperor Chenghua of the news of having a son outside the palace. Emperor Chenghua, who was suffering from the loss of his first two sons and had no heirs, was overjoyed. In April, he brought his son into the palace and named him Zhu Youzhang (Nian Dun). She also moved Ji Shi to the Yongshou Palace, which was then called Changle Palace, and was granted the title of Lady Shu. Due to the serious illness of Consort Shu, her son Zhu Youzhang was raised in the Wan Guifei Palace when he entered the palace. Consort Shu passed away in June shortly after moving into the Yongshou Palace, and the palace staff found it quite suspicious. This incident spread outside the palace, and folk detectives speculated that the culprit was Empress Wan. This Ming Dynasty folk detective is the senior of the current Chaoyang people. Due to the inability of private detectives to enter the palace to gather evidence, this case eventually became one of the headless cases in the Ming Dynasty. In fact, Ji entered the palace due to illness, and his time was already running out. In November, after Zhu Youbang was officially appointed as the crown prince, she was taken by Empress Dowager Zhou from Empress Dowager Wan Guifei to the Renshou Palace, which is now known as the Cining Palace. According to legend, on a warm spring day in the 23rd year of the Chenghua reign, Consort Wan took Zhu Youjian to her palace to eat and drink. The Crown Prince not only refused to eat or drink, but also said some unpleasant things. Empress Wan was so angry that she fell ill and died. Since the age of two, Emperor Chenghua has been served by Empress Wan Guifei, who is his favorite woman. Upon the death of Empress Wan, Emperor Chenghua was heartbroken and passed away in August. The story of Wan Guifei, Shu Fei Ji Shi, and Zhu Youpeng is a mystery in the Ming Dynasty, but it is only a matter of public concern and not in the palace. After Emperor Chenghua, Zhu Youbang ascended to the position of Emperor Hongzhi and Emperor Xiaozong. Emperor Hongzhi conferred the title of Empress Xiaomuji on his mother and buried her in his father's Mausoleum. He also built a dedicated Fengci Hall and erected a memorial tablet for Empress Xiaomuji to worship. The mother of Emperor Chenghua, Ming Xianzong Zhu Jianshen, was Zhou Guifei of Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen. After Zhu Jianshen ascended to the throne, she was honored as the Empress Dowager of Zhou. After the death of Empress Dowager Zhou during the Hongzhi period, Emperor Hongzhi Zhu Youjiang also placed her tablet in the Fengci Hall for worship, and buried her in the Yuling of Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen. After the death of Empress Wan, she was not buried in the tomb of the concubines, but in her own tomb, called the tomb of Empress Wan, which is now the tomb of Empress Wan in the Thirteen Tombs. Although Empress Wan Guifei was seventeen years older than Emperor Chenghua Zhu Jianshen, their friendship was also one of the fairy tales of Chinese history. Consort Wan has offended the unofficial historians for some reason, and it is controversial that she is portrayed as a bad woman among the people. In addition, it is also a mystery which palace Empress Wan lived in. According to historical records of the Ming Dynasty, Empress Wan "initially resided in the Zhaode Palace and later moved to the Anxi Palace to be granted the title of Empress Dowager.". The Zhaode Palace and Anxi Palace cannot be found in the current Six Palaces of the East and West. According to historical records, Anxi Palace was built in October of the fourth year of Jiajing (1526 AD), and I think it should have been renovated. In that year, Jingfu Palace was also completed at the same time as Anxi Palace. The Jingfu Palace inside the Forbidden City was rebuilt by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. I think the Jingqi Pavilion and Fuwang Pavilion next to the Jingfu Palace should be the location of the Anxi Palace in the Ming Dynasty, which is now north of the Leshou Hall. That area was a nursing home that Emperor Qianlong completely renovated for himself to live in after retirement. He must have demolished the original Ming Dynasty buildings and built a nursing home.

