Xihua Gate

Era: Ming Yongle

Category: Door

Area: Waikao West Road

Xihua Gate is the west gate of the Forbidden City. It was built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420).
Xihua Gate faces west and corresponds to Donghua Gate. There is a dismounting monument outside the gate. Xihua Gate has the same shape as Donghua Gate, with a rectangular plane, a red city platform, and a white marble Xumi pedestal. There are three coupon doors in the middle of the city platform, and the coupon holes are square on the outside and round on the inside. There is a tower on the city platform, with yellow glazed tiles on the top of the veranda and double eaves, and the base is surrounded by white marble railings. The city tower is 5 rooms wide and 3 rooms deep. It is surrounded by corridors and painted with ink lines and large gold dots by Liang Fang. The gatehouse is used to store the cotton armor and spindle armor used in military parades. The plaque of \”Xihua Gate\” under the west eaves was originally written in Manchu, Mongolian and Chinese characters, but was later reduced to Manchu and Chinese characters. After the Revolution of 1911, only copper Chinese characters remained.
The location of the Xihua Gate is not in the middle of the wall on the west side of the Forbidden City but to the side of the Meridian Gate, which has a lot to do with the overall planning of the palace. The Forbidden City is divided into two parts: the outer court and the inner court. Wuying Hall, Taihe Gate, and Wenhua Hall form a horizontal axis that runs through the outer court. The East and Xihua Gates are at both ends of the axis. Such a layout is not only convenient for the outer court to use, but also can reduce the interference of people\’s entry and exit on the life of the inner court. Continuing to extend this horizontal axis to the east and west to the imperial city, it is precisely the Dong\’an Gate and Xi\’an Gate.Gate, obviously the East and West China Gates are important hubs connecting the imperial city and the palace city.
Exiting Xihua Gate, you are facing the Royal Garden Xiyuan. Emperors and empresses of the Qing Dynasty often came out of this gate when they visited Xiyuan and other gardens in the western suburbs. In the 16th year of Qianlong\’s reign (1751), the 60th birthday of the Empress Dowager, and in the 55th year of Qianlong\’s reign (1790), the 80th birthday of Emperor Qianlong, outside the Xihua Gate, through Xizhimen and even in the Haidian area, lanterns and festoons were decorated along the way. A colorful booth is set up for a grand celebration.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, in the Gengzi Year (1900), the Eight-Power Allied Forces attacked the capital. Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu and their entourage left the palace through Xihua Gate and fled westward in a hurry.

Qianqingmen

Gilted Bronze Lion in front of the Qing Dynasty

Era: Ming Yongle

Category: Doors

Area: Neiting Middle Road

Qianqing Gate is the main gate of the inner court of the Forbidden City. It was built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420) and rebuilt in the 12th year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1655).
Qianqing Gate The Qing Dynasty facade is 5 rooms wide and 3 rooms deep, with a height of about 16m, a single eaves and a mountain roof, and is located on a 1.5m high white marble Xumi pedestal. It is surrounded by carved stone railings with three steps in front and a royal road stone in the middle. , There are a pair of gilt bronze lions on both sides. There are three doors in the middle, and the door leaves are placed on the rear eaves. The entrance hall is bright and clear with a green brick sill wall and square lattice windows under the eaves. Painted seals on both sides of the door. It is a figure-eight-shaped glazed screen wall, 8m high and 9.7m long. The center and corners of the wall are decorated with glazed flowers. The flower shapes are natural and lifelike, and the colors are gorgeous. Under the sunlight, they shine brilliantly and set off the Qianqing Gate beautifully. There is a Gaotaiyong Road inside the gate that connects to the platform of Qianqing Palace. To the east of Qianqing Gate are the inner left gate and the Jiuqing Gate, and to the west are the inner right gate and the military aircraft office. The east and west ends of the square in front of the gate are Jingyun Gate and Longzong Gate. Qianqing Gate is an important passage connecting the inner court and the outer court. In the Qing Dynasty, it also served as a place for handling government affairs. In the Qing Dynasty, ceremonies such as \”imperial gate listening to government affairs\”, fasting, and receiving treasures were all held at Qianqing Gate.

