Its land building area is as big as the Forbidden City, and its water area is equal to a Summer Palace. Yuanmingyuan combines the characteristics of several famous gardens in the south of the Yangtze River at that time, melts the essence of China's ancient gardening art, and melts poetry and painting into the ever-changing scene with the artistic technique of the garden in the garden.
The southern part of Yuanmingyuan is the imperial court area, which is where the emperor handles official business. There are 4 scenic spots in other areas, among which more than 5 scenic spots directly imitate the famous gardens in other places, such as the Ten Scenes of West Lake in Hangzhou, which not only imitate the architecture, but also copy the names. More interestingly, there is also a western-style garden scenic spot in Yuanmingyuan. The most famous "water watching method" is a western fountain, a labyrinth of flowers and a western building, all of which have the style of Italian Renaissance. There is also a model of Venice in the lake, and the emperor can enjoy the "water city scenery" thousands of miles away by sitting on the mountain on the shore.
Yuanmingyuan is a treasure house, which contains rare cultural relics such as calligraphy and painting of famous people, books and records of secret government, Zhong Ding treasures, gold and silver jewelry and so on, and concentrates the essence of ancient culture. Yuanmingyuan is also a garden of exotic flowers, with millions of rare flowers and trees. Westerners who have witnessed Yuanmingyuan completely call it "the garden of ten thousand gardens".
Indeed, if today is the same as it was 14 years ago, this super-giant garden would be a well-deserved "king of world gardens". Regrettably, in 186, the British and French allied forces and in 19, Eight-Nation Alliance looted the Yuanmingyuan twice. The buildings in the garden were burned and the cultural relics were looted. The miraculous and mythical Yuanmingyuan was in ruins, leaving only ruins for people to mourn.
Yuanmingyuan
A famous royal garden in the Qing Dynasty. In the forty-eighth year of Kangxi (179), Emperor Kangxi (that is, Emperor Xuanye of the Qing Dynasty) gave his fourth son Yin Zhen a garden one mile north of Changchun Garden in the northwest suburb of Beijing, and personally named the garden "Yuanmingyuan". In the third year of Yongzheng (1725), Yong Zhengdi (that is, Yin Zhen, Emperor Sejong of Qing Dynasty) built a palace office in the south of Yuanmingyuan, covering an area of more than 3, mu from the original 6 mu. Since then, Yuanmingyuan is not only a place for the Qing emperors to have a rest and visit, but also a place for them to meet with foreign envoys and handle daily affairs. After Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne, he adjusted the garden landscape in Yuanmingyuan, added architectural groups, and built Changchun Garden and Qichun Garden in the east and southeast of Yuanmingyuan (renamed Wanchun Garden in Tongzhi). These three gardens are all under the management of the management minister of Yuanmingyuan, and are called Yuanming Three Gardens.
Yuanming Three Gardens covers an area of more than 5,2 mu, with more than 15 scenic spots. Among them, the most famous ones are the Zhengda Guangming Hall, the Anyou Palace, which worships ancestors, the high-rise building with mountains and high water for banquets, the Pengdao Yaotai, which simulates the Picture of a Pavilion on the Fairy Hill, and the Wuling spring scenery in the Peach Blossom Garden. Some famous gardens in the south of the Yangtze River, such as Lion Forest in Suzhou and Ten Scenes of West Lake in Hangzhou, have also been built in imitation. There is also a group of European-style buildings in Changchun Garden, commonly known as the Western Building.
Yuanmingyuan is also a large royal museum with many treasures, books and artistic masterpieces.
in August of the tenth year of Xianfeng (186), the British and French allied forces invaded Beijing. On October 6, the occupation of Yuanmingyuan. Since the next day, officers and soldiers have been frantically looting and destroying. In order to force the Qing government to accept the terms of peace as soon as possible, British Minister Elgin and British Commander Grant used the excuse that the Qing government had imprisoned British and French prisoners in Yuanmingyuan as an excuse, and ordered Lieutenant General Mitchell to lead more than 3,5 invading troops to the Yuanmingyuan on October 18 and set them on fire. The fire, which lasted for two days and nights, burned Yuanmingyuan into ruins.
