In the front, I learned about the history of the Bongseonjeon Hall and the clock exhibition in the Bongseonjeon Hall, and then walked into the Imperial Hall and the Treasure Hall in the area of Nyeongshougung Palace.
Location map of the Imperial Palace Treasure Hall
House of Treasures
The Treasure Hall is located in the northeast of the Palace Museum - Ningshou Palace, located in the west of the Huangji Palace, the Yangxing Palace, the Le Shou Hall and the Summer Palace.
Treasure Hall area
I remember that at that time, you had to buy a separate ticket to visit the Clock Museum and the Treasure Hall. At that time, it seemed that ten dollars per person was still a lot of money.
House of Treasures
The Treasure Hall is located in the eastern part of the Palace Museum, located in the northeast corner of the Palace Museum, in the west of the Imperial Palace, the Yang Xuan Palace, the Le Shou Hall and the Summer Palace.
Introduction to the Treasure House
Speaking of the Treasure Museum, let's start with the Palace Museum.
The Palace Museum was established on October 10, 1925. Previously, the Forbidden City was called the Forbidden City and was the residence of the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Forbidden City was built in the fourth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1406) and was built in the eighteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420), and has gone through more than 600 years of ups and downs from the beginning of construction to today.
On February 12, 1912, the Qing Emperor announced his abdication, and the palace was supposed to be fully nationalized, but according to the "Preferential Conditions for the Qing Family" drawn up by the provisional government at that time, Emperor Puyi was allowed to "temporarily reside in the palace", that is, the inner court at the back of the Forbidden City. The government at that time decided to move the cultural relics of the Rehe Palace (i.e., Chengde Summer Resort) and the Shenyang Forbidden City to the outer part of the first half of the Forbidden City, and established the Antiquities Exhibition Center in 1914.
At that time, a large number of cultural relics in the palace were lost, which caused serious concern from all walks of life.
In 1924, after Feng Yuxiang staged a coup d'état in Beijing, he revised the preferential treatment conditions for the Qing imperial family, expelled Pu Yi from the Forbidden City, and established the "Committee for Handling the Aftermath of the Qing Dynasty", which was responsible for cleaning up the public and private property of the Qing imperial family and dealing with all aftermath matters.
On September 29, 1925, the "Committee for Handling the Aftermath of the Qing Dynasty" formulated and adopted the "Provisional Organization Outline of the Palace Museum", and set up a temporary board of directors to "agree on important matters of the whole hospital", which was composed of 21 directors, including Yan Xiu, Lu Yongxiang, Cai Yuanpei, Xiong Xiling, Zhang Xueliang, Zhang Bi, Zhuang Yunkuan, Lu Zhonglin, Xu Shiying, Liang Shiyi, Xue Dubi, Huang Ying, Fan Yuanlian, Hu Ruoyu, Wu Jingheng, Li Zushen, Li Zhongsan, Wang Daxie, Wang Zhengting, Yu Youren, and Li Yuying.
There is also a temporary board of directors to "carry out the affairs of the whole house", with 9 directors.
An antiquities hall and a library were built underneath.
Li Yuying is the interim director and chairman, Yi Peiji is the director of the antiquities museum, and Chen Yuan is the director of the library.
After the completion of the event, the "Inventory Report on Items in the Forbidden City" was compiled and published in 6 volumes and 28 volumes, totaling more than 94,000 numbers and more than 1.17 million pieces of cultural relics.
According to the 1925 book "Investigation Report of the Qing Dynasty Aftermath Committee", the cultural relics left behind by the Qing court include three dynasties of Dingyi, ancient jade, calligraphy and paintings of the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, Song and Yuan dynasty ceramics, enamel, lacquerware, gold and silverware, bamboo, wood and tooth horns, gold and bronze religious statues, and a large number of imperial and concubine costumes, clothing and furniture. It can be described as gold and jade, rare treasures, and the wealth of the world, all gathered here.
In addition, there are a large number of books and classics, literature and archives.
To this end, the Palace Museum has set up an antiquities museum, a library, and an archive, which respectively organize manpower to continue to sort out the cultural relics, open exhibition rooms in the palace, hold various exhibitions, edit and publish a variety of publications, disclose information, and carry out publicity. The work has been carried out vividly, and the humanities are gathered and flourished.
After a year of intense preparations, a grand ceremony was held on October 10, 1925 in front of the Qianqing Gate, and a telegram was sent to the whole country to announce the official establishment of the Palace Museum.
This is also the original prototype source of the Palace Museum.
The Treasure Hall is an exhibition hall set up by selecting all kinds of fine works from the collection of millions of pieces of the Palace Museum (except paintings, bronzes and ceramics), mainly displaying the treasures of the Qing Dynasty court relics, and is the permanent exhibition area with the longest exhibition time in the history of the Palace Museum.
The Palace Museum in Beijing opened in 1958. It is one of the important perennial exhibition halls of the Palace Museum. Together with the Clock and Watch Museum, it mainly displays the treasures of the Qing Dynasty court cultural relics, and forms the Forbidden City display system together with the calligraphy and painting, ceramics, bronze, handicrafts and other museums, which complements each other with the display of the original state of the ancient buildings.
The Treasure Hall is a treasure trove, with all kinds of gemstones, glittering gold and silver vessels, pearls and jade, as well as gold silk phoenix crowns, ivory jade carvings, all kinds of treasures are unparalleled in the world; The most prominent is a large jade carving with a pickaxe tower weighing 5,000 kilograms.
