During his time in the Qing Dynasty, Yin Mi's health had also improved. He took this opportunity to be curious about the imperial palace of the Qing Dynasty and had the intention to look around.
This made the palace maids and eunuchs extremely busy. They dressed him and walked towards Taihe Palace. On the way, the eunuch also explained to Yin Mi.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony and its plaza were the places where the royal family held grand ceremonies. The square of Taihe Palace was basically square. The entire courtyard was flat and wide, and it had an extraordinary aura. To the north was the Hall of Supreme Harmony, to the south was the Gate of Supreme Harmony, to the east was the Tiren Pavilion, and to the west was the Hongyi Pavilion. It covered an area of 30,000 square meters, which was 1/24 of the entire Forbidden City. The entire square could accommodate nearly 70,000 people. The first was to show the majesty of the royal family, and the second was to intimidate them. Think about it, if officials stood in such a large square and faced the high and mighty emperor and the majestic buildings, they would have to sincerely sigh at their own insignificance and the emperor's greatness. Even if they had different aspirations, they would have no choice but to kneel at the emperor's feet. Of course, the Emperor was not stupid. He also knew that under his cruel rule, some people would have some "ideas." However, you have your "thoughts" and I have my "methods". If you want to come in and assassinate me, I'll make it a mess. If you want to hide in the dark, I'll make the square without trees or flowers. Speaking of which, you might ask, what is messy? Did the Emperor send someone to kill the assassins who broke into the palace? No, assassins couldn't follow him from the ground. This "disorderly" referred to the Emperor's fear that someone would dig a hole from the ground to assassinate him, so he ordered the square to be paved with seven layers of bricks horizontally and eight layers vertically. Who else could dig a hole? I just said that there were no trees or flowers in the square, right? Look, there are no trees or flowers in the entire square except for some big vats. Then why didn't the emperor decorate such an important place? There were two reasons for this. First, if one planted trees and flowers, although the scenery was beautiful, the solemn atmosphere would be lost. Secondly, the emperor was afraid that assassins would hide in the trees or flowers during the ceremony and attack him, so he did not plant trees or flowers around the square. However, there were some big vats. What was the purpose of this? It was strange…Those large tanks were not used to raise fish, but to store water. A eunuch beside him said. The surrounding hall was made of wood. If there was a fire, the consequences would be unimaginable. He could only store some water to solve the urgent situation. There were 308 water tanks in the palace, 18 of which were made of copper. The winter in Beijing was very cold. What if the water in the tanks froze? Secret Yin thought to himself. The eunuch at the side said, Master, this is really a little "worried for the ancients". Looking down, there was a stone base under each vat with a small hole on one side. This was equivalent to the "stove eye" used to burn the earth kang in the northern countryside. When the wind cooled down, the top was covered with a cover and a quilt to keep warm. The bottom was heated with a gentle fire. This way, the water temperature was neither cold nor hot. It would not evaporate because it was too hot, nor would it freeze because it was too cold. Therefore, these vats became the most effective fire fighting equipment in the palace.
Taihe Palace was located on a three-story white marble pedestal that was more than eight meters tall. It was solemn and solemn. There were many small dragon heads extending from the edge of each pedestal. These small dragons were called " Chi ", a type of dragon without horns in the legends. They were the drainage system of the hall. Upon closer inspection, one would discover that there was a small hole in the mouth of each dragon head, which was a water spout. There were 1142 small dragon heads on the three-layer pedestal. Whenever it rained heavily, the rainwater would be discharged from the small holes in the mouths of the 1142 dragon heads. It was very spectacular and was a scene in the palace. It was called "Thousand Dragons Spitting Water".
The Hall of Supreme Harmony in front of him was the highest level building in the Forbidden City. It was only used when the emperor held a grand ceremony, symbolizing the supremacy of imperial power. The Hall of Supreme Harmony was also known as the throne room. It was an outstanding example of the existing wooden structure hall in China. The Hall of Supreme Harmony was built in 1420 AD, and it was called Fengtian Hall at that time. Later on, it should be called the Imperial Palace. After Emperor Shunzhi ascended the throne, he rebuilt the three main halls and changed the Huangji Hall into the Taihe Hall. Taihe meant that all the relationships in the universe could be coordinated. Later, during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, it was rebuilt twice before it reached the scale we see today. The Hall of Supreme Harmony was 35 meters high, 64 meters long from east to west, 33 meters wide from north to south, and covered an area of 2377 square meters. It was eleven rooms wide and five rooms deep, the largest hall in the Forbidden City. The decorative colors were the highest level of golden dragons and seals. The roof of the hall was the highest level of double-eave roof. Even the kissing beast on the main ridge of the hall was the largest in our country. In short, it showed "first" everywhere. It was the embodiment of the emperor's thought that "Lao Zi was the best in the world".