After Qing Shunzhi entered Beijing, he deposed the empress Dowager Dorgon and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang who had married him. The name of the empress was quite awkward, and in the tenth year of Shunzhi's reign, she was demoted to Empress Jing. Consort Jing was moved to live in this Yongshou Palace and disappeared from sight. This Yongshou Palace can be considered as the first cold palace of the Qing Dynasty. This deposed Empress Jing should have lived in the Yongshou Palace for not long, and it is very likely that she moved to the Cining Palace to live with her aunt Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang. In the 13th year of the Shunzhi reign (1656 AD), a Han woman named Shi was selected for the position of Fu Jin. Although she was nominally a concubine of the Eastern Palace, she was actually one level lower than the concubine. Shunzhi instructed the Eastern Palace Consort Shi to live in the Yongshou Palace in the Western Six Palaces. She was specially granted permission to wear Hanfu, and her mother was also specially granted permission to take a sedan chair and leave the inner right door of the Xihua Gate. She then entered the palace to perform family rituals and was given imperial food. After her death during the Kangxi reign, Shi Shi was granted the title of Empress Dowager Kaoke and was ultimately buried in the Xiaodong Mausoleum in Shunzhi. It is unknown if this is her ashes. Shunzhi was the first Qing Emperor after entering the country. In order to facilitate the rule of the world, he married a Mongolian empress, with Han people among her concubines. In fact, Emperor Shunzhi favored the Manchu Empress Dowager Dong E the most. When Kangxi was the emperor, in order to enhance the status of Yabilong, he married his eldest daughter, Niu Kelu, in the fifteenth year of Kangxi's reign (1676 AD). In the sixteenth year, he was appointed as the second empress and lived in Kunning Palace. Kunning Palace was already transformed into a place for worshipping gods during the Shunzhi period. The Empress of Kangxi was the last Qing Dynasty empress to live in Kunning Palace, and it is likely that she lived in the renovated Dongnuan Pavilion. This empress had a short life. She passed away in the Kunning Palace in the 17th year of the Kangxi reign and was posthumously honored as Empress Xiaozhao Ren. Kangxi was very unwilling and married the youngest daughter of Ai Bilong, who became a noble consort, Wen Xi. Empress Wen Xi lived in Yongshou Palace and gave birth to the tenth son of the emperor, Yinmu (Nianme). Empress Wen Xi passed away in the 33rd year of Kangxi's reign, and "Wen Xi" was her posthumous title after her death. Only imperial consorts in the Qing Dynasty had posthumous titles, and Wen Xi was the only noble consort in the Qing Dynasty to have a posthumous title. After the death of Empress Niu Kelu, Kangxi never established an empress, and the Kunning Palace remained vacant. The harem was under the control of Consort Tong of Chengqian Palace for ten years. It was not until her death in the 28th year of Kangxi that Consort Tong was granted the title of Empress. Although Tong Jiashi only served as Empress for one day, she can still be considered the third Empress of Kangxi. When Tong Jia became a noble consort, she would select those with good looks from among the palace maids to serve the emperor. She once recommended a palace maid named Zhang Jia to serve the emperor, and from the 25th to the 30th year of the Kangxi reign, she gave birth to thirteen sons, Yin Xiang, and two princesses. Normally, this should be a woman who was quite favored by Emperor Kangxi, but although she lived with Empress Wen Xi in the Yongshou Palace, she was never conferred a title during her lifetime and was just a concubine. In the 38th year of Kangxi's reign, Zhang Jia passed away and was posthumously granted the title of Min Fei by Kangxi. After Yongzheng ascended to the throne, he posthumously honored his mother, Concubine Min, as Empress Jingmin and buried her in the imperial palace of Kangxi, due to the great virtue of the Thirteenth Lord Yin Xiang. After Empress Wen Xi and Empress Min, the virtuous concubine of Kangxi lived in Yongshou Palace. She was a virtuous concubine granted the title of Consort in the 39th year of Kangxi's reign, and later became a concubine. The virtuous concubine who entered the palace in the 14th year of Kangxi's reign was also a palace maid recommended by Consort Tong to Kangxi. In the 20th year of Kangxi's reign, she gave birth to the eighth son of the emperor, Yin Si (Nian Si), who was raised by Consort Hui and later became the leader of the Eight Lord Party.