According to the person in charge of the Palace Department of the Palace Museum, the Palace Museum has undergone four large-scale renovations since its opening in 1958. According to reports, the new Treasure Hall has been relocated from the Huangji Hall and Ningshou Palace to the West Pavilion, Yangxin Palace, Le Shou Hall and Summer Palace, but it is in the same large courtyard as the original Treasure Hall, and it is easy for the audience to find.
The Treasure Hall is located in an independent building complex in the northeast of the Forbidden City, which is a building complex in the Qianlong period and is the palace of the Emperor Taishang built by the Qianlong Emperor - Ningshou Palace.
Let's start with the Huangji Gate of Ningshou Palace.
Speaking of the Huangji Gate, let's first browse the Nine Dragon Wall located behind the South Third Palace outside the Huangji Gate in Ningshou Palace District.
The Nine Dragon Wall behind the South Third Palace outside the Huangji Gate in Ningshou Palace District
The Nine Dragon Wall is a kind of shadow wall, which is a wall used to block the line of sight in traditional Chinese architecture, that is, the wall outside the gate of the building is facing the gate as a barrier, commonly known as the wall and the wall. The shadow wall evolved from "concealment". The inside of the door is "hidden", and the outside of the door is "avoided", and it is used to be called the shadow wall in the future.
The Nine Dragon Wall of the Forbidden City is 29.47m long, 3.59m high, 0.459m thick, and weighs more than 300 tons. It is a single-sided glazed shadow wall built against the palace wall, which was burned when the Ningshou Palace was rebuilt in the 37th year of Qianlong (1770).
Nine dragon wall, the upper part of the wall is the roof of the yellow glazed tile palace, and the eaves are the rafters, purlins, and buckets of imitation wood structure. The wall surface is shaded by clouds and water, and is decorated with blue and green colors, highlighting the majestic momentum of the connection between water and sky. The lower part is the white marble Sumeru seat, dignified and dignified.
The 9 dragons on the wall are made in high relief, and the highest part is 20cm higher than the wall, forming a strong three-dimensional effect. The cliff and strange rocks that run through the center of the wall divide the 9 dragons into 5 spaces.
Vivid
The yellow dragon is in the center, the front paws are encircled, the hind paws are divided into the sea, the dragon body is curved, and the flame orb is held under the head, and the jaw is open, and the majesty is awe-inspiring. There are two blue and white dragons on the left and right sides, white is the ascending dragon and blue is the descending dragon. The two dragons on the left are facing each other; The two dragons on the right side of the road are relaxed, and the four dragons each chase the flame orb, and the spirit moves and moves, as if they want to break through the wall. The outer side of the double dragon, one yellow and one purple, the left end of the yellow dragon with a straight chest and neck, the upper claws are divided and left and right, and the lower limbs protrude forward and stretch back; Zilong's left paw is pressed down, his right paw is raised, and the dragon's tail is flung forward. The two dragons are full of movement, and the momentum of competition is vivid. At the right end, the yellow dragon bow body crossbow back, relaxed and moderate, the posture of moving and jumping is vividly depicted; The purple dragon holds its head high and its front paws hit the waves, and its posture is vigorous, which fully demonstrates the wisdom and artistic talent of the ancient Chinese working people.
At the same time, the Nine Dragon Wall is also an important symbol of the mainland's architectural achievements.
Lifelike Nine Dragon Walls
Among the yang numbers, nine is the extreme number, and five is in the middle, and the "nine-five" system is an important embodiment of the respect of the Son of Heaven.
The design of the entire shadow wall not only divides the "Nine Dragons" into 5 spaces, but also decorates the main ridge of the wall with 9 dragons, a dragon in the center, and 4 dragons on each side. The ridges at both ends are different from the top of other palaces, do not decorate the beasts, and go straight to the eaves corner with the dragon. Between the eaves and buckets, 45 pieces of dragon pattern cushion boards are used to make the whole building contain multiple ninety-five numbers in different ways. In addition, the wall surface of the Kowloon Wall shares 270 plastic blocks, which is also a multiple of the Ninth Five-Year Plan. In order not to damage the head of the dragon, the division is extremely particular. Only careful design and superb craftsmanship can achieve such exquisite results.
Nine Dragon Wall of the Forbidden City
And when it comes to the Nine Dragon Wall of the Forbidden City, there is also a legend: A piece of Nanmu cleverly concealed from the emperor.
Legend has it that in 1773, Emperor Qianlong decided to build a multicolored glazed wall in front of the gate of the Imperial Palace, commonly known as the Nine Dragon Wall, to show the royal majesty. The Nine Dragon Wall is made of 270 pieces of colorful glazed bricks. At that time, technology was not developed, and firing a finished glass product required dozens or more scraps as the price of choice.
Responsible for the burning of colorful glazed tiles is the craftsman Ma Dechun, he and the rest of the craftsmen burned for forty-nine days, and finally succeeded in firing, but on the day of installation, people came and went in front of the Huangji Palace, and suddenly a crisp sound came, which frightened Ma Dechun. A small craftsman stayed there, staring at a broken piece of glazed tile.
This glazed tile must not be used, he carefully picked it up, and said to the people around him: "Don't tell anyone about this, whoever wants to confide a word will be killed!" Ma Dechun wanted to re-fire the glazed tile must be too late, and he had to make another idea to remedy it and risk the crime of bullying the king.
The news of the completion of the Nine Dragons Wall was played to the emperor in time. The next day, Qianlong took several ministers to watch, as soon as he entered Xiqing Gate, he saw the golden and brilliant Nine Dragon Wall, and when he got closer, the nine dragons were lifelike, just like the real one. Emperor Qianlong suddenly felt full of brilliance and couldn't help but admire.
