The summer palace of the Qing Emperor, in the 42nd year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1703), was instructed by the Kangxi Emperor to build a summer resort. The palace is located in the narrow valley on the west bank of the Wulie River in Chengde, Hebei, 200 kilometers from Beijing. Built in the 55th year of Qianlong (1790), the summer resort covers an area of 5.64 million square meters, the largest scale of the existing classical royal garden. The biggest feature of the summer resort is that there is a garden in the mountains, and there are mountains in the park, which is divided into two parts: the palace area and the garden scenic area. Among them, the garden landscape is divided into lake area, plain area, mountainous area, with more than 100 buildings such as halls, halls, buildings, pavilions, pavilions, pavilions, pavilions, etc., and there are 72 landscapes designated by successive emperors.
The court architecture of the Qing Dynasty was dominated by golden walls and a magnificent atmosphere, and the summer villa can be said to be very different. It abandons the iconic red walls and yellow tiles of royal buildings such as the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, all covered with gray tile tops. The fact that the designers and builders of the summer resort dared to carry out such a big reform in the construction process were inseparable from the Kangxi Emperor.
Even if the Kangxi Emperor is placed in the entire history of Chinese monarchs, he is a rare virtuous monarch. He is knowledgeable, intelligent and courageous, and has a real insight. The Kangxi Emperor cut off Ao Bai's party at the age of 16. During his long political career of nearly 61 years, he announced that he would end the enclosure, pacify San Francisco, unify Taiwan Province, quell the Kaltan rebellion, and fight against the aggressive camp of Tsarist Russia... And he knows the importance of thrift, and he always admonishes himself with the principle that "thrift can prosper the country, luxury can destroy the country". Therefore, when building the summer resort, he would propose to cover the roof with gray tiles, and he wanted to highlight the concept of "diligence and thrift". When the construction of the summer villa began, Kangxi City specially indicated that the construction department took measures according to local conditions and used materials on the spot, saying that "pottery is used in metallurgy, materials are taken from mountains, and there is no loss in labor, and money does not exceed the extravagant expense".
The Nanmu Hall of the summer villa best reflects the Kangxi Emperor's concept of "diligence and thrift". The palace is constructed of pure nan wood, and the ceiling, doors and windows are also carved from nan wood, and the top is covered with gray tiles. The so-called Nanmu Hall, commonly known as the main hall of the summer villa "Tambo Jingcheng Hall". Zhuge Liang's Book of Commandments contains the sentence "If it is not indifferent, there is no clear aspiration, and if it is not quiet, it is not far-reaching", and was deeply loved by the Kangxi Emperor. Therefore, the Kangxi Emperor named the palace "Tambo Jingcheng Hall". The so-called "indifference" means not wanting to purify the mind and not having much luxury; "Respect" means that only in a quiet state of mind can we cultivate morality and pursue lofty goals.
In addition to the influence of the Kangxi Emperor's personal preferences, the summer resort chose a gray roof, which is also very ornamental from an aesthetic point of view. The palace is located on a hill. If you choose the design of red walls and yellow tiles instead of natural wild fun, choose a gray roof that is much more harmonious and beautiful. Some visitors who have visited the summer resort before are confused. Why is a royal palace built so simply, while the outer eight temples located on the east and north sides of the palace are so brilliant?
These palaces have different Han, Mongolian and Tibetan styles, one by one, magnificent, tall and majestic, and the decoration specifications even exceed those of the court. The Kangxi Emperor was reluctant to spend money on his palace, "there is no loss in labor, and money is not extravagant", why was he willing to paint these temples with gold paint, paint, glass tiles and even gold tiles? The rulers of the Qing Dynasty attached great importance to ethnic relations. They hoped that religion would serve as a bridge to maintain relations between peoples, thereby reducing war. Therefore, at that time it was said that temples do not build the Great Wall. That's why so many resplendent temples stand next to simple summer resorts, creating such a stark contrast.