Admiring the Red Walls and Golden Tiles: The Ming and Qing Imperial Palace – Part 11: The Western Six Palaces (Part Two) (Revised Edition)

My 2021 Forbidden City series, the seventeen-part serial 'Admiring the Red Walls and Golden Tiles: The Ming and Qing Imperial Palace', has been generously read by many readers. Some readers offered comments and suggestions, pointing out errors. This revised edition, a second printing, incorporates the feedback from earlier readers, enriches the content, corrects typos, and updates and supplements some images. Though I dare not claim to have corrected all mistakes, most should have been set right. I’ve detailed the top-tier ancient Chinese palace architecture seen while admiring the Ming and Qing Imperial Palace, some royal relics exhibited in the Forbidden City, and traces of Qing court life, as well as stories and legends associated with the palace. It’s not so much 'to feast the readers,' but rather to share with you. Thank you.

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After visiting Taiji Hall, you still have to exit through the Taiji Gate. Go north to the West Second Horizontal Lane; the western section's gate is Fuhua Gate. The western part of the Second Horizontal Lane is blocked, having been merged inside with Taiji Hall and Changchun Palace.

To the east, there is a courtyard — this is Yikun Palace. Inside the palace gate stands a wooden screen door that can be opened and closed.

Yikun Palace corresponds to Chengqian Palace in the Eastern Six Palaces. Over there, Cheng means 'to comply,' and Qian is 'Heaven.' Over here, Yi means 'to revere,' and Kun is 'Earth.' Together they imply 'comply with Heaven and revere Earth,' similar in meaning to Qianqing and Kunning, the two rear palaces on the central axis. Qianqing and Kunning Palaces have stood on the north-south central axis of the inner court since the early Ming dynasty. Chengqian and Yikun Palaces, on the other hand, lie on the east-west axis of the inner court, and were renamed during the Jiajing and Chongzhen reigns of the Ming dynasty. The ancient Chinese emperors’ apparent reverence for Heaven and Earth was really quite hypocritical. They claimed imperial power was bestowed by Heaven, so everyone else had to obey, and no one dared disrespect the Old Man in the Sky. And the Earth was their realm, ruled by them on Heaven’s behalf, and also the plate from which they harvested silver.

In the early Ming dynasty, Yikun and Chengqian Palaces were called Wan’an Palace and Yongning Palace. Back then, the names of the Eastern Six Palaces formed one system, and those of the Western Six Palaces another. Inside the gate of Chengqian Palace is a wooden screen wall, while here in Yikun Palace it’s a wooden screen door — not completely symmetrical.

The main hall in the front courtyard of Yikun Palace also has five bays wide, with dougong brackets and post-and-beam construction, a single-eave hip-and-gable roof covered in yellow glazed tiles, and five ridge beasts. It has covered corridors at both front and back. On the horizontal beams are traces of double-phoenix hexi painting, definitely original Qing dynasty work. In front of the main hall is a two-chi-high platform with a flight of steps in the center, featuring a carved stone slab within. The front courtyard also has three-bay-wide eastern and western side halls, with side rooms attached to the northern walls of these side halls — all following the standard layout of the Eastern and Western Six Palaces.

Take a look at the western side hall of Yikun Palace.

Look at the rear courtyard of Yikun Palace.

The rear courtyard follows the same layout as other palaces: the rear hall has a flush-gable roof covered in yellow glazed tiles, also with covered corridors. In the southeastern corner, you can see the well platform and well cover; the well pavilion is long gone.

In the late Qing dynasty, the back wall of the central bay of Yikun Palace’s rear hall was opened up to create a passage hall. Look at the rear hall of Yikun Palace, now called Tihe Hall (Hall of Harmony and Nourishment). On the architrave hangs a plaque inscribed by Empress Dowager Cixi: 'Xiang Feng Wei Lin' ('Soaring Phoenixes Make the Grove'), implying this place is a grove to which phoenixes will come.