(Image source丨The official website of the Palace Museum) A piece of nanmu is cleverly concealed from the emperor
He walked to the Nine Dragons Wall and carefully admired the dragons on each glazed tile, from east to west, one by one. This frightened Ma Dechun who was following behind, and Emperor Qianlong looked back and forth three times, and liked it very much, and praised Ma Dechun's superb craftsmanship again and again, and rewarded him with five hundred taels of silver. sent away Emperor Qianlong, and Ma Dechun's hanging heart also fell.
Why is Ma Dechun so nervous? That's because he moved flowers and trees to make up the nine dragon walls. Ma Dechun took great pains to remedy the broken glazed tile. It took two days and two nights of work to carve a piece of dragon's belly out of Nan wood, and it was hurriedly installed on the first day when Qianlong took the princes and ministers to watch!
Now, as long as you stand in front of the Nine Dragon Wall with a width of 29.4 meters and a height of 3.5 meters, there is a glazed brick tile on the body of the third white dragon from the East, which was carved by Ma Dechun with Nan wood, which is not only wisdom, but also implies the net worth of dozens of people.
After admiring the exquisite Nine Dragon Wall, we walked into the Huangji Gate from then on.
The south of the Huangji Gate is the Nine Dragon Wall
The Huangji Gate is 3 glazed doors with the wall, which is located on the white marble Sumeru seat
Huangji Gate is the main gate of Ningshou Palace District, Wai Dong Road, Inner Court of the Forbidden City, built in the 36th year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1771).
There is a small square in front of the Huangji Gate, the west side is the Xiqing Gate, the west side is the Jingyun Gate, the east side is the Xixi Gate, the east is the thirteen rows of the north and south, the south is the glazed shadow wall in front of the Huangji Gate - the Nine Dragon Wall.
The north of the Huangji Gate is opposite to the Ningshou Gate, the Ningshou Gate is the Huangji Palace, and the Ningshou Palace is behind the Huangji Palace, and the unique layout of this gate hall is formed when the Ningshou Palace was rebuilt during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Ningshou Palace was built in the 28th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1689), and was originally an I-shaped hall. In the 36th year of Qianlong (1771), the front hall was rebuilt into the Huangji Palace, and the original plaque was moved to the apse, and then the apse was renamed "Ningshou Palace", and the Huangji Gate was added at the southernmost end of the Ningshou Palace District.
The Huangji Gate is south-facing, and there are 3 glazed doors with the wall, which are located on the white marble Sumeru seat. 3 door openings are all coupon tops, overlying gatehouse, yellow glazed tile single eaves palace roof, five steps on a single warped single ang bucket arch, fang, rafters, bucket arches and other components are glazed firing. The central gatehouse is slightly higher, called the main building, and the two sides are slightly lower, called the second building. The sandwich between the main building and the second building is made of slightly smaller glazed imitation wood components than the gatehouse of the second building, called the mezzanine, the yellow glazed tile hangs on the top of the mountain, and the three steps on the single ang bucket arch. The outer side of the two buildings is also inlaid with two small gatehouses, called the side building, and the inner side of the glazed tile roof is the hanging mountain type, and the outer side is the palace type. The main building, the mezzanine building, the second building, and the side building are staggered and magnificent. There are yellow glazed weeping lotus pillars on both sides of each gatehouse, and pick out the curly grass pattern bucket arch finch inward, so the Huangji Gate is also called the three seventh-floor weeping flower gate archway door.
The Huangji Gate has a unique shape, exquisite production, and has the characteristics of both the form and the wall of the door, which appropriately inherits the architectural style of the Nine Dragon Wall in the south and the Ningshou Gate in the north, which can be called the crown of the glazed gate in the Forbidden City.
In front of the Huangji Gate is the Ningshou Gate.
Ningshoumen
Ningshou Gate is in the north of Huangji Gate The second palace gate of the Ningshou Palace District building is a yellow glazed tile mountain-style top, with 5 rooms wide and 3 rooms deep
Ningshou Gate is in the north of Huangji Gate and is the second palace gate of the building in Ningshou Palace District. This area was originally the site of the No. 1 Hall of the Ming Dynasty, and was built as the Ningshou Palace in the 28th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1689). In the 37th year of Qianlong (1772) to the 41st year (1776), when the Ningshou Palace was rebuilt, the door system was rebuilt according to the Qianqing door system, and the name of the door was still the same as the old name.
Ningshoumen is a house-style building, with a yellow glazed tile and a mountain-style roof, with 5 rooms wide and 3 rooms deep. The 3 rooms in the middle of the front eaves are built as open halls, and the sill walls are built between the two ends, and there are 4 sills of three crosses and six rhombic flower sill windows on the top, and the wind windows in the middle of the checkered grid. The gables on both sides are connected with the figure eight shadow wall. The back eaves are bounded by the golden pillar, the door is set up between the bright room and the left and right times, and the two ends are blocked by the wall, and the wall is plain and decorated with sand and green edges.
The door is built on the white marble pedestal, the Dan Majesty is set in the middle, three out of the steps, and the left and right are placed with gilded bronze lions.
The door is connected with the Huangji Palace, and the fence is decorated.
Ningshoumen color paintings have undergone great mutations. According to the due system and refer to the historical relics of the door, the early building is the golden dragon and the seal color painting, the 60th birthday of the Empress Dowager Cixi of the Guangxu Dynasty was changed to the Fangxin Soviet-style color painting, and when it was rebuilt in 1979, it was restored to the style of the Qianlong period.
The bronze lion in front of Ningshou Gate
This pair of bronze lions are vivid, realistic and lifelike, they are all squatting on a copper or stone seat, and they are gilded (gilt is an alloy of gold and mercury coated on the surface of the bronze object, after baking, the mercury evaporates, and the gold is attached to the surface of the object).