Yin Zhen, the fourth son of Emperor Kangxi, became Emperor Yongzheng and conferred the title of Xi (Nianxi) Consort on his side, Niu Kelu, who lived in the Jingren Palace of the Eastern Six Palaces until the death of Emperor Yongzheng. After Hongli, the fourth son of Emperor Yongzheng, ascended the throne of Emperor Qianlong, he named Nuokilu, his mother's concubine, as the empress dowager of Emperor Chongqing. He stayed in Yongshou Palace for a while before living in Shoukang Palace. After the empress dowager of Chongqing moved to Shoukang Palace, Emperor Qianlong appointed Gao Jia, his own side Fujin, as his concubine, and moved from Zhongcui Palace to Yongshou Palace where his mother lived. This was the first concubine in the Qianlong Dynasty. Before the death of Consort Gao in the tenth year of the Qianlong reign, she was conferred the title of Empress Dowager, the first Empress Dowager of the Qianlong reign. Afterwards, Empresses Ying and Shu of Qianlong lived in Yongshou Palace. According to the records of the Qing Palace, Consort Shu, like Consort Ling, was a Jinfeng consort in the 13th year of the Qianlong reign (1748 AD). It is possible that Consort Shu moved from Chengqian Palace to Yongshou Palace that year. Yingfei used to live in Jingren Palace in Dongliu Palace, and only moved to Yongshou Palace before Qianlong abdicated. In the third year of Jiaqing after abdication, Qianlong saw that Empress Ying had been with him for a lifetime, almost seventy years old. He couldn't bear to give her the title of Noble Consort. During the Jiaqing period, Empress Ru lived in Yongshou Palace. Ru Fei was born in the 52nd year of the Qianlong reign (1787 AD). During the Jiaqing reign, she entered the palace and became Ru Fei. After the death of Emperor Jiaqing, Emperor Daoguang appointed Ru Fei as the Imperial Examination Ru Guifei. She did not live in Shoukang Palace, but in the Qing Dynasty Shou'an Palace behind it, which was called Xianxi Palace in the Ming Dynasty. During the Xianfeng period, she was granted the title of Empress Dowager, and passed away in the tenth year of the Xianfeng era (1860 AD) at the age of 74. This concubine is also a legend of the Qing Dynasty, experiencing four emperors throughout her life.

The intersection that continues westward from Yongshou Gate is the north-south West Second Long Street.

After passing the intersection of Xi'er Changjie, the next courtyard gate in Xiyi Hengxiang is the Taiji Gate, and inside the gate is a wooden screen, also known as a wooden shadow wall.

The Tai Chi Gate is certainly the Tai Chi Hall.

The main hall of the front courtyard of the Tai Chi Hall is similar to that of other palaces in the east and west. The arch of wooden architecture lifting beam structure is five bays wide and three bays deep, and the yellow glazed tile single eaves rests on the top of the mountain. There is a two foot high blue stone platform in front, with a hanging strap and a stepping stone in the middle. The difference is that there are eaves corridors in front and behind the Tai Chi Hall, and on the horizontal beams are double dragons and seals, which should be painted in the 16th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1890 AD). There are three spacious side halls in the east and west of the front yard. The backyard is similar to 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 Tai Chi Hall corresponds to the Yanxi Palace in the East Six Palaces, which had the same architectural layout as this Tai Chi Hall before the fire broke out during the Daoguang period.

