Chapter 28 2. Multiple functions

In the middle of the Hall of Zhonghe, there is a ground screen throne, and the throne is also set on the meridian, that is, the central axis.The Hall of Central Harmony has multiple functions in different periods and occasions, which is equivalent to a multi-functional hall. First, the lounge.It is the emperor's "lounge".In the Ming and Qing dynasties, before various grand ceremonies were held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the emperor took a rest in the Hall of Zhonghe and accepted the worship of deacons and officials.This is also the "lounge" where the emperor held the grand ceremony, just like the auditorium, the lounge next to the auditorium, and the VIP room.During the three major festivals of Zhengdan (Chinese New Year), Wanshou (the emperor's birthday), and winter solstice, the emperor first went to the Hall of Central Harmony to ascend his seat.

During the Cultural Revolution, there was a plan to change the Zhonghe Hall into a "people's lounge", remove the throne in the hall, place a long table, place 10 chairs, and place newspapers and magazines on the table.In fact, it is impossible for the people to rest in the Hall of Central Harmony.Soon the direction of the wind changed suddenly, and the "plan" was aborted. (Liu Beisi, "The Vicissitudes of the Forbidden City") Second, the banquet hall.According to the "Book of Que": In the 14th year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (1641), the Emperor Chongzhen's Yuzhongji Hall (Zhonghe Hall) summoned the ministers and gave them a banquet.For this banquet, the eunuch set up a banquet for thirteen people, each with a table, drinking with golden lotus cups.The cup is as tall as a bottle, with a four-inch round mouth, supported by three small stems, and a lotus handle beside it.There are more than 30 pieces of tableware for each table.Two vases are placed in front of each of them, and lotus flowers are placed in the vases.Eight officials from Guanglu Temple (responsible for the banquet) drink together.Another example is that in the first month of the fourth year of Shunzhi (1647), the Emperor Shunzhi's Palace of Imperial Harmony granted Chu Lumu Banquet to the King of Duling County in Mongolia.In August of the eighth year of Shunzhi (1651), Emperor Shunzhi received Wu Sangui, King of Pingxi, and gave him a banquet in the Imperial Palace of Zhonghe. (Volume 59 of "Records of the Ancestors of the Qing Dynasty") Emperor Shunzhi often held banquets in this hall.

Third, the chamber.Emperor Chongzhen sometimes held important meetings in Zhongji Hall (Zhonghe Hall).On the second day of March in the eleventh year of Chongzhen (1638), Ministers of the Ministry of Officials and others were called to discuss matters. One hundred thousand." They also searched for people's fat and people's anointing.Cai Guo, the right servant of the Ministry of Industry, said: "Chongwen and Xuanwu street stones, in addition to the middle road, can repair the outer city." (Volume 11 of "Records of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty") One of them was dug out, and the outer city was repaired.For this bad idea, people of insight laugh at its incompetence.On the second day of March in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644), Emperor Chongzhen convened a meeting of civil and military ministers in the Zhongji Hall (Zhonghe Hall) to deal with the current situation.At this time, it was only half a month before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, and there were more than 30 ministers present at the meeting, and their attitude was very sad: "The more than 30 people all responded and hesitated, and had no other words." ("Ming Chongzhen Records" Volume 17) The demise of the Ming Dynasty is a foregone conclusion.

Fourth, the ceremony hall.Whenever the emperor offered personal sacrifices, such as offering sacrifices to the Temple of Heaven, the Temple of Earth, Xiannongtan, Taimiao, etc., the emperor read and viewed the Zhuwen (script of prayers) in the Hall of Zhonghe the day before; Check the seeds and agricultural tools for farming here; such as the emblem of the empress dowager, the canonization of the crown prince, and the canonization of the queen, etc., the emperor reads the books here. "Records" and "Jade Documents" were completed, respectfully entered the Hall of Zhonghe, presented to the emperor for viewing, and a grand storage ceremony was held at the same time. ("Chenyuan Knowledge")

