Palace of Gathered Elegance

Palace of Gathered Elegance

A residence for imperial consorts during the Ming and Qing dynasties, it is one of the Western Six Palaces in the Inner Court. Located east of Palace of Eternal Harmony and north of Palace of Prolonging Happiness in the Forbidden City, Beijing. Originally built during the Yongle era of the Ming dynasty, it was first named Palace of Longevity and Prosperity, and renamed Palace of Gathered Elegance in the 14th year of the Jiajing reign. It was renovated in the 12th year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing dynasty. The Palace of Gathered Elegance features a single-eave hip-and-gable roof, spans five bays, and has a front corridor. The side halls to the east and west are Hall of Nourishing Harmony and Hall of Delayed Happiness, both spanning three bays and featuring flush-gable roofs. The rear hall, Hall of Beautiful Scenery, spans five bays, with a single-eave flush-gable roof. Its side halls are the Phoenix Glow Chamber and the Orchid Pavilion.

The front hall displays a plaque inscribed by Emperor Qianlong, reading “Cultivate Inner Governance Exquisitely.” Empress Dowager Cixi once resided here. Later, as Consort Yi, she gave birth to Zaichun (later Emperor Tongzhi) in March of the 6th year of the Xianfeng reign (1856) in the Hall of Beautiful Scenery at the rear of the Palace of Gathered Elegance. In the 10th year of the Guangxu reign (1884), Empress Dowager Cixi moved back to the Palace of Gathered Elegance to celebrate her 50th birthday and lived there for another ten years. The current furnishings inside and outside the Palace of Gathered Elegance remain as they were when celebrating her 50th birthday.

At that time, to celebrate Empress Dowager Cixi’s 50th birthday, the Palace of Gathered Elegance, Palace of Prolonging Happiness, and other areas were thoroughly renovated, costing 630,000 taels of silver, making the Palace of Gathered Elegance the most exquisitely decorated palace among the Western Six Palaces. In the courtyard of the Palace of Gathered Elegance, there are two robust ancient cypresses; at the base of the terrace, there is a pair of bronze dragons and a pair of bronze deer on the east and west sides respectively. The exterior eaves of the Palace of Gathered Elegance are painted with the understatedly colored “Suzhou-style decorative paintings,” featuring themes such as flowers, birds, fish, insects, landscapes, figures, and immortal tales; the doors and windows are carved from high-quality nanmu wood, featuring patterns like “Ten Thousand Blessings and Longevity” and “Five Blessings Surrounding Longevity.”

The corridor walls are engraved with flattering inscriptions in regular script, written respectfully by ministers. These decorations render the entire courtyard solemn and classic. The interior of the Palace of Gathered Elegance is exquisitely and luxuriously furnished. Behind the central room is a glass screen backed with nanmu carvings. In front of the screen is a raised platform, on which sits a sandalwood screen inlaid with the character for longevity, flanked by a throne, incense table, palace fans, and an incense burner.

The door of the Palace of Gathered Elegance is made of nanmu wood, carved with a swastika-patterned base, five bats holding a longevity symbol, and skirt panels featuring “Ten Thousand Blessings and Longevity”; the windows are fitted with step-patterned lattice windows with swastika round longevity motifs. The inner eaves decoration is exquisite and luxurious.

The center of the main room features a floor-standing screen throne, behind which stands a five-panel sandalwood screen inlaid with longevity characters, with a plaque hanging above reading “Great Round Mirror of Treasure.” To the east is a glass partition with rosewood carvings of bamboo-patterned skirt panels, and to the west is a glass partition with rosewood carvings of magnolia-patterned skirt panels, separating the eastern and western side rooms from the main room.

The eastern side and end rooms are separated by a rosewood openwork grapevine-patterned floor screen. The southern part of the eastern side room has a heated brick bed, while the northern part of the screen contains a raised stand, tables, and chairs; the southern part of the eastern end room has a heated brick bed, while the northern part has an octagonal screen. The western side and end rooms are separated by a rosewood partition with a large glass inset framed by a border of “Ten Thousand Blessings and Longevity” motifs, with windbreak partitions inside. The southern and northern parts of the western side room both have heated brick beds, while the western end room serves as a warm chamber, functioning as a bedroom, with a heated brick bed in the south and a sleeping bed in the north.

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