乾清宫外景
Outside the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
The Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing Gong)
The Palace of Heavenly Purity is one of the three main palaces in the inner court of the Forbidden City. It was reconstructed several times during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
From the Ming Dynasty to the early Qing time, it served as the emperor's dwelling palace. After Emperor Yongzheng (1723- 1735) of the Qing Dynasty ascended the throne, he lived in the Hall of Mental Cultivation (Yangxin dian), and the Palace of Heavenly Purity began to be used for banquets on important festivals such as the Chinese New Year. Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong once held banquets here to entertain seniors to show respect for the elderly.
After the death of the emperor, his coffin was laid here, symbolizing a peaceful death. There is a tall stone platform on the eastern and western sides of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, respectively, on which is a gilt copper pavilion that symbolizes everlasting rule and national peace.
Inside the palace, a plaque hangs engraved with four Chinese characters, "正大光明", which mean "Justice and Brightness".
From the time of Emperor Yongzheng, the name of the crown prince would be written on two imperial edicts in duplicate. A copy would be kept by the emperor himself, and the other would be placed in a box behind this plaque. Only if the names on the two edicts were verified to be the same would the designated prince take the crown upon the death of the emperor.
As the most important building in the inner court of the Forbidden City, the Palace of Heavenly Purity features a double-eave hip roof and nine mythical animals on each corner ridge, surpassed only by the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
乾清宫内景
Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
乾清宫
乾清宫是紫禁城内廷后三宫之一，明清两朝曾多次重修。
这里自明代至清初一直是皇帝寝宫，清代雍正皇帝即位后，移居到西侧养心殿。乾清宫则用于元旦等重要节日举行宴会。康熙、乾隆皇帝曾在此举行千叟宴，宴请年长臣民，以示尊老。皇帝去世后，灵柩停放于此，象征寿终正寝。乾清宫外东西两侧，各有一座高大的石台，台上分别置铜鎏金江山、社稷亭，象征江山永固、社稷长安。
乾清宫内悬挂“正大光明”匾。清代自雍正帝开始实行“秘密立储”，即皇帝在位期间，写下继承人的名字，一式两份，一份随身携带，另一份则藏于正大光明匾后。皇帝临终或突然去世后，由大臣当众取出匾后诏书，两份核对无误，方可宣布皇位继承者。
乾清宫作为紫禁城内廷最重要的宫殿，采用重檐庑殿顶，檐角脊兽9只，等级仅次于太和殿。
