Hall of Preserving Harmony

I am the Hall of Preserving Harmony, one of the three halls of the Outer Court of the Forbidden City, located north of the Hall of Central Harmony, and one of the few structures retaining its Ming Dynasty original form. I was completed in 1420 during the Ming Yongle era, first named the Hall of Prudence, suffered a fire in the Jiajing period, and was renamed the Hall of Preserving Harmony in 1645 under the Qing, from the Book of Changes, meaning focused spirit to maintain cosmic harmony. In the Ming, emperors changed clothes here before grand ceremonies; in the Qing, I hosted banquets on New Year's Eve and Lantern Festival, and from 1789 became the fixed site for the imperial examination. My beams remain Ming-era, using the reduced-column technique to open space. Inside, gold bricks pave the floor, and above the throne hangs a plaque with Emperor Qianlong's inscription 'The Emperor Establishes the Ultimate Standard. ' The cloud-dragon stone carving on the rear steps, sourced from Fangshan west of Beijing, required over 10,000 workers a month to drag here. Remember: I am the hall of harmony, witnessing the balance of all things in the universe.