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Hongli, the Qianlong emperor, spent relatively little time in the Forbidden City. After the court audiences and banquets that marked the New Year were completed, he moved to Yuanmingyuan, his villa
about five miles northwest of Beijing. Except for a trek north to his summer capital, Chengde, and the annual hunt at Mulan each autumn, it was at Yuanmingyuan that the emperor lived for the greater part of the year. In 1762, for example, he spent about half of his time in his villa at Yuanmingyuan or at Chengde, a little more than a quarter of his time in the Forbidden City, and the rest of his days on the road.
Further, the time he did spend in the Forbidden City was not all in the same palace. He lived, during his early years, in his father's royal mansion in northeast Beijing. He was just 10½ years old in 1722 when his grandfather, the Kangxi emperor, invited him to move into the Forbidden City. There, his first home was the Yuqing Palace, which was located inside the "Great Interior," just to the east of the walled compound surrounding the Qianqing Palace. After his father became emperor in December 1722, Hongli's younger half-brother, Hongzhou, also moved into this residence. According to their own accounts, the two siblings were raised together and remained close throughout their lives.
At Home in the 'City'
Just before his 16th birthday, Hongli married, and the couple moved into a compound located northwest of the Qianqing Palace called the Xiersuo. Some six years later, in 1733, Hongli was granted a first-degree princely title, but he did not follow custom and move out of the Forbidden City into a separate residence. Rather, he shared the Xiersuo with nine other consorts, or royal wives. Since each consort had her own room, the compound must have been very spacious.
Until he ascended the throne at the age of 24, Hongli attended classes inside the Forbidden City. The students assembled each day at the Palace School, located in the eastern wing of the Qianqing Palace, where the emperor conducted the daily affairs of state. Apparently, the emperor enjoyed hearing the students recite their texts aloud, as was the custom at the time. Classes went year round, beginning at 5 A.M. and lasting until 4 P.M. When the emperor and his family moved out of the Forbidden City, classes were held in imperial villas in the suburbs. In addition to high-ranking scholars, who were appointed to tutor the Confucian classics, special bannermen were appointed to teach the languages Manchu and Mongolian, riding, archery, and other military subjects.
A Servant for Everything
When Hongli became emperor, he moved his personal quarters to the Yangxindian, located to the west of the Qianqing Palace. He also conducted imperial audiences and conferences with high officials there. Both the Yangxindian and the Qianqing Palace were located inside the "Great Interior," where only selected high officials and princes were allowed entry. Servants were also allowed to go in and out of the palace.
Yangxindian Palace
The emperor and his family were surrounded by servants, including thousands of eunuchs. In 1751, the Qianlong emperor decreed that a maximum of 3,300 eunuchs could be employed in the Forbidden City at any one time. More than 500 maids were assigned to members of the imperial family, and more than 5,000 other women lit the lamps, did needlework, and prepared food offerings for the altars. Records show that in 1760-1761, casual laborers who weeded the grounds in summer, swept the snow from the courtyards in winter, and did other menial chores totaled 36,000. These figures do not include the approximately 10,000 artists and artisans who produced exquisite furniture, religious objects, jewelry, and art objects in the palace workshops. Finally, there were the imperial guards who controlled the palace gates, workshops, and storerooms and patrolled the palace grounds at night. The Forbidden City was, in fact, a city in itself, enclosed within the larger metropolis.
Overseeing all within the royal household was the Imperial Household Department. This group supervised the wardrobes, food, residences, and daily activities of the emperor and his family. Among its other responsibilities were directing palace construction and security, publishing Chinese editions of major literary works, issuing permits for the salt trade, loaning money, and renting out its many properties in Beijing.
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