This pair of gilded bronze lions shines in the sun, colorful and dazzling. The bronze lions are all open and toothy, as if they are roaring and roaring; There is a fashionable neck, and a bell and tassel are tied under the neck; The claws are strong and powerful, showing a fierce character.
The gilded lion on the right side in front of Ningshou Gate The little lion is lying on its back, with a large lion claw in its mouth, which fully reflects the warmth of maternal love
The pair of lions, on the right, is a female lioness, who is stretching out her left leg to tease the lion cub. The lion cub is supine and contains a large lion's claw in its mouth, which fully reflects the warmth of maternal love;
The lion on the left in front of Ningshou Gate is a male lion, stretching out his right leg and playing with hydrangea
On the left, there is a male lion with his right leg outstretched and playing with a hydrangea, reminiscent of the lion dance moves of continental legends, which fully reflect the wisdom and creative talents of the ancient working people.
The gilded bronze lion in front of Ningshou Gate is made in the Qing Dynasty, and the words "made in the Qianlong year of the Qing Dynasty" are engraved on the chest or copper seat of the bronze lion. The "work file" of the Qing Dynasty court office records in detail that in the 36th year of Qianlong (1772), the emperor ordered the office to destroy two old astronomical instruments and cast a pair of bronze lions, and in the 40th year of Qianlong (1776), a pair of bronze lions weighing 7,664 catties were placed in front of Ningshou Gate.
Ningshoumen looks north at the Emperor's Pole Palace
After Ningshou Gate, it is the Huangji Palace.
Imperial Palace
The front view of the Huangji Hall is the Ningqi Gate in the east and the Changze Gate in the west.
Huangji Hall is the main building of Ningshou Palace District, which was built in the 28th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1689), and was originally named Ningshou Palace. In the 37th year of Qianlong (1772) to the 41st year (1776), when the building of Ningshou Palace was rebuilt, Ningshou Palace was renamed the Huangji Palace, as the place where Emperor Qianlong returned to power and received congratulations.
Front view of the Imperial Palace
The Huangji Hall is located in the front of the central axis of the Ningshou Palace District, and the apse Ningshou Palace is arranged on a single-layer stone pedestal. The north of the palace faces south, the face is 9 rooms wide, 5 rooms are deep, and the system of the emperor's 95 is taken. Yellow glazed tiles heavy eaves on the top of the palace, the front eaves out of the corridor, under the fang gold carving dragon finch replace. In the bright room, the left and right times set up the temple door, and the rest of the time between the sill walls are built. After the eaves are bright, the second room is opened as the back door of the palace, you can reach the Ningshou Palace, and the rest of the walls are built.
The Huangji Hall is built on the blue and white stone Sumeru seat, and the platform is out of the front. The royal road is connected with the Yongdao, which runs through the Ningshou Gate, and is surrounded by white marble railings. There are steps on the left and right sides of the platform and on both sides of the road. The two sides of the hall are the hanging flower door, the wall, and the east and west rooms respectively, and the courtyard is separated into two entrances before and after. The door is opened in the middle of the house, the east is the Ningqi gate, and the west is the Changze gate.
The sundial in front of the Imperial Palace
Jialiang in front of the Imperial Palace
The left and right sides of the Emperor's Palace Dan Majesty are separated from sundials and Jialiang, which is an important furnishing that reflects the imperial power. There is a six-sided Sumeru seat on both sides of the royal road, and the hexagonal pavilion of the eaves is placed on the seat, and the pavilion body is engraved with three seal body longevity characters on each side. There is a cast iron gall in the center of the stone pedestal, and on the 23rd to the 15th day of the first lunar month every year, the lamp pole is erected in it, which is an example of a multi-purpose pedestal in ancient times, and only its pedestal survives today. In addition, in the 38th year of Qianlong (1773), a pair of copper turtles and copper cranes were built and installed, and two pairs of Ding furnaces existed today.
The longevity lamp holder in front of the Imperial Palace
The west side of the Imperial Palace
The sky lantern lamp holder in front of the Imperial Palace
Longevity lamp lamp holder lamp pole
Longevity lanterns
The longevity lamp mainly undertakes the decorative function, and the focus is on the beautiful meaning. The lantern tower is the pavilion at the top, there are different styles in different years, the Qianlong Dynasty was the color lacquer hexagonal heavy eaves pavilion before, at the latest in Jiaqing thirteen years later is the gold cover lacquer round sharp heavy eaves pavilion, now in the Qianqing Palace Dan Majesty and the Huangji Hall Dan Majesty on the longevity lamp base is hexahedron, it is to echo with the hexagonal lamp tower; The interior of the lantern tower is equipped with six immortal fans, that is, around a wooden pillar embedded with six fans painted with immortals, these six immortals can be rotated, like a marquee; There is a cloud bracket in the lower part of the lamp tower, that is, a semicircular bracket with moire pattern; There is an eight-pronged squatting dragon on it, and there is a ring in the dragon's mouth, which can provoke the lantern couplet; In order to stabilize the eight-pronged squatting dragon, there is an arc-shaped support rod under it, which is similar to the wood, and is called the cloud because there are cloud patterns on it; There are eight immortals on the squatting dragon; There are texts on both sides of the lantern couplet, a total of 16 pieces, each couplet two pieces are very beautiful, singing and dancing, auspicious auspiciousness and other contents are laid out one by one; In order to prevent the lantern from fluttering with the wind, it is equipped with a falling melon-type copper drum, one drum for each couplet; In order to stabilize the entire lamp pole, there are four wood and four bronze pendants underneath.
