Modern Express News (Reporter Aria Liu Jingyan/Wen Guwei/Photo) On February 24, the Yuanmingyuan Relic Park held a press conference on old photos of the Yuanmingyuan, releasing 365 precious old photos on the spot, most of which were displayed to the public for the first time.
Many people may not know that in Nanjing, there are several stone tools, most likely from the Yuanmingyuan. Tan Yanmin's tomb peony flower bed, Nangusuo stone beast, Jinghai Temple Lu Chen Dun... Are they from the Old Summer Palace? Over the years, the discussion that has taken place as a result has hardly been interrupted. This "mystery" is as mysterious and fascinating as the ornamentation on the surface of the stone tool.
On February 25, a modern express reporter visited many places in Nanjing to search for the suspected Yuanmingyuan cultural relics that were "wandering" in Nanjing.
Peony flower bed of Tan Yanmin's tomb
On the white jade stone carving, the dragon pattern is clearly recognizable
After a rain, the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum has fresh air and droplets of water on the flowers and foliage. On the afternoon of February 25, not many people came to Linggu Temple for a walk and enjoy the scenery. The tomb of Tan Yanmin, which is adjacent to here, is a national key cultural protection unit. Tan Yanmin was the former chairman of the Nationalist Government and a powerful assistant to Dr. Sun Yat-sen. In 1930, Tan Yanmin died, and the Nationalist government held a state funeral for him in 1931, and the cemetery was of considerable height, and white jade artifacts as decorations could be seen everywhere.
Many people may not have noticed that next to the tan yanmin tomb altar, in the shade of grass and trees, there is a white jade flower bed that looks inconspicuous. In 2001, after on-site appraisal by experts from the Cultural Relics of the Yuanmingyuan in Beijing, the peony flower beds were identified by experts as cultural relics of the Yuanmingyuan.
The nameplate next to the flower bed introduced: "Peony flower platform, round, 1 meter high, more than 2 meters in diameter, carved in white jade." The wall is carved with a flying dragon ornament. According to the experts of the cultural relics of the Beijing Yuanmingyuan, the stone carving style of this huatai is close to the stone tool style of the Yuanmingyuan, and it is likely that the stone material of the Beijing Yuanmingyuan is used. The Modern Express reporter saw at the scene that the white white jade had been baptized by years and wind and rain, partially covered with moss, and there were traces of weathering.
If you look closely at the flower bed, you can clearly see the dragon pattern on it. Therefore, some experts believe that this is a typical construction of the royal garden style. In the clouds of dragons, one next to the other, in the middle is the Lotus Meru Seat. At that time, cultural relics experts from Beijing's Yuanmingyuan almost immediately determined that this was the thing of the Yuanmingyuan.
In recent years, however, expert opinions on this statement have been inconsistent. In 2012, Lu Kan, an archaeologist at the Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage of Nanjing University, said in an interview that he had once gone to Beijing for the peony flower bed to verify, "It is not from the Yuanmingyuan, it should be from the ancestral grave of Prince Zheng of the Qing Iron Hat in Changping, Beijing." There are a total of 90 dragons on the peony flower beds, but if you look closely, these dragons are not five-clawed, but four-clawed. Four-clawed python, not dragon. In the Qing Dynasty, which was very particular about etiquette, the use of four-clawed dragons in the Yuanmingyuan was impossible. Lu Kan judged that this flower bed should be one of the stone carvings purchased from the ancestral tomb of Prince Zheng in Beijing when he built tan Yanmin's tomb, and its original appearance should be the Sumire seat at the top of the tomb of Prince Zheng.
Nangusho Stone Beast
Deeply hidden in the Southern Ancient Institute for many years, the scales are clearly layered
The Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is located on the left-hand side of the "Cherry Blossom Avenue" on Jimingsi Road, formerly known as the Paleontological Room of the Institute of Geology of the Academia Sinica and the former Central Geological Survey. On the stone steps of the research building, which is the entrance to the former Institute of History and Linguistics of the Academia Sinica, there is a pair of stone beasts, suspected to be from the Yuanmingyuan.
Two stone beasts are lined up on either side of the door, adding to the antique architecture. The Modern Express reporter saw up close that the stone carving was a crouched statue of an animal, and the wall was virtually sticky. In terms of shape, the head is a dragon head, the body has scales, like the body of a unicorn, and the legs are deer legs or horse legs. Looking closer, the base is carved with orchids, plum blossoms, chrysanthemums and morning glory, which are very exquisite.
Due to the long-term wind and sun, the surface of the stone carvings is more seriously eroded. Nevertheless, the stone carvings are generally well preserved. With its eyes wide open, its head held high, and its stride forward, even after a thousand years, you can still feel its majesty.
"The carving is exquisite, every scale, every beard is very delicate." He Yun'ao, director of the Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage of Nanjing University and professor of the School of History, once said in an interview that he saw the photo of the stone beast and said that this is not an ordinary stone beast.
Talking about the origin of the stone beast, He Yun'ao said that it may have been brought from Beijing. "For example, the Institute of History and Linguistics was founded in 1928 and moved south to Shanghai and then to Nanjing after the September 18 Incident." He said that at that time, the president of the Academia Sinica was Cai Yuanpei, and the director of the Institute of History and Philology was Fu Sinian, and when they moved south, it was entirely possible that they would bring them here. "And if it's from Beijing, it's likely to come from the Old Summer Palace."
"I just heard that this pair of stone beasts already existed, and it's not clear whether they came from the Yuanmingyuan." The reporter asked the staff of the Nangu Institute about the origin of the stone beast, and the staff member said that the old academicians had not heard of the history of the stone beast.
Jinghai Temple Dew Chen Dun
It was found in 1982 in a riverside reeds
As early as 1984, a pair of Lu Chen Dun in Nanjing's Jinghai Temple were initially identified as cultural relics of the Yuanmingyuan. However, recently, the Jinghai Temple has not opened its doors, and the surrounding area of the door is surrounded by fences, so the reporter did not see Lu Chendun".
Lu chen dun is a form of expression of the Sumeru seat in ancient Chinese architectural works, and the pair of Lu Chen dun preserved in Jinghai Temple is about 68 cm high, the upper diameter is 60 cm, the lower diameter is slightly wider, the surface is smooth, the middle waist is corseted, and its shape is in the shape of a "worker" character.
In 1982, the first census of cultural relics in Nanjing touched the "bottom of the family" of Nanjing's cultural relics. The former Shimonoseki District set up a team of cultural relics conservators to this end, 132 team members specially collected clues to Shimonoseki cultural relics, and also organized a symposium for the elderly. Lu Chendun's clue was obtained from the symposium. When it was found, two-thirds of the stone was buried in a reed swag near the river in Shimonoseki, revealing only one-third.
Is Lu Chendun the original of the Yuanmingyuan? Experts disagree. The first is believed to be from the Yuanmingyuan, because the shape and ornamentation are similar to the architectural style of the Yuanmingyuan; the second theory is that it may be something from the Zhongwang Mansion in Suzhou.
If it is the yuanmingyuan thing, how did it spread to Nanjing? The various statements are also inconsistent. Some believe that after the British and French troops robbed the Yuanmingyuan in 1860, the theft of the Yuanmingyuan was very serious, and at that time, some units and private homes in Beijing often found the items of the Yuanmingyuan, and the Luchen Dun in Nanjing may have been scattered from this channel; some believe that the British and French invaders robbed it, and they were planned to transport it away through Nanjing, but later found that it was too heavy and inconvenient to transport, so they abandoned it by the river.
(Editing by Wu Yanran)