The Hall of Mental Cultivation, the power center of the mid-late Qing Dynasty

After Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne, he moved his daily living and office from the Palace of Heavenly Purity to the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the southwest. The name of the Hall of Mental Cultivation comes from the phrase "the best way to cultivate the mind is to have few desires" in the Mencius. There are many reasons why Emperor Yongzheng abandoned the Palace of Heavenly Purity and used the Hall of Mental Cultivation, but for the most diligent emperor of the Qing Dynasty, it was an indisputable fact that the Hall of Mental Cultivation could improve the daily utilization of time, because it could meet almost all the emperor's needs except for some ceremonies. In addition to the main hall, the Hall of Mental Cultivation also has 17 buildings, including the rear hall, and is actually a separate courtyard with a building area of nearly 4,000 square meters. The main hall is the place for governance and living, the Tishun Hall in the east wing of the rear hall is the residence of the empress, and the Yanxi Hall in the west wing is the place for the concubines to accompany the emperor. In addition to office and living, the Hall of Mental Cultivation also has the function of receiving guests and banquets. The imperial kitchen is located north of the warehouse on the south side, which not only provides three meals a day for the emperor, but also undertakes delicious dishes for banquets. Historically, the Hall of Mental Cultivation is also known for the vicissitudes of the late Qing Dynasty: during the reigns of Emperor Tongzhi and Emperor Guangxu after Emperor Xianfeng, the Palace of Heavenly Purity underwent significant functional changes, and the east warm chamber became the place for "listening to politics behind a curtain" - from 1861, the two empress dowagers jointly ruled the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and after 1881, Empress Dowager Cixi took power alone, holding the Qing court's power for nearly half a century, while the west warm chamber of the Hall of Mental Cultivation became the place where the emperor summoned ministers. The Hall of Mental Cultivation also has a very special place: the Sanxi Hall in the west suite is the place where the emperor reads and rests, and is named after Emperor Qianlong's collection of Wang Xizhi's "Kuaixue Shiqing Tie", Wang Xianzhi's "Zhongqiu Tie" and Wang Xun's "Boyuan Tie". However, only the latter two are now stored in the Palace Museum in Beijing, while the "Kuaixue Shiqing Tie" is in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.