During the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty, Noble Consort Zheng lived here — the famous female protagonist of the Ming dynasty 'Club-bashing Case.' Zheng was initially made Shubin (Consort of Goodness) when nine concubines were enfeoffed in the tenth year of Wanli (1582). The following year, she became pregnant and was promoted to Defei (Consort of Virtue); the year after that, pregnant again, she was promoted to Guifei (Noble Consort). In the fourteenth year of Wanli, she was further promoted to Huang Guifei (Imperial Noble Consort), her favor surpassing all others in the harem. In the late Ming Chongzhen period, the pitiable Noble Consort Yuan lived here. Before Chongzhen went up to Jingshan, he ordered all the imperial consorts to kill themselves, including this Noble Consort Yuan. After receiving the order, Yuan returned to Yikun Palace and dug out an old sweat cloth from the bottom of a chest that had not been used for years. She hung the ancient cloth over a beam, stood on a stool, and hanged herself. She kicked the stool away, but the cloth, being too old, snapped. Noble Consort Yuan fell to the ground in a faint. When the Chongzhen Emperor came to check, he saw her collapsed on the floor, and fearing she would be dishonored when the city fell, he grabbed a blade and hacked at her. When the soldiers of the 'Dashing King' Li Zicheng entered the palace and set fires, they paid no mind to the unconscious Yuan lying there in her mourning attire. In fact, she had not sustained fatal injuries and later fled the palace to hide; what became of her afterward is unknown.

During the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty, Consort Yi lived in Yikun Palace and gave birth to the fifth prince, Yinqi, and the ninth prince, Yintang. Yinqi was an ally of Yinzhen, while Yintang was Yinzhen’s opponent. When Yinzhen became the Yongzheng Emperor, he imprisoned Yintang, who died in jail. Because of Yintang, Consort Yi was not granted the title of Dowager Consort by Yongzheng. Following Kangxi’s last wishes, Consort Yi left Yikun Palace after forty-seven years and moved into her son Yinqi’s Prince Heng Mansion, located north of Chaoyangmennei. In the tenth year of Yongzheng (1732), Yinqi died of illness, and the following year, Consort Yi also passed away. After Consort Yi moved out, Yongzheng assigned Yikun Palace to his Imperial Noble Consort Nian, the younger sister of Nian Gengyao. Lady Nian had originally been designated by Kangxi as a secondary consort for Yinzhen, and after Yongzheng ascended the throne, she was enfeoffed as Noble Consort. Consort Nian was much favored, and during her time with Yongzheng, she bore several children with him, but none were raised to adulthood. She gave premature birth to the ninth prince, Fupei, in Yikun Palace, but he died at birth. In the end, Imperial Noble Consort Nian died in the third year of Yongzheng, and before her death, she was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort. Because Yongzheng doted greatly on Consort Nian, after the Nian Gengyao case erupted, he ultimately did not implicate the entire Nian clan, and Nian Gengyao’s father and brothers all lived out their natural lives. Consort Nian was later dramatized as Consort Hua in a certain TV drama.

