"Yuanmingyuan" is named by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, "Yuan" generally refers to the consummation, "Ming" is the sun and the moon can be seen, the prospect is bright, the word "Yuanming" expresses the Qing Shengzu's expectations and ideal standards for the Ming monarch and virtuous appearance.
The plaque written by Emperor Kangxi himself is hung in the middle of the Old Summer Palace, the Holy Ancestor Kangxi Emperor gave the Old Summer Palace to his son Yongzheng, Yongzheng period began, the expansion of the Old Summer Palace and the later emperor's upgrade and expansion of the Old Summer Palace, so that the Old Summer Palace climbed to the top of the "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens".
In addition to the pinnacle of architecture, the Old Summer Palace has indelible significance in national culture, which makes people very curious about how glorious the original appearance of the Old Summer Palace is, so much so that the photos auctioned in the United Kingdom in 2016 were sold for a high price of 1.76 million.
Why was the Old Summer Palace built
Before the rulers of the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, they lived a life of farming, fishing and hunting in the cool northeast, and the temperature in Beijing was dry and hot, especially in summer, it was unbearable, so that the Kangxi Emperor began to have the idea of building gardens to escape the heat.
In addition, during the reign of Kangxi, the political and economic level generally tended to be stable, the treasury was full, and the popular garden construction throughout the country at that time also drove the emperor in the inner courtyard of the deep palace to pursue a "pastoral" life and began to build gardens.
So I chose a place not far from the Forbidden City, pick a place with lush vegetation and sufficient water, in the forty-sixth year of Kangxi, the first palace "Changchun Garden" was built, and there are many small gardens around, one of which is the Old Summer Palace.
In 1724, the second year of Yongzheng's accession, he officially launched the expansion of the Old Summer Palace, which roughly included three parts, the first of which was the construction of the palace area, which was basically modeled after the configuration of the Forbidden City.
The first part is also the main building complex of the Old Summer Palace.
The second part adds the construction of pavilions and pavilions, constructs the scene of the small islands and water flowing in the Old Summer Palace surrounded by mountains, and the second part is also the preliminary project of the 40 scenes of Qianlong, 32 scenes have been completed in the Yongzheng period.
The third part is the construction of Fuhai, as well as the supporting facilities around Fuhai.
The Old Summer Palace in the Yongzheng period, the basic scale has been formed, covering an area of more than 3,000 acres, the solemn palace is equipped with mountains, rivers and lakes and scenery, as well as graceful pavilions and pavilions, and the high-standard supporting facilities symbolize the supremacy of the emperor.
After Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne, he adjusted the overall scene layout of the Old Summer Palace on the original basis, and added new garden construction, namely Changchun Garden and Qichun Garden, known as the "Three Gardens of the Old Summer Palace".
In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the Old Summer Palace was built one after another, and it is worth mentioning that the Western Mansion Scenic Area in Changchun Yuan, although it covers a small area, only accounting for about 2% of the construction area of the Old Summer Palace, but it is the beginning of the successful combination of Chinese architecture and European style.
Designed by Western missionaries and built by Chinese architects, the Western-style building draws on traditional Chinese construction techniques and is one of the highlights of the scenery of the Old Summer Palace.
The catastrophe of the Old Summer Palace
Britain and France were insatiable, and in order to expand the fruits of aggression in China, with the support of the United States and Russia, launched the Second Opium War against China. In 1860, they invaded Beijing and opened the gates of the Old Summer Palace.
After several hours of looting, the ministers in charge of the Old Summer Palace chose to commit suicide, and they completely plundered and destroyed the Old Summer Palace, and countless treasures were looted, and even the soldiers' tents were piled up with all kinds of clocks and precious embroidery, silk and so on.
Among them, there was a British private, known as "Chinese James", who relied on the looted property in the Old Summer Palace, which was enough for him to enjoy for a lifetime, which shows the number of treasures in the Old Summer Palace.
Later, British media reported that the value of the property they looted from the Old Summer Palace was about 6 million pounds, but as everyone knows, many of the treasures they robbed cannot be measured by money, and the destruction of priceless treasures has destroyed the civilization of human history.
After four days of plundering, the British and French forces temporarily withdrew from the Old Summer Palace, which had become devastated and still failed to organize the pace of these demons.
Two days later, Britain made a comeback, looting the Old Summer Palace again under the pretext of placing prisoners in the Old Summer Palace, and also included the burning of the Old Summer Palace in the conditions of the peace proposal, and a devastating fire burned for three days and three nights, and the Old Summer Palace was destroyed after more than 150 years.
The fire that shrouded over Beijing did not disperse for a long time, and the unparalleled Old Summer Palace disappeared into the long river of history, and the treasures that could be snatched away had fallen into the pockets of the British and French forces, and those that could not be taken away were also destroyed and burned.
The number of cultural relics in the heyday of the Old Summer Palace exceeded 1.5 million, and the number of pieces recovered and scattered from soldiers after being burned exceeded 1,000, as well as the rare treasures and cultural classics that have survived in China for all dynasties, turned into ashes, and the loss is immeasurable.
In recent years, the auction of the cultural relics of the Old Summer Palace has set off a huge wave to let the people know the existence of this garden, among them, a group of photos auctioned in the United Kingdom in 2016, one of which was auctioned for a sky-high price of 1.76 million.
The significance of the ruins of the Old Summer Palace
The release of the photos shocked the world, allowing the world to see the beauty and grandeur of the Old Summer Palace, like a fairyland. The photographs sparked a rush at the auction, showing the scenery of the Old Summer Palace and the irreducible beauty of the building.
More importantly, it is also an important piece of evidence of the crimes of the Anglo-French forces, which is outrageous. However, this also sounded the alarm bell of the Chinese people, perhaps out of the deformed psychology of not being able to take away the entire garden and simply destroy it, or because of the desire to destroy their own criminal evidence, the Old Summer Palace failed to resist the cruelty of the invaders.
Even if the original fairyland-like Old Summer Palace disappears, the Old Summer Palace uses the existence of another kind of life to spur the people to remember the bloody lessons in history and not forget the national shame.
After the establishment of New China, the protection of the ruins of the Old Summer Palace was very important, and it was listed as a key protection object, and it has carried out several greening reforms, and has become a tourist attraction today. Whether the Old Summer Palace was rebuilt or not has also caused huge controversy.
But no matter what, the glory of the past cannot be restored, but it is deeply imprinted in people's hearts. In its current form, the Old Summer Palace shows the Chinese people the history from prosperity to decline, and the experience of the Old Summer Palace is the epitome of the suffering and humiliation of the Chinese nation.
What the Old Summer Palace carries is the history of the nation's imperialist aggression, which always reminds the people of the country to look forward in unity.