To the west of the central axis of the Forbidden City, in addition to the West Sixth Palace, there is also a building of the Yangxin Hall.
There is a long street in the west between the Qianqing Palace and the West Sixth Palace, and to the south of this street, there is a building in the south of the West Sixth Palace, that is, a group of buildings in the Yangxin Hall. See the figure below.
On the west side of the southern end of this street, there is a Zunyi Gate, which is the Yangxin Gate, facing south, entering the Yangxin Gate, and the north is the Yangxin Hall.
There is a throne in the middle of the hall, and this hall is divided into multiple rooms in the east, such as the room of the trustee, the room of Sui'an, such as the upper part, the window, etc., and the west room of the Diligent Government, Sanxi Hall, Self-Improvement, Tireless Fast, Changchun Book House, Meiwu, Wei Junnan, and Noh Room.
The east of the apse is The Tishun Hall, the northeast of the hall is the auspicious gate, the west of the hall is the Yanle Hall, and the north of the hall is the Ruyi Gate.
As shown in the following figure.
Some strange things had happened in the area around the Yangxin Hall.
According to Jiaqing's "Edict of Sin and Self-Inflicted Wounds" of September 18, 18:
More than seventy people from the Tianli Sect attacked the Forbidden City, and although several people were arrested, there were still people who carried the flag to the wall and wanted to enter the yangxin hall gate, but fortunately, there was Jiaqing's second son Mianning (later renamed Minning, that is, the Daoguang Emperor), holding a shotgun, killing two people in a row, Belle Mianzhi also killed one person, and the others had to retreat. However, outside the Longzong Gate, there were many Tianli Sect members, and it was up to the kings and ministers to lead the people to resist with shotguns for two days and one night before they captured all the Tianli Sects who had invaded.
The leader of the Tianli Sect's invasion of the Forbidden City was Lin Qing, and according to the interrogation of the criminals afterwards, there were six eunuchs in the palace who responded internally and guided the way. Two eunuchs lured the Tianli sect into the Donghua Gate, two eunuchs introduced the Xihua Gate, and two other eunuchs joined in.
According to the notes written by Mianning and others afterwards, at noon on September 15, Mianning and others were in the study when they heard the eunuch shouting "Close the door." Mianning and the others immediately investigated the situation from the Rijing Gate, saw that the eunuch had brought several people, and then went to the Chuxiu Palace to ask the empress for peace, but when they heard that a thief had climbed over the wall and entered from the west side of the inner right door. So Mianning sent people to take bags, shotguns, and waist knives, and other eunuchs also led the crowd to patrol outside the Zunyi Gate with sticks. On the walls of each room, eunuchs were also sent to look out. At this time, there were five or six Tenrikyo cultivators on the dining room outside the south wall opposite the Yangxin Gate, trying to sneak north from the west wall. Fearing that they would escape, Ning Ning set off a gun inside the palace, and on the west side of the Yangxin Gate, he used a gun to shoot down a Tianli Sect on the west wall. There were still two or three people on the wall, and one person was holding a white flag, and Mianning and others entered the courtyard of the Yangxin Hall again, and the wall shot down the white flag bearer with a gun, and the others did not dare to go up to the wall again. Later, in coordination with the ministers and the soldiers led by them, two more Tenrikyo believers were found in the inner dining room.
The Yangxin Hall was built in the Ming Dynasty and repaired during the Qing Yongzheng Period as a place where the emperor often moved. For example, the approval of the chapter reading, the summoning of the introduction, and the proclamation of several are all carried out in this hall, just as in the Qianqing Palace to handle political affairs. After Jiaqing succeeded to the throne, he also lived in this temple.
The Yangxin Hall was in the west of the Qianqing Gate and within the Zunyi Gate, and Qianlong also summoned ministers and introduced officials to this hall during the Qianlong Period, all of which were entered through the Qianqing Gate.
The emperor read the first ten scrolls of the reading hall test, which was in the West Warm Pavilion of the Yangxin Hall. During the Qianlong period, he had summoned the new branch jinshi in the Yangxin Hall, and at that time, the imperial examination Hanlin and others, in the Qianqing Palace, before the test, the Yangxin Hall should be introduced to be summoned by the emperor, and then the Qianqing Palace examination. When Yongzheng was in power, he summoned Wang Chenglie to the Yangxin Hall to give a lecture on "University" and analyze the differences between Confucianism and Interpretation in great detail, and Yongzheng was extremely happy, so he gave him "Careful Sexual Theory", "Ancient Wen Yuanjian" and other treasures.
From the Qianlong period onwards, on the west gate of the West Pavilion of the Yangxin Hall, the names of the governors of the provinces, the prefects, the generals, and the generals and above were hung.
