Emperors in Ming and Qing dynasty lived and conducted daily affairs in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. It is located inside the inner court. Its height is 20 meters. It is superior to the Hall of Jiaotai and Palace of Kunning. It is located just behind the Heavenly Purity Gate. The Chinese name for the Palace of Heavenly Purity is Qianqinggong (‘qian’ means heavenly and ‘qing’ means purity). The name ‘Qianqing’ has two level meaning. First it reflects a wish that the country should be as stable as the sky. Second is a reminder of the emperor – he should be responsible to the people, his behavior should be as clear as the sky. In the middle of the palace, there is a throne. Above the throne, there is a plaque saying ‘Zhengdaguanming’. Since the Yongzheng emperor in Qing dynasty, the plaque became a place where the emperor hid the list of heir. The story is that in case that his sons would fight over the throne, the Yongzheng emperor would have chosen an heir beforehand. He wrote down the heir’s name on a paper and made a copy of it. One of them would be hid behind the plaque, and he carried the other ones with himself. After his death, the officials would open the box behind the plaque to see who the heir is. On the each side of the palace, there are drawing rooms where emperor used to rest and read books. The western drawing room has 27 beds in total for the emperor to choose. It was said that so many beds could make assassins feel puzzled. So the safety of the emperor could be assured. Emperors after Yongzheng emperor did no longer live in the palace, but they still worked there. In the palace, there are special rooms for storing clothes, books and stationery of the emperor. And the studying room of princes is situated in the southern part of the palace. The southern official room for scholars is also located there.
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