In the palace of the emperor's pole, there are four golden dragon pillars pasted with powder, and the top is placed in the octagonal golden dragon caisson well, and the throne is set up below, and there is a pair of exquisite and unique Taiping statues and Lu Duan respectively under the throne, and the grade is second only to the Taihe Palace.
In the hall, the left side of the copper kettle drip leaks, and the right side of the large self-striking bell, the production is exquisite.
According to the Qing Palace's "Internal Affairs Office Sales File", Jiaqing cast copper kettle for the Huangji Palace, with 3,500 pounds of copper, according to the ratio of four to six, with 2,100 pounds of red copper bars, 1,400 pounds of Japanese yuan.
Interior view of the Imperial Palace
The statue of peace in the Imperial Palace
The statue of peace in the Imperial Palace
The end of the Imperial Palace
The interior of the Imperial Palace The Xuanyuan mirror above the dragon chair
The Huangji Hall color painting was originally a golden dragon and seal color painting, the 60th birthday of the Empress Dowager Cixi was celebrated here, and the outer eaves were changed to Fangxin Su style color paintings. After being renovated in 1979, the style of the Qianlong period was restored.
The Imperial Palace was transformed to imitate the Qianqing Palace system. In the seventh year of Jiaqing (1805) and the tenth year of Guangxu (1884), it was repaired successively. In the twentieth year of Guangxu (1894), he gave Cixi a 60th birthday gift in the Huangji Palace. In the thirtieth year of Guangxu (1904), around the 70th birthday of the Empress Dowager of the West, she met with the envoys of 9 countries including Austria and the United States. After Cixi's death, she stopped here for mourning.
Huangji Palace, Kangxi 28 years at the beginning of the construction called Ningshou Palace, Qianlong 37 years when rebuilt renamed Huangji Palace. When rebuilding, the original Ningshou Palace plaque was moved to the apse.
In the 60th year of Qianlong (1795 AD), Qianlong was already an 85-year-old man, in order not to exceed the record of his grandfather's reign of 61 years, he decided to cede the throne to the fifteenth son Yanyan, the first year of Jiaqing (1796) on the first day of the first month, Hongli abdicated, as the emperor. At this time, Qianlong was already an 86-year-old man, and the age gap between the 60-year-old man and him was 26 years old, so it was stipulated that the age of the old man participating in the banquet was changed from 60 years old to more than 70 years old.
The Qiansu banquet began in Kangxi and flourished in the Qianlong period. According to the practice of the Qing court, a thousand banquets were held every 50 years. It was held 4 times in the Qing Dynasty (only during the Kangxi and Qianlong periods).
Thousands of banquet pictures
The Qiansu Banquet is the largest and most popular grand imperial banquet in the Qing Palace, and its influence is greater than the current Spring Festival group meeting.
The Qing Dynasty had four thousand banquets
1
Kangxi 52 years
In the third lunar month of the fifty-second year of Kangxi (1713), Emperor Kangxi's 60th birthday, he held the first Qiansu banquet in Changchun Garden. Seniors over the age of 65, both government and civilian, can attend the event in the capital on time.
Emperor Kangxi feasted the ministers, praised the merits of the elderly, rewarded countless wise old people, set up 800 tables for banquets and drinks, and there were hundreds of kinds of dishes.
Kangxi Images
At the banquet, Kangxi made a brief speech to the following effect:
I will rule the world, and I will be benevolent and Lord. Everyone should take the virtue of providing for the elderly, respect their parents at home, live in harmony with their brothers and sisters, and respect and love others in society as if they were their own family members.
On March 25, March 27, and March 28, more than 6,600 Manchu and Han elders attended the banquet, and there were certainly no less than 7,000 people including the unknown number of old women from the Eight Banners.
From the holding of this banquet, all localities advocate "respect" and "filial piety", and set off a wind of respecting and loving the elderly, which can be said to be prevalent.
2
Kangxi sixty-one years
In the first lunar month of the 61st year of Kangxi (1722), Emperor Kangxi ruled for 60 years, in order to celebrate his 70th birthday, he held a "Qiansuo Banquet" to celebrate. Hongli, who was 12 years old at the time, attended the banquet as the emperor's grandson.
The reason for this banquet is to make the world peaceful and the people's livelihood prosperous. On the second and fifth days of the first lunar month, two meals were held in front of the Qianqing Palace. A total of 1020 old birthday stars were invited twice.
At the ceremony, according to the seniority of the elderly, the order of seats, the emperor personally toasted the elderly, gave poems, and the poems and couplets at the banquet were frequent, which can be called the biggest elegant story of respecting the elderly in China.
"Banquet of a Thousand Suo" by Qing Wang Chengpei, collection of the National Museum
The three glasses of wine of Emperor Kangxi at this banquet have been passed down through the ages.
At the banquet, Kangxi toasted three glasses of wine: the first cup was to pay tribute to the Empress Dowager of Xiaozhuang, thanking Xiaozhuang for her help; The second cup is to pay tribute to the ministers and the people of the world; When the third glass of wine was served, Kangxi said, "This cup of wine is for my enemies" Everyone was stunned.
Why did Kangxi make a toast to his enemies? He said: "Ao Bai, Wu Sangui, Zheng Jing, Galdan, and the third prince of Zhu, they are all heroes and heroes, they created me, and they forced me to make this great achievement. I hate them, and I respect them. ”
Respect the enemy and the opponent, they are the driving force on the way forward and the catalyst for success. This last tribute shows the courage of the emperor through the ages and the mind beyond that of mortals.
Up to now, the habit of three glasses of wine at a banquet represents the hospitality of the host's family, and the custom has not changed after a hundred years.
3
Fifty years of Qianlong
In the fiftieth year of Qianlong (1785), Qianlong was in power for 50 years. The four seas are peaceful, and the world is rich.