Qianlong once found a copy of the "History of the Ming Dynasty Palace" in the collection of the Yangxin Hall, which described the palace platform and the feast tea at four o'clock, and the internal supervisor was in charge of the trivial affairs of the palace. According to records, since Qianlong succeeded to the throne, he lived in the Yangxin Hall for more than sixty years.
During the Tongzhi Dynasty, the empresses of the two palaces (Ci'an and Cixi) bowed to the government and were in the Yangxin Hall. The so-called hanging curtain is eight screens, yellow. Tongzhi sat on the imperial throne in front of the curtain. The chancellor took off his hat and bowed his head under the steps of the Yangxin Hall to listen to the instructions or give thanks.
According to the "Sacred Virtue Chronicle", Cixi read hundreds of chapters every day, and remembered the matters mentioned in them clearly. She once issued an edict to the minister:
When I entered the palace at the age of eighteen, when the Xianfeng Emperor was doing business in the palace, I would stand respectfully and respectfully, not daring to look around, and knowing nothing about political affairs. Later, there were many military affairs, and there were many folds, and XianFeng often asked me to help clean up the folds, so I knew a little about the classification. Since the curtain was bowed to the government, there have been many experiences, and I am still cautious at all times, but I am afraid that I will not be able to use my heart.
It can be known that Cixi gradually understands the state affairs and is careful in using things, so she can be familiar with the major affairs of the country. Later, Zeng Guofan pacified the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Cixi summoned him to Beijing, according to the "Chronicle of the Duchy of Zeng Wenzheng", Zeng set out from Nanjing by boat on the fourth day of November in the seventh year of Tongzhi, entered Beijing on December 13, entered the palace on the fourteenth, Cixi summoned him at the Yangxin Hall, and then summoned him continuously on the fifteenth and sixteenth days, when the court officials all looked at Zeng differently.
According to the Chronicle of Zeng Wenzheng's Memorabilia, the details of his conversation when he met Cixi are recorded:
Cixi asked: Ru has finished everything in Jiangnan?
Zeng: Done.
Cixi asked: Yongdu has withdrawn?
Zeng: All withdrawn.
Q: How brave are you to dismiss?
Answer: Of the 20,000 people who withdrew, 30,000 remained.
Q: Where are the many people?
A: There are many people in Anhui. There are also some Hunan people, but thousands. There are many people in Anhui.
Q: Quiet of withdrawal?
A: Quiet.
Q: Can Ru yilu be quiet?
A: The road is quiet. At first, I was afraid that there would be a disturbance in You Yong, but it was safe and sound.
Q: How many years has Ru left Beijing?
Answer: It has been seventeen years since the subject left Beijing.
Q: How many years have you been a soldier?
Answer: In the past, the subject always led the army, and in the past two years, he was blessed by the emperor and became an official in Jiangnan.
Q: Ru used to be in the Rebbe?
Answer: The minister used to work as an errand boy in the ceremonial department.
Q: How many years in the ministry?
A: Four years. Daoguang went to the Ceremonial Department for twenty-nine years, and Xianfeng left Beijing for three years.
Q: Is Zeng Guoquan a brother of Ru?
Answer: It's a brother.
Q: How many Ru brothers?
Answer: There are five brothers. Two of them died in the barracks, and they were very blessed by the emperor.
Question: Ru used to be in Beijing, so naturally did you know about the matter of direct subordination?
Answer: The ministers who are directly subordinate to him also know better.
Question: Zhili is very empty, and Rusu must train his troops well.
Answer: The talent of the minister is afraid that he will not be able to do it well.
It can be seen that the speech is very short, not as long as in the current TV series, nonsense.
According to the Chronicle of Events, when he was transferred from the Viceroy of Zhili to the Viceroy of Liangjiang, he was also summoned by Cixi, and the dialogue at that time was also recorded, see page 816 of the Qing Palace Narrative, this outline.
An old eunuch surnamed Chen in the Qing Palace once dictated the number of trivial matters in Guangxu's Yangxin Hall, according to which it can be seen that Guangxu did not like to talk much, but loved to read, walk, and did not like various games. Eating is also very simple, get up in the morning to drink milk tea, eat snacks, lunch and dinner, there are dishes, rice, pasta, a single use, the same as the previous emperors. Cixi lived in Leshou Palace, and Guangxu went to Greet An every morning and called Cixi "Emperor Father", and Cixi called Guangxu "Emperor". It also talks about the matter between Guangxu and his empress and concubines, because the folklore guangxu is a heavenly castration, the old eunuch said that this is not right, but Guangxu does not like the empress, only likes Zhenfei and Concubine Jin, but Concubine Jin is fat, Concubine Zhen looks long, and can please Guangxu, so Guangxu often passes on Concubine Zhen. The empress lived in Zhong Pu Palace and Zhen Concubine lived in Jingren Palace, and the empress was not happy and reported to Cixi.
