Palace of Eternal Longevity

One of the palace's gates

The Palace of Eternal Longevity (simplified Chinese: 永寿宫; traditional Chinese: 永壽宮; pinyin: Yŏngshòugōng), also known as Yongshou Palace, is one of the Six Western Palaces in the inner court of the Forbidden City. It is the closest residence to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the living quarters of the Qing emperors since 1722.

History

It was built in 1420 as the "Palace of Eternal Pleasure" (长乐宫; Chǎnglègōng). In 1535, the Jiajing Emperor renamed it as the "Palace of Embodying Morality" (毓德宫; Yùdégōng). It received its current name in 1616, during the reign of the Wanli Emperor, and underwent renovations in 1697 and 1897.[1] During the Qianlong era, the palace was used for the wedding banquets of Princess Heke of the Second Rank in 1772[2] and Princess Hexiao of the First Rank in 1789.[3]

Residents

Ming dynasty

Year	Emperor	Imperial consort	Note
1466–1475	Chenghua	Empress Xiaomu[4]
1638–1643	Chongzhen		He used it as a shelter from natural disasters

Qing dynasty

Year	Emperor	Imperial consort	Note
	Shunzhi	Consort Jing	She moved here from the Palace of Earthly Tranquility after being deposed as empress
1657–1667		Consort Ke	She lived here before being promoted to the rank of consort[5]
1675–1711	Kangxi	Consort Liang
1682–1694		Noble Consort Wenxi
		Imperial Noble Consort Jingmin
	Yongzheng	Empress Xiaoshengxian
	Qianlong	Imperial Noble Consort Huixian
1742–1777		Consort Shu	She moved here after being promoted to the rank of concubine
1757–1784		Concubine Cheng
1766–1788		Noble Lady Shun
1766–1794		Consort Fang[6]
1796–1800		Noble Consort Ying	She moved here after the Qianlong Emperor's abdication
1801–1821	Jiaqing	Imperial Noble Consort Gongshun[7]

See also

• Imperial Chinese harem system
• Forbidden City

References

1. "永寿宫 - 故宫博物院". www.dpm.org.cn. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
2. "清會典".
3. Aisin Gioro, Zhaolian. "Continued Records of the Roaring Pavilion".
4. "History of Ming. Biographies of imperial consorts". Book 113.
5. "永平府志".
6. "乾隆至嘉慶年添減底檔"/"Archives of Qianlong and Jiaqing eras".
7. "Palace of Eternal Longevity (Yongshou gong)|The Palace Museum". en.dpm.org.cn. Retrieved 2020-08-15.

39°55′08″N 116°23′23″E