Palace of Established Happiness (Jianfugong)
The Palace of Established Happiness (Jianfugong) was built in 1742, the 7th year of the Qianlong Period in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Located at the northwest corner of the Forbidden City, it was where the Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) composed poetry and collected treasures. In 1923, the north half of Jianfugong was ravaged by fire, and the renovation of this area lasted from 1999 to 2006.
Notice: Now, the area is mainly used by the Forbidden City to receive distinguished guests, hold culture salons, academic meetings and news briefings, not open to tourists. |
Axisymmetric Layout in the East and Centric Layout in the West
Fuchendian
Jianfugong
Emperor Qianlong liked Jianfugong very much and used to compose a lot of poems for this building. Later on, it became a Chinese New Year’s tradition that the emperor should come to Jianfugong every December 1st of the lunar calendar and write Chinese character “Fu” (“福”, happiness) to send to his officials. The memorial tablets of Empress Xiaodexian (1831-1850) and Empress Xiaozhenxian (1837-1811) were also placed here. Verandas on the two sides of Jianfugong can lead to the more northern building, Huifengting.
Huifengting
Jianfugong Garden
The east part includes two buildings, Jingyixuan and Huiyaolou. They are to the north of Huifengting along the south-north axis. Jingyixuan is more like a transitional building and its veranda skilfully connects the Jianfugong Garden with other buildings in Jianfugong. Huiyaolou is a two-layered building used to store various statues of Buddha.
Unlike the axis arrangement of the east part in the Palace of Established Happiness, buildings in the west form a centric pattern. The central square building is Yanchunge, which features a double-layered pyramidal roof. Being the largest building in the Jianfugong Garden, Yanchunge Hall is surrounded by Jingshengzhai Hall, Bilinguan Hall, Ninghuitang Hall and Miaolianhuashi Hall. Such layout brings the splendor of Yanchunge into full play. Moreover, to the south of Yanchunge, grotesque rocks, lush vegetation and winding paths are elaborately designed, which makes Jianfugong Garden more seclusive and appealing.
Severe Fire Brought Down Jianfugong in 1923
It is a huge loss that over three hundred rooms were destroyed and many treasures were burned into ashes. These include precious Tibetan scriptures, goldwares, thousands of statues of Buddha, and many ancient paintings and calligraphies. What’s more, Emperor Qianlong used to place his tributes in Jianfugong Garden, and later Emperor Jiajing (1720-1860) asked people to seal Qianlong’s treasure boxes. That’s to say, lots of treasures had never been opened before being destroyed, which is really a pity.
How did the fire happen? The emperor of that time, Puyi (1906-1967), also the last emperor who lived in the Forbidden City, asked people to look into this fire, angrily to find that the fire was not an accident but arson. Some eunuchs stole treasures from Jianfugong and then set this place on fire intentionally, so as to destroy the evidence and avoid being caught. As punishment, Puyi only kept those eunuchs who served concubines, and evicted all of the rest from the Forbidden City.
Renovation from 1999 - 2006
In the following over 80 years, the Palace of Established Happiness was in debris. In 1999, with the sponsorship, the Forbidden City launched the renovation program of Jianfugong. In May 2006, the renovation was completed and Jianfugong regained its glory.
Next:
Go south or east to see the Six Western Palaces (Xiliugong);
Go south to see the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility (Cininggong).
Note: On the north side is the Palace of Many Splendors (Chonghuagong), which is not open to tourists yet.
Further Reading:
- Last updated on Aug. 16, 2024 by Gabby Li -