The furnishings in the hall were simple but magnificent. The floor was covered with golden bricks. The emperor's nine-dragon throne was located on a two-meter-high nanmu platform. After the emperor ascended, he looked like he was sitting in a temple and ruling the world. In front of the throne, there were treasures, cranes, incense pavilions, and other items, all of which had a beautiful meaning. In the middle of the hall, there were six golden pillars of coiling dragons, which led straight to the top of the hall. There was a coiling dragon well on the top of the hall. Inside the well, there was a hollow mercury ball in the mouth of the coiling dragon. This ball was called the Xuanyuan Mirror, and it usually hung above the emperor's throne. It meant that the reigning emperor was the true heir to the throne of the Xuanyuan Emperor, not a fake. If it was really a fake, it was said that the Xuanyuan Mirror would fall and smash his head. Were there any fake emperors who were afraid of being smashed? Yes, he was the great thief Yuan Shikai. When he ascended the throne, he deliberately moved the throne back to prevent it from being smashed. If you don't believe me, you can take a closer look.
(Between the bronze turtle and bronze crane in front of the terrace)
Now that we have seen the interior of Taihe Palace, let's look at the furnishings outside. On the balcony outside Taihe Palace, there was a tortoise and a crane on each side. They took the meaning of turtle and crane to prolong life, symbolizing the passing down of the country for thousands of generations. In addition, there was a sundial on the east side, which was an ancient timekeeping tool. On the west side was Jialiang, an ancient measuring instrument. These two furnishings symbolized that the emperor was impartial in time and space, honest and equal to the people of the world. All kinds of ceremonies had to be held at an auspicious time, and the emperor could only ascend to the throne at an auspicious time.
Master, this is Zhonghe Hall. The Hall of Central Harmony was the place where the emperor waited for the auspicious time before the ceremony and took a short rest. The second was where the emperor inspected the farm tools and seeds before going to the Temple of Heaven to worship the heavens or to the Xiannong Altar to perform the plowing ceremony. Third, after the Qing Dynasty revised the genealogy every ten years, the emperor would review it here. If an outsider wanted to become a member of the royal family, there were two ways: He would either marry the emperor or a prince, or marry the emperor's daughter. As the saying went, the emperor's daughter did not have to worry about marriage, but after all,"the girl could not be kept when she grew up." Therefore, regardless of whether they were worried about getting married or not, they had to get married when they reached the age. For such a joyous occasion, they had to celebrate it again, at the Baohe Palace.
The last of the three halls of the court was called the Hall of Peace. Every year, on the first and fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the emperor would entertain the princes and ministers of Mongolia, Xinjiang, and other foreign vassals here to seek stability in the border areas; When the princess marries, she will entertain officials with horses and above the third grade in this hall.
The Queen's Dormitory was the place where the emperor, empresses, concubines, and their underage children lived. The entire " back room " is divided into five parts, namely the middle road, the east road, the west road, the outer east road, and the outer west road. I will tell everyone about their respective functions. The most important buildings were distributed on the middle road. There was the Palace of Heavenly Purity where the emperor lived, the Hall of Jiaotai where the jade seal was stored, and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility where the empress lived. East Road and West Road were where the emperor lived. Outer East Road was built for the retired emperor to enjoy his life. The Outer West Road was also known as the Widow's Yard. It was the place where the late emperor's concubines retired.
On the left and right of Qianqing Gate, there was a group of buildings in front of the east and west gates. On the east side was Fengxian Hall, which was the place where ancestors were worshipped in the Forbidden City. On the west side was Yangxin Hall.
Inside Qianqing Gate was the place where the imperial gate was used to listen to government affairs. To the west of Qianqing Gate was a row of connected rooms, which was the famous Military and Political Affairs Office of the Qing Dynasty. Many important decisions of the Qing Dynasty came from the Military and Political Affairs Office. The emperor discussed state affairs with the military and political ministers here. Although the building was not eye-catching, its status was prominent.
The Palace of Heavenly Purity was the place where the emperor lived and dealt with daily political affairs in the Forbidden City. It was the head of the last three palaces and was located in Qianqing Gate.
The Palace of Heavenly Purity was built in the early years of Yongle of the Ming Dynasty. It was rebuilt after several fires. A large blue plaque was hung between the eaves of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. The words "Palace of Heavenly Purity" were written in both Manchu and Han characters, symbolizing the hope that the Manchu and Han families could coexist peacefully and live in harmony.
The Palace of Heavenly Purity was divided into three parts: the Middle Hall, the East Warm Pavilion, and the West Warm Pavilion. The main hall was where the emperor dealt with daily government affairs and met with his ministers at the last minute. The emperor's throne and royal table were set up in the hall.
It was also very convenient to deal with court affairs. This place was not far from Qianqing Gate, so it would not affect the Imperial Court. This place was very close to the Military and Political Affairs Office, so it was convenient for the Emperor to deal with military affairs. It was very convenient to go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity and the Hall of Supreme Harmony from here.
Yangxin Hall was divided into front and back halls. The front hall dealt with the court affairs. The west suite of Yangxin Hall was where the Emperor studied and rested. The main hall in the backyard of Yangxin Hall was where the Emperor lived. There were five rooms on the east and west sides of the main hall. The east side was called Tishun Hall, where the Empress lived. The west side was Yan Xi Hall, which was a temporary residence for the other concubines to accompany the Emperor.
After a day, he had seen half of the palace and had an understanding of it.
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