The predecessor of Yuanmingyuan is probably an old garden left over from the Ming Dynasty, and now it is impossible to test. It was built in the forty-eighth year of Kangxi (17 10) and was the official residence of Prince Yong Zhengdi of the Qing Dynasty. After Yongzheng ascended the throne, the temple was repaired. Emperor Qianlong restored and expanded Changchun Garden (built in the 14th year of Qianlong 1749) and Wanchun Garden in the east of the garden (note 1). The last three gardens, collectively known as Yuanmingyuan, are operated by five emperors, namely Qing Kang, Yong, Gan, Jia and Dao, and their scale is extremely grand. This is written in Wang Kaiyun Yuanmingyuan Palace:
"When the pure imperial industry is in full swing, there is no wave to swim in Jianghai. I stayed in Siyuan, and the painter wrote a second scene. "
At the end of the garden, it reached its peak. A mountain and a valley, a pavilion and a pavilion are all carefully planned and integrated with Chinese and western architectural arts. The famous gardens in the North and South Palace Que are one, and the three gardens in Yuanming are about 100 with 20 doors, which can be called the crown of the palaces in modern China, or the largest and most magnificent palace in the world at that time. Before the Yuanmingyuan was burned down, from Yong Zhengdi to Emperor Xianfeng, Yuanmingyuan was a place where emperors and ministers of the Qing Dynasty often worked and relaxed, instead of the Forbidden City, which was misled and misunderstood by people in TV dramas. Of the six emperors of the Qing Dynasty since Kangxi, Jiaqing and Daoguang died in Yuanmingyuan. To the south of the garden is the place where the imperial court and ministers directly serve, that is, the military department; In the north, it is an entertainment place. A total of forty scenes, all written by Qianlong. "Yuanmingyuan" was named by Kangxi, the ruined "Fair and Bright" Hall was inscribed by Kangxi, and the ruined Grand Palace Gate was inscribed by Yongzheng. Yongzheng explained the meaning of the word "Yuanming" like this:
"Deep Ming Zhiyuan, not easy to peep. I have tasted the words of ancient books and experienced the virtue of roundness. The husband is round and fascinated, and the gentleman is also in it; Bright and shining, the wisdom of talents is also. " (Note 3)
The view of predecessors that "the west of the garden is blocked by Shanxi" is either lingering or abrupt. Among them, Yuquan irrigation, or rice bed, or irrigation lotus pond. The so-called: the level of the plain, the level of Jia Ying (Yongzheng's Yuanming of Yuanmingyuan), Lin Guangqing's discipline, and Chi Ying's clarification, those who practice without waves are far away from the mirror. "Describe the natural scenery of Yuanmingyuan very thoroughly.
Yuanming Three Gardens were burned in the second Opium War at the end of Xianfeng, among which ancient books and treasures were mainly looted by British and French allied forces, and a few were looted by China people. Although the main buildings of Yuanmingyuan were burned down in 1860, by 1879, most masonry structures were preserved, including the wall foundation and even the whole map (Note 4). After 1900, especially after the Revolution of 1911, a large number of masonry materials of these buildings were robbed by warlords, politicians and ordinary people (note 4, which will be further explained later in this article). Today, the remains of the Yuanming Three Gardens are basically the same as the 18 photo taken by Wang Wei in 1953 (Note 5), but they were damaged during the Cultural Revolution. At present, the description of the scenery before the destruction of Yuanmingyuan mainly comes from Zhen Wu's Collection of Yang Jizhai, Wang Kaiyun's Diary of Xiangqilou, Xu Shujun's Preface to Yuanmingyuan, Yongzheng's Ming of Yuanmingyuan and Qianlong's Postscript to Yuanmingyuan. In addition, it can also be seen in westerners' memories of Yuanmingyuan, including the memoirs of Michel Benoist, the designer of the West Building of Yuanmingyuan, and the articles and books of various parties involved in the British-French invasion, which can be seen in Ouyang's translation of Eight Notes on Burning Yuanmingyuan in Western Books (now in Beijing Library, in Volume VII of Journal of Beiping Library, No.3 and No.4 of Yuanmingyuan Special Issue).
Most people only know that Yuanmingyuan was burned down in the Beijing Incident in 1860. They thought that Yuanmingyuan was robbed and burned, and the garden was roughly like this. In fact, this is a big mistake. Although most of the buildings in Yuanmingyuan have been severely damaged by the fire, the walls of these buildings are still intact, the old trees in the garden are still towering, the trees are deep and the leaves are lush, the pools in the garden are still everywhere, and the springs are full of stones, which is not the poor and few remnants of Yuanmingyuan Ruins Park that we see today.