During the Kangxi period, the grand scene of the Qiansu banquet left a deep impression on the young Hongli, and after he succeeded to the throne, he followed the example of his grandfather and also held a Qiansuo banquet in Kunning Palace on the sixth day of the first month of the 50th year of Qianlong.
Information on the banquet of Qiansuo
Qing painting Hongli court costume portrait axis collection of the Palace Museum
The entire Kunning Palace is staggered and bustling, with a total of 800 seats, not only the free Manchu and Han banquets carefully made by the imperial chef, but also all the royal tribute wines.
During the banquet, Qianlong summoned the ministers of Yipin and those over 90 years old to the emperor and personally gave them wine. He also ordered the prince, grandson, and great-grandson to toast in turn in the palace. Give everyone poems, ruyi, longevity sticks, morning beads, silk qi, mink, literary play, silver medals, etc.
At that time, one of the longest-lived centenarians, Kwok Jong-yue, was highly rewarded, and was said to be 141 years old.
Qianlong and Ji Xiaolan also made a pair for the old man: the sixtieth nail was reopened, plus three or seven years; Ancient and rare double celebrations, one more spring and autumn.
According to the meaning of Shanglian, the two Jiazi are 120 years old plus 3721, which is exactly 141 years old. The next link is Gu Xi Shuangqing, two seventy, plus one, exactly 141 years old. Absolutely.
Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, Lang Shining and others painted the shaft of "Ten Thousand Trees Garden Banquet Map".
At this once-in-a-50-year banquet, the old people scrambled to be the first, saying "thanks to the good policies of the imperial court", while feasting and devouring them. It is said that there are not a few old people who faint, are happy, full, and drunk.
The vast wine game of the Qiansuo banquet was called "Enlong Liqia" by the literati at that time, which was an unprecedented move in the ages.
4
The first year of Jiaqing
In the 60th year of Qianlong (1795 AD), Qianlong was 85 years old, in order not to exceed the record of his grandfather's reign of 61 years, he ceded the throne to the fifteenth son Yanyan, and abdicated as Emperor Taishang on the first day of the first month of the first year of Jiaqing (1796).
On the fourth day of the first month of the first year of Jiaqing, he held his second Qiansu banquet in the Huangji Hall of Ningshou Palace, although it was the first year of Jiaqing, but it was Qianlong.
Since there is a 26-year age gap between the 60-year-old and Qianlong, it is stipulated that the age of the elderly attending the banquet will be changed from 60 years old to over 70 years old.
Thousands of banquet pictures
At the beginning of the banquet, Zhonghe Shao music played, and under the service of Emperor Jiaqing, Emperor Qianlong ascended to the throne of the Emperor's Palace.
Emperor Jiaqing personally led 3,056 silver-bearded and white-haired elderly people to shout long live and congratulate the Emperor Taishang on his birthday. Facing the scene of the world's elders celebrating their birthdays, Qianlong, who called himself a "perfect old man", was satisfied.
At that time, the 106-year-old Xiong Guopei and the 100-year-old Qiu Chenglong also participated in this Qiansuo banquet, Qianlong called them "100-year-old Shoumin", "Shengping Renrui", rewarded the six products of the top, and the old man Liang Tingyu over 90 years old gave the seven-grade top to show the emperor's intention of caring for the elderly.
Thousands of banquet pictures
After the end of the feast and watching the play, the banquet staff impromptu poems, and a total of 3,497 poems were collected after the banquet. This ancient Chinese tradition of banquets reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty.
In a symbolic sense, this banquet means the end of the Qianlong era, and the "prosperous era of Kangqian" in Chinese history has also drawn an end in the noise of the Qiansu banquet, and has become the swan song of the Qiansu banquet in history.
What to eat at the Qiansu feast
According to records, before the banquet begins, under the command of the prime minister of the dining room, according to the official rank of the banquet attendees, the table is set up in advance, and the utensils and dishes are significantly different.
Schematic diagram of the seat position of the Qiansuo banquet in the Imperial Palace
The banquet table is divided into first and second class:
The first class is the prince, the first and second ministers and foreign envoys, etc., the food is: two hot pots, "one silver and tin hot pot", a plate of pork slices, a plate of mutton slices, a plate of roasted venison with deer tail, a plate of stewed mutton black fork, four bowls of meat dishes, a plate of steamed food Shouyi, a plate of stove food Shouyi, two plates of snail box side dishes, two ebony chopsticks, and another shredded meat soup and rice.
The second class is the third-to-nine-grade officials and the soldiers and civilians without official products, etc., each table is placed with two "copper" hot pots, a plate of pork slices, a plate of roasted mutton slices, a plate of roasted roe deer meat, a plate of steamed food longevity, a plate of stove food longevity, two plates of snail master box side dishes, two ebony chopsticks, and the same shredded meat soup and rice.
Thousands of banquet pictures
After all the banquet tables are set up, the banquet curtains are covered one by one to keep the food hygienic for the banquet, and 800 tables are set up, and there are as many as 156 people who participate in the service of serving the food.
According to the statistics of the Qing Palace's internal affairs office archives "Imperial Tea Dining Room Book" in the first archives of China, the last Qiansu banquet, the total consumption of main and non-staple foods is as follows:
750 kg of white flour 12 taels, 36 kg of sugar 2 taels, 30 kg of Chengsha 5 taels, 10 kg of sesame oil 2 taels, 100 kg of eggs, 10 kg of sweet sauce, 5 kg of white salt, 3 kg of mung bean flour 2 taels, 4 buckets of Jiang rice 2 taels, 25 kg of yam, 6 kg of walnut kernels 12 taels, 10 kg of sun-dried dates 2 taels, 5 taels of mushrooms, 1700 kg of pork, 850 ducks, 850 rookies, 1700 elbows.
