Welcome to "Yiqi Liao-Things about the Forbidden City", I am Yilin.
Do you think that the harems of ancient emperors were all independent courtyards, with different styles and grandeur?
We all seem to think that "Three Thousand Beautiful Women in the Harem" is the normal state of the ancient royal family. However, according to historical records, Huang Taiji had only 15 concubines, and these concubines lived in Dongxi except for the five concubines of Chongde. The palace is equivalent to today's dormitory!
Then come and take a look with me.
The Shenyang Forbidden City uses the Phoenix Tower as the demarcation point, and behind the Phoenix Tower is the harem, which is a typical northern "siheyuan" form.
The most special thing is that the entire harem is raised 4 meters above the ground to form a "gong high and low palace" architectural pattern, which is completely opposite to the "gong low and hall high" architectural pattern in the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Of course, as the imperial palace of the early Qing Dynasty, the architectural pattern of “high palace and low palace” of the Shenyang Imperial Palace reflects the distinctive characteristics of Manchu culture.
The Manchus used to live in mountainous areas. First of all, the residence was built on a high platform to prevent attacks from beasts or other tribes; second, the northern area was cold, and the building of houses on high places could play a role in keeping warm to a certain extent. The Shenyang Imperial Palace followed The traditional customs of the early Manchus.
The Forbidden City in Beijing was the first palace of the Ming Dynasty. It was dominated by Han culture. The architectural pattern of "high palace and low palace" demonstrated the majesty of the monarch and the supremacy of imperial power.
However, even in the huge Forbidden City, only concubines with higher grades can be allocated private rooms, and concubines with lower grades can only sleep in the dormitory.
The first queen officially canonized in the Qing dynasty was the queen of Huangtaiji, the Bolzigit family of Zhezhe, and the Qingning Palace in the Shenyang Forbidden City was Zhezhe's bedroom.
It is said that Qingning Palace fully embodies the characteristics of Manchu traditional dwellings. So what are the differences?
"Yi Qi Liao" we will continue to talk in the next issue!
Okay, thanks for watching this issue of "Yiqi Liao", I am Yilin, see you next time!
Producer: Diao Haiyang
Planning/Appearance: Wang Yilin
Camera: Li Lingli and Wang Yilin
Production: Wang Yilin
Editor in charge: [Wang Yi]