Shou'an Palace

　　Shou'an Palace is situated on the Outer Western Road of the Inner Court, north of Shoukang Palace and south of Yinghua Hall. It was first constructed in the Ming Dynasty and was originally called Xianxi Palace. In the fourth year of the Jiajing era (1525), it was renamed Xian'an Palace. In the early Qing Dynasty, the Ming system was retained. During the Yongzheng era, the Xian'an Palace Official School was established here. In the 16th year of the Qianlong reign (1751), the Xian'an Palace Official School was relocated. In the same year, to celebrate the Empress Dowager’s 60th birthday, Emperor Qianlong renovated the palace and renamed it Shou'an Palace. In the 25th year of Qianlong’s reign (1760), to mark the Empress Dowager's 70th birthday celebrations, a three-story grand theater stage was added in the courtyard. In the fourth year of the Jiaqing reign (1799), the stage was demolished, and the backstage building was reconstructed into the rear hall of Chunxi Palace.

　　Shou'an Palace is 107 meters long from north to south and 78 meters wide from east to west, covering a total area of 8,400 square meters. It is divided into three courtyards from front to back, with separate wings on the east and west sides. The main gate, Shou'an Gate, consists of three glazed walls integrated into the wall, with a four-panel wooden screen door and screen wall inside the central gate, topped with yellow glazed tiles. The main hall of the first courtyard is Chunxi Palace. The date of the original building’s destruction is unknown; the current structure was rebuilt in 1989. This hall faces south, is five bays wide, has a single-eave hip-and-gable roof covered with yellow glazed tiles, features a door in the central bay, and lattice windows in the others. The hall has passageway doors on both sides, connecting to the second courtyard.

　　The main hall of the middle courtyard, Shou'an Palace, is five bays wide and three bays deep, with a hip-and-gable roof covered with yellow glazed tiles. The central bay is set back by one bay and features four panelled doors with a “step-patterned screen” design, while the side bays have lattice windows. The rear eaves have a door in the central bay and lattice windows in the side bays. On either side of the hall, the gable walls extend with corner towers that embrace each other and connect to the two gable walls of the rear hall of Chunxi Palace to the south. Behind Shou'an Palace is the third courtyard, where rockeries are arranged. On the east and west sides of the courtyard are small halls, each three bays wide, named Fuyi Studio and Xuanshou Hall.

　　Shou'an Palace served as the residence for the Empress Dowager, imperial concubines, and other noblewomen. During the Ming Dynasty, Empress Dowager Rensheng and the wet nurse Ke Shi from the Tianqi era once lived here. During the Qianlong era, for the 60th and 70th birthday celebrations of Empress Dowager Xiaoshengxian, Emperor Qianlong personally led the Empress, princes, and imperial grandsons to kneel and pay respects, serve tea and meals, perform the “Xi Qi Dance” in front of the hall to celebrate her birthday, and host banquets within the palace. Nobles, ministers, princesses, and concubines sat in the side towers on the east and west to enjoy the performances.

　　In the 41st year of Qianlong’s reign (1776), the Changyin Pavilion Theater stage was completed. The following year, the Empress Dowager passed away, and the Shou'an Palace theater gradually fell into disuse. In the 4th year of the Jiaqing reign (1799), approval was given to dismantle the Shou'an Palace stage, and the backstage building was reconstructed into the rear hall of Chunxi Palace to store costumes and props of the Nanfu Shengping Office.

　　After the establishment of the Palace Museum in 1925, Shou'an Palace was converted into the Palace Museum Library, a function it still serves today. Shou'an Palace is both the name of the main hall and the collective term for this architectural complex. The Shou'an Palace complex faces south and is 78 meters wide and 107 meters long, covering a total area of 8,400 square meters. It is divided into three courtyards from front to back, with separate wings on the east and west.

　　Shou'an Gate: The main gate of Shou'an Palace, consisting of three glazed walls integrated into the wall. The central gate has a four-panel wooden screen door and screen wall, topped with yellow glazed tiles. Chunxi Palace: The main hall of the first courtyard. The original building’s destruction date is unknown; the current structure was rebuilt in 1989. Chunxi Palace faces south, is five bays wide, has a single-eave hip-and-gable roof covered with yellow glazed tiles, features a door in the central bay, and lattice windows in the others. There are passageway doors on the left and right leading to the second courtyard. East and West Side Halls: Located on the left and right sides in front of Chunxi Palace. Shou'an Palace: The main hall of the second courtyard. It is five bays wide and three bays deep, with a hip-and-gable roof covered with yellow glazed tiles. The central bay is set back by one bay and features four panelled doors with a step-patterned screen design, while the side bays have lattice windows. The rear eaves have a door in the central bay and lattice windows in the side bays. The gable walls on both sides of Shou'an Palace have corner towers that embrace each other and connect to the two gable walls of the rear hall of Chunxi Palace to the south. Fuyi Studio and Xuanshou Hall: Located behind Shou'an Palace in the third courtyard. Rockeries are arranged in the courtyard, with a small three-bay hall on each side — the eastern one is called “Fuyi Studio” and the western one “Xuanshou Hall.”

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