Ten years of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (187 1), eleven years after Yuanmingyuan was burned, Wang Kaiyun and Xu Shujun (Shu Hong), led by garrison officer Liao Chengen, paid tribute to Qingyi Garden and the former site of Yuanmingyuan. In Qingyi Garden, they saw "crumbling walls and broken tiles, messy hazelnuts and weeds". . . . Kunming Lake is on the bridge, and the copper rhinoceros lies on thorns. Tomorrow, under the leadership of a 70-year-old eunuch Dong, they will pass through the ruins of Xianliangmen, Diligence, Guangming, Shoushan and Taihe in Yuanmingyuan, "to the Yuanming Sleeping Hall of thousands of households, and then to the selfless hall in Fengsan and the banquet hall in Jiuzhou. There are seven rows each, and the bad walls are still standing, and the steps can still be found." (Reference 1) That is to say, part of the wall of the burnt Yuanmingyuan Palace remains, and several rooms to which the palace belongs can be identified. The abandoned bases of other scenic spots can also be seen; There are also several temples on Pengdao Yaotai in Fuhai. Shuanghezhai (the "Dagong" in the previous article) "Grass encroaches on the steps, and windows (panes) are everywhere." (Reference 1) According to Tsui Hark's Clearance Notes, except for the Guangming Hall in Zheng Da and the Qingyan Hall in Jiuzhou, all the other palaces are in five rows, which shows that the remains of Yuanmingyuan still retain the masonry structure to a great extent eleven years later. From 1869 to 1879, we can clearly see from the photos of abandoned western buildings in Changchun Garden written by Gu Teng in Remnants of European Palace in Yuanmingyuan (Reference 2) that Romanesque buildings are mainly made of marble and will not be burned, so the main structures of those buildings are well preserved, and they still stand upright in clouds and trees. As the saying goes,
The sage's door has residual bricks, the temple of light is destroyed, and the wall is destroyed.
Wenzong built a new qinghui Hall near the lake to accommodate Guang Xiao.
Lin Shenci's demon dream (note 3), Buddha city in all directions.
The grass grows in the lake, and the wormwood rustles in front of the steps.
Dead trees are stolen again, and the scales are temporarily surprised to meet the net.
If you don't open the clouds and carve the platform, the three saints of peace will come together.
Better know that bamboo invades moss than spring flowers weep.
Pinghu west goes to Xuanting, and the silver hook of the pen is connected with it. (Note 4)
The following year, that is, in the winter of the 11th year of Tongzhi (1872), the minister of the Qing government proposed to rebuild the Yuanmingyuan and sent personnel to investigate the site, thus obtaining the official record of the first theft of the Yuanmingyuan. According to the investigation report of Gui Bao, Minister of Interior Langzhong, "There are thirteen existing Yuanmingyuan, including solemn dharma circle, Shuanghezhai, Zibishanfang, Yuyue Feiteng, Gengyuntang, Shen Xiu Siyong, Tang Zhiguo, Kenongxuan, Shuntianqing, Chunyuxuan, Xinghua Village, Wenchang Pavilion and Kuixinglou." However, there are omissions in this report. There are still Pengdao Yaotai, Linyuan Jinjing, Zangzhouwu, Haiyue Jinkai, Wanchunyuan Grand Palace Gate (now the main entrance of Yuanmingyuan Ruins Park), Zhengjue Temple and many ancillary buildings (Note 5).