During the Qianlong reign, the person living in Yikun Palace was Lady Nala, his secondary consort before he ascended the throne, who became Consort Xian after his enthronement. In the tenth year of Qianlong (1745), Consort Xian was promoted to Noble Consort Xian. In the thirteenth year of Qianlong, Empress Fucha passed away. This was a huge blow to Old Qian, and his temperament changed drastically afterward. Before that, Qianlong rarely executed disgraced ministers; after Empress Fucha’s death, he began sending convicted ministers to the execution ground in droves. In the fourteenth year of Qianlong, Consort Xian was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort, taking charge of the six palaces, and Qianlong paid for the construction of the screen door inscribed 'Guangming Shengchang' (Bright and Prosperous) inside the Yikun Gate — explaining why Yikun Palace has a screen door instead of a wooden screen wall. In the fifteenth year, Qianlong remarried and formally installed her as Empress. In the thirtieth year of Qianlong, during the emperor’s fourth southern tour, the empress dowager, the empress, and all the imperial concubines traveled en masse. After arriving in Hangzhou, for reasons unknown, Qianlong argued with the empress, and she cut her hair herself and threatened to become a nun. Qianlong bore a grudge against her from then on, wanting to depose her, but did not succeed; he merely stripped her of her titles and seals. After returning to the palace, the empress was ordered by Qianlong to live in the rear hall of Yikun Palace and forbidden to go out — effectively confined to the cold palace. In the thirty-first year, Empress Nala passed away and was buried in the concubines’ cemetery in the Eastern Qing Tombs according to the rites for a noble consort, not interred in Qianlong’s Yuling Mausoleum. The story of this second empress has also been dramatized in some TV series. After Empress Nala’s death, in the thirty-third year of Qianlong, the newly promoted Noble Consort Qing moved into Yikun Palace; ill-fated, she died of illness just six years later in year thirty-nine. Then, Consort Dun (pronounced as Dun Consort) lived in Yikun Palace, and here she gave birth to Qianlong’s favorite daughter, Princess Hexiao. Princess Hexiao was married to Heshen’s son. When the Jiaqing Emperor dealt with Heshen, he did not wipe out his son, because he needed to keep him as the husband of his own sister. Jiaqing also left half of Heshen’s mansion to Princess Hexiao and her husband, and the other half to his own full younger brother, Prince Qing Yonglin, who was also born of Imperial Noble Consort Wei Jiashi. It was only after Princess Hexiao’s death that the entire residence was given to Yonglin. Yonglin’s son Mianxing inherited Yonglin’s title and continued to live in Heshen’s mansion until the Xianfeng Emperor bought it back from Yonglin’s grandson Yikuang and bestowed it upon Prince Gong Yixin, whereupon it became Prince Gong’s Mansion. Yikuang later built a new Prince Qing Mansion two hutong lanes west of Prince Gong’s Mansion, but it no longer exists.

Just like Taiji Hall and Changchun Palace, Yikun Palace has been connected to the Chuxiu Palace behind it, forming a single compound. Let’s go to Chuxiu Palace for a look, starting with the main hall in the front courtyard.

As with the front courtyard of Yikun Palace, the eaves corridors of the main hall and the eastern and western side halls are linked by corner corridors, forming a continuous covered walkway. Now let’s look at the rear courtyard.

Its layout is the same as the rear courtyard of Yikun Palace.

Chuxiu Palace was originally called Shouchang Palace in the early Ming dynasty. In the fourteenth year of Jiajing (1533), it was renamed Chuxiu Palace, which it remains to this day.

Which Ming dynasty consorts lived in Chuxiu Palace is certainly recorded somewhere, but not disclosed to the public, so generally no one knows. In the early Qing dynasty, Emperor Kangxi’s Consort Ping first lived here. In the fourth year of Kangxi (1665), he married the granddaughter of Sonin, one of the four regents designated by the Shunzhi Emperor — Lady Heseri, who became Empress of Kunning Palace, Kangxi’s first empress. In the eighth year of Kangxi, the empress gave birth to a first son, who did not survive and died at age four. In the thirteenth year of Kangxi, the empress died during a difficult childbirth of her second son, Yinreng. In royal births, the child’s life was always prioritized, and as a result the empress passed away at twenty-one. When Kangxi was conversing with the empress’s father, the eldest son of Sonin named Gabula, he learned that Gabula also had another daughter, so Kangxi took this daughter into the palace as well. Evidently Kangxi still missed his first empress. This was in the nineteenth year of Kangxi, and Gabula’s daughter was only ten years old. She lived in Chuxiu Palace eating, playing, and passing the time as a young princess, waiting to grow up — a custom called 'waiting for the year.' In the twenty-third year of Kangxi, when the girl turned fourteen, she was specially conferred as Consort of Chuxiu Palace, becoming the second Heseri. She was one of Kangxi’s five early consorts and the youngest. In the thirtieth year of Kangxi, the Chuxiu Palace consort gave birth to a prince, but he lived only five weeks. In the thirty-fifth year of Kangxi, she died of illness, and Kangxi posthumously honored her as Consort Ping.