When Guangxu was in the Yangxin Hall, he also summoned the attendants in the Yangxin Hall, Guangxu sat facing north and south, set up a short case, laid out paper and wrote a book, Weng Tonggong dyed pen with ink, Guangxu wrote the four words "The World is Too Peaceful", and wrote the four words of "Zhengda Guangming".
According to the "Qing Barnyard Bills", when Guangxu was guangxu, the two queens also hung curtains to listen to the government, Guangxu sat in the front, the two backs sat in the back, separated by curtains, ci'an and Cixi sat left and right. After Ci'an's death, Cixi sat alone behind him, and when Guangxu changed the law, Cixi sat side by side with Guangxu, like two emperors.
The following yangxin halls are sui'an rooms, ming windows, tireless zhai, Changchun bookstore, Tishun hall, Yanxi hall, and slight, but the situation of Sanxi hall is worth mentioning.
This hall collects three famous calligraphy posters, one is Wang Xizhi's "Fast Snow Thesis", one is Wang Xianzhi's "Mid-Autumn Festival", and the other is Wang Xun's "Boyuan Thesis". The three theps are all treasures of the Xi world, so Qianlong collected them in the greenhouse of the Yangxin Hall, and named this room "Sanxi Hall". Guangxu's teacher, Weng Tonggong, was given these three posts in the fifteenth year of Guangxu, saying that these three posts were "True Xi Shi Baoye, Song Jinshi Pool, and Radiant".
In front of the Yangxin Hall is the Imperial Dining Room, with a plaque "Dining Room", which is the Shunzhi Imperial Pen. In the Ming Dynasty, the imperial dining room was a hall without beams, which was the place of Jiajing alchemy, and in the Qing Dynasty, it was changed to a royal dining room.
In the Qing Palace, the emperor had a royal dining room, the empress had an internal and external dining room, the empress dowager of Shoukang Palace also had an external dining room, and the emperor and emperor's grandson had a dining room after marrying Fujin.
The Emperor's imperial dining room, where the items and objects are cooked, are opened daily and presented to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Meals are served according to the provisions.
The Qing Emperor's meals were extremely luxurious, and during the Qianlong Period, he was frugal, and the cost of the dining room was repeatedly reduced, and he had to use more than 20,000 gold a year later. According to the Qing dynasty's notes, "ChunshuiTang Wild Ride":
Qianlong once summoned Wang Youdun, and Qianlong asked him: Qing Mingshuang came to the court, did he ever use dim sum at home?
Wang Answer: The subject's family is poor, and every morning meal is only a few chickens.
Qianlong was greatly surprised to hear this, and said: A chicken costs ten gold, and four is forty gold, and Qing Still does not dare to indulge in such indulgence, and Qing is saying that he is poor?
Wang did not dare to ask about the situation of the palace, so he said: The chickens sold outside are all broken and cannot be used for the emperor to eat, and the courtiers can buy them at a cheap price, and each chicken is only a few pieces of money.
It can be seen how well the dining room deceived the emperor. According to the Nanting Notes, Guangxu ate four chickens a day, and the imperial dining room was open for thirty-two pieces of silver.
This situation already existed in the Ming Dynasty, according to the literature, Ming Muzong Longqing Emperor once wanted to eat a fruit filling bottle, the next day the imperial dining room reported the expenditure of fifty gold, Mu Zong smiled and said: Only five pieces of silver, you can buy a large box at the entrance of Donghua. This is because he was already familiar with this situation when he did not succeed to the throne as emperor, so he could not be deceived.
According to the "Records of the Ministry of Internal Affairs", the emperor and his concubines and others in the Qianlong Period had a huge amount of meat prepared every day:
The emperor should prepare fifteen pounds of meat and five pounds of soup meat. Concubines plate meat six pounds, vegetable meat three pounds, lower concubines and nobles, etc., plate meat four pounds, vegetable meat two pounds. Eight brothers plate meat four pounds, eleven, fifteen brothers, etc., four pounds of plate meat, Mianning brother and other plate meat two pounds, vegetable meat one pound, Yi Chun brother and other plate meat four pounds, vegetable meat two pounds, but eleventh class brother Fujin, plate meat is twelve pounds, vegetable meat eight pounds. Minister of Military Aircraft, fifteen pounds of meat on the plate, three pounds of soup meat. Master of the upper study, eighteen pounds of meat on the plate, Hanlin in the south study, nine pounds of meat on the plate, Zhang Jing of the military aircraft, etc., six pounds of meat on the plate, twenty pounds of vegetable meat.
It seems that the ministers ate more meat than the emperor.