The story of the Summer Palace

Before Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty succeeded to the throne, four large royal gardens were built in the western suburbs of Beijing. In the fifteenth year of Qianlong's reign (1750), Emperor Qianlong used 4.48 million taels of silver to renovate the site into Qingyi Garden in order to honor his mother, Queen Xiaosheng, forming a 20-kilometer royal garden area from the current Qinghua Garden to Xiangshan. . In the tenth year of Xianfeng (1860), Qingyi Garden was burned down by the British and French forces.

It was rebuilt in the 14th year of Guangxu (1888) and renamed the Summer Palace as a summer entertainment place. In the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu (1900), the Summer Palace was again destroyed by the "Eight-Nation Allied Forces" and all the treasures were looted. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Summer Palace was again destroyed during warlord wars and Kuomintang rule.

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History

The original Wengshan Mountain in the northwest suburbs of Beijing is the remnant of Yanshan Mountain. There are lakes at the foot of the mountain, which are called Qilili, Dabo Lake, Wengshanbo and West Lake. In the first year of Zhenyuan of the Jin Dynasty (1153), the financier Wan Yanliang set up the Jinshan Palace here. After the Yuan Dynasty established its capital in Beijing, in order to meet the water needs of canal use, hydraulic scientist Guo Shoujing opened up the upstream water source and introduced water from the holy mountain spring of Baifu Village in Changping and water flowing along the way into the lake, increasing the water potential and becoming a reservoir to protect the palace's water supply and support canal transportation.

In the seventh year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty (1494), Luo Shi, the wet nurse of Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, built Yuanjing Temple in front of Wengshan Mountain, which was later abandoned. Since then, the number of gardens around Wengshan has gradually increased. Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty built a palace on the lakeside, which was called "Haoshan Garden" and became a royal garden. Both Ming Wuzong and Ming Shenzong used to go boating and play here. During the reign of Emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty, Wei Zhongxian took Haoshan Garden as his own.

In the early years of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, the number of gardens in the Haidian area in the western suburbs of Beijing increased. The large amount of water used for gardens increased the water consumption. At that time, in addition to the Wanquan River system with a small flow, most of the water used for gardens came from the water that originated from Yuquan Mountain and flowed into the West Lake. This water It is also the water source of Tonghui River since the Ming Dynasty. ?

In the fifteenth year of Qianlong (1750), in order to prepare for the 60th birthday of Empress Dowager Chongde (Empress Xiaoshengxian), Emperor Qianlong used the excuse of managing the water system in the west of Beijing to order the excavation of the West Lake and intercept the Xishan, Yuquan, and Shouan Mountains. The high water lake and the nourishing water lake were excavated to the west of the West Lake, and the three lakes were used as reservoirs to ensure water for the palace gardens and provide irrigation water for the surrounding farmland.

Emperor Qianlong renamed the West Lake Kunming Lake based on the allusion that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty dug the Kunming Pool to train the navy. The earthworks dug from the lake were piled in Wengshan Mountain in Hubei, and Wengshan Mountain was renamed Longevity Mountain.

Qingyi Garden was built in the 29th year of Qianlong (1764), which cost more than 4.8 million taels of silver. In Qingyi Garden

Based on the concept of the "Three Fairy Mountains on the Sea" in ancient Chinese mythology, three small islands were built in Kunming Lake and the two lakes on the west side: Nanhu Island, Tuancheng Island, and Zaojiantang Island to metaphorize the three mountains on the sea: Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou. . The overall plan of Qingyi Garden is based on the West Lake in Hangzhou, and it also extensively imitates Jiangnan gardens and scenic spots.

For example, Fenghuang Pier imitates Taihu Lake, Jingming Tower imitates Yueyang Tower, Wangchan Pavilion imitates Yellow Crane Tower, Houxi Lake Trading Street imitates Suzhou Water Street, Xisuo Trading Street imitates Yangzhou Twenty-four Bridge, etc. The main building in the park is the Dabaoen Yanshou Temple, with a promenade that is more than 700 meters long. Its architecture and decorative paintings are quite exciting and have artistic value as well as many tourist buildings.

There are very few administrative and residential buildings in the Qingyi Garden on Longevity Hill in the Summer Palace. Emperor Qianlong only visited Qingyi Garden on the same day and never lived in the garden.

In its heyday, the Summer Palace was large in scale, covering an area of ??2.97 square kilometers (293 hectares). It was mainly composed of Wanshou Mountain and Kunming Lake, of which the water surface accounted for three-quarters (about 220 hectares).

The buildings in the park are centered on the Buddhist Incense Pavilion. There are more than 100 scenic buildings, more than 20 large and small courtyards, and 3,555 ancient buildings, covering an area of ??more than 70,000 square meters. There are pavilions, terraces, buildings, pavilions, corridors, There are more than 3,000 pavilions and other buildings of different forms. Among them, the Buddhist Incense Pavilion, Long Corridor, Stone Boat, Suzhou Street, Seventeen-Arch Bridge, Garden of Harmonious Interests, and Grand Stage are representative buildings. There are more than 600 ancient and famous trees.

After the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, due to the weakening of national power, it was announced that the three mountains and furnishings would be withdrawn, and Qingyi Garden gradually fell into disuse. In the tenth year of Xianfeng (1860), Qingyi Garden was burned down by fire by the British and French forces. From the 10th to the 21st year of Guangxu (1884 to 1895), when the Empress Dowager Cixi retired to recuperate, she ordered the reconstruction of Qingyi Garden in the name of Emperor Guangxu.

Due to limited funds, financial resources were concentrated to restore the Qianshan building complex and build walls around Kunming Lake. It was renamed the Summer Palace and became the Palace of Departures. In the 26th year of Guangxu (1900), the buildings and cultural relics in the park were destroyed by the Eight-Power Allied Forces, and were restored in the 28th year of Guangxu (1902). Although the Summer Palace has generally restored the Qingyi Garden landscape, many aspects of its quality have declined.

Many high-rise buildings have been forced to be shorter and smaller in size due to financial constraints. For example, the Wenchang Pavilion tower was reduced from three floors to two floors, and the Leshou Hall was changed from double eaves to single eaves. There are also taller buildings, such as the Grand Theater. Suzhou Street was burned down and never recovered. Because Cixi preferred Su-style color paintings, the color paintings on many houses, pavilions and corridors also changed from Hexi color paintings to Su-style color paintings, which changed the original appearance of Qingyi Garden in details.