During the Qianlong era, the most famous resident of Chuxiu Palace was Consort Ling, Lady Wei Jiashi. Wei Jiashi likely entered the palace before the ninth year of Qianlong (1744), though there is no record of whether she was a seamstress or a weaver. Later, somehow she caught the eye of Empress Fucha, who recommended her to the emperor. In the tenth year of Qianlong, she was first enfeoffed as a noble lady, and by November became Ling Pin, the foremost among all the concubines. In the thirteenth year of Qianlong, she rose to Consort Ling, second only to Hongli’s old favorites from before his enthronement. In the twenty-fourth year of Qianlong, she was further promoted to Noble Consort Ling and gave birth to the fifteenth prince, Yongyan. In the thirtieth year of Qianlong, she accompanied the emperor on his southern tour, during which the incident of Empress Nala cutting her own hair occurred. After returning from the southern tour, Noble Consort Ling was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort and moved from Chengqian Palace into Chuxiu Palace. After Empress Nala’s death, Qianlong never again appointed an empress, so Consort Ling became the de facto empress. In the snowy winter of the thirty-ninth year of Qianlong, she went north with the emperor to Rehe to tread through snow in search of plum blossoms, but fell ill upon returning. Qianlong moved her into the eastern side chamber in the rear hall of the Yangxin Hall — a room that should have been the empress’s residence; a consort should have stayed in the western side chamber. In early Qianlong forty, Consort Ling passed away in that eastern side chamber.

After the Qianlong era, the secondary consort of the soon-to-be Jiaqing Emperor before his enthronement, Lady Niohuru, who became his second empress, eventually lived in Chuxiu Palace. Later, Empress Tongjiashi of the Daoguang Emperor also resided in Chuxiu Palace throughout. In the second year of Xianfeng (1852), during the selection of palace ladies, a girl of the Yehe Nara clan was chosen and given the title of Lan Guiren (Orchid Noble Lady). Two years later, she was fortunate enough to be favored by Xianfeng and was promoted to Yi Pin (Consort Yi), moving into a dormitory in the rear hall of Chuxiu Palace. At that time, there might still have been a Yu Guiren (Jade Noble Lady) living in Chuxiu Palace. In the sixth year of Xianfeng, Consort Yi gave birth to Prince Zaichun in Chuxiu Palace. At the beginning of the Tongzhi reign (1862), when the Two Empress Dowagers ruled from behind the curtain, Cixi lived in Changchun Palace. For convenience in state affairs, the two later moved to the rear courtyard of the Yangxin Hall, with Ci’an occupying the eastern side chamber of the sleeping quarters and Cixi the western side chamber. In the eleventh year of Tongzhi, the emperor married and Empress Alute moved into Chuxiu Palace, where she remained until her death in the first year of Guangxu (1875) at the age of twenty-two. In the first lunar month of the first year of Guangxu, the five-year-old Zaitian ascended the throne in the Taihe Hall. After the ceremony, he went to the Qianqing Palace to pay respects to the portrait of the late Tongzhi Emperor. Then he went to the Zhongcui Palace to pay respects to Empress Dowager Ci’an, after which he went to Changchun Palace to pay respects to Empress Dowager Cixi, and finally to Chuxiu Palace to pay respects to the Tongzhi Emperor’s Empress Jiashun, Alute. This sequence is extremely suspicious. Back when the Tongzhi Emperor was young, there was one version of the story that Cixi and Ci’an, the two empress dowagers, ruled from behind the curtain. The emperor married in the eleventh year of Tongzhi, the two empress dowagers returned power in the twelfth year, and by the end of the thirteenth year, when the emperor died, he had been personally ruling for a full year. Yet the selection of a successor emperor did not involve the Tongzhi Emperor’s empress, which was already wrong. If the young Guangxu Emperor needed an empress dowager to rule from behind the curtain, it should have been Empress Alute, the Tongzhi Emperor’s consort, doing so. Why would it have fallen to the two grand empress dowagers? Moreover, Empress Alute had been chosen by the two empress dowagers themselves. With such outrageous behavior, I reckon the Tongzhi Emperor’s empress was likely angered to death by them. I gather that since the Guangxu Emperor was the Tongzhi Emperor’s cousin, it was impossible for his sister-in-law Alute to rule from behind the curtain. Guangxu Emperor Zaitian succeeded his brother Zaichun — a case of a younger brother inheriting the elder brother’s throne. The Ming Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houcong succeeded the Zhengde Emperor Zhu Houzhao, also a younger brother succeeding his elder brother.