During the Tongzhi period (1862 ~ 1874), Emperor Tongzhi prepared to restore the Yuanmingyuan for the Empress Dowager Cixi to live in. Later, due to financial difficulties, it was forced to stop and rebuild other buildings. In 19, Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, and the Yuanmingyuan was once again destroyed. After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, some warlords, politicians and bureaucrats stole building materials from Yuanmingyuan one after another, and the site of Yuanmingyuan was further damaged.
after the founding of the People's Republic of China, China attached great importance to the protection of the site of Yuanmingyuan. In 1979, the site of Yuanmingyuan was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in Beijing. After that, the renovation of the Yuanmingyuan site was gradually carried out.
Yuanmingyuan's magnificence was not achieved overnight. It took more than 1 years to build and operate one after another by concentrating a lot of financial and material resources of the country, employing ineffective craftsmen and pouring the blood and sweat of millions of working people. Why did the Qing emperor make such great efforts to run Yuanmingyuan for a long time at the expense of work? This is closely related to Manchu living habits.
China is a multi-ethnic country. The hardworking and brave Manchu people have lived in the rich and beautiful land in the Northeast Heilongjiang River Basin for generations. In the mid-16th century, under the leadership of its outstanding leader, feudal politician, militarist Huang Taiji and Regent Dourgen, the Qing army invaded North China on a large scale, completely overthrowing the extremely corrupt Ming Dynasty, and entered Beijing from the northeast as its capital, seized the national political power, and established the last feudal ruling dynasty in history-the Qing Dynasty. Because the rulers of the Qing Dynasty lived a nomadic life in the northeast before entering the customs, it was Linhai Xueyuan in winter. After entering the customs, they are not adapted to the dry and hot climate in Beijing in midsummer. Although the Forbidden City is resplendent and magnificent, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty found it dull and stuffy. Especially in the early years of Kangxi, after the fire disaster in the Forbidden City, a high palace wall was built to prevent fire and court riots. The courtyards in the palace are in phase with each other, and the current in the creek is too gentle, which almost becomes stagnant water. At that time, the imperial city was once known as "red wall, green tile and black sewer". This made the emperors a little tired of the palace life surrounded by high walls, so from the early years of Kangxi, they began to build gardens, which lasted for more than 2 years. In the western suburbs of Beijing, there are endless Xishan Xiufeng: Yuquan Mountain, Wanshou Mountain, Wanquanzhuang, Beihai Lake and other landforms, and artesian springs are everywhere, merging into large and small lakes and ponds in low-lying areas. Yuquan landscape flows into Kunming Lake from west to east, becoming the largest water surface in the western suburbs. Ancient working people lived here, worked hard, cultivated large areas of paddy fields, and formed a natural scenic spot. As early as the Liao Dynasty, the feudal emperors chose this place to build the Yuquan Mountain Palace. In the Ming Dynasty, the natural scenery here attracted more tourists, so some dignitaries occupied the countryside to build villas, and large areas of land were occupied by pieces. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Hou Liwei, a relative of the Ming Dynasty, built a large-scale building here, first of all, tsinghua campus, which is known as the "first garden in Beijing" (so it is located outside the Western Wall of Peking University today). Later, Mi Wanzhong guided the lake outside the east wall of tsinghua campus, and managed the elegant and beautiful "spoon garden", which means "Haidian spoonful". In the open countryside, pavilions, pavilions and lakes and mountains complement each other and become a famous garden gathering place in the suburbs of Beijing. In the Qing dynasty, the emperor also took a fancy to the western suburbs, an excellent place for gardening. The large-scale construction of gardens began in this way.
In the 28th year of Kangxi (AD 1688), Xuanye ordered the construction of Changchun Garden with an area of 6 hectares in the former site of tsinghua campus, where he spent most of the year listening to politics, and the imperial garden life in Qing Dynasty began. However, the status of Changchun Garden did not last long, and it was replaced by the later Yuanmingyuan.
Around Changchun Garden, there are many private gardens left over from the Ming Dynasty. In the early Qing Dynasty, these former private gardens were handed over to members of the Qing royal family and princes. In the forty-eighth year of Kangxi (AD 179), Yuanmingyuan was given to Yin Zhen, the fourth son of Emperor Kangxi, as a vassal garden. And the inscription of "Yuanmingyuan" was written by Emperor Kangxi. This world-famous garden began its history from scratch and from prosperity to decline from this year. Yin Zhen was the later yongzheng emperor, and he was very proud of the garden he got. He explained the meaning of the word "Yuanming" in the Book of Yuanmingyuan by Kangxi:
Yuanming has a far-reaching will, so it is not easy to get a glimpse of it. After tasting the words from ancient times, it is the virtue of Yuanming. The husband's round face is fascinated, and the gentleman is also in the middle.