The Taiji Palace was called the Weiyang Palace in the early Ming Dynasty, and was renamed the Qixiang Palace in the 14th year of the Jiaqing reign. During the Ming Chenghua period, Shao Shi, the concubine of Ming Xianzong Zhu Jianshen, lived here and gave birth to the fourth son of the emperor, Zhu Yougui. The title of Chen Fei is very special, with the meaning of an emperor, and is the highest level of imperial concubine. At first, Emperor Gaozong of Tang wanted to bestow the title of Empress Wu Zetian as a concubine, but later everyone opposed it, saying that the title was too high. In history, there were several imperial concubines in each dynasty, most of whom were favored by the emperor. The most beloved concubine of Emperor Taiji, Hai Lanzhu, was also known as the imperial concubine. Emperor Chenghua loved Empress Wan the most, but he also loved Empress Chen very much. Before Empress Chen passed away, she was conferred the title of Empress Wan. Consort Wan's own son died early. After the daughter of the Ji family brought her son into the palace, Consort Wan once urged Zhu Jianshen to depose the Crown Prince Zhu Youjian and establish Zhu Youjian, the son of Consort Chen and the Shao family. However, she was not arrested and stopped. In the 23rd year of the Chenghua reign (1487 AD), Consort Wan passed away due to illness. A few months later, Emperor Chenghua Zhu Jianshen also ascended to heaven, and the third prince Zhu Youbang succeeded him as Emperor Hongzhi Mingxiao. Emperor Hongzhi had talent, but in the 18th year of Hongzhi (1505 AD), he passed away at the age of 36 at an early age. It is said that he was located in the position of Crown Prince Zhu Houzhao and was Emperor Mingwu of Zhengde. Princess Chen's son, Prince Xing Zhu Yougui, was the uncle of Emperor Zhengde. This Zhu Houzhao is even worse than his father. He passed away before giving birth to a prince at the age of 31. According to the ancestral teachings of the emperor when there was no empress, the empress dowager and the chief minister discussed and decided to let the closest cousin to the throne succeed him, Zhu Houcong, the son of Prince Xing Zhu Yougui and the grandson of Empress Chen, who was Emperor Jiajing Ming Shizong. This is the 14th year of the Ming Zhengde reign (1519 AD), and the history of the Ming Dynasty is a bit convoluted. It was not easy to explain this clearly. Emperor Jiajing therefore renamed the Weiyang Palace where his father was born to Qixiang Palace to celebrate his lineage's ascension to the throne. After Emperor Jiajing ascended the throne, he made his blind grandmother, Concubine Chen, Queen Mother Shou'an, his father, Xing Wang Zhu Youdang, a wise patriarch, his mother, Jiang Shi, a queen mother of Xing Guo, and his father's tomb of Prince Zhongxiang in Hubei Province, a fief, an imperial tomb. In the first year of the Jiajing reign (1521 AD), Consort Chen passed away and was buried in the Maoling Mausoleum of Zhu Jianshen. In the fifteenth year of the Jiajing reign, she moved into the main tomb hall with Consort Ji. This Maoling is very magical. It collapsed in the 23rd year of Zhu Jianshen's Chenghua reign (1487 AD). Maoling was built only after his death. The pit was dug that year, and Zhu Jianshen himself led the burial. Emperor Hongzhi Zhu Youbang also buried his birth mother, Lady Shufei Ji, and was posthumously named Empress Xiaomu. After the death of Empress Zhu Jianshen in the thirteenth year of Zhengde (1518 AD), she entered the main mausoleum hall of Maoling, and her name was legitimate. Except for Zhu Jianshen himself, everyone else in the main hall of Maoling was planted by his children and grandchildren. Empress Wang must have been approved by Zhu Jianshen, and those two concubines, Chen Fei and Shu Fei, may not be the same. By the way, there is also the mother of the deceased second prince Zhu Youji, Lady Xianfei, buried in the auxiliary hall of Maoling. Princess Wan Guifei, Zhu Jianshen's favorite and the eldest son of the deceased emperor, was not buried. However, the spirit of Empress Wan Guifei in heaven ultimately turned Empress Chen's son Zhu Yougui into Emperor Mingrui, and also turned Empress Chen's grandson Zhu Hougui into Emperor Jiajing.