In the thirteenth year of Tongzhi, Cixi held her 40th birthday celebration in Changchun Palace. By the tenth year of Guangxu, it was her 50th birthday. The Guangxu Emperor, wishing to break free from the empress dowager, proposed holding the grand birthday ceremony in Chuxiu Palace. Cixi was very pleased, and modeled on how Qixiang Palace and Changchun Palace had been merged, she also opened up and connected Yikun Palace and Chuxiu Palace into what they are today. Over centuries of harem architecture, the Qing Xianfeng Emperor remodeled Qixiang and Changchun Palaces, his nephew the Guangxu Emperor remodeled Yikun and Chuxiu Palces, and his grandnephew the Xuantong Emperor, after abdicating, remodeled Yanxi Palace.

Today, Yikun Palace and Chuxiu Palace look noticeably different from other palaces — a result of the renovations for Cixi’s 50th birthday. By that time, Empress Dowager Ci’an had already died, and Cixi held sole power, so this layout, decoration, and furnishings represent the highest standard a Qing dynasty woman could achieve. According to protocol, Cixi could only govern from behind the curtain in the inner court; she was not allowed to enter the Taihe Hall, hence she could only remodel lavishly within the inner court. The main hall of Yikun Palace became the hall where Cixi received birthday congratulations, with her throne set up there. The central bay and the eastern and western side bays had redwood door canopies; inside the side bays were treasure cabinets and long tables laden with all sorts of curios. These were all birthday gifts, but according to research, nearly all were fakes and of little value at the time — the ministers feared showing their wealth. The furnishings in front of the hall also imitated those of the Taihe Hall: on the platform were a pair of bronze tripod incense burners, a pair of bronze phoenixes, a pair of bronze cranes, and a pair of bronze vats. The platform of the Taihe Hall and the Qianqing Palace in the Forbidden City have cranes and turtles, which should both be male. Cixi placed bronze phoenixes in front of her birthday hall. Although the phoenix is also male, when paired with a dragon, it carries the meaning of the empress. This main hall of Yikun Palace was Cixi’s pseudo-Taihe Hall, a hall of ritual and music. After renovation, the rear hall of Yikun Palace became Cixi’s leisure dining room — that’s Tihe Hall, with bronze phoenixes placed in front. The central bay served as a passageway; the eastern bay was a dining room, and the western bay a tea room. The Guangxu Emperor once had a matchmaking session here at Tihe Hall: he sat on the throne while five candidates stood in the courtyard. The Guangxu Emperor could observe them from the front and back, and even had them walk a few steps to check if they limped. The eastern and western side rooms of Tihe Hall were turned into corridors, connecting the front and back eaves corridors of Tihe Hall and the front courtyard of Chuxiu Palace. If the Dacheng Right Gate at the third horizontal lane of the West First Long Street were open, one could directly enter this corridor.

After renovation, the main hall of Chuxiu Palace served as Cixi’s daily living quarters. The central bay had no raised floor; instead, it was covered with carpet, on which stood a throne. Behind the throne was a mirror, called the 'Mirror Heart Screen,' inlaid with the character for 'longevity.' Above the screen hung a plaque reading 'Dayuan Baojing' (Great Round Precious Mirror).

The eastern bay was a small sitting room, while the western bay had a north kang for afternoon naps and a wooden couch by the south window for cracking melon seeds. Cixi would normally receive ministers’ reports or meet friends in this main hall, spending most of her days there. On either side of the steps in front of the platform stood a pair of bronze dragons and a pair of bronze deer. This main hall of Chuxiu Palace was Cixi’s pseudo-Qianqing Palace, the imperial living quarters. As the Eastern and Western Six Palaces were living quarters for consorts and had no formal palace functions, they originally had no ceremonial bronze animals in front. Qing empresses had their own halls, and for ceremonies they would go to Kunning Palace and Jiaotai Hall, so their residences in the inner court also didn’t need such ceremonial bronzes. Cixi was not a principal empress, so by protocol she couldn’t receive honors in Kunning Palace or Jiaotai Hall. Thus, during her 50th birthday, she displayed these ceremonial bronze animals in the inner court — and by then, there was no Empress Dowager Ci’an to obstruct her. In truth, Cixi outwardly showed respect for Ci’an, since Ci’an was the principal empress while Cixi was only a noble consort. When the two empress dowagers ruled from behind the curtain, it was Ci’an who sat in the superior seat and occupied the eastern chamber.