There is a high platform passage with white stone railings inside the gate, which leads directly to the Qianqing Palace. On the day of hearing the government, a throne is set up in the gate. At Chenshi (7-9 a.m.), the emperor visits the gate and performs rituals. The ministries of military, military, engineering, and civil service took turns delivering memorials or oral reports, and then the emperor made decisions. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, most people listened to politics here, but they stopped listening here after Xianfeng.

The imperial gate hearing is held at Chen hour on regular days. At that time, drums are played at the Meridian Gate, and the civil and military ministers line up to enter from the left and right gates of the Meridian Gate and enter according to their grades. They are arranged on both sides of the Gate of Supreme Harmony. When the emperor ascends the throne at the royal gate, the whip is sounded, and the ministers kneel down and kowtow three times. After the ministers from the six departments of the Nine Qing Dynasty finish their work in turn, the censor corrects the etiquette, blows the whip, and the emperor After driving back to the palace, all the officials exited.Strictly, ministers are not allowed to make noise, whisper, spit, etc. Otherwise, they will be severely punished for being disrespectful.

Ming Dynasty Huang Daozhou\’s \”Jie Huan Yuan Gong Biography\” \”One day, the powerful people were invited to wait for the Qianqing Gate. They spoke without discipline, and the Duke (Yuan Keli) cited the meaning of being close at hand and broke it.\”

After the Qing Dynasty occupied Beijing in 1644, Shunzhi, the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty, issued an amnesty order while in charge of the government.

Jingyunmen

Era: Ming Yongle

Category: Door

Area: Neiting Middle Road

Jingyun Gate was built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420) and rebuilt in the 26th year of Wanli (1598). The Qing Dynasty followed the Ming system and was rebuilt in the 12th year of Shunzhi (1655).
Jingyun Gate is located on the east side of the square in front of Qianqing Gate, facing east It stands opposite the Longzong Gate on the west side and has the same shape. It is five rooms wide, has a single eaves with yellow glazed tiles on the top of the mountain, and a single three-legged bucket arch. It was opened as a doorway, and the door leaf was set at the golden pillar on the back eaves. There were slow passages inside and outside the doorway to facilitate carriages. Entry and exit. On the north side of the gate is the duty room for Mongolian princes and ministers, and on the south side is the Fengxian Palace, and on the north side are the Yuqing Palace and the Longzong Gate. It is an important gateway to the square in front of Qianqing Gate, which leads to Waichao Middle Road and Neiting Middle Road. Therefore, it is also called the \”forbidden gate\”. From the prince down, officials of the third rank of civil service, second rank of military rank and above, as well as people accompanied by officials traveling in the inner court, are only allowed to stand 20 steps away from the steps outside the door, and unauthorized entry is strictly prohibited. /span>

Longzongmen

Longzongmen one-character Fangxin ink line large dot gold spiral color painting

Era: Ming Yongle

Category: Door

Area: Neiting Middle Road

Longzongmen was built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420) and rebuilt in November of the 26th year of Wanli (1598). The Qing Dynasty followed the Ming system and was rebuilt in the 12th year of Shunzhi (1655).
Longzong Gate is located on the west side of the square in front of Qianqing Gate, facing west, opposite to Jingyun Gate on the east side, with the same shape and five rooms in width. The glazed tiles have a single eaves on the top of the mountain, and there are three brackets on the top, which are all made in the Ming Dynasty. The beams are painted with ink lines and large golden spirals. The doorways are opened in the Ming Dynasty and the two rooms, and the door leaves are set in the doorways of the back eaves. There is a slow passage outside the gate to facilitate the entry and exit of the military aircraft. To the north of the gate is the Cining Palace. This gate is an important passage between the inner court and the outer Chao West Road and the Xiyuan. declare Even the princes and ministers were not allowed to enter privately.
Emperors of the Qing Dynasty loved to live in gardens. Several emperors, including Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Daoguang, all died in the royal gardens in the western suburbs outside the Forbidden City. Their Zi Palace was greeted by Longzong Gate. In the 18th year of Jiaqing (1813), there was a fierce battle in Longzongmen. The \”Tianli Sect\” peasant uprising broke out in the original area. The peasant leader Lin Qing planned and led a team from Gyeonggi to directly attack the Forbidden City. On September 14, the rebels disguised themselves and divided their troops into two groups, planning to enter the palace city through the East and West China Gates. Under the leadership of internal eunuchs Liu Decai, Liu Jin and others, the Xihuamen branch quickly attacked Longzongmen and started a fierce battle in the Forbidden City., \”leading to something unprecedented in the Han, Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties\”, Emperor Jiaqing made an exception and issued an \”Edict of Sin\” to the world. To this day, there are arrows on the plaque of Longzongmen, which are said to be the remains of this battle.

