Belvedere of Embodying Benevolence, Imperial pavilion in Forbidden City, Beijing, China.
The Belvedere of Embodying Benevolence (Tiren Ge) stands on the east side of the Outer Court square, facing the Hall of Supreme Harmony. It is 25 metres high, two storeys on a raised stone base, with a yellow glazed hip roof and seven ridge beasts. The lower storey has nine bays, a double-leaf door in the central bay, and three-bracket eaves; the upper storey has seven bays, a surrounding gallery, and 28 lattice doors.
The pavilion was first built in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty under Emperor Yongle as Wen Tower and later reconstructed in 1783 following a fire. This rebuilding shaped the structure into its current form.
In 1679, the Kangxi Emperor summoned 143 scholars to the pavilion for a special examination in poetry and prose; 20 were ranked first class and 30 second class, and together they compiled the official Ming History. The building also stored portraits of Qing emperors.
The pavilion stands on a raised stone base on the east side of the Taihe Square, facing west toward the Belvedere of Spreading Righteousness. Its lower level is enclosed by brick walls and lattice windows, so the interior is not entered on the standard route; visitors view it from the square. The 24 square columns and balustrade of the upper gallery can be seen from below.
The upper gallery rests on a flat platform ringed by 24 square pillars with balustrades, from which one could look out over the square. The building was used as a storage for the palace museum's collection of 20 carriages, about 15 of them damaged, moved there in 2013.
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