Take a look at the square table and the armchairs under the south window in the eastern side room of Chuxiu Palace — all made of nanmu wood.

Above it hangs a paper plaque inscribed by Cixi with the words 'Lou Zhang Xia Bu' (Carved Patterns Spread Like Rosy Clouds), meaning that the carved patterns and painted decorations in the imperial palace are like colorful clouds filling the sky. It comes from the Tang dynasty poet Jia Deng’s 'Ode to the Shangyang Palace': 'Carved patterns spread like rosy clouds, encircling like stars arrayed.' Because Cixi could write, Xianfeng hired her as a secretary, giving her the chance to rise to prominence. But to be honest, the large stele-style calligraphy here is quite impressive, though it’s said someone else ghostwrote it. Now take a look at the western side chamber.

The westernmost alcove is the bedroom. In front of the kang are layers upon layers of curtains. Some visitors exclaim, 'Didn’t Cixi feel stuffy sleeping behind so many layers of curtains?'

In the central bay of Chuxiu Palace hangs a plaque by Cixi reading 'Ren Qia Dao Feng' (Benevolence Harmonious, the Way Abundant), taken from Zhang Heng’s 'Ode to the Eastern Capital': 'Having already displayed martial glory, benevolence is harmonious and the way abundant.' Ren means benevolence, and Dao refers to the Way that gains much support. On the plaque is still the set of three seals of 'Treasure of the Imperial Brush of Empress Dowager Cixi.' Look at those doors — they’re made of golden-thread nanmu wood.

Here’s another of Cixi’s calligraphic works: a paper plaque hanging under the architrave of the eastern side hall, reading 'Xi Tian Yao Ri' (Bright Sky and Shining Sun), meaning a clear, bright sky, metaphorically signifying great fortune. It comes from Cao Zhi’s 'Seven Inspirations' from the Three Kingdoms period: 'Leaves green, blossoms crimson, bright sky and shining sun.'

The rear hall of Chuxiu Palace was renamed Lijing Xuan (Pavilion of Beautiful Scenery) by Cixi, because she gave birth to Zaichun here, making the scenery beautiful. After renovation, this became Cixi’s bedchamber: the central bay had a throne; the western side bay had a north kang for sleeping and a wooden couch by the south window for cracking melon seeds — this was Cixi’s bedroom. The eastern side bay was a small stage for Cixi’s personal use.

During this renovation, Cixi also changed the painted decorations under the eaves. Previously they would have been hexi-style painting, but now they’ve all been changed to Suzhou-style xuanzi painting.

The under-eave paintings in Zhongcui Palace of the Eastern Six Palaces are also of this Suzhou-style xuanzi type — that was a renovation by Empress Dowager Ci’an. The paintings in Changchun Palace are similar. Elsewhere in the palace, after repeated renovations and repairs, the paintings remain hexi style. The change in painting style in these few places was the doing of the two women, Cixi and Ci’an. When women take charge, they prefer a bit more comfort and less courtly atmosphere.

In the eleventh year of the Republic of China (1922), the abdicated emperor Puyi married his principal wife, Wanrong, who moved into Chuxiu Palace. Wanrong was of Daur ethnicity; according to research, her ancestors included the last Liao emperor, Tianzuo Di Yelü Yanxi. A modern-minded woman, Wanrong turned the western side chamber of Lijing Xuan in Chuxiu Palace into a Western-style dining room. The first wife Wanrong lived in Chuxiu Palace, while the second wife Wenxiu lived in Changchun Palace — both of Mr. Puyi’s wives occupied grand residences.