In March of the 24th year of the Wanli reign (1596 AD), Zhu Yijun, the Emperor of Ming, was secretly refining a new pill in the Heart Nourishing Hall at the time when he suddenly saw a red light shining from the Kunning Palace. In an instant, fireworks rose, and the two palaces of Kunning and Qianqing were completely destroyed. Afterwards, he couldn't go back to the Qianqing Palace. After staying in the Yongshou Palace, which was then called Yude Palace, for a few days, he moved to this Qixiang Palace and stayed there until the reconstruction of the Qianqing Palace was completed in the 32nd year of the Wanli reign. Speaking of "secret refining new pills", I recall an interesting story. Nowadays, restaurants have a specialty dish called "Secret Recipe". Once, a few of our colleagues went out for a meal, and one of them, a German colleague who knew a few Chinese characters, asked me, "What does" secret cooking "mean on the menu?"? I was speechless, so I told him it was "Made in a dark room". He was shocked and asked "Why" again. I said "No why", and he was so angry that he stared. The store manager said it was "Made in a secret subscription", and it was my turn to be shocked.

In the sixth year of the Xianfeng reign (1856 AD), a concubine living in the Chuxiu Palace gave birth to a prince named Zaichun, who was the only son of Xianfeng. Due to her meritorious service in giving birth to a prince, Empress Yi was conferred the title of Empress Dowager Yi by Empress Dowager Jin. This was later known as Empress Dowager Cixi of the Western Palace. In the seventh year of the Xianfeng reign, Consort Yi was promoted to the title of Consort Yi. Consort Yi is literate and often corrects memorials for sick seedlings like Xianfeng. During this period, she also indulged in spoiled behavior. Over the years, the diseased seedlings were fortunate enough to not touch those concubines, nor did they produce any offspring, and even after giving birth, they did not survive. Consort Yi always murmured in Xianfeng's ear that she wanted to live in a big house. Xianfeng couldn't resist her, so he had to agree to renovate the two courtyards of Changchun Palace and Qixiang Palace in front of her in the ninth year of Xianfeng, intending to give Consort Yi a place to live. The front hall of Qixiang Palace was renamed as Tai Chi Hall, and the back wall of the main hall in the backyard had a hole. In the morning, it was transformed into a hall house and renamed as Tiyuan Hall. The main hall of the Tai Chi Hall is now surrounded by fences on both sides, so the Tianyuan Hall and Changchun Palace behind it are now invisible.

Before this, the twelve plaques of the Six Palaces of the East and West were all inscribed by Emperor Qianlong, and at that time, the plaques of this palace were "Qixiang Palace". After the renovation of the Qixiang Palace in Xianfeng, the plaque on the Tai Chi Hall was the only non Qianlong calligraphy among the six palaces in the East and West. The Qixiang Palace and Changchun Palace have become a four courtyard courtyard, larger than the Heart Nourishing Hall where the emperor lived. According to research, at that time, although Emperor Xianfeng lived in the Yangxin Hall, he often lived and worked in the Xianfu Palace behind Changchun Palace. At that time, the Empress of the Central Palace, Niu Kelu, lived in the Zhongcui Palace of the Eastern Six Palaces, which later became Empress Ci'an of the Eastern Palace. The Zhongcui Palace is not as large as the Qixiang Palace and Changchun Palace after their merger. The circle of handmade corridors renovated by Zhongcui Palace was after the renovation of Changchun Palace.