Kunning Gate

Era: Ming

Category: Door

Area: Neiting Middle Road

Kunning Gate is the door in the middle of the back steps of Kunning Palace facing north, leading to the Imperial Garden in the north. In the early Ming Dynasty, Kunning Gate was set up in the north of Qin\’an Hall in the Imperial Garden, which is now Shunzhen Gate. In the 14th year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1535), the north corridor behind Kunning Palace Zhongguangyunmen was rebuilt and renamed Kunningmen until the Qing Dynasty. Kunningmen was rebuilt in the 12th year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1655).
The door faces north and is three rooms wide, with a single eaves. The mountain-style roof is covered with yellow glazed tiles and has a door in the open room. There are two palace doors in the middle room. The two rooms are divided into two rooms. The back eaves are equipped with two square sill windows, and the front eaves are walls. Connecting the east and west verandahs of Kunning Palace, Kunning Gate leads to the Imperial Garden from the Back Three Palaces. The main entrance.

Kunning Gate is the back door of the rear courtyard, opening to the north. This is the imperial garden where the beautiful ladies were selected during the Qing Dynasty. Gate candidates

Tianyimen main entrance

The back of Tianyimen

Era: Ming Jiajing

Category: Door

Area: Neiting Middle Road

Tianyi Gate is located in the Imperial Garden on the Middle Road of the Forbidden City. It is the south gate of the Qin\’an Hall courtyard. It was built when the Qin\’an Hall courtyard wall was built in the 14th year of Jiajing\’s reign in the Ming Dynasty (1535). It was originally named \”Tianyi Gate\” Gate\” was changed to \”Tianmen\” in the Qing Dynasty \”One Gate\”.
According to the ancient theory of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, the north belongs to water. The Qin\’an Palace is located at the northern end of the central axis of the Forbidden City. Its gate is named \”Tian Yi\”, which means \”Heaven generates water\” in the \”Book of Changes\”. In addition, because it corresponds to the theory of five elements. During the Jiajing period, the Forbidden City was burned many times. Against this background, the courtyard walls and gates of the Qin\’an Hall were built, and the gates were inscribed by Emperor Jiajing himself. This obviously also meant praying for peace.
Tianyi Gate faces south, and the main body is from the south. Made of blue bricks, the bricks are ground to seams, and the workmanship It is of exquisite craftsmanship. There is a single-hole door in the middle, with double vermilion lacquer palace doors inlaid with 9 vertical and horizontal copper gilt door nails. The top is covered with yellow glazed tiles, and the rafters, rafters and brackets are decorated with green glazed imitation wood under the eaves. The painting is a bindweed painting with typical Ming Dynasty characteristics.The predecessor of Xuanzi color painting in the Qing Dynasty.
There are glazed screen walls on both sides of Tianyi Gate connected to the courtyard wall. The boxes and corners of the screen wall are decorated with glazed cranes and clouds, with exquisite workmanship. There are 1 copper-plated Haechi on the left and right sides of the door, and a bronze incense burner in the middle of the royal road. Facing the door is a Lianli cypress tree, with lush branches and leaves, vigorous and simple.
Tianyimen is a relatively rare blue brick building in the Forbidden City. On the one hand, it intuitively reflects the desire to avoid fire and actually plays a fire prevention role; on the other hand, the elegant color of the blue bricks is also consistent with the garden environment of the Imperial Garden. coordination.

