Hall of Heavenly Purity

The Hall of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing Gong), twenty meters (65.6 feet) in height, is the largest hall in the Inner Court. Throughout the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the earlier period of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), sixteen emperors lived in the hall. Emperor Yongzheng, the third emperor of the Qing Dynasty, moved to live in the Hall of Metal Cultivation. Hence, the hall was the place where emperors held council with his cabinet, interviewed his ministers and foreign ambassadors and read submitted documents. On festivals, family banquets and ceremonies took place in the hall. When the emperor died, his coffin was placed here for mourning for several days.

In the centre of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the throne is on a raised dais, surrounded by cloisonne incense burners, long red candles, and large mirrors, which were placed beside the throne to ward off evil spirits. On the surrounding columns, there are two pairs of couplets written by Qing emperors. Over the throne hangs a plaque engraved with four Chinese characters, written by Emperor Yongzheng and which mean 'Justice and Brightness.' From the time of Emperor Yongzheng, the name of each crown prince would be written on duplicate documents and a copy would be placed in a box behind this plaque. The other copy would be retained by the emperor. Only if the name on each document was the same would the designated prince take the crown upon the death of the emperor.