Yuanmingyuan is located in Haidian District, the western suburb of Beijing, adjacent to the Summer Palace. Founded in the 46th year of Kangxi (1707), it consists of Yuanmingyuan, Changchun Garden and Wanchun Garden. There are more than 0/00 gardens/KLOC, with a construction area of 6,543,800 square meters. It is a large-scale royal palace created and operated by the Qing emperor during 654.38+0.50 years. The Qing Dynasty invested all the material resources of the whole country, gathered countless exquisite craftsmen, filled lakes and piled mountains, planted exotic flowers and trees, gathered 40 scenic spots at home and abroad, built 145 large buildings, and stored countless art treasures and books and cultural relics. Among these buildings, in addition to the quadrangles with Chinese style, there are also western-style buildings such as Haiyan Hall and Garden Cinema in Changchun Garden, which is known as the "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens". 1860, British and French troops invaded Beijing and burned Yuanmingyuan. 1900, Eight-Nation Alliance went to Beijing, burned and looted, and Empress Dowager Cixi fled to xi 'an with Emperor Guangxu. Eight Banners soldiers, bandits and local ruffians took advantage of the fire to rob nearly 100 buildings that remained in the park and were basically restored, and all the buildings and ancient and famous trees in Yuanmingyuan were completely destroyed. Since then, the cultural relics of Yuanmingyuan have been plundered by bureaucrats, warlords and profiteers for a long time, and even destroyed by government authorities in a planned way. The dignitaries of Beiyang government, including some people responsible for the protection of Yuanmingyuan site, relied on their power to transport stone carvings and Taihu stones from Yuanmingyuan to repair their gardens. The invaders not only took away precious historical relics, but also turned them into ashes without mercy. Yuanmingyuan covers an area of 350 hectares, of which the water surface area is about 140 hectares. The plot ratio of Yuanmingyuan is 10,000 square meters more than that of the Forbidden City, and the water area is equal to a Summer Palace, with a total area of 8.5 Forbidden City!

It inherits the excellent gardening tradition of China for more than 3,000 years, which has both the elegance of palace architecture and the euphemism of Jiangnan gardens. At the same time, it absorbs European garden architecture forms and blends different styles of garden architecture, making people feel harmony and perfection in the overall layout. It can really be said: "Although it was made by people, it is a fable." Yuanmingyuan is not only famous for its gardens, but also a royal museum with a rich collection. Hugo, a great French writer, once said: "Even if all the treasures of all museums in China are added together, it can't compare with this magnificent Oriental Museum." The lobby of the park is decorated with countless mahogany furniture and displays many rare cultural relics at home and abroad. Garden Hanyuan Pavilion is one of the four royal libraries in China. There are precious books and cultural relics such as Sikuquanshu, Integration of Ancient and Modern Books and Essentials of Sikuquanshu in the park.

Yuanmingyuan was once famous for its grand geographical scale, outstanding architectural skills, exquisite architectural landscape, rich cultural collection and profound national cultural connotation, and was known as "the model of all gardening arts" and "the garden of ten thousand gardens".

1860, 10 10 On October 6, the British and French allied forces looted the Yuanmingyuan, and all the cultural relics were looted. 19 From June 7 to June 9, the buildings in the park were burned. The once miraculous and mythical Yuanmingyuan has become a ruin, leaving only broken walls for tourists to mourn.

Name source:

"Yuanmingyuan" was named by Emperor Kangxi. On the lintel of Yuanmingyuan, there is a three-character plaque "Michelle Ye Imperial Book". Yong Zhengdi has an explanation for the name of this garden. It is said that the word "Yuan Ming" means: "The circle is fascinating, and the gentleman is also in the middle; Bright and shining, the wisdom of talents is also. " It means "round", that is, a person's moral character is perfect, beyond ordinary people; "Ming" means bright, perfect and wise political achievements. This can be said to be the ideal standard for the ruling class to flaunt the wisdom of the monarch in feudal times.