Thousands of banquet pictures
According to the records of the Qing Palace's Internal Affairs Office, 8 taels of Yuquan wine were used for each table of the Qiansuo banquet, and 400 catties of Yuquan wine (16 taels per catty) were shared for 800 seats. At the same time, in order to hold this feast, the Meat Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs also burned 3,848 kilograms of firewood, 412 kilograms of charcoal, and 300 kilograms of coal. In addition, 3,000 walking sticks will be purchased.
In the Qiansu banquet, the ingredients of the palace prescription are widely disseminated, and they have been rebuilt several times after research and development, and they are still passed down to the world.
In addition to eating and drinking, Emperor Qianlong also rewarded the elders who participated in the banquet. At that time, all the civil and military officials who pre-feasted were rewarded with a Ruyi and a piece of silk. For soldiers and craftsmen and those without ranks, those who are 70 years old will be rewarded with 10 taels of silver medals, those who are 75 years old will be rewarded with 15 taels of silver medals, those who are 80 years old will be 20 taels, those who are 85 years old will be 25 taels, and those over 90 years old will be rewarded with 30 taels.
The tomb of Ronglu was unearthed by the Emperor Taishang
Theoretically, this brand can be used directly as silver, or exchanged for silver.
The "Imperial Pension Card" was designed and supervised by Qianlong himself, and was cast with the most beautiful silver in the Qing Dynasty, which was intended to respect the elderly. The four words "Imperial Pension" were written by Ah Gui, the minister of military aircraft and a scholar at the time.
Qianlong silver pension card, in the history of a total of two issued, that is, Qianlong 50 years and the first year of Jiaqing (the name of the palace is divided into "Huangji Palace" solid casting, "Taiji Palace" hollow hammer butterfly).
Emperor Qianlong's original idea was to let such silver medals be passed on, but it backfired, and most of these silver medals were later turned into small pieces and spent, so there are not many surviving today.
Qianlong 50 years of thousands of banquets to give the pension silver medal
Qianlong silver pension card
The Qing Dynasty had explicit regulations on preferential treatment for the elderly, such as the promotion of elderly students and the retirement of all officials. There is also a statute of "surviving and supporting relatives" in the "Great Qing Hui Regulations".
In addition, Lord Qianlong also ordered the old people present to reward each of them with a longevity staff. The longevity stick is about 188cm long, mostly huanghuali, the handle is rhinoceros horn, and some wooden poles are inlaid with silver medals.
After the banquet, Emperor Qianlong also awarded the imperial longevity staff to all the old people
In addition, the workshop of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has also rushed to make small purses for imperial rewards, with more than 4,800 items.
There is no clear record of how much money was spent on the last "Qiansu Banquet" held by Lord Qianlong, but it is well documented that the time in the 49th year of Qianlong was at least 1 million taels of silver.
Since the Qianlong Zen throne, the so-called prosperous era has actually been vanity, so since then, the Qing Dynasty can no longer afford such a grand banquet
Poetry of the Thousand Banquets
The following are some scenes of Qianlong's fourth Qiansu banquet; On the fourth day of the first month of the first month of the first year of Jiaqing (A.D. 1796), the Emperor Taishang, who had just been on the throne for 3 days, held the "Thousand Suo Banquet" again in the Huangji Hall of Ningshou Palace.
The banquet was held in the Huangji Hall of Ningshou Palace, with 3,056 people listed as participants and 5,000 people listed as inviters. More than 3,000 poems were written on the spot.
At that time, the seat arrangement was as follows: the inner and outer princes, Bel Beizi, Taiji, and the first and second rank ministers were seated in the palace, the guests from Korea, Huibu, Tibet, Siam, Annam, Gurkha and other regions were under the corridor of the palace, the ministers and officials of the third rank were in Dan Majesty Yong Road, and the officials below the fourth rank were around Danqi, and the rest of the Baitang A, the guards, the vests, the soldiers and the people, and the craftsmen were all outside the Ningshou Gate.
The princes, grandsons, great-grandsons, and grandchildren of the emperor toasted the princes and ministers in the palace, and the guards gave wine to the people in turn, and promised to distribute food.
In addition, the centenarians Xiong Guopei and Qiu Chenglong are also rewarded with six tops, and the rest of those over 90 years old are worn by seventh.
Although Emperor Qianlong was a little old, he was still heroic at the banquet.
At the beginning of the banquet, Zhonghe Shao music played, and under the service of Emperor Jiaqing, Emperor Qianlong ascended to the throne of the Emperor's Palace.
Emperor Jiaqing personally led 3,056 silver-bearded and white-haired elderly people to shout long live and congratulate the Emperor Taishang on his birthday. Facing the scene of the world's elders celebrating their birthdays, Emperor Qianlong was satisfied.
He has been studying and moving around the palace since he was a child, and his grandfather, Emperor Kangxi, has set an immortal example for him. After he succeeded to the throne, he continued to implement the statecraft of his grandfather and father, and made achievements in both culture and martial arts.
He wrote and recited poetry all his life, regarded himself as the leader of the Chinese people, and promoted the education of cultural governance. He won 10 major victories in the "Ten Perfections" and maintained the unity of the multi-ethnic country.
In the later years of his reign, the country was vast, populous, and powerful, and for this reason, he called himself "the perfect old man" in his later years. And the glory of his life has reached its peak today!
In the course of the banquet, the joy that flowed from his heart filled the usually stern Emperor Taishang with warmth, and he summoned the prince's ministers and the old men over 90 years old at the banquet to come to the throne and personally give them imperial wine.
