The last day of the fifth lunar month in 1521 was the third day after Emperor Jiajing ascended the throne. On this day, Emperor Jiajing ordered his mother Jiang to be brought to Beijing from Hubei.
It turned out that Emperor Jiajing's father, King Xingxian Zhu Youvendor, had died two years earlier, and his older brother had also died at an early age. So, before becoming emperor, Jiajing had been dependent on his own mother.
Emperor Jiajing was a filial emperor, and when he became emperor, he of course wished that his mother could become the empress dowager. However, that Empress Dowager Zhang still lives in the palace now, and where should Emperor Jiajing's mother live when she comes?
In this case, Emperor Jiajing decided to rebuild a beautiful palace for his mother in the Forbidden City.
However, since Ming Yingzong had not long ascended to the throne at this time, and there were not many ministers who supported him, this plan of his was not realized until more than 10 years later.
In 1536, Emperor Yingzong finally sent someone to build a new palace for his mother in the western part of the Forbidden City's inner sanctum, which became the Cining Palace.
This palace is in the Forbidden City on the site of the original Renshou Palace was built, located in the Palace of the inner court outside the West Road, west of the Longzongmen. After the palace was completed, in the Ming Dynasty was destroyed by lightning and fire, the existing building was rebuilt during the reign of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty.
The existing Cining Palace complex consists of Cining Gate, Cining Palace, Dafodang, Huiyin Left Gate and Huiyin Right Gate, etc. There is a narrow east-west plaza in front of the main gate of the complex, and the two ends are Yongkang Left Gate and Yongkang Right Gate, and the south side of the Changxin Gate.
Ci Ning Gate is located on the north side of the square, inside the high platform canals and the main hall Ci Ning Palace connected. Courtyard east and west sides of the corridor, folded to the south and Ci Ning Gate, north directly to the back of the bedchamber, that is, the Great Buddha Hall of the east and west ear room. The front yard east and west hipped in the center of each open a door, the east said Huiyin left door, the west said Huiyin right door.
The main hall Cining Palace in the center, before and after the corridor, yellow glazed tiles, heavy eaves hypogee roof. This hall is 7 rooms wide, among which 5 rooms are opened 4 double cross four one shot diamond flower finial door. Between the two tops of the brick wall, each open 4 double intersection of four one shot diamond finial window.
The platform in front of the temple, three steps in front, one step each on the left and right, and four gilt-bronze incense burners on the platform. The east and west of the two mountains set up card wall, each open the hanging flower door, can be connected to the backyard.
After Ming Yingzong for his mother to repair Cining Palace, his mother, Empress Jiang lived in this palace for two years and passed away. Since then, Ci Ning Palace has been used as the concubines of the returned old emperor to stay.
In 1653, Empress Xiaozhuang Wen of the Qing Dynasty began to live in Cining Palace, and since then it has been the residence of the Dowager Empress and the Empress Dowager, as well as the entourage of the Imperial Consort and others.
The early and middle periods of the Qing Dynasty were the prosperous period of Cining Palace, when Empress Xiaozhuang Wen and Empress Xiaosheng Xian lived here successively. The emperors Shunzhi, Kangxi and Qianlong were famous for their filial piety, and for this reason, Cining Palace often held ceremonies to celebrate the empress's birthday.
However, after the Daoguang period, as the Qing Dynasty went into decline, the treasury was empty, the then Empress Xiaoho Rui had to cut back on palace expenses, Cining Palace gradually lost its former glory.
In addition, Cining Palace is mainly for the Empress Dowager held a major ceremony hall, where the Empress Dowager Sheng Shou Festival, on the emblem, into the register of treasures, the Princess married, are held here to celebrate the ceremony. Especially when the Empress Dowager birthday, the Emperor himself led the crowd salute, and with the near branch of the Emperor's relatives with colorful clothes and dance, rituals are very grand.