Parallel to Chuxiu Palace, west of the West Second Long Street, is Xianfu Palace. Xianfu Palace is now closed, so one can only gaze at it from the West Second Long Street and sigh. In the early Ming dynasty, it was called Shou’an Palace and housed empresses and consorts of previous emperors. In the fourteenth year of Jiajing, it was renamed Xianfu Palace. Its layout is the same as its counterpart Jingyang Palace in the Eastern Six Palaces: the main hall is three bays wide, with a single-eave hip roof covered in yellow glazed tiles — a higher specification than the other five palaces of the Western Six Palaces.

During the Ming Wanli reign, Consort Jing, Lady Li, lived here in Xianfu Palace. She was Zhu Yijun’s favorite consort second only to Noble Consort Zheng. In the twenty-second year of Wanli (1594), she gave birth to the sixth prince and was conferred as Consort Jing; in the twenty-fifth year, she gave birth to the seventh prince and was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort. Just ten days after giving birth to the seventh prince, she died under mysterious circumstances — truly startling. Rumors spread from various quarters that she had been done in by Zheng Guifei while ill. According to Ming eunuchs’ accounts, her postpartum illness resembled what we now call postpartum depression, a condition completely unknown to Ming court physicians; even with treatment, it would not have been curable.

During the Qing Kangxi reign, Consort Xuan, Lady Jiligulu, lived in Xianfu Palace. She was Emperor Kangxi’s cousin, and perhaps because of consanguineous marriage, she bore no children. Lady Jiligulu was decreed a consort in the twenty-sixth year of Kangxi (1687) but was not formally invested until the fifty-eighth year, becoming one of the six major consorts of the Kangxi era. After Kangxi’s death, Consort Xuan moved to the Ningshou Palace built by Kangxi, rather than the Cining Palace. In the first year of Qianlong (1736), she departed from Ningshou Palace on her final journey. Later generations only know that she died in her seventies, not the exact age — still a ripe old age. During his reign, the Qianlong Emperor liked to go incognito outside the palace, visiting places like Changdian or the homes of his ministers, such as Heshen and Ji Xiaolan. If he returned late, he would occasionally crash for a night at Xianfu Palace because it was the most remote corner of the Western Six Palaces. Thus, Qianlong treated it as a pied-à-terre and did not assign it to any consort. In his spare time, he would play the qin and chant sutras here, practicing elegance and Buddhist mindfulness. After Qianlong passed away, the Jiaqing Emperor mourned in the rear hall of Xianfu Palace, the Tongdao Hall. To express his grief, Jiaqing even pretended he couldn’t climb onto the bed, instead spreading a wool felt and a straw mat on the ground to sleep on — this was called 'shanci (mourning on straw).' After the Jiaqing Emperor, Consort Lin of the Daoguang Emperor, Lady Wuyashi, lived here. When she was still Lin Pin, in the twentieth year of Daoguang (1840), she gave birth to the seventh prince Yixuan, and was promoted to Lin Fei. The Xianfeng Emperor enfeoffed Yixuan as Prince Chun of the Second Rank; the Tongzhi Emperor promoted him to Prince Chun of the First Rank. In the tenth year of Tongzhi (1871), he collaborated with Cixi’s younger sister to produce his second son Zaitian — the later pitiable Guangxu Emperor. Consort Lin was thus the biological grandmother of Emperor Guangxu.