The word "round" here means "complete and comprehensive", while the word "bright" means "knowledgeable and wise". Therefore, the name "Yuanmingyuan" is nothing more than the ruling class flaunting its moral cultivation and intelligence. Emperor Kangxi's inscription also expressed his expectation for the prince.
Yuanmingyuan is located in the north of Guajiatun, about one mile away from Changchun Garden, that is, in the north of Peking University and west of Tsinghua University.
The Yuanmingyuan in the Kangxi period has water surfaces such as Qianhu Lake and Houhu Lake, and it is built with landscapes such as "Peony Terrace" and "Natural Pictures". When Yuanmingyuan was still a vassal garden, its rules could not exceed the emperor's Changchun Garden, so there were not many scenes built and its reputation was not great, which was far less than Changchun Garden. But later, with the master's accession to the throne, the Qing Dynasty's peace and prosperity came, and after more than 6 years of continuous expansion, the most magnificent royal garden in China's history was finally built.
The Yuanmingyuan in history is composed of Yuanmingyuan, Changchun Garden and Qichun Garden. The three gardens are closely adjacent, commonly known as Yuanmingyuan. * * * covers an area of more than 5,2 mu (about 35 hectares), nearly 1, mu larger than the entire area of the Summer Palace. It is a large royal palace built and operated by the feudal emperors in the Qing Dynasty for more than 15 years. Emperors of Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang and Xianfeng all lived in Yuanmingyuan for many years, and held court meetings here to manage foreign affairs. Together with the Forbidden City, it was the political center of the country at that time, and was called "Imperial Garden" by the Qing emperor.
Beijing's northwest suburb, with its mountains, springs, lakes and marshes, has always been the place where feudal emperors and their relatives and dignitaries built palaces and gardens. By the time of Kangxi and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, the social economy had developed significantly and the national treasury was full. In order to pursue the garden life of "calming the gods and enjoying the blessings", the Qing emperor set up an unprecedented landscape construction situation in this area.
Yuanmingyuan was originally a garden given by Emperor Kangxi to the fourth son of Emperor Yin Zhen (later yongzheng emperor). In the forty-sixth year of Kangxi, in 177, the garden had begun to take shape. In November of the same year, Emperor Kangxi visited the Yuanmingyuan. After yongzheng emperor acceded to the throne in 1723, he expanded the original garden, and built the Zhengda Guangming Hall, Qinzheng Hall and the value rooms of the Cabinet, Sixth Department and military department in the south of the garden, so as to "avoid noise and listen to politics". Emperor Qianlong reigned for 6 years, and spent millions of dollars on the construction of Yuanmingyuan, repairing China every day, dredging water and moving stones. In addition to the partial addition and reconstruction of Yuanmingyuan, he built Changchun Garden in the immediate east and merged it into Qichun Garden in the southeast. By the thirty-fifth year of Qianlong, that is, in 177, the pattern of Yuanming Three Gardens had basically taken shape. Jiaqing Dynasty mainly repaired and expanded Qichun Garden, making it one of the main garden places. During the Daoguang dynasty, state affairs declined and financial resources were insufficient. However, it was better to withdraw the furnishings of Wanshou, Xiangshan and Yuquan, stop the Rehe River for summer vacation and Mulan hunting, and still do not give up the reconstruction and decoration of Yuanming Three Gardens.
Yuanmingyuan: It was mainly built in the last years of Kangxi and Yongzheng. By the end of Yongzheng, the landscape group had spread over 3, mu of the whole garden. During the Qianlong period, there were many additions and renovations in the park. The main landscape groups of the park, There are the famous "Forty Scenes of Yuanmingyuan" (namely, aboveboard and bright, diligent and virtuous, Jiuzhou Qingyan, Twilight of the Moon, natural pictures, Bitong Academy, Ciyun Puhu, Shangxiatianguang, Xinghuachun Pavilion, magnanimous, Ruguhanjin, Changchun Fairy Pavilion, Wanfang Anhe, Wuling Chunse, the mountains are high and the waters are long, the moon and the land are cloudy and the earth are long, and Hongci is eternal. Siyi Bookstore, Square Pot Scenic Spot, Bath Bath, Pinghu Qiuyue, Pengdao Yaotai, Xiushan House, Unique Cave, Qinjing Mingqin, Hanxu Langjian, Broad Grand Duke, Sitting on a Stone Facing the Flow, Quyuan Wind Lotus, Deep Cave), and Zibi Mountain House, Algae Garden, Ruofan Pavilion, Wenyuan Pavilion, etc. At that time, there were about 6 main garden buildings hanging plaques, which was the highest among royal gardens at home and abroad.
