Prince Gong's Mansion, the largest palace in the Qing Dynasty, is also the most well-preserved palace in China.
A palace of Prince Gong, half of the history of the Qing Dynasty
In 1776 A.D., He Shen was favored by Emperor Qianlong, and he was repeatedly promoted during this year, from the imperial guard to the right attendant of the household department, the minister of military aircraft, the minister of internal affairs, the deputy capital of Manchuria with the yellow flag, and the vice president of the National History Museum.
In 1780 AD, Emperor Qianlong's tenth princess Gulun and Princess Xiao, married Heshen's eldest son, Fengshen Yinde, and Heshen was even more powerful.
On February 9, 1796, Qianlong Chan was located in the fifteenth son of Yanyan, who was the ruler of the government for Emperor Jiaqing, and Shen, and Emperor Jiaqing secretly determined to eradicate Heshen and shun the government.
On February 7, 1799, the third day of the first lunar month, Qianlong died.
Three days later, Emperor Jiaqing officially investigated and dealt with Heshen, and on February 18, he announced that Heshen had 20 major crimes, and ordered to raid his home, and he got 800 million taels.
The Heshen Mansion was given to Prince Qing Yongxuan, and it was called King Qing's Mansion at the time.
With the changes of the years, the Qingwang Mansion has experienced the change of the owners of Yongxuan's third son, Mianxuan, the grandson of Prince Yixuan, Yicai, the fifth son of Yongxuan, and Yixuan, the son of Mianxuan.
In 1850, Prince Gong was ordered to divide the mansion, and in 1852 he moved into the mansion and became the seventh owner, so it was called Prince Gong's Mansion.
In the Second Opium War, in 1860, the British and French forces invaded Beijing, Emperor Xianfeng fled to Chengde, and Yi stayed in Beijing with full power to send ministers to sign the "Beijing Treaty".
In August 1861, Emperor Xianfeng died, and Zaichun, who was only 6 years old, ascended the throne as Emperor Tongzhi.
Yi and the Empress Dowager of Ci'an and Cixi jointly launched the Xinyou coup d'état, abolished the power of the eight ministers of Gu Ming, and established the system of the two palaces to listen to the government and the prince to assist the government, which accelerated the decline of the Qing Dynasty.
In 1895, Yi died of illness, and his grandson Puwei was ordered by the Empress Dowager Cixi to inherit the title and residence of Prince Gong.
In January 1912, Pu Wei fled from Prince Gong's Mansion, and on February 12, the Qing Emperor abdicated, ending the history of Prince Gong's Mansion.
Prince Gong's Mansion, from the first master He Shen to the last master Pu Wei at the end of the Qing Dynasty, witnessed the rise and fall of the Qing Dynasty.
A palace of Prince Gong, half of the history of the Qing Dynasty
Prince Gong's Mansion has four uniques, the Western Gate, the Grand Theater Building, the Rear Cover Building and the Kangxi Fu Word Tablet.
Western gate, built by Yi, is the main gate of the back garden, the door is "quiet containing Taikoo", engraved "Xiuru Hengchun", white marble stone carving, imitation of the Yuanmingyuan Da Shui Fa Haiyuan gate built, Western arch style, very magnificent.
The Grand Theatre is a unique fully enclosed theatre in our country, built in the Tongzhi period, it is the place for Prince Gong and his relatives and friends to watch the play, and the Empress Dowager Cixi also came here to watch the play.
In 1936, the grandson of Yi and the famous painter Pu Ru celebrated the birthday of his mother, Mrs. Xiang, and the famous actors in the Peking Opera industry gathered in the Grand Theater at that time, which was the last hall of the Grand Theater of Prince Gong's Mansion.
In 1988, during his visit to China, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew named him to go to the Grand Theatre of Prince Gong's Mansion to admire the royal mansion**, and praised Chinese classical music and its grand theatre.
Located at the junction of the mansion and the garden, 111 houses are connected in a row, more than 180 meters long, which is the longest building in the domestic palace building, and is described as "99 and a half houses".
There is a rockery in the back garden, called Dicuiyan, Taihu Lake stone is stacked, the top of the rockery is the commanding height of the whole garden, the building on the top is called "green sky Xiaoyin", the platform is "inviting the moon platform", it is the place to enjoy the moon.
The secret cloud cave under the Dicui Rock has the word tablet of Kangxi "Fu", also known as "Kangxi Yufu".
During the Qianlong period, the Kangxi Fu character tablet mysteriously disappeared, and the Qianlong Emperor was relieved with the eight characters of "the appearance of cloth clothes, blessing the people".
In 1962, ** came to investigate the rebuilding of Prince Gong's Mansion, and archaeologists accidentally found a precious Fuzi tablet in the Miyun Cave.
The prime minister happily named it "China's first blessing", also known as "the world's first blessing".
The times have changed, and the fate of Prince Gong's Mansion has gone through several twists and turns, with cultural relics sold and buildings destroyed.
It was restored in the 80s, and on August 17, 1988, Prince Gong's Mansion Garden was opened to the public.
On August 20, 2008, the renovated Prince Gong's Mansion was opened to the public.
View the king's mansion and read the history.
The Qing Dynasty closed itself off from the country and was finally broken by the world trend.
An attraction of a lifetime