Twelve years before the discussion on rebuilding Yuanmingyuan, the Qing government listed Yuanmingyuan as a forbidden area for the royal family and prohibited unauthorized officials from breaking into Yuanmingyuan for sightseeing. This policy persisted until the eve of the Gengzi Incident (1900). In the 23rd year of Guangxu (1897), Li Hongzhang visited Europe and returned to Korea. After Cixi summoned him in the Summer Palace and hosted a banquet, Ma Jianzhong and Zeng Guangquan, Li Kai's aides, visited the Yuanmingyuan. The old housekeepers in the garden were very hospitable and planned to get a gift from Li for Li Wei. A few days later, Emperor Guangxu also came, and the old supervisor told the emperor about Li's unauthorized private tour of the park. Emperor Guangxu then told Weng Tonghe about this matter. Weng Tonghe and Li had always had a tense relationship, so he seized the matter and impeached Li for swimming in the forbidden park. Because Cixi did not agree with this matter, Li Hongzhang was not demoted, but was fined. It can also be seen from this incident that the Qing government's control over the deserted Yuanmingyuan is still very tight. However, ironically, although the government has tight control over officials visiting Yuanmingyuan, it has no control over civilians entering the park to steal property and illegally cut down trees. Perhaps since the fire, the Qing government has not left anyone to guard the park, only a small number of eunuchs are responsible for guarding it. Of course, it is impossible to block a large area of Yuanmingyuan (note 7). Even after the reconstruction was decided in the 12th year of Tongzhi (1873), the looting of civilians could not be stopped. "On December 20, the twelfth year of Tongzhi, two rooms in No.7 West Room of Yuanmingyuan West Road were demolished by thieves." (Note 8)
The reconstruction of Yuanmingyuan began on October 8th in the 12th year of Tongzhi (1873) and ended in September in the 13th year of Tongzhi (1874). It only lasted for a year, but it ended because it was difficult to raise funds. According to the documents of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Qing government, more than 405,000 yuan was spent on the project. Due to the lack of funds and building materials, the scale of rebuilding Yuanmingyuan is very small. The restoration of Daguongmen, Zheng Da Guangmingtang and Tiandi Jiaquan (Note 9) was only partially completed, and the project was aborted in the financial difficulties of the Qing Dynasty.
Twenty-seven years after the boxer rebellion, there was a minor repair in Yuanmingyuan. In the 22nd year of Guangxu (1896), after visiting Yuanmingyuan, Cixi and Guangxu spent more than 96,000 taels of silver to repair Shuanghezhai, Huanxiu Mountain House, Jinongxuan and Wanchunyuan Palace Outer Bridge.
To sum up, we can speculate that during the forty years from the fire in 1860 to 1900, although the theft of bricks, trees and remaining cultural relics in Yuanmingyuan never stopped (note 10), it was still carried out in a small area, so the damage to the remains of Yuanmingyuan was not serious, not to mention the Qing government during this period. According to Jin Xun's memory, when he was a child, he lived in Chengfu Village, Haidian and often passed by Yuanmingyuan. From the height outside the wall, you can see the Grand Palace Gate, Pengdao Yaotai and Wanchun Garden in Jinkai, Serene. (Note 1 1)
The boxer rebellion (1900) was the second devastating blow to Yuanmingyuan. When Eight-Nation Alliance defeated Nie Shicheng and the Boxer Rebellion of Ganjun, captured Tianjin and invaded Beijing, Cixi fled the capital with Guangxu, and there was chaos inside and outside Beijing. At that time, the mutinous mob farce, which is common in the history of China, was staged again. The Eight Banners stationed in the city openly colluded with local ruffians and hooligans to rob in the city, while many defenders and hooligans outside the city may be defeated and scattered by the Boxers, and they are even more arrogant, turning the city into a lawless world. Soldiers and thugs looted the furnishings in the western suburbs, and Yuanmingyuan was no exception. They tore down pavilions, palaces and bronze lions and sold them (note 12), and even refused to let go of bricks and stones. These people have set up a timber accumulation station and a charcoal-burning kiln in Yuanmingyuan, and piled the dismantled building materials and tens of thousands of precious trees plants in the park. The large ones are sold as building and furniture materials, and the small ones are sold as wood. The famous Serene Jinkai and Pengdao Yaotai in Fuhai were also demolished at this time. Before, these two scenes were the best preserved buildings in Yuanmingyuan because the British and French Coalition forces did not burn down.
After the great destruction in the Boxer Movement, the remains of Yuanmingyuan left by minor repairs in Tongzhi and Guangxu periods have basically disappeared (note 13), and Cixi and Guangxu have no place in this desolate forest of Yuanmingyuan. In the autumn of Guangxu 30th year (note 1904), the Ministry of Internal Affairs abolished some officials guarding Yuanmingyuan (note 65438+). At the end of the year (note191), Tan (note 15) went to visit the Yuan Ming Sanyuan Site. He wanted to pay tribute to the Grand Duke Shuanghezhai, but he couldn't see it anymore. Lingfeng is a stone, quite lonely and beautiful, still standing in the noise. (Note: 17) The so-called "wheat looks like Noda" is because after 1904, many poor banners and other farmers went to Yuanmingyuan to open up wasteland one after another, turning forest wasteland and dry lakes and marshes into farmland.
