Gate of Supreme Harmony

Gate of Supreme Harmony

The main gate to the outer court palaces of the Forbidden City. It is the largest gate in the Palace Museum in Beijing. Originally built during the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty, it was initially called the Gate of Heavenly Praise, and was once renamed the Gate of Imperial Supremacy. Beyond the gate lies the Hall of Supreme Harmony (commonly known as the Hall of Golden Chimes), making it arguably the highest-ranking gate in ancient Chinese architecture. The existing structure was rebuilt in the 15th year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty. It is nine bays wide and three bays deep, with a floor area of 1,300 square meters. It features a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof and a white marble base. In front of the gate stand four bronze tripods, cast during the Ming Dynasty as decorative artifacts. A pair of bronze lions, one male on the left and one female on the right, fierce and imposing, are the largest of the six pairs of bronze lions in the Forbidden City.

To the left and right of the Gate of Supreme Harmony are two side gates: the Gate of Manifest Virtue (called the Gate of Grand Governance in the Ming Dynasty) on the east, and the Gate of Pristine Regulation (called the Gate of Public Order in the Ming Dynasty) on the west. In the 14th year of the Guangxu reign, the Gate of Pristine Regulation caught fire, which also damaged the Gate of Supreme Harmony and the Gate of Manifest Virtue. The three gates were rebuilt the following year. In front of the Gate of Supreme Harmony lies a plaza covering approximately 26,000 square meters, through which the Inner Golden River winds from west to east. Five stone bridges, commonly known as the Inner Golden River Bridges, span the river. On either side of the plaza are rows of neatly aligned corridors, commonly referred to as the East and West Side Halls, along with the Gate of Harmony (called the Gate of Convergence in the Ming Dynasty) and the Gate of Joyful Harmony (called the Gate of Returning to Unity in the Ming Dynasty) standing opposite each other to the east and west. The eastern corridors were used during the Ming Dynasty as the Archives of Veritable Records, the Imperial Genealogy Office, and the Daily Records Office, and were converted in the Qing Dynasty into the Office of Inspecting Imperial Edicts and the Inner Edict Office. The western corridors served during the Ming Dynasty as the Compilation Office for the Great Ming Code, and were turned in the Qing Dynasty into the Hanlin Academy and the Daily Records Office.

In the sequence of the “Five Gates of the Son of Heaven,” it corresponds to the Gate of Response. “The Gate of Response is where the ruler resides to respond to governance.” Both the Ming and Qing dynasties had the system of “Imperial Audience at the Gate,” whereby civil and military officials conducted morning court sessions, and the emperor received their homage and handled state affairs. Emperors prior to the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty all held audiences here.

The Revised Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty from the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty contains an entry on the “Ceremony of the Regular Court at the Gate.” This ceremony was established by Zhu Yuanzhang when he founded the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing. After the capital was moved to Beijing, the Gate of Heavenly Praise (also called the Gate of Imperial Supremacy) became the venue for the Imperial Audience at the Gate. The Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty records: According to the recent ceremony, when the morning court drum sounds, civil and military officials line up outside the Left and Right Side Gates. Upon the tolling of the bell and the opening of the gate, they enter in order, cross the Inner Golden River Bridge, and stand facing each other on the terrace of the Gate of Imperial Supremacy. When the emperor takes his seat on the imperial throne, the ceremonial whip is cracked, and officials from the Court of State Ceremonial announce the entrance of officials into their ranks. All civil and military officials then enter their ranks and perform a bow with three kowtows, after which they stand in their respective ranks. The Court of State Ceremonial officials announce the list of those giving thanks, paying respects, or taking leave. Once it is proclaimed that the rites outside the Meridian Gate have been completed, the officials announce the presentation of matters. Each government department presents its matters in turn until all are heard, while censors oversee the ceremony. The Court of State Ceremonial officials kneel and announce the conclusion of the presentations. The ceremonial whip is cracked again, the emperor departs, and the officials exit in order.

During the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial Audience at the Gate was set to occur three times every ten days, on the 3rd, 6th, and 9th days.

The fire at the Gate of Supreme Harmony was not only an inauspicious omen but also posed a problem for the emperor’s wedding, as the empress was required to enter through the Great Qing Gate and pass by the Gate of Supreme Harmony. If the Guangxu Emperor’s empress were to enter through the ruined Gate of Supreme Harmony, it would have been a great loss of imperial dignity. Rebuilding the gate in time was impossible, and with the imperial wedding date approaching, the empress ordered many craftsmen to erect a colorful temporary gate identical to the original Gate of Supreme Harmony at the same site—sturdy and magnificent. During the wedding, the empress was smoothly carried into the Forbidden City. This temporary “Gate of Supreme Harmony” stood in the Forbidden City for over six years before being dismantled and eventually rebuilt with real materials. The Gate of Supreme Harmony thus became the youngest structure in the Forbidden City prior to the reconstruction of the Garden of Prolonged Spring.

Address: Inside the Palace Museum, Dongcheng District, Beijing

Opening Hours:

Same as the Palace Museum opening hours.

Palace Museum

Palace of Purity

Hall of Supreme Harmony

Gate of Divine Prowess

Hall of Preserving Harmony

Hall of Martial Valor

Palace of Earthly Tranquility

Palace of Heavenly Purity

Palace of Longevity and Health

Studio of the Three Rarities

Hall of Mental Cultivation

Palace of Longevity for Peace

Imperial Garden of the Forbidden City

Palace of Eternal Spring

Meridian Gate

Hall of Literary Glory

Tower of Virtue and Benevolence

Hall of Imperial Ancestors