Palace of Earthly Honour
The Palace of Earthly Honour (Chinese: 翊坤宫; pinyin: Yìkūngōng) is one of the Six Western Palaces in the inner court of the Forbidden City. It is situated north of the Palace of Eternal Longevity, south of the Palace of Gathering Elegance, east of the Palace of Eternal Spring, northwest of the Hall of the Supreme Principle and southwest of the Palace of Universal Happiness.[1]
History
This residence was built in 1420 and was originally called the "Palace of Ten Thousand Peace" (万安宫; Wàn'āngōng). It received its current name in 1535, during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor. The new name corresponds with the trigram "kun" ("earth") present in the name of the Palace of Earthly Tranquility (traditionally the living quarters of the empress during the Ming and early Qing dynasties) and means "assisting the ruler of the earth"; as such, the name of the palace indicates the status of an imperial consort being deputy empress. Paradoxally, it wasn't a residence exclusively reserved for high-ranking imperial consorts (noble consorts, imperial noble consorts or empresses).[2]
In 1885, the palace was connected with the Palace of Gathering Elegance, the residence of Empress Dowager Cixi. In 1889, it was the location for a selection of imperial consorts.[3]
Incidents
On 4 May 2013, an armed man broke into the main hall through a window. During the break-in, the Qing dynasty brass-plated gilded flowery chime (made in Great Britain in the 18th century) fell down from a table. Thereafter, the glass window was substituted, and the gilded flowery chime was sent to storage for expertise.[4]
Residents
Ming dynasty
| Year | Emperor | Imperial consort | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1560–1572 | Longqing | Empress Dowager Xiaoding | |
| 1581–1620 | Wanli | Noble Consort Zheng[5] | |
| 1629–1644 | Chongzhen Emperor | Noble Consort Yuan[6] |
Qing dynasty
| Year | Emperor | Imperial consort | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1677–1722 | Kangxi | Consort Yi | |
| 1722–1725 | Yongzheng | Imperial Noble Consort Dunsu | |
| 1735–1766 | Qianlong | Empress Nara[7] | After cutting her hair during the southern tour of 1765, she was confined to this palace until her death |
| 1763–1795 | Consort Dun[8] | She began supervising lower-ranked imperial consorts in 1775 | |
| 1767–1774 | Imperial Noble Consort Qinggong | ||
| 1801–1820 | Jiaqing | Concubine An[9] | She lived here under supervision as a first class attendant |
| 1822–1850 | Daoguang | Consort Xiang |
See also
References
- ^ 魏/Wei, 莉/Li (2004). 从北京故宫到避暑山庄/"A review of the Forbidden city in Peking". 山东画报出版社/Shandong Typography. p. 2004.
- ^ "Palace of Earthly Honour (Yikungong), Forbidden City, Beijing". www.travelchinaguide.com. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ "翊坤宫 - 故宫博物院". www.dpm.org.cn. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ "游客击碎故宫翊坤宫玻璃 致一文物钟表受损(图) - 延展阅读-新华网". 16 November 2013. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
- ^ 沈/Shen, 德符/Defu. "萬曆野獲編·卷三"/"Compilation of Wanli era catastrophes", Volume 3.
- ^ 《崇禎朝野紀 第五卷》/ "Chongzhen era chronicles", book 5.
- ^ 《雍和宮滿文檔案譯編》.
- ^ 《宮中雜件》/"Central Palace records".
- ^ Zhao, Erxun (1928). 'Draft History of Qing".
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