The precious cultural relics in the Old Summer Palace include cloisonne unicorns, dragon heads, pig head bronze statues, Sikuquanshu, Chunhua Pavilion inscriptions, etc.
1. Cloisonné Kirin
Cloisonne Kirin is a magnificent and colorful arts and crafts made by attaching enamel of various colors to a copper or bronze body and firing it. . The name "Cloisonne" is a commonly known name, and the official academic name is copper tire filigree enamel. The cloisonne unicorn is an enamelware from the Qing Dynasty, collected in the Palace of Fontainebleau, France.
2. Dragon Head
One of the twelve zodiac animal head bronze statues. It was originally part of the fountain outside Haiyan Hall in Yuanmingyuan and was cast during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Information shows that this series of animal heads were designed by the Italian court Western painter Castiglione, supervised by the Frenchman Chiang Youren, and produced by the court craftsmen.
3. The pig head bronze statue
After the "Burning of Old Summer Palace" in 1860, it was plundered and lost overseas. It was later purchased by China Poly Group Company and is now collected in the Poly Art Museum in Beijing. The pig-headed bronze statue, one of the twelve zodiac animals in the Yuanmingyuan that had been lost overseas for 143 years, successfully arrived at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport on a special plane from Beijing on the afternoon of March 17, 2004.
4. Sikuquanshu
The full name of "Sikuquanshu" is "The Imperial Collection of Sikuquanshu". It is a large series compiled during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Under the auspices of Emperor Qianlong, it was compiled by more than 360 senior officials and scholars including Ji Yun, and copied by more than 3,800 people. It took thirteen years to compile.
5. Chunhua Pavilion Tie
"Chunhua Pavilion Tie" is the earliest collection of calligraphy ink from various calligraphies in China. The so-called calligraphy is to trace the ink of a famous ancient calligrapher with double hooks, carve it on a stone or wooden board, and then print it and bind it into a calligraphy. The 10 volumes of "Chunhua Pavilion Tie" contain calligraphy and ink ink from China's pre-Qin Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties for more than a thousand years.