The garden masterpieces and artistic treasures of Yuanmingyuan are the crystallization of the sweat and wisdom of millions of working people, which not only embodies the splendid culture of feudal China, but also exposes the profligacy of feudal emperors. By the middle of Qing Dynasty, the science and technology of the whole country had fallen far behind the West, and class contradictions were becoming increasingly acute. 1840 (in the last 20 years), western colonialists provoked the war of aggression against China-the first opium war; Subsequently, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Revolution against the corrupt rule of the Qing Dynasty broke out in China.
1856 10, with the support and cooperation of Russia and the United States, Britain and France jointly launched a new war of aggression against China-the Second Opium War. Its purpose is to grab greater colonial interests. First, they started the Guangzhou War twice, but both failed to meet their expectations. In order to exert direct pressure on the Qing government, the capital of Chen Bing was decided. The invading army approached Tianjin1May 858, and the Qing government was forced to sign the Tianjin Treaty with Britain, France, Russia and the United States respectively.
1860 (the tenth year of Xianfeng) In July, the fleet of British and French aggressor troops rushed out of Dagukou again, under the pretext that British and French ministers went to Beijing to exchange contracts, forcibly pushed forward, and at the same time induced them to make peace. However, the conditions are getting more and more harsh, and the purpose is to force the Qing court to submit. Faced with the strategies of the invaders, the corrupt and incompetent Qing government made up its mind to beg for peace, and hesitated to formulate a defense strategy. As a result, the enemy fighters were lost, which led to the invading army approaching Tongzhou. On September 2 1, Tongzhou Baliqiao fought a decisive battle with our army. The next morning, Emperor Xianfeng fled from Yuanmingyuan to chengde mountain resort. It's called "Traveling to the North", but in fact, regardless of ancestral home, it flies away. As a result, the capital has no owner, officials are scattered, the soldiers are in a state of chaos, and the people are frightened, which fundamentally shakes the firm resistance to the aggressors.
654381October 6, British and French forces bypassed the northeast suburb of Beijing and rushed to Yuanmingyuan. At that time, the remnants of Monk Qin and Rui Lin resisted in the north of the city for a while and then fled. The French army went first, passed Haidian in the afternoon and arrived at the gate of Yuanmingyuan Grand Palace in the evening. At this time, more than 20 skilled eunuchs in Yuanmingyuan were fighting with the enemy at the entrance to Jindemen. "Don't be afraid of being killed, go forward bravely" and fight bravely. However, in the end, Ren Liang, the "Eight-product Head" of Yuanmingyuan, died in the line of duty. At 7 pm, the French invaders captured the Yuanmingyuan. Wenfeng, Minister of Landscape Management, died in Fuhai.
65438 10/7, the leader of British and French aggression against China broke into Yuanmingyuan, and immediately "sent three members of the British and French Committee to discuss the distribution of treasures in the garden." On the same day, French army commander Montaubon wrote to the French Foreign Minister: "I ordered French members to pay attention to the most valuable articles in art and archaeology first. Yu Xinghui dedicated the rare things of France to His Majesty the Emperor (Charles Louis Napolé on Bonaparte) and kept them in the French Museum. " British commander Grant immediately "sent officers to collect things that should belong to the British." The day after the British and French invaders entered the park, they could no longer resist the temptation of things. The officers and men rushed forward to rob in droves, devouring the gold and silver treasures and cultural and artistic treasures in the park like wolves.
According to the descriptions of British and French officers, priests and journalists who witnessed the looting, officers and men, British and French people flocked to Yuanmingyuan from all directions in order to seize the treasure, and they were eager to take whatever they wanted. They beat each other and even fought for the treasure. Because there are so many treasures in the garden, they don't know what to take at the moment. Some of them moved cloisonne porcelain bottles, some coveted embroidery, some chose high-grade leather clothes, and some went to get wall clocks inlaid with pearls and jade. Some carry big bags, which are full of all kinds of treasures. Some people put gold bars and leaves in the big pockets of their coats; Some are wrapped in brocade; Some hats are filled with rubies, pearls and crystals; Some people wear jade collars around their necks. There is a mountain of high-grade silks and satins in one wing, which is said to be enough for half of Beijing residents, and all of them are carried away by soldiers in carts. -A British officer plundered a golden Buddha from a temple with 500 Buddha statues, worth 1 200. A French officer robbed property worth 600,000 francs. The treasure plundered by the son of Montaubon, commander-in-chief of the French army, was worth 300 thousand francs and filled several carriages. A British private named Hollis once stole two golden Buddha pagodas (all three stories, one 7 feet high and the other 6.4 feet high) and a lot of other treasures from the garden, and found seven strong men to carry them back to the barracks for him. This man got the nickname "China Zhan Mu" because he plundered and enjoyed his life in Yuanmingyuan. In addition to robbery, the invaders destroyed countless things. Several rooms were full of silks and satins, and clothes were dragged out of the box and thrown all over the floor. People can almost cover their knees when they walk into the room. The engineer with a big axe smashed all the furniture and took the jewels from it. Some people break big mirrors, others shoot candlesticks for fun. Most French soldiers waved sticks and smashed everything they couldn't take with them. 654381October 9 When the French army temporarily evacuated Yuanmingyuan, this beautiful garden was destroyed.
