Palace of Heavenly Purity - Qianqinggong of Forbidden City
Inside Qianqingmen (Gate of Celestial Palace), you will see Qianqinggong. Palace of Heavenly Purity, also called Qianqinggong (the Palace of Celestial Purity), is the first building in front of you when you enter the inner court of Forbidden City.
The Palace of Celestial Purity is the smaller twin of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Every item similar with that of the Hall of Supreme Harmony is smaller than the latter. However, it is the largest structure in the Inner Court since it is superior to any other structures in the Inner Court. It was built in 1420 and rebuilt in 1798. Ming emperors and the first two Qing emperors live inside the palace and attended to daily state affairs. They also read, signed documents, interviewed ministers and envoys. Banquets and rites occasionally would be held here too. In 1722 and 1785, Banquet for A Thousand Seniors was held here twice. Old men over 60 from the nation presented the events.
In front of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, there is a small miniature pavilion on each side. One is called Jiangshan pavilion. Representing territorial integrity; the other is Sheji Temple, the God of Land and Grain, Symbolizing a bumper harvest.
In the middle of the palace, the throne is seated on stairs, surrounded by decorations like cloisonne incense burners, long red candles, and big mirrors, which were placed beside the throne to ward off evil spirits. On the columns surrounding, there are two pairs of couplets written by Qing emperors. Over the throne hangs a plaque engraved with four Chinese characters, which were written by Emperor Shunzhi (reigned 1641-1661) and means Justice and Brightness (Be open and aboveboard). From Emperor Yongzheng, the name of the successor to the throne was no longer announced publicly for the reason of security. Instead, the emperor wrote the name on a piece of paper, had it placed in a small box and had the box stored behind this plaque. The box would not be opened until the emperor passed away. crown princes' name would be written on duplicate documents and a copy would be hidden in a box behind the plaque. The other copy would be carried by the emperor. If the designated names on the two copies were the same, the designated prince would take the crown.
In the main hall, there hangs a plaque with the inscription written by the first Qing emperor Shunzhi (reigned 1641-1661), which reads: "Be open and aboveboard". Starting from Qing emperor Yongzheng, the name of the successor to the throne was no longer announced publicly for the reason of security. Instead, the emperor wrote the name on a piece of paper, had it placed in a small box and had the box stored behind this plaque. The box would not be opened until the emperor passed away.
The Palace of Heavenly purity was the palace where the emperors used to live and handle daily affairs in the Ming and early Qing dynasties.
Emperor Yongzheng (reigned 1723-1735) was the first Qing emperor to move their living quarters to Yangxindian (Hall of Mental cultivation). This building was used as an audience chamber where the emperor received envoys from vassal states who presented their tributes to the emperor. Foreign ambassadors were also received here. When an emperor died, his coffin would be placed here for a period of mourning. Later the coffin would be moved to Jingshan, and then buried in the mausoleum on a selected day. The wedding ceremony of the last emperor Puyi was held in this palace in 1922.
