Palace of Earthly Tranquility

　　The Palace of Earthly Tranquility is one of the three rear palaces in the inner court of the Forbidden City in Beijing. It is situated behind the Hall of Union and was first constructed in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1420). It was destroyed twice by fire—in the 9th year of the Zhengde reign (1514) and the 24th year of the Wanli reign (1596)—and was rebuilt in the 33rd year of the Wanli reign (1605). The Qing Dynasty followed Ming practices and renovated it again in the 2nd year of the Shunzhi reign (1645). In the 2nd year of the Jiaqing reign (1797), a fire in the Hall of Heavenly Purity spread to the front eaves of this palace, leading to another renovation in 1798. The Hall of Heavenly Purity symbolizes the masculine principle, while the Palace of Earthly Tranquility represents the feminine principle, signifying the union of yin and yang and the harmony of heaven and earth.

　　The Palace of Earthly Tranquility faces south and has a width of nine bays including corridors and a depth of three bays, topped with a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof covered in yellow glazed tiles. Following the example of the Qingning Palace in Mukden (Shenyang), the Qing rebuilt it by changing the original central bay door into an entrance from the eastern side bay, replacing the original partition doors with double-panel wooden doors, and converting the lattice windows in the other bays into straight-lattice hanging windows. The eastern side of the interior was divided into two warm chambers to serve as bedrooms. The western side of the four rooms near the door featured heated kang beds on three sides—south, north, and west—for use in deity worship. Opposite the door at the rear eaves, a kitchen stove was installed for slaughtering animals and cooking meat. Since it was for imperial use, the kitchen area was fitted with lattice doors and ornate gilded screens, all elaborately and luxuriously decorated.

　　After its renovation, the Palace of Earthly Tranquility became the main site for Manchu shamanistic rituals in the Qing imperial palace. The two easternmost rooms served as the bridal chamber during imperial weddings. The walls were painted red, and the ceiling was adorned with double happiness lanterns. The bridal chamber had doors on the east and west sides. The inside of the west door and the outside of the east door were decorated with gold-lacquered “double happiness” characters on both the wooden screen walls, symbolizing “meeting joy upon exiting.” A dragon-and-phoenix bridal bed was placed in the northwest corner. Emperors would stay here for two days during their wedding before moving to other palaces. Those who became emperor after marriage did not enjoy this privilege. As a result, only the three underage emperors who ascended the throne early in the Qing Dynasty—Kangxi, Tongzhi, and Guangxu—used this bridal chamber. In the 4th year of the Kangxi reign (1665), Emperor Kangxi held the wedding cup ceremony in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility under the direction of the Grand Empress Dowager. The weddings of Emperors Tongzhi and Guangxu, as well as the marriage of Puyi, also took place here. After the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, emperors moved to reside in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and empresses no longer lived in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.

　　The Qing imperial family conducted various rituals and sacrifices throughout the year. This was also one of the important duties of the emperor and empress. Among these, some ceremonies were performed by the empress herself, and they took place in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. The Manchu people had deep reverence for deities, making worship and ritual sacrifice extremely important to them. Additionally, Manchu residential design differed from Han Chinese customs. According to traditional Manchu customs, houses generally had three sections—west, middle, and east—with the main gate facing south. The western room was called the west upper chamber, the middle the main hall, and the eastern the east lower chamber. The west upper chamber had heated kang beds on the south, west, and north sides, with the west kang being the most honorable, the north kang second, and the south kang the least. Since west was considered the most revered direction, altars or spirit tablets were placed on the west wall. The west kang was usually not used for sleeping, and among the north and south kangs, the south kang was more prestigious, occupied by elders, while the north kang was used by younger members.

　　For these reasons, in the 12th year of the Shunzhi reign, the Qing Dynasty renovated the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. Except for the two connecting rooms at the east and west ends, they converted the four westernmost rooms according to Manchu customs into a space for ritual worship. The third room from the east was made into a doorway and changed into a pair of double doors. Opposite the entrance, three large pots were installed for boiling meat for rituals. Daily worship was conducted in the morning and evening. On major sacrificial days and the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month, the emperor and empress personally performed the rituals. During grand celebrations and New Year’s Day, the empress also held celebratory ceremonies here.

　　Therefore, very few empresses actually resided long-term in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. Most empresses had their own living quarters in the Six Eastern and Western Palaces. For instance, Empress Xiaohui of Emperor Shunzhi lived in the Palace of Longevity and Health, and Empress Xiaoxian of Emperor Qianlong lived in the … (text cut off).

　　The Palace of Earthly Tranquility served as the central palace for empresses during both the Ming and Qing dynasties. During the Ming Dynasty, the emperor resided in the Hall of Heavenly Purity, making the Palace of Earthly Tranquility the empress's living quarters. In 1644, when Li Zicheng’s peasant rebellion captured Beijing, Empress Zhou of Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. By the Qing Dynasty, as the emperor’s office moved from the outer court to the Hall of Heavenly Purity in the inner court, and the bedroom shifted westward to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Palace of Earthly Tranquility became the formal central palace in name only.

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