Shenwumen

Era: Ming Yongle

Category: Door

Area: Neiting Middle Road

The Shenwu Gate is the north gate of the Forbidden City. It was built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420) and is known as the Xuanwu Gate. When it was rebuilt in the Kangxi year of the Qing Dynasty, it was renamed Shenwumen to avoid the name taboo of Emperor Kangxi Xuanye.
The door has a total height of 31m and a rectangular plan. The base is a white marble Xumizuo, with three door openings on the city platform and a tower built on it. The building is built on a white marble base, with a width of 5 rooms and a depth of 1 room. It is surrounded by corridors and surrounded by white marble railings. The front and rear eaves of the building have open doors, as well as the left and right secondary rooms. The doors are separated by water chestnut flowers. There are double panel doors on the east and west mountains, leading to the city wall and the left and right horse paths. Four sided doorsEach one stepped forwardstomp. The building is a verandah roof with double eaves. The lower level has a single raised dougong with five steps, and the upper level has a single raised dougong with seven steps. The beams and beams are decorated with ink lines and large gold-dotted spiral paintings. A plaque with gilt bronze characters on a blue background and Chinese characters \”Shenwumen\” hangs on the upper eaves. Covered with yellow glazed tiles. The top of the building is a ceiling made of golden lotus and water grass, and the floor is paved with gold bricks.
The old bells and drums of Shenwumen are managed by Luan Yiwei, and the Qintian Supervisor directs the clocks to be changed, and one doctor takes turns every day. The bell is rung 108 times after dusk every day, and the drum is beaten after the bell to start the watch. After that, the bells and drums are rung every time, and the bells are rung again at dawn. The bell does not ring when the emperor is in the palace.
As the back door of the palace, Shenwu Gate is an important access point for daily access to the palace. The empresses of the Ming and Qing dynasties used this door to enter and exit during wedding ceremonies. In the Qing Dynasty, women were drafted every three years, and candidates entered the palace through this side door. In 1924, the late Emperor Puyi was expelled from the palace and left through this door when he left the palace.

The origin of the emperor\’s concubines in the Qing Dynasty was different from that of previous dynasties. It created a \”draft female\” system with its own characteristics, and the Shenwumen were selected to watch the Eight Banners Show

Shenwumen at night

The gate of the imperial city that women must pass through when entering and leaving the palace. This strict female talent show is overseen by the Ministry of Household Affairs and is held every three years. The day before the selection, the participants and reminders of each flag must be arranged in advance, and then file in in order. There are two lights hanging on each car, each with its own logo. Departing in the evening, go through Di\’anmen at night and arrive outside Shenwumen, wait for the gate to open, and then get off the car and enter the palace. The vehicle they were traveling in took the Shenwu Gate out of Donghua Gate, then headed north along Chongwenmen Street, then took a detour into Di\’anmen and returned to Shenwu Gate. It was estimated that it would be around noon the next day. After finishing the selection, the beautiful ladies exited the Shenwu Gate in order, boarded the carriage and returned to their homes. Although there are thousands of cars, they are all in order, so people call it \”platooning cars\”. It is said that during the Qianlong period, when women were drafted, the carriages and horses were chaotic and messy.The candidates fight for their own way, and cars are not allowed to enter. Not only do flag girls lose their hairpins from time to time, but there are also traffic accidents. Ever since Emperor Jiaqing\’s concubine Danbadorji proposed the above-mentioned method of detouring eastward and westward vehicles from Shenwumen, everyone agreed, and Xiunu\’s vehicles were no longer crowded due to competing for the right of way. In view of the rush of carriages and horses and the crowding of people during the selection of beautiful women, an edict in the sixth year of Jiaqing (1801) stipulated that on the day of selection, ministers and officials entering the palace were not allowed to go through the Shenwu Gate, but had to go through the Donghua Gate and Xihua Gate. After entering the gate, even the prince is not allowed to walk through the Shenwu Gate. Since Shenwumen is the main palace gate for the queen\’s concubines and selected beautiful women to enter and exit, in the early years of Shunzhi, Empress Xiaozhuang, who participated in the great political affairs, issued an explicit edict: \”Any woman who enters the palace with bound feet will be killed\” (\”Qing Palace Ci Notes\”). This imperial edict of the Qing Palace has been hanging in the Shenwu Gate since its early years. In the early Qing Dynasty, the separation between Manchu and Han was extremely strict. Manchu women were originally \”naturally footed\”, and only Han women had \”foot-bound\”. Therefore, Xiaozhuang\’s edict concretely reflected the strong national concept of the Qing Dynasty at the beginning of its entry into the Pass.