Just as the Qing government bowed to the invaders and promised to accept all the conditions of "negotiation and peace", when signing the contract on the other day, Elgin and Grant, the leaders of British aggression against China, almost made the Qing government grovel for a long time in order to give people the impression that their aggression against China was "impressive and harsh", and even brazenly ordered the burning of Yuanmingyuan on the pretext that their prisoners were abused. 65438+1October 18 and 19, 3,000 or 4,000 British troops set fire to all parts of China. The fire did not go out for three days and three nights, and the whole garden became a sea of fire, with thick smoke and bright candlelight. The sunshine over Beijing, more than 20 miles away, is dim, like an eclipse, and a lot of smoke and stars fall straight in the alley. This unique garden masterpiece, a rare artistic treasure at home and abroad, was burned together. Afterwards, according to the official investigation of the Qing Dynasty, there were only 20 or 30 temples, pavilions, temples, official doors, value rooms and other buildings in the huge Yuanming Three Gardens, but many doors and windows were uneven, and the indoor furnishings and several cases were looted. Since then, some buildings of Qingyi Garden in Wanshou Mountain, Jingyi Garden in Xiangshan Mountain and Jingming Garden in Yuquan Mountain have also been burned down.
According to relevant records, when the British invaders burned Anyou Palace on June 6th, 10, the eunuch in charge of Anyou Palace locked the gate, and 300 people including eunuchs, maids and craftsmen in Anyou Palace were burned alive. The atrocities of the invaders are outrageous!
When Yuanmingyuan fell into a sea of fire, Erjin proudly declared: "This move will shake China and Europe, and its effect far exceeds the imagination of people thousands of miles away." The main emissary of the fire regarded this behavior as a great achievement, and upright people all over the world were angered by this barbaric crime. Hugo wrote in 186 1: "One day, two robbers walked into Yuanmingyuan, one robbed something and the other set fire. It seems that if you win the war, you can engage in robbery. In the face of history, these two robbers, one is called France and the other is called Britain. " This passage represents the voice of millions of upright people.
When the fire of sin and shame in Yuanmingyuan was still burning, Prince Gong, who was ordered to stay in Beijing, played a game? They all agreed to all the conditions of the invaders. Soon, the Tianjin Treaty text was exchanged with Britain, France and Russia, and the Beijing Treaty was signed. In this way, the imperialist powers not only occupied China's Kowloon First Division and a large area of northern territory, but also extorted huge military compensation of162,000 silver, which greatly strengthened their political and military control over the Qing government and their economic and cultural aggression against our people. The suffering Chinese nation has further fallen into the abyss of semi-colonialism.
After the destruction of Yuanmingyuan, it is still a royal forbidden garden. During the Tongzhi period, he was ordered by Empress Dowager Cixi to try to rebuild it. At that time, it was planned to restore more than 20 temples, mainly in Qian Chao District, Houhu District, West District and North District of Yuanmingyuan, as well as Gongmen District of Wanchun Garden and Xiaqing Hall at the entrance of Fuchun Hall. However, less than 10 months after the project started, it was forced to stop work for maintenance due to the exhaustion of funds. Since then, Empress Dowager Cixi has repaired the Summer Palace, but she has not completely abandoned the restoration of Yuanmingyuan. Until the 22nd to 24th year of Guangxu, she also renovated Shuanghezhai and Jinnongxuan in Yuanmingyuan. 1900 (the 26th year of Guangxu), Eight-Nation Alliance went to Beijing, burned and looted, and Empress Dowager Cixi fled to xi 'an, holding Emperor Guangxu, and the two capitals were in chaos. Eight Banners soldiers, bandits and local ruffians immediately took advantage of the fire to rob and demolish nearly 100 buildings that have been basically repaired one after another, completely destroying the buildings and ancient and famous trees in Yuanmingyuan.
Later, the cultural relics of Yuanmingyuan were 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 a large number of stone carvings and Taihu stones from the park to repair their gardens. Such as Wang Huaiqing, Commander-in-Chief of Xu Wei, Gyeonggi; Cao Kun, Visiting Ambassador (who was later bribed as President of the Republic of China); Nie Xianfan, Commander of Bujun; Che Qingyun, Commander of Gendarmerie; and Wang Lanheng, Secretary-General of the Government, all have such misdeeds. Only Jing (equivalent to the later mayor of Beiping) Liu Menggeng forcibly removed Taihu Stone from Changchun Garden within 25 days of 1922. At that time, the 13th Division of the Army, the 16th Division of the National Army, the 11th Division, the 53rd Army of the Northeast Army and the 29th Army of the Song Dynasty were stationed in Xiyuan area successively. They have forcibly demolished the walls of Yuanmingyuan, sold bricks and stones privately, or used them to build a playground in Xiyuan. The Summer Palace, Zhongshan Park, yenching university, Beiping Library and other places also carried away a large number of stone chips. In the early 1930s, when the high beam bridge was rebuilt on the ballasted road from Haidian to Yuquan Mountain, with the approval of the Beiping Special Government, all the tiger-skin stone fences in the south (4,800 meters) and east of Yuanmingyuan were demolished and smashed into ballasts to pave the way. Before and after this, it also sold the bricks, tiger skin stones, mica sheets and even the marble columns left in the west building in public at different prices, which eventually made the Yuanmingyuan a ruin.
The famous garden Yuanmingyuan was destroyed. It was destroyed by the British and French invaders and the corrupt and incompetent Qing government. Its destruction is not only a witness to the brutal destruction of human culture by western invaders, but also a proof that ancient civilization will be beaten if it falls behind. We Chinese nation don't want to bully other nations, but we will never allow others to bully us. To make the tragedy of Yuanmingyuan a thing of the past forever, work hard, people of China!