Jianchun Pavilion is located on the east side of Qionghua Island in Beihai Park, and was built in the 17th year of Qianlong (1752). 17 years after the completion of this pavilion, or in early spring, Emperor Qianlong visited this place again and wrote a poem:
Qiong Island is still full of primitive, and the sparkling trees have followed.
What is the mountain pavilion where people come and go, and the eight pillars are still seeing spring.
Qiong Island is Qionghua Island. When there are still traces of snow on the island, the water of Taiye Pond is already sparkling as in previous years, and the shadows of the trees on the shore are swaying. Why is this mountain pavilion so attractive to people who come and go so often? Just because of standing here and looking out, the spring of heaven and earth is moving.
1. Beautiful Jade Qionghua Immortal Treasure Island
Qionghua means beautiful jade. Named after "Qionghua", it means that this island is made of beautiful jade, like a fairyland treasure island like Penglai.
Qionghua Island, located in the south of the Taiye Pond in the North Sea, began its construction with Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan dynasty. After the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, when the "baton" of history arrived in the hands of Emperor Qianlong, he poured a lot of effort into the reconstruction and expansion of Qionghua Island. Visiting Qionghua Island, which is more than 30 meters high and less than 1,000 meters in circumference, the concentration of the landscape praises its "practice" to change the scenery, which is by no means a boast. Only in terms of this small place within 100 meters under the Spring Pavilion, there are the Zhizhu Hall on the Half Moon City and the three large and small archways around it, as well as the "Qiongdao Chunyin" monument and other scenic spots.
(Qing) Zhang Ruocheng's "Eight Views of Yanshan Mountain (Volume)" of "Qiongdao Chunyin". (Collection of the Palace Museum)
In particular, "Qiongdao Chunyin", as the first scene after the Qianlong Emperor re-established the name and order of the "Eight Views of Yanjing" (also known as the "Eight Views of Yanshan"), this monument was built one year earlier than the Spring Pavilion, and it is still a famous scenic spot today. In spring, spring flowers, peach blossoms, lilacs, ...... The purple and red flowers are in full bloom, and tourists come here in an endless stream to "check in". There are even more beauty-loving girls who specially wear ancient costumes, pose gently and gracefully between the scorching spring flowers and simple monuments, and record the beautiful youth time in the photographer's lens.
More than 200 years ago, Emperor Qianlong also loved Qionghua Island very much. According to archival records, in addition to the Spring Festival, winter solstice, birthday and other specific days to come to make incense, sometimes even several times a month. Look at the scenery with incense, write poems and talk about the sky, or just take a walk here, meditate, and think about the eight wildernesses of the ages. Qionghua Island can be described as a veritable place for Emperor Qianlong to linger, and a place to go back and forth with his heart.
2. "Five winds and ten rains, willing to take a break from the levy"
Since seeing the spring pavilion overlooked, slowly descending along the stone steps, in the spring when the peach blossoms bloom, visit the "Qiongdao Chunyin" monument. Looking up, on the white jade fence, the stele body is straight, and there are four big green characters - Qiongdao Chunyin. In the soft new green of the cypress and fragrant lilacs, the inscription resolutely and surely declares to the world: Spring is full of joy. Looking at the body of the stele closely, the stele Yin and both sides of it are engraved with the imperial poems of Emperor Qianlong.
Among the many poems of Emperor Qianlong, in addition to the "Eight Views of Yanshan Poems" made before the re-establishment of "Eight Views of Yanjing" and the "Eight Views of Yanshan in the Sixteenth Year of Qianlong" engraved in the imperial stele Yin, he also chanted "Qiongdao Chunyin" many times, such as "Endowed with Qiongdao Chunyin" and "Qiongdao Chunwang" and so on. And the three poems of the "Qiongdao Chunyin" stele are engraved on the stele in addition to the imperial poem of the 16th year of Qianlong in the stele Yin, which has been engraved when the stele is erected, and the other two poems are made in the third and fourth years after the stele is erected, that is, in 1753 and 1754. Those that can be engraved on both sides of the stele are probably the proud works of Emperor Qianlong.
