Hall of complete
Harmony , also called Zhonghedian, is a square building with a single
pyramid roof. It contains a throne with incense burners and braziers in
front of it.
Announcing
the function of the hall
Hall of complete Harmony (Zhonghedian) served as a place of rest
for the emperor on his way to he Hall of Supreme Harmony. It was here
that they consulted with their religious ministers. Each year prior
to their departure for important sacrificial rites at the Temple of
Heaven, the Temple of the Earth or elsewhere, they would read elegiac
addresses. The emperor also received members of the cabinet and officials
in the Ministry of Rites, and rehearsals for ceremonies were also held
here. Before going to the Temple of the Ancestral Farmers, they would
inspect the seeds and farming tools to be used during the ceremony.
During the Qing dynasty the imperial genealogy was revised every ten
years. A special ceremony was conducted in this hall so that the revision
could be presented to His Majesty for approval.
Discover
decorations inside
Inside the Hall of complete Harmony (Zhonghedian), visitors can see
a pair of golden unicorns standing on either side of the centrally positioned
throne. Called 'luduan' in Chinese, these were believed to be multilingual
and capable of travelling 9,000 kilometres in just one day. Due to their
extraordinary abilities, effigies of these mythical beasts, which served
also as sandalwood burners, were put beside the throne as a symbol of
the emperors' great wisdom and intelligence. Beside the throne, there
are two sedan chairs, that were used to shuttle emperors around the
Forbidden City.
The building to the north is Baohedian (Hall of Preserved Harmony).
Copyright @ BeijingService.com BeijingService team is a Beijing based China tour operator. We mainly engaged
in providing high quality China travel service including beijing tour, Xian tour,
shanghai tour, etc; as well as China hotels reservation service.
