◀ Gyeonghoeru Pavilion(National Treasure No. 224). This pavilion, built on the pond west of Gangnyeongjeon, the king's living quarters, was where the king threw feasts for foreign envoys or his court officials. The name means that the king is capable of handling national affairs only when he has the right people around him, it was used on joyous occasions. ▲ A pattern designed with "wind-blowing" holes on the banister of the upper floor of the pavilion. Gyeonghoeru, a pavilion located on a pond to the west of the living quarters, was built as a venue for feasts for foreign envoys and for the king and his court officials.When Gyeongbokgung was constructed, a small pavilion was built there, but in 1412(the 12th year of King Taejong), the pond was enlarged and a pavilion of the current size was built. This pavilion tilted, so it was rebuilt during King Seongjong's reign(r. 1469-1494). At the time, the stone pillars were decorated with dragons and flowers. During Yeonsangun's reign(1494-1506), The hills called Mansesan were created on the other two smaller man-made islets decorated with artificial flowers. All those were burned down in a fire during the Japanese Invasions(1592-1598). Although the pavilion disappeared, kings would periodically officiate at rites to pray for rain at the pond until Gyeongbokgung was rebuilt in the late 19th century.     ▲ This old photo shows the Throne Hall Compound seen from Gyeonghoeru Pavilion from the collections of the National Museum of Korea. ▲ A sculptured dragon excavated from the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion site.     ▲ The view at night of Gyeonghoeru ▲ The snowscape around Gyeonghoeru The current Gyeonghoeru Pavilion was built in 1867 (the fourth year of King Gojong). Other rebuilt structures in Gyeongbokgung were burned down at various times, but Gyeonghoeru Pavilion remained intact. A wall encircled the pond, but it was torn down during the Japanese occupation (1910-1945). The wall on the north and east side were restored in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Sculpted animals sit atop the front railing stones on three stone bridges leading to the pavilion ; this is to ward off evil spirits.     ◀ A blueprint of Gyeonghoeru Pavilion. This illustrates the layout of the pavilion according to the 36th hexagram in the Book of Changes(Iching).   Before the reconstruction of Gyeonghoeru, a man named Jeong Hak-soon prepared a diagram to explain the floor plan of the pavilion on the basis of the Book of Changes. The diagram states that Gyeonghoeru was built on the principle of 6-6 to suppress fire. Six symbolizes a large amount of water in the octal system of numerical notation and the number of spaces and building materials follow the principle of 6. The cosmic principle applied to the construction of Gyeonghoeru, as recorded in this diagram, is as follows: Jeong Hak-soon defined the pavilion's surface as a structure of three imbedded rectangles around a core, a basic diagram of the Book of Changes. This is the mysterious diagram(Hetu), which is said to have appeared in ancient China. Two dragons handling water and fire were placed to the north of the pavilion, symbolizing spring water that overwhelms fire.     ▲ The upper level of Gyeonghoeru. ▲ The upper level of Gyeonghoeru.