The case of breaking into the Shenwu Gate

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Although the access control is strict, there are occasional Negligence may lead to elbow and armpit injuries. On the morning of February 20th, the tenth year of Jiaqing (1805), a sudden incident occurred

Shenwumen Satellite Map

But rush in from the west fence of Beishangmen (originally in the north of Shenwumen, now demolished) One person, this man is about thirty years old, tall and muscular. He carried an iron gun on his shoulder, covered himself with a cloth robe, and rushed in through the door. Upon seeing this, the guard immediately stepped forward to intercept him. Without saying a word, the man threw away his cloth robe and stabbed him with an iron spear. Although the guard\’s clothes were punctured, he still held the gun. At this time, the guard commander arrived and hugged the man from behind. The man then pulled out a machete with his right hand and cut the brim of his collar hat in two places. Then several more guards rushed up, seized the machete, wounded his ribs and head, surrounded him, knocked him down with sticks, and captured him. He was immediately interrogated, but he only told some lies. He eventually died from his injuries when he was about to be taken to the Criminal Justice Department. After extensive investigation, we learned that this person’s real name was Liu Shixing. Therefore, the case endangered the dignity of the Qing court and violated imperial prohibitions. Emperor Jiaqing attached great importance to it and could not wait until there was no confirmed confession.The emperor issued an edict the next day, imposing capital punishment for treason, and ordered the Ministry of Punishment to \”kill the corpse as a warning.\” After the Ministry of Punishment and other yamen accepted the case, they suspected that Liu was not responsible for the case, and that there might be accomplices. Therefore, they conducted investigations and interviews with the suspected criminals in Beijing, Zhili, Shanxi, Shandong and other places at the same time. More than thirty people in total were implicated, including Liu\’s parents, wife, artists, and neighbors. Jiaqing personally reviewed and approved the relevant memorials and directed the trial. In more than two months before and after the conclusion of the case, he issued twenty edicts. In the end, not even Liu Shixing\’s two youngest sons (one five years old and one two months old) He was let off, but was actually sentenced to be \”a slave to the minister with the annual flag\” (\”Reports from the Palace of the Qing Dynasty\”). In addition, a number of officials who neglected their duties and failed to handle matters well were punished. It is no accident that Jiaqing lost such a temper, because two years before this case occurred, that is, on the 20th of the leap month in the eighth year of Jiaqing (1803), when Jiaqing\’s \”holy driver\” returned to the palace, he was about to enter Shenwu. At the gate, a man named Chen De suddenly attacked the emperor, which frightened the emperor. Fortunately, the man was captured immediately, and no major incident occurred. In just about two years, there have been two break-ins in succession, which is really annoying. Coincidentally, the \”disaster\” was not over yet. More than seventy years later, in the eighth year of Guangxu (1882), another prisoner named Liu Zhensheng was captured who had entered the inner palace without permission. According to evidence, he also entered through the Shenwu Sect. It can be seen that the guards of the Qing Palace were sometimes loose and sometimes tight, and there were often loopholes in the tightness. The oldest feudal dynasty has many shortcomings, and this is just one example.