:故宫的英文导游词

:
  Before Emperor Kangxi of Qing the Dynasty came to power the Hall of Heavenly Purity served as the living quarter of the emperors. Emperor Yongzheng chose to live in this hall and attended to every day state affairs from here .For the sake of protecting cultural relics, this hall is not open to the public .You can have a look at the inside from the door. The central hall was the audience chamber where the emperor read memorials, granted audience to officials and summoned his minsters for consultation. The western chamber of the hall was where the emperor read reports and discussed military and political affairs. The hall consists of many inner rooms and is decorated with images of Buddha and miniature pagodas. On the screen wall there hangs a picture of two emperors in the Han costume. In a southern room there three rare calligraphic scrolls, hence the name of the room “Sanxitang” (Room of Three Rare Treasures) . The room on the eastern side is of historical interst because it was here that Empress Dowager Cixi usurped power and made decisions on behalf of the young emperor . A bamboo curtain was used to separate them .
  Empress Dowage Cixi was born in 1835 in Lu` an Prefecture of shanxi province. She` s of Manchurian nationality and her father was a provincial governor from south China. When she was 17 years old ,she was selected to become a concubine of Emperor Xianfeng and moved into the Forbidden City. She gave birth to a son when she was 21years old and was made a concubine the following year. When the emperor passed away in the summer of 1861, her son ascended the throne and title of Cixi, meaning “Holy Mother” was conferred upon her and she became the Empress Dowager. In that same year Empress Dowager Cixi carried out a count coup d` etat and ruled behind the scenes with another empress dowager, Ci` an, for 48 years. She passed away in 1908 at the age of 73. It was in reference to this situation that the term “attending to state affairs behind a bamboo curtain” developed .In 1912 , Empress dowager Longyu declared the abdication of the last Qing emperor Puyi. They were allowed to remain in the Forbidden City for the next 13 years .The royal family was forced to move out permanently in 1924.