保和殿外景
Outside the Hall of Preserving Harmony.
The Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohe Dian)
The Hall of Preserving Harmony is one of the three main halls in the outer court of the Forbidden City. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was renamed several times. When Emperor Shunzhi lived here, it was called Weiyu Palace, and the emperor's wedding was held here. Emperor Kangxi also lived here when it was called Qingning Palace.
In the early Ming Dynasty, it was called Jinshen Hall, where the emperor changed ritual clothes before grand ceremonies. During the Qing Dynasty, on Chinese New Year's Eve and the Lantern Festival, the emperor held a banquet in the Hall of Preserving Harmony to entertain princes and princesses of ethnic minorities such as the Uygurs and the Mongolians.
In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong used the hall as the venue for the Palace Examination. As the highest level of the imperial examinations, the Palace Examination was presided over by the emperor, and those who passed were called "the emperor's protégés". The top three in the Palace Examination, called Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua, respectively, were granted the privilege to leave the imperial palace through the central doorway of the Meridian Gate.
Behind the Hall of Preserving Harmony is the largest stone carving in the Forbidden City, which measures 16 meters in length, 3 meters in width, 1.7 meters in thickness, and nearly 200 tons in weight. It was carved from a whole stone. To transport this gigantic stone from a quarry 70 to 80 kilometers from the capital, people first built a road, and then dug wells at intervals along every other section of the road. That winter, they took water from the wells and splashed it on the road, and then hauled the stone on the iced road by manpower, mules, and horses. It took 28 days to transport the stone to the imperial palace. The stone carving with seawater, cliffs, and nine dragons reflects the superb sculpture technology and has remarkable artistic value.
保和殿内景
Inside the Hall of Preserving Harmony.
保和殿
保和殿是故宫外朝三大殿之一，从明至清，名称多次改易。顺治皇帝居住时称“位育宫”，大婚亦在此举行。康熙皇帝也曾在此居住，称“清宁宫”。
明初，这里称“谨身殿”，是皇帝举行大典前更换礼服的场所。清朝每年除夕和正月十五，皇帝在保和殿内宴请新疆、蒙古等的少数民族王公及公主额驸等，以示重视。
清代，乾隆皇帝将这里作为殿试场所。殿试是科举考试最高级别的考试，皇帝亲自主持，考中者称“天子门生”。殿试前三名为状元、榜眼、探花，可享受从午门中央门洞出宫的殊荣。
保和殿后有宫中最大的石雕，长16米多，宽3米余，厚达1.7米，重近200吨，由一整块石头雕成。为将此石从七八十公里外运至京城，需要先修路，再每隔一段路挖一口井，冬天从井中取水泼洒成冰，再由人力、骡马在冰面上拖运，仅运输即用28天。石上雕海水江崖及九条腾龙，体现了高超的建筑石刻技术，极具艺术观赏价值。
