Yuanmingyuan, a name that haunts countless people in China, is painful to remember. It is not only the imperial garden that people can't see today, but also the "pride" and "shame" that we as China people must bear in mind.
What was the original appearance of Yuanmingyuan in those days? I'm afraid no one can explain it accurately and carefully. From the existing data, we can vaguely imagine the beautiful scenery of the "king of world gardens", and often see the tragic scene when it was looted and burned.
In order to make the original appearance of the "king of ten thousand gardens" no longer stay in imagination, and let the general public have the opportunity to have this historical memory and cultural imprint, through the collection, collation and research of massive data, a picture scroll that reproduces the original appearance of Yuanmingyuan as truly as possible is drawn.
Zheng Da Guangming site. According to "Old Shadows of Three Mountains and Five Gardens" published by Academy Press.
Yuanmingyuan has been burned down. What is the basis for drawing this original picture of Yuanmingyuan?
Computer drawing? Hand-painted western paintings? China's painting effect is very different! How to take and give up?
What unexpected story happened suddenly after the original drawing of Yuanmingyuan was drawn in hot and cold?
Five years of data search and research
Compared with the drawing series of "Old Map of Urban Memory" being carried out by Academy Press at that time, the drawing of "Original Map of Yuanmingyuan" is extremely difficult. For example, the hand-painted drawings of the Ming Tombs published at that time, the hand-painted drawings of the Summer Palace being drawn, the hand-painted drawings of the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven, the hand-painted drawings of Jingshan in Beihai, and the hand-painted drawings of Shichahai. At present, these scenic spots are basically complete, and the scenery inside is basically still there, while the architecture and gardens of Yuanmingyuan have long since ceased to exist. This just highlights the significance and value of recreating the original appearance of Yuanmingyuan. In the past 20 years, Xueyuan Publishing House, with the aim of recording and rescuing China's outstanding cultural heritage, has formed the publishing characteristics of folk culture, literature and history classics and traditional medical books. Therefore, when several editors of "The Original Picture of Yuanmingyuan" handed the topic selection report to the community leaders, it was quickly approved.
Stone screen of water viewing method in the early 1920s. According to "Old Shadows of Three Mountains and Five Gardens" published by Academy Press.
During the five years of drawing the original drawing of Yuanmingyuan, the weekends of several editors were basically "sacrifices". They are obsessed with collecting everything in Yuanmingyuan every day, whether it is words, paintings, prints or poems, whether it is a separate book or published in newspapers, magazines and web pages. In their own words, all materials that can provide a trace of reference clues should be obtained, even if there is only one. Among them, the most helpful thing for them is to describe the relatively accurate written records, and they started this arduous work on this basis.
During this period, their other topics are also going on, but it seems that they can't be so enthusiastic. After the completion of the original drawing of Yuanmingyuan, they counted all kinds of materials collected at hand, including documents of the Qing Dynasty such as Forty Scenery Pictures of Yuanmingyuan and Forty Scenery Poems of Qianlong, copies of ancient books such as China Ancient Landscape Architecture Picture and Qing Dynasty Prints Collection, hundreds of old photos such as Old Shadows of Three Mountains and Five Gardens, and foreign drawings such as Copper Prints of the West Building of Changchun Garden.
Computer? Hand-painted western paintings? Chinese painting
A lot of information has been collected, and the original appearance of Yuanmingyuan is becoming clearer and clearer. During this period, the publishing house visited more than 30 famous experts and scholars in architecture, history and art, and obtained a lot of first-hand information from them.
When these massive data finally have the conditions to outline the original appearance of Yuanmingyuan, we are faced with a new problem, that is, the choice of painting methods.
Computer drawing saves time, and the position and proportion of the scene are relatively more accurate, but it lacks real aesthetic feeling and humanistic atmosphere.
Manual drawing takes a long time, and the position and proportion of the scene are certainly not as accurate as that drawn by computer, but there is an artistic beauty that cannot be copied.
