What is the history of "Ziguangge" as a traditional Chinese building?

The Ziguangge, as a building, was located on the west side of Zhonghai in Beijing. The Ziguangge that we see now is largely the same as it was when it was rebuilt in the 41st year of the Qianlong reign.

The Pavilion of Purple Light was, in ancient times, known as the shore of the Taiyi Pond. Ming Dynasty emperors had a record of watching dragon boats here to eat dumplings and watch archery. To Chongzhen, the name is designated as Ziguangge. Ziguangge is one of the very important buildings I have. The whole building is staggered, rich and solemn. Both the Ming and Qing dynasties, is one of the rulers of the choice of amusement and enjoyment.

In the Qianlong era, Qianlong in order to show off his "martial arts", "the prosperity of the rule of literature", in the twenty-fifth year of the Qianlong order to rebuild the Ziguangge, and painted inside the figure of the ministers. 1776, in order to commemorate for the country to open up the territory of the ministers. Qianlong decided to expand the Ziguangge into the Pavilion of Meritorious Ministers, and from then on, the Ziguangge almost became a royal military museum, recording the war history of the Qing dynasty.

The portrait of Fu Heng hanging in the Pavilion

The so-called "ten great military feats" are the two pacification of Jungar, one pacification of the Hui tribe, two conquests of Daxiao Jinchuan, one suppression of the Taiwan Lin Shuangwen Uprising, a conquest of Burma, a conquest of Annam, and the Gorkha surrendered twice, etc. The Pavilion was built by the Qianlong emperor, who decided to expand the Pavilion into a Royal Military Museum.

In 1886, Li Hongzhang, in order to let Cixi experience the train, proposed to build an imperial railroad, and the starting point was located in Ziguangge, known as the Ziguangge Railway, 1.5 kilometers long. Every day after the court, Cixi with Guangxu and some ministers to take a small train to lunch, so the train became a ferry between the Royal Office and the Imperial canteen. To show their rank, Cixi and Guangxu's carriages used yellow silk for window draperies, while the other carriages used red or blue silk.

The royal line ran for almost a decade or so before it was destroyed in 1900 after the Eight-Power Allied Forces attacked Beijing. At the same time, the destruction also included the portraits of meritorious officials and some valuable cultural relics in the Ziguangge. After the destruction, the Ziguangge was left untouched in the Republic of China and the building was in a state of disrepair, a stark contrast to its heyday and a microcosm of China's decline from strength to strength.

After the new China, under the instruction of Premier Zhou, Ziguangge was restored and became an important place for national leaders to receive foreign guests.