Hall of Central Harmony

The Hall of Central Harmony (Zhonghe Dian) is the smallest hall among the three main halls in the Outer Court. This pavilion-style hall used to be the place for the emperor to do preparations for ceremonies. Covering a total area of 580 square meters, the hall is a square structure built like a pavilion, each side of which is five bays long, measuring 24.15m. The hall has a single-eaved roof with a gilded pinnacle gleaming brightly in the sunshine.

Built in 1420, the eighteenth year of the reign of Emperor Yongle (1403-1424), the hall was named "Huagaidian" at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In the reign of Emperor Jiajing (1522-1566), the hall was fired and renamed "Zhongjidian" after reconstruction. The ink marks of the three Chinese characters (Zhong Ji Dian) can still be seen. The Qing imperial household came to live in the Forbidden City in the first year of the reign of Emperor Shunzhi (1644-1661), and called the hall "Zhonghedian" instead of "Zhongjidian" the next year. The two Chinese characters, "zhong" and "he", imply that each party can be satisfied only if they are treated without any bias, promoting "the golden mean" of Confucius. Having undergone three fires, the present hall takes on the look of what it was after reconstruction in 1627, the seventh year of Emperor Tianqi (1621-1627) of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Inside the hall is a throne with two golden beasts on each side. The beast is named as Luduan and has four legs and only one horn. It doesn't really exist, but is a kind of mythical animal in the people's imagination. This animal is said to run 9,000 kilometers (5,592 miles) a day, speak many languages and to foretell the future. It was placed beside the throne to indicate the emperor is brilliant and provident. Two bronze stoves on the floor were used for heating on cold days.