Wenxiu by Changchun Palace in the Forbidden City

The Palace of Eternal Spring ( zh, 长春宫, pinyin changchungong) is one of the Six Western Palaces of the

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

in Beijing, which used to be residences of imperial concubines. The palace is north of the Hall of the Supreme Principle, west of the

Palace of Earthly Honour Palace of Earthly Honour (，pinyin: yikungong) is one of the Six Western Palaces in the Forbidden City, which used to be a residence of imperial concubines. The palace is northern to Palace of Eternal Longevity, southern to Palace of Gathering E ...

and north-west of the

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 west ...

History

The palace was built during the

Yongle Yongle () (23 January 1403 – 19 January 1425) was the era name of the Yongle Emperor, the third emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Yongle * Vietnam ** ''Thiệu Thành'' (紹成, 1401–1 ...

era in 1420, like most of the palaces in the Forbidden City, as the Palace of Eternal Spring (corresponding with eternal youth symbolized by spring). In 1535, the name of the palace was changed to "Palace of Eternal Tranquility" (永宁宫). The palace regained its current name after the ascension of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

and was renovated in 1689. In 1859, the inner gate of the palace was dismantled so as to connect with the neighbouring Hall of the Supreme Principle. The most remarkable detail of the palace is a corridor painted with 18 Suzhou-style frescos depicting scenes from the "

Dream of the Red Chamber ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' (''Honglou Meng'') or ''The Story of the Stone'' (''Shitou Ji'') is a novel composed by Cao Xueqin in the middle of the 18th century. One of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, it is known fo ...

" by

Cao Xueqin Cáo Xuěqín ( ; ); (4 April 1710 — 10 June 1765)Briggs, Asa (ed.) (1989) ''The Longman Encyclopedia'', Longman, was a Chinese writer during the Qing dynasty. He is best known as the author of ''Dream of the Red Chamber'', one of the Four G ...

. The palace also has a veranda near Tiyuan hall converted into an opera stage, where

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

performances were performed for

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese noblewoman, concubine and later regent who effectively controlled ...

History

Residents

Ming Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

References