Palace of Universal Happiness

The Palace of Universal Happiness (simplified Chinese: 咸福宫; traditional Chinese: 鹹福宮; pinyin: Xiánfúgōng), also known as Xianfu Palace, is one of the Six Western Palaces in the inner court of the Forbidden City. It is situated north of the Palace of Eternal Spring, east of the Palace of Gathering Elegance and northwest of the Palace of Earthly Honour.^[1]

History

This residence was built in 1420 as the "Palace of Peaceful Longevity" (寿安宫; Shòu'āngōng) and received its current name in 1535, during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor. It underwent renovations in 1683 and in 1897.

In 1741, when court painters created a series of paintings depicting virtues of ancient imperial consorts, the palace was decorated with the painting "Feng Yuan fighting a bear", which symbolises courage.^[2]

Although it was mainly reserved for imperial consorts, several emperors lived here occasionally.

The back hall, Tongdao Hall (同道堂), became a storage of imperial seals for Empress Dowager Ci'an and Empress Dowager Cixi, who were acting as regents during the reigns of emperors Tongzhi and Guangxu.^[3]

The palace has a hip roof covered with yellow glazed tiles and a square layout, similar to the Palace of Great Brilliance on the eastern side of inner court.

Residents

Ming dynasty

Year	Emperor	Imperial consort	Note
	Wanli	Grand Empress Dowager Xiaojing[4]

Qing dynasty

Year	Emperor	Imperial consort	Note
1735–1799	Qianlong		He lived here occasionally
1799	Jiaqing		He mourned his father here
1827–1850	Daoguang	Consort Chang[5]	She was twice demoted and moved out from the Palace of Prolonging Happiness and the Palace of Heavenly Grace, her former residences
1831–1850		Noble Consort Tong[6]
1837–1842		Imperial Noble Consort Zhuangshun[7]	She moved to the Palace of Heavenly Grace
1845–1850		Noble Consort Cheng[8]	Her former residence, the Palace of Prolonging Happiness, burnt down
1850–1853		Empress Xiaojingcheng[9]	She lived here before moving to the Palace of Longevity and Good Health
1850	Xianfeng[10]		He mourned his father here

See also

• Imperial Chinese harem system
• Forbidden City

References

1. 魏/Wei, 莉/Li (2004). 从北京故宫到避暑山庄/"A review of the Forbidden city in Peking". 山东画报出版社/Shandong Typography. p. 42.
2. 清宫述闻：正续编合编本/ "Residences of Qing dynasty. Revised edition". Forbidden City Press. 1990. pp. 755–757.
3. "Hall of Alignment with the Dao (Tongdao tang)|The Palace Museum". en.dpm.org.cn. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
4. "Palace of Universal Happiness (Xianfugong), Forbidden City, Beijing". www.travelchinaguide.com. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
5. 《清實錄咸丰朝實錄》/"Chronicles of the Xianfeng era".
6. 《日記檔》.
7. 《內務府奏銷檔》.
8. 《奏为延禧宫失火率领官员兵丁扑救事折》/ "A report on the fire of the Palace of Prolonging Happiness".
9. "清代宫廷陈设浅论（下）_收藏资讯_华夏收藏网". 29 October 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
10. "Palace of Universal Happiness (Xianfu gong)|The Palace Museum". en.dpm.org.cn. Retrieved 2 October 2020.

39°55′11″N 116°23′20″E