In addition, "Yuanming" is the Buddhist name that Yong Zhengdi has been using since the time of the Prince. Yong Zhengdi believes in Buddhism and has a deep study of Buddhism. He is the author of Quotations of Imperial Selection (19) and Distinguishing between Demons and Different Records. In the pattern of Buddhist sects in the early Qing Dynasty, Yong Zhengdi was a very important figure in the history of Buddhist development. He claimed to be the master of Zen, exerted influence on Buddhism as the "master of the world", and strongly advocated the unity of the three religions and the purity of Zen. When Emperor Kangxi presented the Garden to Yin Zhen (later Yong Zhengdi), the title of the Garden "Yuanmingyuan" was taken from the Buddhist name "Yuanming" of Yongzheng.

Features of landscape architecture:

Yuanmingyuan combines the characteristics of several famous gardens in the south of the Yangtze River at that time, melts the essence of ancient gardening art in China, and melts poetry and painting into ever-changing scenes with the artistic technique of garden in the garden. The southern part of Yuanmingyuan is the imperial court area, where the emperor handles official business, the most famous of which is Zheng Da Guangming Hall, which listens to politics in the court. There are 40 scenic spots in other areas, of which more than 50 scenic spots directly imitate famous gardens in other places, such as An Lan Garden in Haining, Autumn Moon in Pinghu in Hangzhou West Lake, Sunset of Lei Feng, Lion Forest in Suzhou, etc ..... Not only imitate architecture, but also copy names. There is also the Anyou Palace for ancestor worship and the high-rise buildings with high mountains and high water for banquets, which simulate Penglai Yaotai in the scenery of Fairy Mountain and reproduce the spring scenery of Wuling in the story of Peach Blossom Garden. More interestingly, Yuanmingyuan also has a western-style garden scenic spot. The most famous "Dashui Law" is the fountain, flowers and Haiyan Hall in the west, all of which have the style of Italian Renaissance. There is also a model of Venice in the lake, and the emperor can enjoy the "water city scenery" thousands of miles away from the mountain on the shore.

Artistic features:

Yuanmingyuan is not only a treasure house, but also the largest royal museum and art gallery in the world at that time, with many treasures, books and artistic masterpieces. There are famous calligraphy and painting, secret house classics, Zhong Ding treasures, gold and silver jewelry and other precious cultural relics, which condense the essence of ancient culture. Yuanmingyuan is also a garden of exotic flowers and plants, with millions of rare flowers and trees. Westerners who have witnessed Yuanmingyuan completely call her "the king of ten thousand gardens".

Besides, Yuanmingyuan is also the place where the emperor lived the most besides the Forbidden City.

[Edit this paragraph] Historical development

Yuanmingyuan is a famous royal garden in Qing Dynasty. Yuanming Three Gardens covers an area of more than 5,200 mu, with more than 50 scenic spots/kloc-0. Yuanmingyuan was originally a garden given by Emperor Kangxi to his fourth son, Yin Zhen (later Yong Zhengdi). In the forty-sixth year of Kangxi, namely 1707, gardens had begun to take shape. In the same year 1 1 month, Emperor Kangxi visited the Yuanmingyuan. After Yong Zhengdi ascended the throne in 1723, the original garden was expanded, and Zheng Da Guangming Hall, Qin Zhengtang and the value rooms of the Cabinet, Sixth Department and Military Department were built in the south of the garden to "avoid noise and listen to politics". Emperor Qianlong reigned for 60 years, spending millions to build Yuanmingyuan, repairing porcelain every day, digging water and moving stones. In addition to the partial addition and reconstruction of Yuanmingyuan, he also built Changchun Garden in the immediate east and merged it into Qichun Garden in the southeast. By the thirty-fifth year of Qianlong, that is, 1770, the pattern of Yuanming three gardens had basically taken shape. Jiaqing Dynasty mainly renovated and expanded Qichun Garden, making it one of the main garden places. During the Daoguang period, state affairs declined and financial resources were insufficient. However, I would rather withdraw the furnishings of Wanshou, Xiangshan and Yuquan, stop the summer vacation in Jehol and Mulan hunting, and still do not give up the reconstruction and decoration of Yuanming Three Gardens.