The stele yin poem says:
Genyue moved to the rocky precarious, and the relics of the thousand autumns were nostalgic.
Leaning on the rock pine and green dragon scales, into the new phoenix tail.
Le Zhi is rewarded because of the victory, and the joy is for the Jiahe.
When the spring is the most urgent ploughing, every day is more cloudy and sunny and send a song.
The poem on the south side of the monument says:
Jie erects stone building marks four words, and the year is really not negative spring yin.
It has been Xinsu Yuzi South Mu, and I have seen the new clouds and distant forests.
Hui Wei is suitable for a secluded place, and the mountains contain each and look deep.
Taking the idle case to watch the cemetery, Tao Kan's famous words won my heart.
The poem on the north side of the monument says:
Chunyin Qiongdao is worthy of it, and the Shujing layer is ruining and condensing.
Xianmu Qi money increases auspicious signs, and the five winds and ten rains are willing to take a break from the levy.
What the three imperial poems express together, in addition to the appreciation of the scenery in front of them, is related to the matter of agriculture and mulberry crops. "Pleasant end for Jiahe", "When the spring is the most urgent", "It has been happy to stay in the rain and nourished the south mu", "Five winds and ten rains are willing to rest"...... The plan of the year lies in the spring, the spring is born and all things are long, the beauty of the spring and yin of Qiongdao embodies the ideal of the Qianlong Emperor to see the leopard, hoping that this year, the whole world can be like the spring breeze on Qionghua Island, the wind and rain are smooth, and the peace and happiness are peaceful.
It is worth mentioning that only one of the three poems was written in spring, and the other two were written in autumn, namely the two poems on the yin and south sides of the stele. One poem describes the origin of Qionghua Island, mentioning that most of the Taihu Lake stones used in the construction and layout of Qionghua Island are dismantled and transported from the Northern Song Dynasty's Bianliang royal garden "Genyue", and Emperor Qianlong looked back at the historical waves and felt nostalgic. The other song seems to be when he visited Qionghua Island, and then saw the words "Qiongdao Chunyin" and bowed to introspection, or to live up to the spring, or for the health of the family and country, and felt deeply relieved. This year, Emperor Qianlong was not confused, and he was in power for 18 years, and it was the time when he was in the prime of life and full of spirit, looking back on the past, he seemed to be quite satisfied with himself. Another poem written in spring is in early spring, the water in the Taiye Pond is still frozen, and the Qianlong Emperor drove the ice rudder Ling Taiye to Qionghua Island, and felt it when he came to look at it. The wish is still that the wind and drizzle will not stop, and I hope that the new year will be full of rice fragrance and abundant grains.
3. The inadequacy of the inscription poem is drawn into the painting
In 1751, after Emperor Qianlong redefined the name and sequence of the "Eight Views of Yanjing", he also ordered the court painter Zhang Ruocheng to draw the "Eight Views of Yanshan (Book)", and inscribed the imperial poems of the sixteenth year of Qianlong on the opposite of the painting, and collected the seal in the Inner Palace.
Zhang Ruocheng, a native of Tongcheng, Anhui Province in the Qing Dynasty, was born in a family of eunuchs, his grandfather Zhang Ying and father Zhang Tingyu were all important ministers of the Qing Dynasty, and his brother Zhang Ruowei was also a talented man in the Qing Dynasty. Zhang Ruocheng was 24 years old and ranked, and only a year later he was ordered to enter the south study and became a close minister of the Son of Heaven, and he had a deep accomplishment in painting. His painting style is meticulous and rigorous, the brush and ink are rich and beautiful, the composition is peaceful and upright, and the people of the time commented on his paintings that "there are people who are calm and restless when they sit in the spring breeze". As one of his representative works, "Eight Views of Yanshan Mountain (Volume)" draws on Western painting methods on the basis of following traditional Chinese painting, and this combination of Chinese and Western styles is particularly prominent on the page of "Chunyin in Qiongdao". A water across the two sides of the composition, the white tower stands tall in the center of Qionghua Island, to the right side of the picture to look carefully, you will find the Half Moon City, next to the Qing Tower, a little green spring light, "Qiongdao Chunyin" monument is clearly visible. In the painting, Zhang Ruocheng uses the freehand brush of the literati to set off, with the help of the focal perspective method, to complete the realistic portrayal according to the scene quite three-dimensionally, and explain the specific location of each landscape in detail, so that this painting has the function of a guide map.
