Palace of Earthly Honour (，pinyin: yikungong) is one of the Six Western Palaces in the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a Chinese palace, palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples includ ...

, which used to be a residence of imperial concubines. The palace is northern to

Palace of Eternal Longevity Palace of Eternal Longevity (Chinese: ; Pinyin: Yongshougong) one of the Six Western Palaces in the Forbidden City. It was a residence of imperial concubines since 1420. History Yongshou Palace was built in 1420 as a part of Inner Court's weste ...

, southern to Palace of Gathering Elegance, eastern to

Palace of Eternal Spring The Palace of Eternal Spring ( zh, 长春宫, pinyin changchungong) is one of the Six Western Palaces of the Forbidden City in Beijing, which used to be residences of imperial concubines. The palace is north of the Hall of the Supreme Principle, ...

, north-western to

Hall of the Supreme Principle Hall of the Supreme Principle () is one of the Six Western Palaces of the Forbidden City, which used to be the residences of imperial concubines. The palace is west of the Palace of Eternal Longevity, north of the Palace of Eternal Spring, and ...

and south-western to

Palace of Universal Happiness The Palace of Universal Happiness () is one of the six western palaces and was a residence of imperial concubines. The palace is north of the Palace of Eternal Spring, east of the Palace of Gathering Elegance and southeast of the Palace of Earthly ...

History

Palace of Earthly Honour was built in 1420, like most of Western Palaces as Palace of Ten Thousand Peace (万安宫；pinyin: wan'an gong). In 1535, the palace was renamed as Palace of Earthly Honor (翊坤宫) by

Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (; 16September 150723January 1567) was the 12th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu You ...

. The current name of the palace corresponds with trigram "kun" ("earth") present in the name of

Palace of Earthly Tranquility The Palace of Earthly Tranquility (; Manchu: ''kun ning gung'') is the northernmost of the three main halls of the Inner Court of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. The other two halls are the Palace of Heavenly Purity and Hall of Union. The ...

and means "assisting the ruler of earth". In a nutshell, the name of palace indicates the status of imperial consort being assistant empress. Paradoxally, the palace wasn't a residence exclusively reserved for highly ranking imperial consorts (noble consorts, imperial noble consorts and empresses). In 1885, the palace was connected with Chuxiu palace, a residence of

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu people, Manchu Nara (clan)#Yehe Nara, Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese nob ...

and was used as a place for Elegant Women Selection in 1889.

Accidents

On 4 May 2013, an armed man broke into the main hall through window. During the breakdown, the Qing dynasty brass-plated gilded flowery chime (made in Great Britain in XVIII century) fell down from a table. A craftsman working in the Palace Museum was controlling that man for 15 seconds. Thereafter, the glass window was substituted, and the gilded flowery chime was sent to a storage for an expertise.

Residents

Ming Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

{, class="wikitable" , + !Year !Imperial Consort !Emperor !Note , - , 1677-1722 , Consort Yi ,

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...

, She died in 1733 , - , 1722-1725 ,

Imperial Noble Consort Dunsu Imperial Noble Consort Dunsu (after 1679 - 23 December 1725), of the Han Chinese Bordered Yellow Banner Nian clan, was a consort of the Yongzheng Emperor. Life Family background Imperial Noble Consort Dunsu's personal name was not recorded in h ...

Yongzheng Emperor , regnal name = , posthumous name = Emperor Jingtian Changyun Jianzhong Biaozhen Wenwu Yingming Kuanren Xinyi Ruisheng Daxiao Zhicheng Xian()Manchu: Temgetulehe hūwangdi () , temple name = Shizong()Manchu: Šidzung () , house = Aisin Gioro ...

, , - , 1735-1766 ,

Hoifa-Nara, the Step Empress Step Empress of the Nara clan (; 11 March 1718 – 19 August 1766) was the wife and second empress consort of Hongli, the Qianlong Emperor. She was Empress consort of Qing from 1750 until her death in 1766. Originally a concubine, she was ele ...

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Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

, She humiliated the Emperor and Empress Dowager by cutting her hair in retaliation for the formers frequenting of prostitutes in Hangzhou during southern inspection in 1765. As a result she was removed as manager of the harem, stripped of all servants (apart from two), stripped of her Empresses seal and scroll and her titles (except that of Empress) and was confined to Yikun Palace. She died in August of 1766 unfavored and disgraced; she did not receive a posthumous title. , - , 1763-1795 ,

Consort Dun Consort Dun (27 March 1746 – 6 March 1806), of the Manchu Plain White Banner Wang clan, was a consort of the Qianlong Emperor. She was 35 years his junior. Life Family background Consort Dun's personal name was not recorded in history. She w ...

, She began supervision of younger consorts in 1775 and died in 1806 , - , 1735-1795 ,

Dowager Noble Consort Wan Noble Consort Wan (1 February 1716 – 10 March 1807), of the Han Chinese Chen clan, was a consort of the Qianlong Emperor. She was five years his junior. Life Family background Noble Consort Wan's personal name was not recorded in history. ...

, She began supervision of younger consorts in 1750 and died in 1807 , - , 1801-1820 , Concubine An ,

Jiaqing Emperor The Jiaqing Emperor (13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), also known by his temple name Emperor Renzong of Qing, born Yongyan, was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, fro ...

, She lived under supervision as first attendant , - , 1822-1850 ,

Consort Xiang Consort Xiang may refer to: *Empress Xiang (1047–1102), wife of Emperor Shenzong of Song *Fragrant Concubine ( 18th century), semi-legendary concubine of the Qianlong Emperor *Consort Xiang (Daoguang) (1808–1861), concubine of the Daoguang Empe ...

Daoguang Emperor The Daoguang Emperor (; 16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanxong of Qing, born Mianning, was the seventh Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning ...

, She was demoted in 1839 and died in 1861 , - , 1885 , rowspan="3" ,

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Xianfeng Emperor The Xianfeng Emperor (17 July 1831 – 22 August 1861), or by temple name Emperor Wenzong of Qing (), given name Yizhu (), was the eighth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigned from 1850 t ...

, She celebrated there her birthday during a regency under

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, wi ...

, - , 1889 , She conducted an Elegant Women Selection , - , 1889-1908 , Her main residence was Chuxiu palace , - , 1922-1924 ,

Empress Wanrong Wanrong (; 13 November 1906 – 20 June 1946), of the Manchu Plain White Banner Gobulo clan, was the wife and empress consort of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, sometimes anachronistically called the “Xuantong Empress”, referring to Pu ...

Puyi Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...

, Although her main residence was Chuxiu palace, she also visited Yikun palace. She was evicted in 1924.{{Cite web, title=Palace of Earthly Honor (Yikungong), Forbidden City, Beijing, url=https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/beijing/forbidden-city/palace-of-earthly-honor.htm, access-date=2020-10-01, website=www.travelchinaguide.com

References

Architecture in China Forbidden City