Here I will talk about "Jade Document" in particular. "Jade Document" is the emperor's family tree.The "Jade Document" of the Ming Dynasty did not survive.The "Jade Document" of the Qing Dynasty is well preserved. The compilation of the "Jade Document" was customized by the Qing Dynasty: the birth population of the royal family was registered according to the organization of the Eight Banners of Manchuria, and registered according to the household registration every year, and the yellow and red books were made and compiled into the "Jade Document".Every ten years, the "Jade Document" is revised. "The Zhu Shu of the survivors and the ink books of the dead" means that those who are alive are written with red pen, and those who are dead are written with black pen. )’s Zongling and Zongzheng were the presidents (editor-in-chief) and compiled and edited the Jade Document.

"Yellow Book" is divided into yellow book and red book, that is, the clan and Jueluo: the clan is the direct line of Qing Taizu Nurhachi's father Ta Keshi, and Jueluo is the direct line of Nurhachi's grandfather Juechang'an. There is a difference between the two—— The clan wears yellow belts, and Jueluo wears red belts, that is, yellow or red belts are tied around the waist to show the difference.What about the illegitimate children of the clan and Jueluo? The "Regulations of the Imperial Household Mansion" stipulates that the belts are also given separately, but they must be downgraded-the sons of the clan are given red belts, and the sons of Jueluo are given purple belts. The flag will not be revoked.

After the newly revised "Jade Document" was submitted to the emperor for imperial inspection, a copy was kept in Huangshicheng, Zongrenfu, and Chongmo Pavilion in Shengjing. "Jade Document" is a handwritten book with a yellow silk cover and bound into a volume.Then pack it and store it in the cabinet.The completed "Jade Document" was sent to the Hall of Zhonghe and presented to the emperor for viewing.For example, on March 13th in the 19th year of Kangxi (1680), the Emperor Kangxi's Royal Palace of Harmony, the clan mansion, the cabinet, the Ministry of Rites and other officials respectfully entered the "Jade Document", and the president compiled the officials to salute.

The etiquette for the submission and imperial inspection of the "Jade Document" was very grand and clearly graded.First, officials from the Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple set up cases in the Hall of Zhonghe according to the number of volumes of "Jade Documents", and officials from the Ministry of Industry set up colorful pavilions in the "Jade Document Hall".On the day of the ceremony, just after dawn, the princes and princes gathered outside the Taihe Gate, and all civil and military officials gathered outside the Meridian Gate, all dressed in court clothes, Wendong Wuxi, waiting in order.Presidents, princes, university scholars, ministers and editors, etc., gathered in the "Jade Document Pavilion" to respectfully present the original and copy of the new "Jade Document", put them in the preset colorful pavilion, and kneel down three times and knock down nine times in parallel. , and then Luan Yiwei officials carried the colorful pavilion forward.There are guards of honor, yellow covers and musical instruments in front.Officials below the president will follow behind on horseback.Marching from the Daqing Gate, all the officials dismounted outside Tiananmen Square; all princes and princes dismounted outside the Meridian Gate.Hundreds of officials gathered outside the Meridian Gate knelt to welcome the "Jade Document".Outside the gate of Taihe, the assembled princes knelt to welcome the "Jade Document".Caiting passed by before standing up.At the bottom of the steps of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the colorful pavilion stops.The editor respectfully presented the "Jade Document", and ascended from the middle steps to the middle gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and officials below the president ascended from the east steps to the left gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, entered the Hall of Zhonghe, and displayed the "Jade Document" on the case.The president led the commissioners, editors, etc., to kneel down three times and kowtow nine times on the east side of Danbi.Then, before the president arrived at the case, he respectfully unfolded the "Jade Document".At this time, the hall officials of the Ministry of Rites invited the emperor to wear a uniform, and left the palace in the palace, descended to the back of the Baohe Hall, and went to the Zhonghe Hall, standing on the left side of the case, facing west.The Minister of the Ministry of Rites asked the emperor to read the "Jade Document". The emperor turned from the left case to the middle case, facing north, and read the "Jade Document".After reading it, the ceremony is completed and returned to the palace.The president led the transfer, and the editor respectfully presented the "Jade Document", handed it over to the internal supervisor, and placed it in the colorful pavilion.The Luanyi Guard School, carrying the colorful pavilion, the front row of the imperial battle, the yellow cover, and the drum music, left the Forbidden City from the middle gate of the Taihe Gate, the Xiehe Gate, and the Donghua Gate, and sent the "Jade Document" to Huangshi Chengzun's collection.The assembled princes and princes were outside the gate of Taihe, and civil and military officials knelt and presented the "Jade Document" outside the gate of Xiehe.