Looking at the late Qing Dynasty decorations currently arranged in the Tai Chi Hall, it should not be the throne of Empress Dowager Cixi in the past. In the past, there was a set of terraced throne screens in the main halls of the Eastern and Western Six Palaces. This throne was not owned by the female master of this palace, but by the emperor. When the emperor arrives at a certain palace, he must first sit down here, and the female master of this palace must quickly come out of a certain room to pick him up. If the emperor walked directly to the hostess's bedroom in the back hall, the hostess must quickly kneel and shout out, "If I am late to pick you up, I deserve to die a thousand times.".

Changchun Palace is currently under maintenance and is not open. No pictures are available. During the Ming Dynasty, Li Chengfei, the consort of Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youxiao, resided in Changchun Palace. Li Chengfei is a tragic figure. When she ascended to the throne, she defended another concubine, Fan Huifei, who lived with her in Changchun Palace. Later, she was secretly plotted and demoted to a palace maid. It was not until Emperor Chongzhen came to power after Emperor Tianqi that Consort Li Chengfei was exonerated.

In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Yongzheng proclaimed himself as the abbot of Changchun and gave his fourth son Hongli the name Changchun Jushi. After Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne, he arranged for his beloved Empress Fucha to reside in the Changchun Palace. After the death of Empress Fucha, Qianlong ordered the Changchun Palace to remain in its original state, and all the original objects were placed in their original places. From then on, every Chinese New Year, Qianlong would come to Changchun Palace to pay tribute to Empress Fucha. Until the 60th year of the Qianlong reign, Empress Fucha and Empress Wei Jia both passed away for many years, and Qianlong himself was no longer the emperor. It was only then that Changchun Palace was opened to Emperor Jiaqing for his other concubines to live in.