He also ordered his princes, grandsons, great-grandsons, great-great-grandsons, and great-great-grandsons to give wine to the princes and ministers in the palace; The palace guards were responsible for serving wine to the banqueters outside the palace.
At that time, the 106-year-old Xiong Guopei and the 100-year-old Qiu Chenglong also participated in this Qiansuo banquet, Qianlong called them "100-year-old Shoumin", "Shengping Renrui", rewarded the six products of the top, and the old man Liang Tingyu over 90 years old gave the seven-grade top to show the emperor's intention of caring for the elderly.
After the feast and the drama are over, the banquet staff impromptu poems, which is a tradition at the banquet of ancient Chinese monarchs and ministers, which reached its ultimate in the Qing Dynasty. A total of 3,497 poems were collected after this banquet.
After the end of this banquet, Emperor Qianlong continued to control the government as the emperor for 3 years until his death. But in a symbolic sense, this banquet meant the end of the Qianlong era, and the "prosperous era of Kangqian" in Chinese history also drew an end in the noise of the Qiansu banquet.
And generally understand some of the situation of the Qiansu banquet, careful friends may find a problem when visiting the Huangji Hall of Ningshou Palace, the pedestal under the eaves of the east, west and south corridors of the Huangji Palace has been connected with a stone slab, about a meter wide, and there are stone strips to support it below. What is the reason for this?
The pedestals under the eaves of the porch have been connected to a stone slab
Could it be that there is some historical event behind it?
The pedestals under the east, west and south eaves of the Imperial Palace have been connected with a stone slab, and there are stone strips supporting it below
Stone slabs connected from the eaves pedestal
It turns out that these are also related to the Qiansu banquet, the stone slabs connected on the base of these eaves are the last time Qianlong held the Qiansu banquet in the first year of Jiaqing, because the eaves are too narrow to place the dining table, the base is specially widened and designed, this may be the famous Qiansu banquet left the most intuitive mark on us......
This banquet became the swan song of the thousand banquets in history. In the first month of this year, Qianlong also officially abdicated and Jiaqing succeeded him.
In the thirtieth year of Guangxu (1904), Cixi received foreign envoys, that is, in the Huangji Palace, when foreign envoys from Austria, the United States, Germany, Russia, Belgium, Britain, France, Japan, South Korea, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and other countries. According to records, after the Wuxu Reform, the dependents of the envoys of various countries entered the palace to meet Cixi on New Year's Day and related festivals in China, and each time they gave rich rewards. After the rebellion of the Eight-Nation Alliance, Cixi returned to the Beijing Imperial Palace and rebuilt the Sea Banquet Hall on the site of the Yiluan Hall in Yingxiu Gate, which was specially used to receive foreign envoys.
Cixi also summoned the American female painter Kair to paint her portrait for the third Olympic Games held in St. Louis in 1904. At that time, the palace called Karl Miss K.
A portrait of Cixi painted by Khal
American female painter Kerr
According to the record of "Qing Barnyard Banknotes", Cixi's banquet to entertain foreign guests was according to the style of Western food, with a dish per person, a set of peach-style silver plates in front of each seat, almonds, melon seeds, candied fruits, fruits, etc., and each guest had 24 kinds of dim sum, in addition to Chinese chopsticks, there were knives and forks for Western food. When Cixi participated in this kind of banquet, she had to wear more gorgeous clothes than usual, and the clothes were woven into phoenixes with peacock feathers, and each phoenix had a string of beads in its mouth, about three inches long. The crowns, scarves, and shoes worn are embroidered with phoenixes.
In October of the 34th year of Guangxu, Guangxu died, and the next day, Cixi also died.
According to the Qing Palace's "Internal Affairs Office Files, Empress Dowager Cixi's Burial and Mountain Tomb Worship Jewelry and Jade Account Book", the burial counts are: Zhengzhu, Lezhu, Rubi, Green Jade, Lotus Seed, Coral Joy Character, Coral Carving Tiger, Longan, Bodhi and other Dynasty Pearls, Dazheng Zhu, Zhengzhu, Dongzhu, Rubi Zhu, Green Jade, Lotus Seeds, Coral and other bracelets, and other prayer beads, hanging buttons, beads, bracelets, soft bracelets, cigarette bottles, pins, pins, small watches, and various animals, flowers, hat flowers, etc. made of various pearls and jade. There are also a large number of utensils made of jewelry in the mountain tombs, which are all used in life before death, such as quilts, pillows, shoes, tobacco pouches, mouthwashboxes, wash basins, plates, glasses, buckets, toothbrushes, ear picks, silver scrapers, ivory picks, porcelain oil boxes, soap boxes, hand towels, painting furniture, porcelain bowls, porcelain cups, etc.
At that time, Cixi's coffin was in the Huangji Palace, Guangxu's coffin was in the Guande Hall in Jingshan, and the Ministry of Rites led the princes of Japan and envoys from various countries to pay homage to the two halls. These foreigners first go to the Donghua Gate, get off the car and take the chair sedan car into the Donghua Gate, get off the sedan chair at the back shed of the Imperial Arrow Pavilion, enter the back shed to rest for a while, and then enter the Xiqing Gate, the Huangji Gate, the Ningshou Gate to the Huangji Palace, and pay homage to Cixi's Zigong (coffin), and then go out of the palace and get off the car and horse outside the Jingshan East Gate, enter the Jingshan East Gate, and go to the Zigong Palace of the Guande Hall to worship Guangxu. After that, they went out to the east gate of Jingshan and returned to the museum.
After briefly browsing the Huangji Palace, and learning about some of the situation of the Qiansu Banquet, let's walk into Ningshou Palace and Houliao Middle Road.