The
main building to the west of the Inner Court is the Hall of Mental Cultivation. It was
built in the Ming Dynasty, and Emperor Kang Xi of the Qing Dynasty took this hall as his
study. Starting with Emperor Yongzheng (1723-1735), this hall served as the living
quarters for the emperors. Emperor Yongzheng also took the central hall as his office
where he could deal with state affairs. As a matter of fact, eight of the Qing Emperors
lived and worked here. Emperors Shunzhi, Qianlong and Tongzhi even died here.
The central hall
was the office in which the emperor met foreign diplomats, and summoned his officials for
consultation. It was also here that the last emperor in Chinese history, Emperor Puyi,
announced his resignation.
Emperor Yongzheng
named the western hall the Hall of Three Rare Treasures. The Three Rare Treasures referred
to the three outstanding calligraphy masterpieces by Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi, and Wang
Xun, three pioneers in Chinese calligraphy. Emperor Yongzheng, a great calligraphy lover
himself, had a collection of the outstanding works by the three Wang's, hence the name
"the Hall of Three Rare Treasures". The Emperor's seat is well arranged for
reading and writing, and the writing brushes and inkstones are placed in proper order.
Secret talks on political and military affairs also took place here. The partition in
front was supposed to stop the secrets from leaking out.
The eastern hall
is of historical significance. This was the site of the well known "power behind the
throne" or "give audience behind the screen". Most people think that only
Empress Dowager Ci'xi gave audience behind the screen, but in fact, this was first jointly
practiced by the Empress Dowager Ci'xi and another empress called Ci'an.
The sudden death
of Empress Ci'an in 1881 left the power solely to the Empress Dowager Ci'xi. Empress Ci'an
was believed to be poisoned to death by Ci'xi. Ci'xi ruled over China for about 40 years
from behind the yellow screen. She had to stay behind the screen all the time because at
that time in China women weren't supposed to be in the Outer Palace or to hold any public
positions! If you have a close look at the setting here, you will find out that a lot of
scenes were shot here for the film "The Last Emperor". If you haven't seen the
movie yet, maybe you should consider seeing it some time in the near future. |
