Features of garden architecture:
Yuanmingyuan combines the features of several famous gardens in the south of the Yangtze River at that time, melts the essence of ancient gardening art in China, and melts poetry and painting into ever-changing scenes with the artistic techniques of gardens in the garden. The southern part of Yuanmingyuan is the imperial court, where the emperor handles official business, the most famous of which is the Zhengda Guangming Hall, which listens to politics in the court. 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 and Lion Forest in Suzhou, which not only imitate the architecture, but also copy the names. There is also the Anyou Palace for ancestor worship, the high-rise building with high mountains and high water for banquet, which simulates the Pengdao Yaotai of The Castle in the Fairy Hill and reproduces the spring scenery of Wuling in the Peach Blossom Garden. More interestingly, there is also a western-style garden scenic spot in Yuanmingyuan. The most famous "Dashuifa" is a western fountain, a labyrinth of flowers and Haiyan Hall, 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.
Artistic features:
Yuanmingyuan is a treasure hall and a large royal museum, with many treasures, books and artistic masterpieces. It contains rare cultural relics such as celebrity calligraphy and painting, secret house classics, Zhong Ding treasures, gold and silver jewelry, 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 her "the king of ten thousand gardens". Indeed, if today is the same as it was 14 years ago, this extremely giant garden is a well-deserved "king of world gardens".
[ Edit this paragraph] Historical development
Yuanmingyuan is a famous royal garden in Qing Dynasty. Yuanming Three Gardens covers an area of more than 5,2 mu with more than 15 scenic spots. 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.
Kangxi period:
In the forty-eighth year of Kangxi (179), Emperor Kangxi (namely Xuanye, the holy father of Qing Dynasty) gave his fourth son, Yin Zhen, a garden about a mile north of Changchun Garden in the northwest suburb of Beijing, and signed the title "Yuanmingyuan".
Yongzheng period:
In the third year of Yongzheng (1725), Yong Zhengdi (Yin Zhen, the emperor of the 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.
Qianlong period:
After Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne, he adjusted the landscape of gardens 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 belong to the management of Yuanmingyuan Management Minister, and are called Yuanming Three Gardens.
Xianfeng period:
In August of the tenth year of Xianfeng (186), British and French allied forces invaded Beijing. On October 6, the occupation of Yuanmingyuan. Since the next day, officers and soldiers have been looting and destroying crazily. In order to force the Qing government to accept the terms of peace as soon as possible, British Minister Erkin 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 to set fire to it. The fire lasted for three days and nights.
After the Tongzhi period:
During the Tongzhi period (1862 ~ 1874), Emperor Tongzhi prepared to restore the Yuanmingyuan to accommodate Empress Dowager Cixi. 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, and the site of Yuanmingyuan was further damaged.
Period of the People's Republic of China:
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the state 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. Now it has been turned into Yuanmingyuan Ruins Park.
[ Edit this paragraph] Construction
Historical background:
Manchu people have lived in Heilongjiang River Basin in Northeast China for generations. In the mid-17th century, it invaded North China on a large scale, overthrew the Ming Dynasty completely, 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 a snowy forest in winter and a cool climate in summer. 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 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 somewhat 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.
topographical features and the influence of buildings of past dynasties on the construction of Yuanmingyuan:
In the western suburbs of Beijing, there are many kinds of landforms, such as Yuquan Mountain, Wanshou Mountain, Wanquanzhuang, Beihai Lake, etc., and artesian springs are everywhere, merging into large and small lakes and ponds in low-lying places. Yuquan landscape flows into Kunming Lake from west to east, becoming the largest water surface in the western suburbs. Large areas of paddy fields have been reclaimed here, forming 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. Began to build gardens on a large scale.
implementation of the construction of Yuanmingyuan:
Yuanmingyuan is located in the north of Guajiatun, about one mile away from Changchun Garden, that is, in the north of Peking University today and west of Tsinghua University. The Yuanmingyuan in the Kangxi era has water surfaces such as Qianhu Lake and Houhu Lake, and it has gardens such as "Peony Terrace" and "Natural Pictures". When Yuanmingyuan was still a feudal garden, its scale could not exceed that of the emperor's Changchun Garden, so there were not many scenic spots and its reputation was not great, which was far less than that of 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 chief designer of Yuanmingyuan is Lei Jinyu, who was attracted by Kangxi when he was building the Forbidden City. However, in actual construction, most of them are still the views of the emperor, and both Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong personally guided them.
