Hall of Central Harmony

I am the Hall of Central Harmony, the smallest of the three halls in the Outer Court of the Forbidden City, yet I hold the deepest tranquility. I was born in 1420 during the Ming Yongle era, first named the Hall of Canopy, then renamed the Hall of Central Pivot after a fire, until the Qing Shunzhi era in 1645 gave me my current name—‘Central Harmony,’ from the Book of Rites, meaning the foundation and way of the world. I stand 29 meters tall, square in plan, with a single-eave pyramidal roof covered in yellow glazed tiles and a gilded bronze spire. Before grand ceremonies in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the emperor would rest here and receive officials; before imperial sacrifices or the plowing ceremony, he would review the prayer tablets and tools. My doors open on all four sides, designed after the Mingtang in the Da Dai Li Ji, and my interior is adorned with golden dragon paintings and the plaque ‘Yunzhi Jue Zhong’ from the Shangshu. When rain falls, the dragon-head drains on the terrace create the spectacle of a thousand dragons spouting water, while I remain the quiet sanctuary for the emperor’s brief pause.