The history of Prince Kung's Palace

In the period of Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912):

In the 45th year of Qianlong's reign (1780), the grand secretary Heshen built a mansion for Princess Hexiao – the 10th daughter of Emperor Qianlong -- on an imperial order.

In the 53rd year of the Qianlong reign (1788), the construction of the Tenth Princess' Mansion was basically completed.

On the third day of the first lunar month of the fourth year of the Jiaqing reign (February 7, 1799), Heshen was convicted, on the third day after the death of Emperor Qianlong. On the 16th day of the first lunar month (February 20), Emperor Jiaqing announced Heshen's 20 charges and confiscated his wealth. On the 18th day of the first lunar month (February 22), Emperor Jiaqing issued a decree to permit Heshen to commit suicide.

In the fourth year of the Jiaqing reign (1799), Emperor Jiaqing gave Heshen's mansion to his younger brother (the 17th son of Emperor Qianlong) Yonglin, the then County King Qing, as his residence. In the 25th year of the Jiaqing reign, Yonglin, Prince Qing, died but his descendants lived in the mansion.

In the 30th year of the Daoguang reign (1850), Emperor Xianfeng gave the Prince Qing's mansion to his sixth brother Yixin, Prince Kung. On the 22nd day of the fourth lunar month of the second year of the Xianfeng reign, Yixin moved to the mansion, and it was called Prince Kung's Palace. In the 20th year of the Guangxu reign (1894), Prince Kung died and his grandson Puwei became the successor with the title of Prince Kung.

In the period of the Republic of China:

In 1912, Puwei sold all the cultural relics (except calligraphy and paintings) collected in the Prince Kung's Palace to Yamanaka Sadajirō, a Japan-based art dealer who founded Yamanaka & Company.

Around 1920, Puwei offered the Prince Kung's Palace to a Catholic church as a mortgage due to the pressure of raising funds for the restoration of the Qing Dynasty and living expenses.

In 1937, Furen Catholic University of Peking purchased the Prince Kung's Palace for 190,000 yuan of legal tender.

In the period of the People's Republic of China:

In 1950, Furen Catholic University of Peking was taken over by the Central Ministry of Education and later merged with Beijing Normal University.

In 1950, the Beijing Academy of Arts was established in Prince Kung's Palace.

In 1962, Premier Zhou Enlai, accompanied by Wang Kunlun, vice-mayor of Beijing and a famous scholar of the masterpiece Dream of the Red Chamber, inspected Prince Kung's Palace, and pointed out that the mansion should be well protected and open to the public if the conditions permit.

In 1975, when Premier Zhou Enlai was seriously ill, he entrusted Gu Mu, then vice-premier of the State Council, to do three things: building a new library in Beijing; renovating the Liulichang Cultural Street; and opening Prince Kung's Mansion to the public. 

In 1979, under the care of Gu Mu, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and vice-premier of the State Council, the units occupying the mansion began to be relocated, and the restoration and opening of Prince Kung's Mansion was put on the agenda.

In February 1982, Prince Kung's Mansion was listed among the second group of national foremost protected heritage sites.

In 1986, abiding by the principle of "relocation, renovation and opening to the public at the same time" proposed by leading comrades in the Central Committee, the relocation and restoration of the garden of Prince Kung's Mansion were basically completed.

In 1987, the State Council determined that Prince Kung's Mansion was under the administration and management of the Ministry of Culture.

In 1988, the garden of Prince Kung's Mansion was opened to the public. The China Conservatory of Music moved out of the mansion.

In October 1989, Li Peng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC); Rong Yiren, vice-president of China, and Zou Jiahua, vice-premier of the State Council visited Prince Kung's Mansion. In November, Li Ruihuan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), visited Prince Kung's Mansion and instructed to open the mansion to the public as soon as possible.

In 1997, at the fifth session of the Eighth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), CPPCC members proposed to open Prince Kung's Mansion. In December, the Culture and Art Publishing House moved out of the garden of the mansion.

In 1998, at the first session of the Ninth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, CPPCC members called for the full opening of Prince Kung's Mansion as soon as possible.

In February 1999, Li Lanqing, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and vice-premier of the State Council, visited Prince Kung's Mansion and instructed that priority should be given to the protection of cultural relics and then the rational use of the cultural relics.

In 2000, Li Lanqing, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and vice-premier of the State Council, worked at Prince Kung's Mansion to oversee the construction of the new site of the Chinese National Academy of Arts.

In March 2001, Gu Mu, accompanied by Wang Guangtao, deputy mayor of Beijing, inspected Prince Kung's Mansion and made important instructions.

In November 2002, the Administration Office of Prince Kung's Mansion held an expert discussion meeting on the planning scheme of Prince Kung's Mansion hosted by Tsinghua University.

In March 2003, the Administration Office of Prince Kung's Mansion of Ministry of Culture changed its name to the Management Center of Prince Kung's Palace  Museum of Ministry of Culture.