The Yuanmingyuan is a pain in the hearts of all Chinese, and the first thing we think of when we mention the Yuanmingyuan is the Second Opium War.
The Yuanmingyuan under the smoke of war
In 1860, the British and French coalition forces attacked Beijing, and the extremely luxurious "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens" - the Yuanmingyuan was burned by the British and French troops, and the cultural relics and treasures were looted, including bronze ceremonial vessels from the pre-Qin era, down to countless famous calligraphy and paintings of the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.
Ruins of the Old Summer Palace
People lament that this treasure trove of art that contains thousands of years of Chinese art has disappeared in the long river of history in this way, and they can't help but wonder what the original appearance of this luxurious royal garden looks like?
A corner of the Old Summer Palace
Previously, sotheby's in the United Kingdom auctioned several old photographs auctioned in 1860, showing the appearance of the Yuanmingyuan before the destruction of the Yuanmingyuan. The photograph was taken by the British photographer Felice Bit. In order to show the effect, the people also made a 3D restoration map.
Ruins after looting
Before it was destroyed, the Yuanmingyuan was already famous, and many delegations visited it and left precious historical images. Admirers will appreciate the flowers of this oriental civilization more and more because of the Yuanmingyuan, and at the same time plant the seeds of evil in the hearts of jealous people, along with the decline of the fortunes of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, which is troubled internally and externally, is unable to protect this artistic treasure, and the tragedy of the Yuanmingyuan has begun. Although the successors tried desperately to restore the original appearance, they were limited to the financial situation at the time and could not be stopped.
Restore the diagram
The Yuanmingyuan was founded in 1707, just over a mile away from Changchun Garden, located in the north of today's Peking University, west of Tsinghua University, originally given by the Kangxi Emperor to the Yongzheng Emperor, who was still the fourth brother at the time, with the inscription "Yuanmingyuan" and "Yuanming" is the legal name of Yongzheng. After Yin Chan ascended the throne as the Yongzheng Emperor, he expanded the Yuanmingyuan, and added the Zhengda Guangming Hall and the Qinzheng Hall in the south of the garden, as well as many duty rooms in the Cabinet, the Six Ministries, and the Military Aircraft Department.
Restore the diagram
The Yuanmingyuan is grand in scale, with an area of more than 5,200 mu and more than 150 scenes, of which there are more than 600 works of halls and terraces, with a construction area of 160,000 square meters. The subtlety of its design, according to Felithbit later recalled: "What comes into your eyes is the rich and moving colors of the decorations, soaking in the blue sky of Beijing, with the pace of the viewer's movement and the sun's light and shadow constantly changing, the white marble of the building makes them particularly eye-catching, reflected on the lake in front of them, like a phantom... The viewer cannot help but wonder that he has come to the world of 'One Thousand and One Nights'. ”
The chief designer of the Yuanmingyuan was Lei Jinyu, but the Kangxi Emperor, the Yongzheng Emperor and the Qianlong Emperor personally guided the construction of the Yuanmingyuan and also created the model method of "hot sample", which is a unique product of ancient Chinese architecture, and at the same time, from the perspective of design elements, there are still obvious Western elements. There have been many Western designers involved in the construction of the Yuanmingyuan, including the famous designer of the twelve beast heads and bronze heads, Lang Shining.
The head of the twelve beasts in the Yuanmingyuan
With the significant enhancement of comprehensive national strength, we have also achieved remarkable results in recovering the encroached cultural relics, but this is only the tip of the iceberg compared with the number of cultural relics plundered by the invaders in modern China by various means. To be backward is to be beaten, and this is an eternal truth. We love peace, but we also hope that those Chinese cultural relics that have been exiled overseas will return to their homeland as soon as possible.