Chapter 4 Lecture 22

From Jiaotai Hall to Kunning Palace is a small courtyard, which I call the Courtyard of Kunning Palace.The courtyard is not big, the distance from the base of Jiaotai Hall to Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace is only 14.15 meters.This courtyard is purely a harem, surrounded by strict rules.The east veranda (east chamber) of the hall is mainly the imperial dining room, and the west veranda (the west chamber) is mainly the imperial pharmacy and imperial tea room, as well as the duty room of the imperial physician.The emperor and empress have everything they need to eat, drink, see a doctor, take medicine, etc., which is very convenient.This small courtyard has a lot of doors: the east veranda has three gates—from south to north, Jinghe Gate, Yongxiang Gate, and Jihua Gate, leading to the East Sixth Palace; the west veranda has three gates— From south to north, there are Longfu Gate, Zengrui Gate and Duanze Gate, leading to the West Sixth Palace.

The plane of Jiaotai Hall is square, with 3 rooms in width and 3 in depth, totaling 9 rooms, 20.6 meters in length and 20.6 meters in width, and an area of ​​about 424 square meters.Single eaves, yellow glazed tiles, pointed corners, and a gold-plated roof in the middle.The Jiaotai Hall of the last three palaces and the Zhonghe Hall of the first three halls are both square in plan. Their architectural form and regulatory pattern echo from north to south and are symmetrical to each other, which is both harmonious and beautiful.Inside the hall, there is a caisson at the top of the center, and a dragon holding a pearl in the middle, with complex structure and exquisite craftsmanship.The throne in the temple is located on the meridian, that is, the central axis.There are four screens behind the throne, and Emperor Qianlong's imperial book "Jiaotai Palace Inscription".In the hall hangs a plaque written by Emperor Kangxi - "Wuwei". I checked the word "inaction" and found that it appeared about 13 times in the book "Lao Tzu". "Laozi" said: "The sage said: 'I do nothing, and the people transform themselves; I am quiet, and the people are righteous; I have nothing to do, and the people are rich; I have no desires, but the people are simple.'" (fifth Chapter 17) What did Emperor Kangxi think when he wrote the word "inaction"?How did his descendants understand it?Emperor Kangxi may be warning his descendants: the emperor has no desires, and the people are self-sufficient; in governing the country, one must be "inaction" - not toss about.

Jiaotai Hall not only shows architectural features and practical functions, but also contains profound ethics and philosophy.The name of this palace is "Jiaotai Hall". It has been nearly five hundred years since it was built until now, and the name has not changed, which is not easy. The time when Jiaotai Hall was first built is said to be the Jiajing period, and another said to be the eighteenth year of Yongle (1420). "History of Ming Dynasty Yufu Zhi" records: "(Yongle) built Beijing in the eighteenth year, and all the palaces and gates are regulated, just like Nanjing, which is more magnificent. In China and North Korea, it is called Fengtian Temple, and it is a house with 8,350 couplets. ...The north is called Qianqing Gate, and the inside is Qianqing Palace, which is called the main bedroom. Later, it is called Jiaotai Palace. Later, it is called Kunning Palace, which is the residence of the middle palace."

The name of Jiaotai Hall comes from "Book of Changes". "Book of Changes" said: Tian Xingjian, the gentleman strives for self-improvement; the terrain is Kun, the gentleman carries things with virtue.Qian, symbolizes heaven, male, and yang; Kun, symbolizes earth, female, and yin.Therefore, dry versus Kun, sky versus earth, male versus female, yang versus yin.Not only to be right, but also to pay; not only to pay, but also to be honest—the key is Thai.Heaven and earth, heaven and earth, and yin and yang are divided into two and combined into one.Here, the relationship between heaven and earth, heaven and earth, and yin and yang is expected to be "Tai".Heaven and earth, universe, and yin and yang are contradictory and opposite, and the result of their intersection must be balanced.Heaven and earth, heaven and earth, and yin and yang intersect to make Tai'an, Taining, Taihe, and Taishun. This is the ethics and philosophy contained in "Jiaotai Temple".

Jiaotai Hall has three main functions: one is to celebrate the queen's birthday, the other is to store timekeeping and timekeeping instruments, the third is to treasure the emperor's seal, and others. The Hall of Zhonghe is for men, while the Hall of Jiaotai is for women.The emperor's birthday is called Wanshou Festival, and he is first seated in the Hall of Zhonghe to receive congratulatory gifts from ministers and others; the birthday of the empress is called Qianqiu Festival, and the celebration is held in Jiaotai Hall.Empresses of the Ming and Qing Dynasties came to the Taidian Hall to be congratulated on the three major festivals of New Year's Day, Winter Solstice, and Qianqiu (Empress's birthday).On the Empress's Qianqiu Festival, civil and military officials from inside and outside the country enter congratulatory papers in advance. On that day, the empress first goes to the empress dowager, the emperor, and then the Royal Jiaotai Palace to celebrate.During court congratulations, imperial concubines, noble concubines, concubines, concubines, princesses, Fujin (wives of princes, county kings, sons, and Baylor), wives (wives of ministers with imperial edicts), etc., all have to kneel down here. Three knocks.

The ceremonies are grand—from Jiaotai Hall to Qianqing Gate, Chen Liaijia, Cheyu, Zhonghe Shaole, and Danbi Dale; the hierarchy is distinct—the imperial concubine, concubine, and concubine stand outside the gate of the hall, and the princess, Fujin The following, the second-rank married women and above, all gather outside the Longzong Gate.During the ceremony, noble concubines, concubines, princesses, Fujin, etc., dressed in formal attire, went to the Jiaotai Hall and were promoted to Danbi, standing in sequence on the east and west sides of the hall.Queen's Royal Palace, let's have fun.The queen's dress is ascended to the seat, and the music stops.Concubines, concubines, princesses, Fujin, wives, etc. all stand in order.Dan Bi is happy to make a big salute.After the ceremony, let the music stop.Noble concubine, concubine, concubine, princess, Fujin, and life wife, each resume their positions.After the ceremony, the queen returned to the palace, and each retreated. ("Da Qing Hui Dian")

During the Qianqiu Festival, the empress bestows gold, silver, silk and satin, treasures, etc., mostly in the Jiaotai Hall.For example, on July 12th in the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856), Empress Ci’an was 20 years old; on the 10th day of the first month in the 22nd year of Guangxu (1896), Empress Longyu was 30 years old. Congratulations on food and more. ("Records of the Ministry of Internal Affairs") As a queen, the highest pursuit is the "Three Happiness": take a sedan chair from the middle gate of the five gates - Daming Gate (Daqing Gate), Chengtian Gate (Tiananmen), Duanmen, Meridian Gate, Fengtian Gate (Taihe Gate) The joy of the big wedding in the imperial palace, the joy of sitting in the Jiaotai Hall and waiting for concubines to celebrate the birthday of the Qianqiu Festival, and the joy of being able to have a son to succeed to the throne and become the empress dowager herself.Unfortunately, none of the empresses in the Forbidden City can share the "three joys".

In addition to holding ceremonies for the Queen's birthday, New Year's Day, and winter solstice, Jiaotai Hall also has an important function of timing and telling the time for the court.