Changchun Garden: It was built around the 1th year of Qianlong (1745). When the general manager of the Garden was formally set up in 1751, the main scenic spots on the middle and west roads of the Garden were basically completed, such as Lianhuaitang, Hanjingtang, Yulinglong Pavilion, Siyongzhai, Haiyue Kaijin, Dequan Pavilion, Liuxiangzhu, Fahui Temple, Baoxiang Temple and Aishan. Later, Qianyuan Garden and Xiaoyoutian Garden were built one after another. The eastern scenery of the park (Yingqingzhai, Ruyuan, Jianyuan and Lion Forest) was built on a large scale from 31 to 37 years of Qianlong, including Xiyanglou Scenic Area, and Changchun Garden * * * covers an area of one mu. There are about 2 garden buildings hanging plaques.
Qichun Garden: It was originally the bestowed residence of Prince Yun Xiang of QIA. It was built around the end of Kangxi, and was later given to Fu Heng, a great scholar. In the thirty-fifth year of Qianlong (177), it was officially included in the imperial garden and named Qichun Garden. At that time, the scope did not include its northwest. In the fourth and sixteenth years of Jiaqing, the western part of the garden was successively endowed with two gardens, one was Xishuang Village, which became a prince, and the other was Hanhui Garden, a princess of Zhuang Jing and Shuo. After large-scale repair, reconstruction and addition, the garden began to have a scale of 1, mu and became one of the main gardens of the Qing emperor's garden. At this point, Yuanming Three Gardens are in its heyday. Jiaqing first had the poem "Thirty Scenes of Spring Garden", and then more than 2 landscapes were successively created. At that time, the famous landscape groups were Fuchun Hall, Qingxiazhai, Hanqiuguan, Shengdongshi, Siyi Bookstore, Chunzezhai, Fenglinzhou, Weizaotang, Zhonghetang, Bixiang, Chikurinin, Xiyushan House, Yanyulou, Hanhui Building, Chengxin Hall and Weizaotang. There are more than 1 garden buildings with plaques. The Palace Gate of Qichun Garden was built in the 14th year of Jiaqing (189). Because it was built more than half a century later than the Grand Palace Gate of Yuanmingyuan and the Second Palace Gate of Changchun Garden, it is also called the "New Palace Gate" and has been in use ever since. Since the early years of Daoguang, the Fuchuntang area on the East Road of the Garden has been rebuilt as a place to support the Empress Dowager. However, the scenery of Yuanxi Road has always been the garden residence of Daoguang and Xianfeng emperors. After the garden was destroyed in 186, it was renamed Wanchun Garden when it was tried to be rebuilt during the Tongzhi period.
Yuanmingyuan is a large-scale artificial garden with magnificent scale and beautiful scenery. The flat land is stacked with mountains to manage water, refined garden buildings, and widely planted with trees and flowers. With intermittent hills, tortuous water surfaces, pavilions, winding corridors, islands and bridges, the vast space is divided into more than 1 scenic groups surrounded by mountains and rivers with different interests. The water surface in the park accounts for about four-tenths of the total area of the three parks. The large, medium and small water surfaces are artificially dug on the flat ground, and the rivers that flow around the loop are connected in series to form a complete river and lake system. There are 25 earth mountains, large and small, in the garden, which are combined with the water system, and the water turns with the mountains, and the mountains are alive because of the water, forming a layered garden space. It makes the whole garden as misty as a water town in the south of the Yangtze River. It can really be said that although it is made by people, it is natural.
The landscape of Yuanmingyuan is mostly based on water, which makes it interesting, and many of them directly absorb the interest of famous waterscapes in the south of the Yangtze River. The Houhu Scenic Area of Yuanmingyuan, with nine small islands surrounding the Houhu Lake, is the symbol of "Jiuzhou" in Yugong, a national territory. The small gardens or scenic groups built on each island have their own characteristics, and they are borrowed from each other. Up and down the northern shore of the skylight, there is quite a victory of climbing Yueyang Tower to see Dongting Lake. "Hanging down the rainbow and driving the lake, climbing a hundred feet, repairing the fence and clamping the wings,