1. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is actually a place where various ceremonies are held, which is rarely used in fact. The places where the emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties went to court were mainly Taihe Gate, Gan Qing Gate (for the Imperial Gate to listen to politics), Gan Qing Palace (where the emperor called ministers when there were important events or things) and hall of mental cultivation (for the late Qing Dynasty to listen to politics), which was not the usual Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Twenty-four emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties held grand ceremonies in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, such as the emperor's accession to the throne, the emperor's wedding, the appointment of the queen, and ordering the expedition. In addition, every year, the emperor receives congratulations from officials of civil and military affairs and fetes princes and ministers.
2. Zhonghe Hall, one of the three halls outside the Forbidden City in Beijing, belongs to the traditional court building in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Located between the Hall of Supreme Harmony and the Hall of Baohe in the Forbidden City. It is the place where the emperor rested before attending the ceremony in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and accepted the worship of the deacons. Whenever the emperor offered personal sacrifices, such as the Temple of Heaven and the Ditan, he would read a congratulatory message in the Zhonghe Hall the day before. Before the pro-agriculture ceremony is held at the altar, seeds and farm tools should be tested here.
Baohe Hall has different uses in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Before the Ming Dynasty ceremony, the emperor often changed clothes here. When the queen and the crown prince were inscribed, the emperor was congratulated in this hall.
Every year on New Year's Eve and the fifteenth day of the first month in the Qing Dynasty, the emperor gave a banquet in honor of ministers, princes and ministers. The scene is spectacular. Father-in-law, family banquets with official positions, and palace examinations for various subjects were all held in Baohe Hall. At the end of each year, the imperial clan and the official department fill in the yellow book of the Manchu, Mongolian and Han armies of the imperial clan and the foreign ministers of the provinces in the Baohe Hall.
Gan Qing Palace is the place where the emperor handles daily affairs, reviews various memorials and later receives foreign envoys. Before Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, it followed the Ming system. During the period of Shunzhi and Kangxi in Qing Dynasty, Gan Qing Palace was closely related to government affairs. The emperor studied here, reviewed the memorial, summoned officials, met foreign envoys, held imperial ceremonies and family banquets.
After Yong Zhengdi moved to hall of mental cultivation, it became an important place for the emperor to summon courtiers, read the throne, handle daily affairs, meet ministers accompanying foreign vassal countries, accept congratulations when he was old, and hold banquets. Some daily offices, including the upper study room where the prince studied, also moved into the bedrooms around Gan Qing Palace, and the use function of Gan Qing Palace was greatly enhanced.
5. In the Jiaotai Hall of Qing Dynasty, there are 25 precious seals, each of which has a special purpose. In the first month of each year, the Qin dynasty chose an auspicious day to set up a case to open Chen Bao, where the emperor came to burn incense and salute. In view of the lesson of eunuch's autocracy in the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Sai-zu stipulated that eunuchs should not interfere in state affairs, and there was an iron sign in this hall that "Neigong should not interfere in political affairs".
When the emperor got married, he set up a queen ceremony and a security hall. Every spring in Jiaotai Hall, silkworms are sacrificed first. On the first day, the Queen searched for mulberry equipment here.
6. Kunning Palace, the royal family of the Qing Dynasty held large and small sacrifices every year, which is also one of the important duties of the emperor and queen. Some of these sacrifices are for the Queen, and they are located in the Palace of Kunning. Manchu is a nation that worships gods very much, so offering sacrifices to gods is very important for Manchu.
In addition, the residential design of Manchu is different from that of Han nationality. According to the traditional customs of Manchu, there are three rooms in the west, middle and east, with the gate facing south, the upper room in the west, the hall in the middle and the lower room in the east. The west upper courtyard is equipped with south, west and north kang, the west kang is expensive, the north kang is big and the south kang is small. Because Manchu people regard the Western Wall as the top, and the Western Wall is a memorial tablet dedicated to gods or ancestors. Xikang is generally uninhabited, and Nankang in Nanbei Kang is the largest. The elder lives in Nankang, and the younger lives in Kang Bei.
After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, according to the old example of the Ming Dynasty, both the emperor shunzhi and Emperor Kangxi took Gan Qing Palace as their main place to live and deal with state affairs. After Yong Zhengdi acceded to the throne, he began to move to hall of mental cultivation. Hall of mental cultivation is located in the Forbidden City to the west of the Forbidden City and Gan Qing Palace. It was founded in Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty. At first, it was not the emperor's bedroom. During the Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty, the Ministry of Interior set up many workshops for the royal family, which were called "hall of mental cultivation".
In the sixty-first year of Kangxi (1722), after the death of Emperor Kangxi, Yong Zhengdi, who ascended the throne, did not move to Gan Qing Palace, his father's bedroom, but changed hall of mental cultivation, who was temporarily used as a father's filial piety in Zunyi Gate on the west side, to the emperor's bedroom. Since then, hall of mental cultivation has become the main place where the Qing emperors lived and handled affairs. Since then, after the establishment of the military department, the office is also near hall of mental cultivation.
After Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne, hall of mental cultivation carried out large-scale expansion and reconstruction, and gradually formed certain rules and regulations. After Yong Zhengdi, eight emperors, including Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang, Xianfeng, Tongzhi, Guangxu and Xuan Tong, lived here. Until Xuan Tong was kicked out of the Forbidden City.
References:
Baidu encyclopedia-hall of supreme harmony
Baidu encyclopedia-zhonghe branch
Baidu encyclopedia-baohe hall
Baidu Encyclopedia-Gan Qing Palace
Baidu encyclopedia-jiaotaitang
Baidu encyclopedia-Kunning palace