During the Xianfeng period, after the renovation of Changchun Palace, there were no residents, and Emperor Xianfeng was no longer able to live there. After Xianfeng's death, his concubines surprisingly did not move to the Shoukang Palace and still lived in their original palace. Empress Niu Kelu was honored as Empress Dowager Ci'an of the Eastern Palace, and Empress Yigui was honored as Empress Dowager Cixi of the Western Palace, resulting in two Empresses Dowager Ci'an of the Eastern Palace and Cixi of the Western Palace. At the age of six, Tongzhi ascended to the throne but still could not wield power. Although Xianfeng had appointed eight ministers to oversee his duties before his death, Cixi, together with Prince Gong Yixin, launched the Xinyu coup and destroyed the eight ministers. The Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces created a hanging curtain to listen to politics, seized power, and appointed Yixin, the half brother of Emperor Xianfeng, as the king of politics. In the early years of the Tongzhi reign (1862 AD), Empress Dowager Ergong lived together in 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 politics, both of them moved into the backyard of the Heart Nourishing Hall. Ci'an lived in the east ear room, while Cixi lived in the west ear room. In the eleventh year of the Tongzhi reign, Empress Dowager Lianggong married Emperor Zaichun; In twelve years, Empress Dowager Lianggong rolled up her curtains and returned to politics, and Tongzhi began to govern personally. Ci'an built a hanging flower gate and a handmade corridor for Zhongcui Palace in reference to Changchun Palace, and then moved back to live there. Cixi moved to Changchun Palace and finally moved into a big house. Empress Dowager Cixi felt that the paintings in the Zhongcui Palace of Ci'an were good, so she also painted many paintings on the walls of the Changchun Palace corridor. They said it was a painting of the twelve hairpins in the Red Chamber. Empress Dowager Cixi also created an enclosed building on the back porch of the Tai Chi Hall, using it as a stage for private performances. Later, Empress Jin of Guangxu also learned this trick and recruited a theater troupe to sing in the Yonghe Palace of the Dongliu Palace where she lived. In the 13th year of Tongzhi, the emperor celebrated the 40th birthday of Empress Dowager his mother Cixi in Changchun Palace. I originally wanted to lock his mother, who was causing him a headache, in Changchun Palace to watch plays and listen to books every day, but Cixi still frequently came out to interfere in politics. But Tongzhi himself had a big dream at the end of the year, only nineteen years old. Empress Dowager Cixi had Prince Chun's four year old son Zaitian become Emperor Guangxu, and Empress Dowagers of the Two Palaces returned to the Hall of Nurturing the Heart to listen to politics from the curtains. Prince Chun was another half brother of Emperor Xianfeng, Yixi, and his legitimate wife, Fujin, was the younger sister of Empress Cixi. At that time, the Chun Wang Mansion was now the State Administration of Religious Affairs, and the Chun Wang Mansion Garden was the former residence of Song Qingling. In the seventh year of the Guangxu reign (1881 AD), Empress Dowager Ci'an passed away in the Zhongcui Palace due to a cerebral hemorrhage. Some say that Empress Dowager Cixi gave her an excessive amount of aspirin sugar pills. From then on, Empress Dowager Cixi almost overshadowed the heavens. In the fifteenth year of the Guangxu reign, the emperor got married and the empress was chosen by Cixi. She was the daughter of Cixi's younger brother, who was also his niece, Yehenara Jingfen. Afterwards, Empress Dowager Cixi returned to power under the reign of Emperor Guangxu, but still controlled the court through the guise of political training, which was extremely reactionary. In the thirtieth year of the Guangxu reign, Empress Dowager Cixi moved the palace specifically for her residence in the Zhongnanhai Yiluan Hall after returning to power. In the early years of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai renamed it Huairentang. In the 34th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign, he fell ill and was critically ill. Empress Dowager Cixi once again brought in Prince Chun's grandson Puyi. As soon as Emperor Guangxu left, Puyi was placed on the throne of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and ascended to the throne as Emperor Xuantong. Cixi became the Empress Dowager. In fact, at this time, Empress Dowager Cixi had already been critically ill in the ward of the Yiluan Palace. She persevered until the death of Emperor Guangxu, waiting for Emperor Xuantong to ascend to the throne. The next day, she took her last breath and said the last sentence, "Women are not allowed to engage in politics in the future.". The Empress of the Central Palace of Emperor Xianfeng, Niu Kelu, rose from a concubine to an empress in forty days and was the fastest rising woman in the Qing Dynasty; The noble concubine of Emperor Xianfeng, Yehenara, was the highest promoted woman in the Qing Dynasty; Emperor Xianfeng himself was the shortest reigning emperor of the Qing Dynasty, with only eleven years. So Xianfeng was the most powerful emperor of the Qing Dynasty, lacking both courage and talent, and unable to rectify the leaning Empire State Building. The most crucial thing was due to his incompetence, Empress Dowager Cixi climbed to the peak of power in the late Qing Dynasty and gave a fierce push on the Jiangqing Building.

After the death of Empress Dowager Cixi, Empress Yehenara of Emperor Guangxu moved from Zhongcui Palace to Changchun Palace and transformed into Empress Dowager Longyu. Because Emperor Xuantong Puyi was only four years old at the time, Empress Dowager Longyu followed the example of Empress Dowager Cixi and engaged in the practice of hanging the curtain to listen to politics. Not only did she lose sight of the Qing Dynasty's politics, but she also died in Changchun Palace in the second year of the Republic of China (1913 AD). At this time, Emperor Sun Puyi was still living in the harem. In the eleventh year of the Republic of China (1922 AD), Puyi married his first wife Wanrong and his second wife Wenxiu. The second wife Wenxiu lives in Changchun Palace. We often refer to Qing emperors as forked emperors, such as Qianlong and Daoguang. The late Qing Emperor should also be called Emperor Xuantong, and he himself called himself Xuantong. But we are still accustomed to calling the late Qing Emperor Puyi, perhaps because he was too young when he was emperor and had not been emperor for a few years. In the end, he served as the emperor for a longer time.

After watching the Tai Chi Hall and Changchun Palace, you still need to come out of the Tai Chi Gate. Continue to look at the other courtyards of the West Sixth Palace.

(To be continued)