[ Edit this paragraph] Garden structure
The Yuanmingyuan in history was 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-scale royal palace built and operated by 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, where they held court meetings and handled political affairs. Together with the Forbidden City, they were the political center of the country at that time, and were called "Imperial Garden" by the Qing emperor. There are more than 6 plaques hanging alone.
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 park. 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.
Wanchun Garden:
It was originally the bestowed residence of Prince Yun Xiang of QIA, which 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 sceneries 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.
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 in 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 and so on. 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.
Xiyang Building:
In order to pursue various kinds of fun, the Qing emperor also introduced a European-style garden building in the northern boundary of Changchun Garden, commonly known as "Xiyang Building", which consists of more than ten buildings and structures, such as Harmony and Curiosity, Line Bridge, Flower Array, Bird Cage, Square Appearance, Haiyan Hall, Yuanyingguan, Dashuifa, Shuiguanfa, Line Mountain and Line Wall. Planning began in the 12th year of Qianlong (1747) and was basically completed in the 24th year (1759). It was designed by Lang Shining, Michel Benoist and Wang Zhicheng, western missionaries, and built by China craftsmen. The architectural form is Baroque style in the late Renaissance in Europe, and the gardening form is Lenotre style. However, many traditional techniques from China were also absorbed in gardening and architectural decoration. The building materials are mostly white marble, the stone surface is finely carved, and the roof is covered with glazed tiles. The main body of the western building is actually an artificial fountain, which is called "water method". It is characterized by a large number, great momentum and fantastic ideas. It mainly forms three large fountain groups, namely, Heqiqu, Haiyan Hall and Dashuifa.
The whole area of Xiyanglou Scenic Area is not more than one fiftieth of the total area of Yuanming Three Gardens, but only a small part. But it is a successful attempt to imitate European gardens in pieces. This occupies an important position in the history of garden communication between the East and the West. It has aroused strong repercussions in Europe. A missionary in western Europe who witnessed it praised the Western Tower: it combines beautiful scenery and interests in one place, and there are all kinds of magnificent and strange fountains that people can imagine, the largest of which can keep pace with the fountains of Versailles and St. Crowe's Church. The missionary's conclusion is that the Yuanmingyuan is also the Palace of Versailles in China.
[ Edit this paragraph] The main scenery of Yuanmingyuan
There are 5 large palace gates, facing south, with a large platform in front of them, and 5 rooms facing east and west respectively; Behind the house, there are 27 rooms with curved corners facing each other; In the east, there are the duty rooms of Zongren House, Cabinet, Ritual Department, Official Department, Ministry of War, Duchayuan, Lifanyuan, Hanlin Academy, Zhan Shifu, imperial academy, Luan Yiwei and Dongsi Banner. To the west are the duty rooms of the Ministry of Housing, the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of Industry, the Qin Tianjian, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Guanglu Temple, the General Administration Department, the Dali Temple, the Crack Temple, the Taichang Temple, the Taibu Temple, the Imperial Office, the Shangyuan Courtyard, the Armed Forces Courtyard and the Xisi Banner.
Zhengda Guangming Hall Zhengda Guangming Hall is the main hall of Yuanmingyuan. Every year, the emperor holds birthday greetings, banquets for relatives and ministers, small banquets for courtiers, Chinese Yuan banquets, dragon dances, grand exams, provincial examinations and re-examinations. There are seven halls with a large platform in front and five halls in the east and west.
Diligence and Pro-Sage Hall, located in the east of Zhengda Guangming Hall, is the office of the emperor in the summer, with 5 halls.
Kyushu Qingyan Kyushu Qingyan is located on the bank of Qianhu Lake, facing Zhengda Guangming Hall across the lake. It consists of three halls, the first one is Yuanmingyuan Hall, the middle one is Fengsan Selfless Hall, and the northernmost one is Kyushu Qingyan Hall. In the east of the central axis, there is a "spring of heaven and earth", where Daoguang was born; There is "Le An He" in the west, which is the living room of Qianlong; There is qinghui Pavilion in the west, and a huge panorama of Yuanmingyuan is hung on the north wall. The original picture is now in the Paris Museum. In the tenth year of Daoguang, temples such as "Shende Hall" were built near the "History of Love Letters", all of which were the emperor's bedrooms; In the 16th year of Daoguang, Yuanmingyuan Hall, Fengsan Selfless Hall and Kyushu Qingyan Hall. At the same time, it was burned by fire; Yong Zhengdi and Daoguang Emperor both died in the Qing Banquet Hall in Kyushu.
Changchun xianguan