In the spring of 1644, a catastrophe descended on the Forbidden City of the Ming Dynasty. Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, began to search for the final destination for his beloved female dependents. Chongzhen ordered the empress and concubine to hang themselves, and then drew his sword and stabbed his daughter, and then Chongzhen bid farewell to the Qing Palace and hanged himself on Jingshan Mountain.
More than a hundred palace ladies who had never been favored by the emperor ended their lives by throwing themselves into the moat.
After spring, the new owner of the Forbidden City, the Qing Emperor, began to select new palace women for himself.
Forbidden city
Those fourteen or fifteen-year-old girls, after entering the Forbidden City from the Shenwu Gate, lined up and waited to be selected.
The vast majority of emperors of the Ming Dynasty lived in the Qianqing Palace. The Qing Dynasty copied the rules of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor lived in the Qianqing Palace, and the empress lived in the Kunning Palace, indicating that the four seas in Qiankun were mirrors, and the subjects of the world were all the emperor's family.
It is said that if the relationship between the emperor and the empress was more harmonious, the emperor would often stay at the kunning palace, the queen's residence. The empress can also go to the emperor's residence, Qianqing Palace, to stay.
Qianqing Palace
The Dongnuan Pavilion of Kunning Palace was where the emperor and empress lived together when they were newly married. The empresses of the Qing Dynasty did not always live in Kunning Palace like the Ming Dynasty. Generally speaking, the Empress of the Qing Dynasty only lived in Kunning Palace for three days after her big wedding, and after three days, she chose a palace in the East and West Six Palaces as her place of residence.
Kunning Palace later became a place of worship for the Manchu Qing royal family. It is said that the Qianlong Emperor sat on the kang of Kunning Palace during a sacrifice stove, beat himself on the drum board, and sang a "Fangxian Song".
Khun Ninh Palace East Pavilion
In the palace, there are garden mountain stones hidden deeply. After the emperor retired from the dynasty, he could not leave the imperial city, but also send love to the landscape and release his talents. The Qianlong Emperor once drank wine and wrote poetry in the liu cup pavilion, and the wine cup floated on the bend on the surface of the water.
The Yangxin Hall was the idle residence of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. After the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, it became the emperor's residence. Every day after dinner, the emperor had to consider which concubine to sleep with, or simply to sleep alone. Usually, eunuchs would place green headsicks with the concubine's name on the table and be chosen by the emperor.
Yangxindian white jade jasper Go, with a depiction of gold lacquer box
In the biography of the queen concubines in the Qing Dynasty, the record of the deeds of the queen concubines is very simple, generally not even the date of birth and death, and usually only a stroke is attached to the record of other events.
In the Ming Dynasty, whenever night fell, in front of the palaces in East and West Yong Lane, a red gauze lamp had to be lit, and the emperor temporarily decided which concubine's palace to visit, and the red gauze lamp in front of the palace would be removed, and the eunuchs who patrolled the street saw it and ordered the other palaces to turn off the lights and rest.
Portrait of Qianlong Lingfei
From the status of showgirls and palace maidens to concubines, or even empresses, only a very small number. The palace maid has very strict rules, tangible, intangible, and every move must be paid attention to. On the first day of entering the palace, the palace maid was told, "Leave the palace gate and die." ”
If they were sick or clumsy in the palace, they would be sent out of the palace, and some would simply marry eunuchs. The archives of the late Qing Dynasty record that there are more than a dozen people who are sent out of the palace every year because of clumsiness.
The place where the empress dowager and the concubine retire, in the harem area of Cining Palace, is called "widow's house" by the people. The empress dowager, the concubines here accept the emperor's filial piety, and those concubines who have never given birth cannot avoid loneliness in their old age.
Cining Palace
It is said that during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, a concubine of Qianlong celebrated her 70th birthday here, and only her adopted son sent a birthday gift. No, he was also reported to the emperor by the eunuch, who reprimanded the adopted son for giving gifts without prior request. With this edict, the birthday of Concubine Qianlong was completely tasteless.
Being the empress dowager is also proud. When Empress Dowager Cixi was a concubine, she gave birth to a son in the Changchun Palace. His son was the later Tongzhi Emperor. This laid the foundation for her future status.
Changchun Palace later became the palace where Empress Dowager Cixi lived alone.
Cixi bowed to the government, and was in the East Warm Pavilion of the Yangxin Hall. Before the Tongzhi and Guangxu emperors came to power, they only sat symbolically on the throne, and in fact the government affairs were decided by Empress Dowager Cixi behind the curtain.
The curtain of the Cixi Hanging Curtain of dongnuan Pavilion was restored
This went on for 27 years. Later, the curtain was no longer needed, and Cixi simply sat side by side with the Guangxu Emperor and gave orders.
Built in the 37th year of Qianlong, Changyin Pavilion is the largest stage in the Forbidden City. Empress Dowager Cixi was a lover of theatre. She loves to watch fairy shows.
The emperor's marriage also had to follow the will of Empress Dowager Cixi. It is said that when the Guangxu Emperor was elected, Cixi sat on the throne, and when the emperor took a fancy to a woman, he was about to hand her the ruyi in his hand, but Cixi stopped him and signaled him to choose his niece who stood in the front, which was the later Empress Longyu.
The coffins of The Qing Dynasty Tombs Guangxu and Empress Longyu
Subsequently, Cixi designated two other concubines for the emperor, namely the later Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen.
When Princess Zhen first entered the palace, she was still very fond of Empress Dowager Cixi, and she and the Guangxu Emperor probably had a good life for 5 years. Later, Princess Zhen offended Empress Dowager Cixi, and the relationship between the two deteriorated.
Princess Well
Later, Cixi imprisoned the Guangxu Emperor and Zhenfei separately. Zhenfei's life ended in a well, which was later called "Zhenfei Well".
Chuxiu Palace was rebuilt during the Reign of Shunzhi, the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Most of the future imperial concubines lived here.
More than two hundred years later, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty and his concubines moved out of here, and the commoners who later entered the Chuxiu Palace found that the calendar in the palace was still stuck on the day when the owner of the house left.
Puyi was the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty. His empress Wanrong was the last master of the Chuxiu Palace, and some people said that Wanrong looked very much like Mei Lanfang, who was wearing makeup.
Gentle old photos
When WanRong entered the palace in the winter of 1922, the outer court of the Forbidden City was open to the public. Wan Rong and Pu Yi's days in the inner court continued. It is said that the relationship between the last emperor and his empress was quite harmonious. Later, the people who cleaned up the Forbidden City were still in the Chuxiu Palace and found love letters from the two.
Three years later, Puyi and Wanrong ended their lives in the Forbidden City.
On November 5, 1925, visitors who entered the Palace Museum saw that the Chuxiu Palace at that time still maintained the original state of Puyi and Wanrong when they left the palace: there was a bite of an apple on the table.
Took a bite out of the apple
In 1923, there was one last performance in the Forbidden City, and the family of the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty watched the Kun opera "Dream of Visiting the Garden".