There is a story that may illustrate the difference between Zhang Ruocheng's paintings made at the emperor's request and traditional Chinese scenic spots. In 1761, Emperor Qianlong issued an order on the way back to Beijing from the western tour of Wutai Mountain, and asked the painter Dong Bangda to paint Ge Hongshan again, and the reason was written into his imperial poems: "If you forget to bring Cheng Fan, you will immediately see that the mountain is really magnificent." "Ruocheng Powder" is Zhang Ruocheng's 1750 painting of Ge Hong Mountain (Axis). Forget to bring this painting before traveling, the mountain in front of you, a glimpse of the horse in a hurry, it is really spectacular, please paint another one to appreciate. The painting became a condensed realistic landscape, and the painter wielded his brush to create the emperor's exclusive guide map.
"Eight Views of Yanshan Mountain (Volume)" is not Zhang Ruocheng's first creation. Since the time axis where he is located goes back more than 300 years - during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, the painter Wang Fu painted the "Eight Scenes of Yanjing Picture Scroll", in which "Qiongdao Chunyin" is still called "Qiongdao Chunyun". In the painting, the clouds and mist are swirling between the mountains and rivers, the temple is deep, the stone cliff is high, straight like the fairy mountain in the sea, and it is misty and does not know where. The literati ink pen is not realistic, but only writes Penglai in the heart, which is another style and scenery.
(Ming) Wang Fu's "Eight Scenes of Yanjing" "Spring Clouds on Qiongdao" (detail). (Photo: Collection of the National Museum of China)
Spring is the beginning of the year. For hundreds of years, the vicissitudes of the sea, the spring scenery of Qiongdao has changed, but people's expectations for spring have never changed.
Filler
The origin of the name "Seeing Spring Pavilion".
"There is no name at the beginning of the cliff, and suddenly I saw the peach blossoms blooming, because of the name." When Emperor Qianlong visited Yunju Temple, he had eight miscellaneous songs, the seventh of which was called "Seeing the Spring Pavilion", and the last two sentences of this poem were:
Where spring comes from, there is no trace. Suddenly, I saw the peach Shihua, and the pavilion was famous.
See Spring Pavilion
Above the Jianchun Pavilion on the mountainside of Qionghua Island, on the east side of the ancient relic hall, there is also a tall peach tree. As soon as the spring breeze blows, the peach blossoms bloom above the pavilion, whether standing under the peach tree or standing under the pavilion, looking out, a piece of spring on Qionghua Island will be in the eyes. Since seeing the spring pavilion down the steps, turn a corner, it is the place where the monument of "Qiongdao Chunyin" is.
Why did "Qiongdao Chunyin" rise to the top of the "Eight Scenes".
"Qiongdao Chunyin" was selected by Emperor Qianlong as the first of the "Eight Scenes", while "Juyong Stacked Cui" retreated from the first scene to the seventh place. Some scholars believe that this is related to the fact that after the pacification of Mongolia, Juyongguan no longer faces a threat. "Qiongdao Chunyin" has become the center of the "Eight Scenes", and the other scenes are "like the arch of the stars in the north star", highlighting the brilliant brilliance of the Beijing Division, and also expressing the spirit of the Qianlong Emperor.
(Source: Beijing Daily, April 25, 2024, page 11; Author: Fu Ningjun, Unit: National Museum of China; Image source: Original article with pictures. ）