Taihe Gate

　　The main gate to the outer court palaces of the Forbidden City. It is the largest palace gate in the Forbidden City in Beijing. Originally built during the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty, it was initially called the Fengtian Gate, and was once renamed the Huangji Gate. Inside the gate lies the Taihe Hall (commonly known as the Hall of Supreme Harmony), and it can be regarded as the highest-standard gate in ancient China. 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, which are decorative pieces cast during the Ming Dynasty. A pair of bronze lions, one male on the left and one female on the right, stand guard—fierce and imposing—they are the largest of the six pairs of bronze lions in the Forbidden City.

　　On either side of the Taihe Gate are two additional gates: the Zhaode Gate to the east (called the Hongzheng Gate in the Ming Dynasty) and the Zhendu Gate to the west (called the Xuanzhi Gate in the Ming Dynasty). In the 14th year of the Guangxu reign, the Zhendu Gate caught fire, which also spread to the Taihe Gate and the Zhaode Gate. The three gates were rebuilt the following year. In front of the Taihe Gate lies a square with an area of about 26,000 square meters, through which the Inner Golden River winds from west to east. Five stone bridges span the river, commonly referred to as the Inner Golden Water Bridges. On both sides of the square are neatly arranged corridors, commonly known as the East and West Court Buildings, along with the Xiehe Gate (called the Huiji Gate in the Ming Dynasty) and the Xihé Gate (called the Guiji Gate in the Ming Dynasty) standing opposite each other. The east-side corridors were used during the Ming Dynasty as the Veritable Records Office, the Imperial Genealogy Office, and the Daily Records Office; in the Qing Dynasty, they were repurposed as the Office for Inspecting Imperial Edicts and the Inner Decree Office. The west-side corridors served as the Compilation Office for the Great Ming Code during the Ming Dynasty, and were later converted into the Book Office and the Daily Records Office in the Qing Dynasty.

　　In the sequence of the “Five Gates of the Son of Heaven,” it corresponds to the Ying Gate. “The Ying Gate is where the ruler resides to respond to governance.” Both the Ming and Qing dynasties had a system called “Imperial Door Audience,” where the emperor would hold morning court to receive homage from his ministers and handle state affairs. Before the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, emperors conducted audiences at this gate.

　　The Revised Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty from the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty contains records of the “Ceremony of the Regular Court at the Imperial Gate.” This ceremony was established by Zhu Yuanzhang when he founded the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing. After the capital was moved to Beijing, the Fengtian Gate (also called the Huangji Gate) became the venue for the Imperial Door Audience. The Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty recorded: “According to the ceremony, at the sound of the morning drums, civil and military officials would line up outside the Left and Right Side Gates. Upon the tolling of the bell and the opening of the gate, they would enter in order, cross the Golden Water Bridge, and stand facing each other on the terrace of the Huangji Gate. When the emperor took his seat on the imperial throne, the lash would sound, and officials from the Court of State Ceremonial would announce the entrance of the officials. All civil and military officials would then enter the ranks and perform a bow with three kowtows, before standing in their designated positions. Officials from the Court of State Ceremonial would announce those who came to offer thanks or bid farewell, and after reporting that the ceremonies outside the Meridian Gate were completed, they would call for the presentation of matters. Each government department would present their matters in turn until all were heard, while censors supervised the ceremony. The official from the Court of State Ceremonial would kneel and announce the end of the presentations. At the sound of the lash, the emperor would depart, and the officials would exit in order.”

　　During the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial Door Audience was set to occur three times every ten days, specifically on the 3rd, 6th, and 9th days of the ten-day cycle.

　　The great fire at the Taihe Gate was not only seen as an inauspicious omen, but it also posed a major problem: the empress was required to enter through the Daqing Gate for the emperor’s wedding, and her route passed by the Taihe Gate. If Empress Guangxu were to pass through the ruined Taihe Gate, it would have been a severe loss of imperial dignity. Rebuilding the gate in time was impossible, and with the wedding date approaching, the empress ordered numerous craftsmen to construct a colorful pavilion identical to the original Taihe Gate on its original site. The pavilion was sturdy and magnificent. During the wedding, the empress was smoothly carried into the Forbidden City. This replica “Taihe Gate” stood in the Forbidden City for over six years before being dismantled and eventually replaced with a structure built from real materials. The Taihe Gate thus became the youngest building in the Forbidden City prior to the reconstruction of the Palace of Established Happiness Garden.

The Palace Museum

Palace of Purity and Harmony

Hall of Supreme Harmony

Gate of Divine Prowess

Hall of Preserving Harmony

Hall of Imperial Supremacy

Hall of Military Eminence

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 and Peace

Imperial Garden

Palace of Eternal Spring