One copy of "Jade Document" is preserved in Huangshicheng (cheng), Zongrenfu, and Chongmo Pavilion in Shengjing (Shenyang). The format of "Jade Document" has different sizes.The big "Jade Document" is hidden in Huangshicheng, and I read it in China's First Historical Archives one year.The big "Jade Document" is 90 cm long, 50 cm wide, 98 cm thick (nearly 1 meter), and weighs about 1,000 catties. It was carried from Huangshicheng to the reading room of the First Historical Archives by eight men on a large truck.This is the largest and heaviest book I have ever read.Now the First Historical Archives of China preserves the "Jade Document" from the 17th year of Shunzhi (1660) to 1921 (the 13th year of Xuantong of the Internal Administration). It has been revised 28 times, with more than 2,600 volumes.

Here, by the way, I will introduce Huang Shicheng who stored the "Jade Document".Huangshicheng is the royal archives of Ming and Qing Dynasties.Located in the east of Nankou Road, Nanchizi, it was built in the 15th year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1536). The main hall faces south from the north, with a construction area of ​​about 3,400 square meters.The whole hall is an arch-style beamless stone building, all of which are carved with stone, without a single piece of wood.The north and south walls are 6.4 meters thick, and the east and west walls are 3.45 meters thick.In the hall of the hall, there are no beams or columns, and the doors, windows, beam squares and bucket arches are all made of imitation wood and stone, which is called "stone chamber". There are 152 camphor wood cabinets covered with copper skin and carved dragons, which are called "gold cabinets".It has the functions of "four defenses" - fire, moisture, insects and mildew.Day and night in four seasons, indoor temperature, little change, relatively constant.The building is excellent, with ingenious ideas, stone building materials, and good fire resistance. It is a scientific, practical, and artistic architectural relic.Documents such as "Hadith", "Records" and "Jade Documents" are stored.

In addition, there are two east and west verandahs in front of the Zhonghe hall and two east and west verandas in the back of the hall, which are connected by Danying and become warehouses.These warehouses also have stories.Emperor Yongzheng used to hold candles here until late at night, Zhu commented on the memorials, and only three or four tenths of the total number of memorials have been published. (Zhao Lian's "Xiaoting Miscellaneous Records") Another example is that when Ertai was the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, he was highly appreciated by Emperor Yongzheng. In his memorials, there were secret orders to discuss major military affairs, and there were secret reports about the quality of the ministers' character. Volume, more than 120 articles, involving as many as 223 people, was not published at that time, the materials are precious enough to be used for governance, and are preserved in the east and west verandahs of Baohe Hall.As soon as Emperor Yongzheng came to power, he ordered it to be taken back to the palace and sealed for preservation.After reading and checking, Emperor Qianlong believed that there were some "people who must not be shown to others", what should we do?Emperor Qianlong's method was: either to delete and modify it, or to "burn his manuscript immediately".According to rough statistics, there are more than 8,000 memorials that have been approved or not approved by Emperor Yongzheng and Emperor Qianlong. There were also times when the imperial ban was slack. For example, during the Yongzheng period, Prince Gong Changning's son Duoqing was in the guard class, drunk and drowned (urinated) on the stone steps of the Zhonghe Hall.During the reign of Emperor Guangxu, Dingchang of the Ministry of Rites and Qian Chaoxuan, a clerk of the Military Aircraft Department, violated the regulations and walked by the right door behind the Palace of Baohe, and they were both discussed and punished. What the Hall of Zhonghe left to future generations is not only architectural art, but more importantly, the wisdom of Zhonghe.