After the Revolution of 1911, the northern warlords openly demolished the buildings in various gardens in Beijing, and Xu Shichang demolished the timber of the most intact temples in Heming Garden and Jingchun Garden (note 18), which was the first time that warlords plundered the gardens. From then on, (note 19) followed Xu's footsteps, tearing down the walls of the Acropolis and Anyou Palace and the stones of the West Building to create his own "garden" (note 20). These stones were impossible for hooligans and thugs to move at first. Wang Huaiqing's wanton theft of Yuanming Three Gardens has become an example for warlords and politicians inside and outside Beijing. They rushed to the site of Yuanmingyuan, robbed and carried the materials in the park in the name of Wang Huaiqing, and the situation came like a flood, which was unstoppable by the nursing eunuchs. As a result, in a few years, the only remaining and slightly decent building materials in Yuanmingyuan were looted. (Note: 2 1) Among them, Zhang built his own cemetery with white marble in the west building of Changchun Garden. According to the memories of old Beijing who lived in Chengfu Village and near Peking University at that time, vehicles filled with the remains of Yuanmingyuan passed by almost every day since the Republic of China, all year round, and * * * lasted for more than 20 years. (Note 22)
This wave of robbing Yuanmingyuan finally turned Yuanmingyuan into a complete wasteland and farmland covering an area of 10 square kilometers in Fiona Fang, which was the third big robbery in the history of Yuanmingyuan.
What needs to be pointed out in particular is that those who participated in the demolition of Yuanmingyuan site after the early Republic of China, in addition to the extortion of powerful villains who fought with flame, also had the tricks of elegant gentlemen. For example, when the Central Park (now Zhongshan Park in Beijing) was built, the "Lanting Eight-Pillar Sticker", Wanchunyuan (existing Beihai Park) bronze exposed panshi pedestal, Changchun Garden West Building, Yuanjing Art Stone Fence, Haiyue Kaiguang, another cave Taihu Stone and so on were transplanted. When yenching university was building a school building, American priests used the most materials in Yuanmingyuan. The famous ones are: The Three-Hua Watch in Anyou Palace (later moved to stand outside the Old Beijing Library), a stone dragon and phoenix, a white jade unicorn (placed in front of the Peking University office building), two spray platforms in front of Haiyan Hall in Changchun Garden, and five stone screens in front of the water viewing throne (the most exquisite sculptures in the West Building are scattered on the campus of Peking University). 1930 when the old Beijing library was built, a lot of materials were taken from Yuanmingyuan. In Anyou Palace, besides a pair of China watches, there are also a pair of stone lions, two stone tablets in Wenyuan Pavilion, a Kunlun stone in Wangyingzhou on the west coast of Fuhai, and two yellow Taihu stones outside the park gate. In the west of the library, there is an elephant skin green Taihu stone with a white marble pedestal. The Summer Palace also has things from Yuanmingyuan, such as the bronze plaque in front of Renshou Hall. The above survey comes from the book Yuanmingyuan published by Wang Wei 1957.
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2011-1-1918: 30 Kill 20 12 | Level 1
After the Revolution of 1911, the northern warlords openly demolished the buildings in various gardens in Beijing, and Xu Shichang demolished the timber of the most intact temples in Heming Garden and Jingchun Garden (note 18), which was the first time that warlords plundered the gardens. From then on, (note 19) followed Xu's footsteps, tearing down the walls of the Acropolis and Anyou Palace and the stones of the West Building to create his own "garden" (note 20). These stones were impossible for hooligans and thugs to move at first. Wang Huaiqing's wanton theft of Yuanming Three Gardens has become an example for warlords and politicians inside and outside Beijing. They rushed to the site of Yuanmingyuan, robbed and carried the materials in the park in the name of Wang Huaiqing, and the situation came like a flood, which was unstoppable by the nursing eunuchs. As a result, in a few years, the only remaining and slightly decent building materials in Yuanmingyuan were looted. (Note: 2 1) Among them, Zhang built his own cemetery with white marble in the west building of Changchun Garden. According to the memories of old Beijing who lived in Chengfu Village and near Peking University at that time, vehicles filled with the remains of Yuanmingyuan passed by almost every day since the Republic of China, all year round, and * * * lasted for more than 20 years. (Note 22)