In the thirtieth year of Daoguang (1850), the emperor passed away. Behind the 'Upright and Brilliant' plaque, a casket contained a will designating the fourth prince Yizhu to succeed — that was the Xianfeng Emperor. The Xianfeng Emperor also mourned his father in Xianfu Palace, and afterward used the Tongdao Hall behind Xianfu Palace as his office. In the second year of Xianfeng, the new emperor held a beauty contest, and one of the prize winners, Yehe Nara, was assigned to serve in Xianfu Palace and given the fragrant title Lan Guiren (Orchid Noble Lady). Yehe Nara was seventeen at the time, considered rather advanced in age among the selected ladies. She originally came from a poor peasant family in Changzhi, Shanxi, and due to poverty, she was sold several times until she ended up in the household of Hui Zheng, the prefect of Lu’an Prefecture in Changzhi. Seeing her intelligence and quality, Hui Zheng carefully nurtured her, and she gradually became literate. Hui Zheng raised her and presented her to the emperor in the name of his own clan daughter, so as to spare his bloodline women from being conscripted. Upon entering Xianfu Palace, Lan Guiren ground ink and moistened brushes for the Xianfeng Emperor. The ink she ground did not have the unpleasant smell of Yidege ink, so Xianfeng couldn’t help writing a few more characters, and in his spare time, he favored Lan Guiren. For her meritorious service to the emperor, Lan Guiren was promoted two years later to Yi Pin (Consort Yi) and moved to the rear hall of Chuxiu Palace. Consort Yi continued to be summoned to Xianfu Palace to assist and serve the emperor; two years later, she conceived the dragon seed and, in Chuxiu Palace, gave birth to the emperor’s only son, Zaichun, and was promoted to Yi Fei. After carrying the child for ten months and giving birth to the prince, she was promoted to Yi Fei; ten months later, she was further promoted to Guifei (Noble Consort), ranking above ten thousand and below only one person among all the palace women. Thereafter, though Yi Guifei was not exactly the Xianfeng Emperor’s right-hand man, she was nearly a third hand. Not only did she assist with writing and brushes, she also practiced making marks and annotations on memorials. Xianfeng even let her comment on state affairs for his amusement, which nurtured Yi Guifei’s thirst for power. One could say it was Qianlong who planted the seeds of the Qing dynasty’s downfall, but Xianfeng was the one who fertilized those seeds with Yi Guifei as agricultural manure. Before his death, Xianfeng left two mementos: one was the ancestral small seal of Qianlong, made of Tianhuang stone, inscribed 'Yu Shang' (Imperial Reward); the other was his own Shoushan stone seal, 'Tongdao Tang' (Hall of the Shared Way). The 'Yu Shang' seal was kept by the empress, while the 'Tongdao Tang' seal was to be passed to the child emperor Tongzhi. Xianfeng’s intention was that 'all edicts issued should be stamped at the beginning and end with these seals to prevent abuse,' meaning edicts before Tongzhi’s personal rule would need both 'Yu Shang' and 'Tongdao Tang' stamps. But because Tongzhi was too young to keep the seal, the 'Tongdao Tang' seal was stolen by his mother Yi Guifei. According to Xianfeng’s will, edicts were to be drafted by regent ministers and then stamped after review by the empress dowager and the young Tongzhi — Cixi had nothing to do with it. After the Xinyou Coup, the two empress dowagers took over the curtain rule, and edicts had to be handed behind the curtain for the two empress dowagers to stamp, leaving Tongzhi entirely out of the picture.

After the Xianfeng Emperor departed west, the Tongzhi Emperor did not sleep in Xianfu Palace to mourn his father; after Tongzhi, the Guangxu Emperor also did not hold his mourning there. Finally, when Puyi ascended the throne, he was too young and even less likely to dare sleep there. Tongzhi died early without many consorts to accommodate, so Xianfu Palace lay idle for some years. Though Guangxu held out for many years, he had few consorts, and they mostly lived in the Eastern Six Palaces; moreover, he was constantly under house arrest by Cixi, so he had no chance to visit Xianfu Palace. Later, Xianfu Palace became a fur storehouse. The emperor’s sable fur coats were probably not stored here, but dog-skin mattresses were definitely stored here during the summer.

Don’t be misled by my lively description of Xianfu Palace — it is now closed, so I have no photos to post. From Xianfu Palace, return to the West Second Long Street, where you reach the end: the Hundred Children Gate. Exit through the Hundred Children Gate, make a turn or two, and you can pass through a gate into the Imperial Garden.

After touring the Eastern and Western Six Palaces, you’ve essentially seen the front halls and rear palaces where the Ming and Qing emperors worked and lived. Beyond the inner court, to the east and west, there are still some buildings with very important functions, all worth exploring.

(To be continued)