The Grand Forbidden City 2

Name: The Grand Forbidden City 2
ISBN: 9787535459855

Yan ChongnianYangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House2012

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Chapters: 22
Series: The Grand Palace
ISBN: 9787535459855

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Summary

The Grand Forbidden City 2 is the second volume in Qing historian Yan Chongnian's series The Grand Forbidden City. Continuing the first volume's account of the three great outer-court halls, it turns its gaze to the inner court, the forbidden precincts of the Forbidden City. Taking the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union, the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, the Hall of Mental Cultivation and the Six Eastern and Six Western Palaces as its coordinates, it recounts the institutions, daily life and human fortunes of the imperial harem in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The book proposes the "four fixings" of harem management—fixed establishment, fixed ranks, fixed stipends and fixed rules—and, drawing on palace regulations such as the Imperially Authorized Current Regulations of the Palace, shows the vast gaps between empresses and consorts in annual silver, daily meat and vegetables, and explains the institutional roots of harem rivalry for favor. The author also sets out in full the preparations and ceremonial procedures of an imperial wedding, explains how the Ming and Qing selection of palace women screened candidates tier by tier nationwide until those meeting imperial standards were chosen, and uses cases such as Consort Wan of Emperor Chenghua of the Ming to show the complexity and cruelty of harem struggles. Adapted from lecture transcripts, the book unfolds through concrete scenes—the imperial wedding in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, Shamanic sacrifices there, the conduct of government in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the fates of consorts in the Palace of Great Benevolence and the Palace of Heavenly Favor, and Cixi in the Palace of Gathered Elegance—setting architectural space against human stories in a popular history that interprets imperial private life in a "true account" spirit.

Editor's review

宫斗剧看多了，容易把后宫理解成纯粹的争宠戏码。《大故宫2》的价值，恰恰在于把“戏”还原成“制度”：皇后年例银一千两、日用猪肉一百六十六斤，而位在妃嫔之末的常在岁银不过五十两、猪肉五斤，待遇表一列，人心的焦虑与算计便有了可以理解的来处。阎崇年不谈玄虚，而是拿《钦定宫中现行则例》这类枯燥宫规作底，把编制、级别、待遇、规矩逐条讲清，再落到具体宫殿和具体人物身上。本书的讲法也很有特色：以建筑为章，以人物为目。坤宁宫既是皇帝大婚的喜堂，也是萨满祭祀的神场；养心殿既是雍正的居所，也是军机处运筹的起点；景仁、承乾、钟粹、储秀诸宫，则一一对应着不同命运的后妃。读下来像是在紫禁城里按图行走，走到哪座殿，就听哪一段往事。它并不猎奇。作者的态度是“守真、扬善、褒美”，对传闻与史实区分得比较清楚，适合作为明清宫廷史的入门读物，也适合作为去故宫参观前的背景书。

Who it's for

A good fit for

对明清宫廷史、后妃制度感兴趣的普通历史读者
看过《甄嬛传》等剧，想了解真实后宫运作的观众
准备实地游览故宫、希望按宫殿脉络读懂内廷的游客
喜欢《百家讲坛》式通俗讲述、偏爱讲故事笔法的读者

Not a good fit for

期望读到严格学术考证与史料注释的专业研究者
只想看宫斗剧情与情感纠葛、对制度沿革无兴趣的读者
需要系统清代通史框架、从零开始学清史的学习者

Reading tips

先读《大故宫》第一部，了解前朝三大殿的格局，再进入内廷会顺畅许多。
读到某座宫殿时，可以对照故宫平面图或导览图，把讲述落到具体位置上。
留意书中引用的宫规与待遇数字，它们是理解后宫争斗逻辑的关键线索。
可作为故宫实地游的辅助读物，按章节分别安排在参观前后阅读。

About the publisher

Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1955

Founded in Wuhan in 1955, Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House is a literary publisher under Hubei Changjiang Publishing and Media Group. Public information is limited, so the following focuses on the publishing directions reflected in the books in our database. The press publishes modern and contemporary Chinese literature, classical literary studies, translated foreign literature and educational works. Its catalog includes Chen Yinke's Studies on the Origins of Sui and Tang Institutions and On Tang Political History and The Unofficial Biography of Liu Rushi, Lao She's Camel Xiangzi and Four Generations Under One Roof, and Selected Essays of Lu Xun, as well as translations such as Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country and educational writings by Sukhomlinsky. Its publishing character lies in balancing literary classics with scholarly works, with attention to textual editing and the accumulation of major authors' works; its author resources span leading modern writers, historians and foreign authors.

