Emperor Qianlong's "The Record of Residency" completely recorded the daily life of Emperor Qianlong. In the thirtieth year of Qianlong (1765), on the eighth day of the first month, it was recorded in the notes of Emperor Qianlong's residence that at about four o'clock in the morning, "hall of mental cultivation, please take a ride and change clothes." This means that Emperor Qianlong has to get up at 4 o'clock.
When the lights appeared in Emperor Qianlong's bedroom, the eunuchs and maids on duty had to cheer up and come in to serve Emperor Qianlong to change clothes.
After Emperor Qianlong changed his clothes, the first thing he did was to make a pilgrimage to Kunning Palace.
The Palace of Kunning is located behind the Jiaotai Hall, and there are large and small sacrificial activities every day. On the day of the big sacrifice and the first and fifteenth day of each month, the emperor and the queen will go into battle together and make sacrifices to God in person.
At the end of the ceremony, around 5 o'clock, Emperor Qianlong drank a bowl of stewed bird's nest with rock sugar. This is a snack before breakfast. At 6 o'clock, Emperor Qianlong served breakfast. Generally speaking, where the emperor Qianlong was, the imperial meal was spread. But on the eighth day of the first month, Emperor Qianlong was in a good mood. He left Xihuamen early in the morning and went to Tongyuxuan in Xiyuan (now Zhongnanhai) for breakfast.
What should Emperor Qianlong do after breakfast? He will come to Gan Qing Palace to watch the Hadith. What is the hadith? This is the imperial edict and words that the emperor warned his officials. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he often ordered people to compile the hadith of the former emperor as his own policy of governing the country. The hadith read by Emperor Qianlong is the hadith of Emperor Sejong Xian of Yong Zhengdi.
After reading the Hadith, at about 7 o'clock, Emperor Qianlong came to Fu Jian Palace, took a break, and then came to China Palace.
The Chinese Palace is inconspicuous in the architecture of the Forbidden City, but it is of great significance to Emperor Qianlong.
Emperor Qianlong lived in China Palace when he was still Prince Bao. When he was a teenager, he left behind his daily necessities. More importantly, after Prince Bao and his wife got married, he also lived in China Palace and lived a sweet and loving life. 1748, Fu Chashi died unfortunately, and Emperor Qianlong was heartbroken. He decorated Zhonghua Palace according to the original appearance of the room where he and Fu Chashi once lived. He often comes to China Palace and misses the good old days.
On this day, Emperor Qianlong held a tea banquet in China Palace, which lasted for 2 hours. Here, he is no longer an emperor, but a mortal with secular desires.
Just as Emperor Qianlong was writing poems in the Chinese Palace, the memorial of that day had been sent to Qinde Hall in hall of mental cultivation. Qinzheng Hall is located in the east of Guangming Hall in Zheng Da, where the emperor read the memorial. 10, Emperor Qianlong came to Qinxian Hall and started his day's work.
As we know, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the emperor was more free and easy, the cabinet "planned" the votes for him, and the eunuch "approved the red" for him, so he had almost nothing to do. In order to control power, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty cancelled the eunuch's "criticism of the red", and he did all the marking and memorials himself. Emperor Qianlong is no exception.
After reviewing the memorial, Emperor Qianlong also met with the ministers to understand the situation and gave them a face-to-face lecture.
After all this, it's almost 2 pm. Emperor Qianlong was hungry and ordered dinner.
Contrary to everyone's imagination, under normal circumstances, the Qing emperor only ate two meals a day, namely breakfast and dinner. This is because the Qing dynasty was originally a nomadic people outside the customs, and life was very hard. Eating two meals a day is good enough. After entering the customs, the palace kept the habit of eating two meals a day, and the emperor was no exception.
Of course, we don't have to worry that Emperor Qianlong will starve to death. If he is hungry, he can add a snack in the afternoon to replenish energy.
After dinner, Emperor Qianlong had a rest. At about 3 pm, he began his afternoon work, reading out the memorials presented by the cabinet to ministries, governors and towns.
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Emperor Qianlong met with Fu Heng, a university student and a first-class brave man, in Baohe Hall. Fu Heng, a famous minister in the middle of Qing Dynasty, was the head of the Hundred Heroes in Ziguangge, the younger brother of Fu Cha, the queen of Qianlong, and was closely related to Qianlong.
After Fu Heng left, it was dusk. The days in early winter are very short. At 5 pm, lanterns have been lit in the Forbidden City. Emperor Qianlong came to Sanxitang in hall of mental cultivation to admire his exquisite paintings and calligraphy.
Sanxi Hall is located in hall of mental cultivation West Warm Pavilion, with an area of only 4.8 square meters. It is the study of Emperor Qianlong. Emperor Qianlong also personally inscribed the plaque of "Sanxi Hall" and the ink of "Sanxi Hall Story" and hung them on the wall for people to admire. Although Sanxi Hall is small and ugly, there are many famous paintings and calligraphy works in it. Among them, Wang Xizhi's Sunny Days in the Snow, Wang Xianzhi's Mid-Autumn Festival and Wang Xun's Yuan Boshu are the most cherished paintings and calligraphy works of Emperor Qianlong.
From Sanxi Hall, it's already 7 o'clock in the evening. Emperor Qianlong returned to hall of mental cultivation. If there is still a letter sent at this time, he will read it in the bedroom. If there is no memorial service, he can get ready for bed.
On the eighth day of the first month of Qianlong's thirty years, Emperor Qianlong went to bed at nine o'clock in the evening-if he was a modern man, his nightlife had just begun at this time.