東漢的“殿中”和“禁中”

The Inner Palace and the Forbidden Court in the Eastern Han Dynasty

東漢南北宫整體呈"囙"形,宫牆之内有殿牆,由端門、神虎門、雲龍門等殿門出入,其内爲"殿中"。殿中區域以德陽、崇德、雲臺、嘉德等殿爲中心,又有朝堂、尚書臺、侍中寺、蘭臺、符節臺、謁者臺等機構,由光禄勳所領郎官宿衛。"禁中"在"殿中"深處,有牆相隔,由"禁門"出入,士人一般不得居止其中。"殿中"、"禁中"以"某某殿"爲中心的院落都稱"省",其中事務由宦官負責,"給事省闥"的中常侍、小黄門尤爲重要。皇帝生活起居和日常辦公都在"禁中",與殿中官員及公卿大臣溝通不便,爲宦官干政創造了條件。

Both the Southern and the Northern Palaces of the Eastern Han Dynasty generally appear in the shape of a"囙".Within the walls of the palace,there are walls girdling around the halls,with the entrance known as End Gate(duan men),Gate of Divine Tiger(shenhu men),Gate of Cloud Dragon(yunlong men),etc.The area within the confines of these gates is called the"Inner Palace"(dian zhong),which,assuming the halls of Deyang,Chongde,Yuntai,Jiade etc.as a center part,has also included such institutions as the imperial hall(chao tang),central office of secretariat(shangshu tai),house of palace attendants(shizhong si),orchid terrace(lan tai),office for tallies and credentials(fujie tai),the office of imperial messengers(yezhe tai),etc.,all guarded by the gentlemen subordinate to the superintendents of the palace.The Forbidden Court(jin zhong)is located in the depth of the Inner Palace(dian zhong),with a wall separating it from the other sections of the Inner Palace(dian zhong),and forbids the stay of general officials in it.A compound that revolves around a hall(dian),whether in the Inner Palace or in the Inner Court,is named as a ministry(sheng),which is in the charge of the eunuchs,among whom the junior attendants of the yellow gates(xiao huangmen)and the regular palace attendants(zhong changshi)serving at the doors of a ministry(jishi shengta)are the most important categories.The emperors employ the Forbidden Court(jin zhong),which is inconvenient for contact with the officials,chancellors and ministers working in the Inner Palace(dian zhong),both as his living quarter and as the place for handling official business,thus necessitates the interference of the eunuchs in the political affairs.