Lecture 21 Orthodoxy and Brilliance: The Origin of the Plaque, the Story Behind It, Reflections Beyond It
Lecture 22 Union of Heaven and Earth: Features of the Hall of Union, Timekeeping There, Imperial Seals There
Lecture 23 The Imperial Wedding at the Palace of Earthly Tranquility: Emperors Wed, Preparations, Ceremony
Lecture 24 Unease at the Palace of Earthly Tranquility: Legitimate Empresses, Jiajing's Empress, Tongzhi's Empress
Lecture 25 Unrest at the Palace of Earthly Tranquility: Ming Empresses, Qing Empresses, the Mirror of Earthly Tranquility
Lecture 26 Empress Zhang at the Palace of Earthly Tranquility: Choosing Empresses, Their Fates, Their Tragedies
Lecture 27 Shamanism at the Palace of Earthly Tranquility: Reconstruction, the Sacred Pole, Sacrifices
Lecture 28 The Emperor's Dwelling at the Hall of Mental Cultivation: Yongzheng Moves In, Layout of the Precinct, Imperial Bedchambers
Lecture 29 New Policies at the Hall of Mental Cultivation: Yongzheng's Storm, Founding the Grand Council, Emancipating the Base People
Lecture 30 Punishing Corruption at the Hall of Mental Cultivation: The Gao Heng Case, the Wang Danwang Case, the Guotai Case
Lecture 31 The Three Rarities at the Hall of Mental Cultivation: The Hall's Name, Three Masters of Calligraphy, Three Supreme Works
Lecture 32 Elegy at the Hall of Mental Cultivation: Four Boy Emperors, Three Empresses Dowager, Two Princes
Lecture 33 The Six Eastern and Six Western Palaces: Layout, Selecting Consorts and Palace Women, Harem Management
Lecture 34 Fortune and Misfortune at the Palace of Great Benevolence: The Dream of Orchids, Unfortunate Consorts, Shunzhi's Consort Tong
Lecture 35 Favored Consorts at the Palace of Heavenly Favor: Chongzhen's Favorite, Shunzhi's Favorite, Daoguang's Favorite
Lecture 36 The Unsolved Case at the Palace of Gathering Essence: Chongzhen's Heir, Daoguang's Demoted Consort, the Death of Ci'an
Lecture 37 The Palace of Prolonged Happiness and the Palace of Eternal Harmony: The Water Palace, Yongzheng's Mother, the Jadeite Cabbage
Lecture 38 The Palace of Scenic Yang and the Palace of Universal Happiness: Empress Ma's Coarse Robe, a Princess's Cold Palace, Palace Treasures
Lecture 39 Wonders at the Palace of Eternal Longevity: Consort Wan's Strange Romance, Consort Ji's Strange Encounter, Consort Jing's Strange Injustice
Lecture 40 The Palace of Auspicious Beginnings and the Palace of Eternal Spring: Stories of Qixiang, Xianfeng's Reconstruction, Cixi at Changchun
Lecture 41 The Palace of Earthly Honor and the Palace of Gathered Elegance: Consort Zheng at Yikun, The Two Palaces as One, Cixi at Chuxiu
Lecture 42 Cixi's Flight West: Fleeing in Panic, Deposing the Grand Prince, Late Regrets for Reform

FAQ

《大故宫2》和第一部是什么关系？

第一部主要讲前朝，如太和殿等外朝空间；第二部转向内廷禁地，聚焦乾清宫、交泰殿、坤宁宫、养心殿与东西六宫。建议按顺序阅读，但单独读第二部也能读懂。

这本书是讲宫斗故事的吗？

不是。它以制度为主干，讲后妃的编制、级别、待遇、规矩，再结合皇帝大婚、选秀与具体人物案例，属于“正说”式通俗历史，而非小说化的宫斗叙事。

书中“四定”指什么？

指后妃管理的定编制、定级别、定待遇、定规矩。作者用这四条说明后宫如何被制度化地运作，以及不同等级之间待遇差距如何影响后妃处境。

没有历史基础能读懂吗？

可以。全书源自讲座体，语言平实，按宫殿和讲次推进，术语多有解释。若对明清朝代顺序不熟，略补一份帝王世系表会更轻松。

这本书适合带去故宫参观吗？

比较适合。它按宫殿空间展开，尤其覆盖西六宫、东六宫与养心殿区域，可以在参观前预习、现场对照相应章节。

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About the author

Yan Chongnian Author · Chinese · 1934

Yan Chongnian, born in 1934 in Penglai, Shandong, of Han ethnicity, is a well-known scholar in Qing history, Manchu studies, and Beijing history. He has long worked at the Institute of Manchu Studies of the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences and serves as president of the Beijing Manchu Society. His works include Biography of Nurhaci, The Founding History of the Qing Dynasty, The Great Biography of the Kangxi Emperor, and The Forest Empire, showing extensive writing in Qing history and Manchu studies. Since 2004, he has lectured on Qing history on CCTV's Lecture Room, presenting Qing history to the general public in an accessible way and promoting the popularization of historical knowledge. His writing is aimed at ordinary readers and emphasizes factual narration and readability. The multiple editions of The Forbidden City at 600 and The Twelve Qing Emperors in Plain Language included in the library are all history books for general readers, reflecting his consistent style of turning scholarly accumulation into accessible reading.