Dashui Law and Yuan Yingguan (filmed after the Gengzi Incident). According to "Old Shadows of Three Mountains and Five Gardens" published by Academy Press.
Everyone finally reached an agreement-choose to hand-draw this picture. New problems followed. What kind of painting should I choose? Is it based on western painting methods such as Italian Lang Shining, Frenchman Wang Zhicheng, bohemian ignatius Szicher Bart, Italian An Deyi, etc. who painted China gardens, or is it based on China traditional meticulous painting method with freehand brushwork?
After discussion, trial drawing and comparison, they decided to adopt China's traditional painting method.
The original drawing of Yuanmingyuan focuses on "restoration" rather than artistic creation with imaginative elements. Many collected painting materials include the scenery of Yuanmingyuan, and many personal artistic creation elements, such as the location of pavilions, the direction of water system in the garden, the varieties and distribution of flowers and trees, etc. This is inconsistent with the literature. The drawing of the original picture of Yuanmingyuan should correct the different or even contradictory descriptions in ancient books and documents ... and try our best to present a complete, clear and true original picture of Yuanmingyuan for the public.
Therefore, the figures in historical materials and the lines in woodcut prints outline and construct the skeletons of palaces, lakes, mountains, pavilions and bridges in the former Yuanmingyuan. According to the mixed colors in historical materials, the garden is full of flowers, and finally a vivid "original picture of Yuanmingyuan" is presented to us.
This is the original appearance around Fuhai in Yuanmingyuan, and you can see the original building scale. According to the original drawing of Yuanmingyuan.
During this period, they learned from several scholars who specialize in Yuanmingyuan that during the Republic of China, an old man named Jin Xun groped among the ruins and columns, looking for traces of the magnificent scenery in the garden, and drew the general plan of Yuanming, Changchun and Wanchun. Many notes on the data map also mentioned that he had participated in this map. But apart from these literati, almost no one knows Lao Xun, and this picture has long since disappeared. It is reported that most of Lao Xun's children have passed away, and the transformation of Chengfu Village where they lived has long been lost by other descendants. It is rare for such an "unknown" ordinary old man to devote himself to the study of the original appearance of Yuanmingyuan, and no matter what the style of this painting is, it is not in line with the works and ideas made by the publishing house to say that the old man is determined to make this work by himself. Several editors can't help feeling sorry for each other. In order to let more readers know that there is such an old man's feat, and to inherit the spirit of exploring and carrying forward China's traditional culture, they marked "Drawing the Original Picture of Yuanmingyuan". I hope that the descendants of Lao Xun can contact the publishing house after seeing this picture one day and further introduce this little-known old gentleman.
When they devoted themselves to this project, they didn't know that there was a huge reef hidden in it, and they were "preparing" to crush their efforts and dreams. ...
This sudden change was unexpected.
In June 2005, the original drawing of Yuanmingyuan was completed in 5438+065438+ 10. Because it was drawn on the basis of analyzing and comparing a large number of historical materials and ancient painting materials, it was praised by critics as "if there is any picture that can make you stand on the ruins and rubble and see the dreamlike beauty of Yuanmingyuan in those days, it is it".
Time flies, which coincides with 165438+2008 10. It has been three years since this picture was published. An unexpected embarrassment happened to all the people who participated in the drawing of this painting: eight descendants who claimed to be the grandson and great-grandson of Jin Xun sued Xueyuan Publishing House and Wangfujing Bookstore, a seller of Xinhua Bookstore, on the grounds that "the original drawing of Yuanmingyuan changed the name of the scenic spot in the old drawing of Yuanmingyuan, which destroyed the integrity of the work, and demanded to stop the infringement, apologize and compensate for its losses".
After that, there were endless interviews with reporters, which made the publishing house laugh and cry. The question asked by the reporter is exactly what the publishing house wants to know, that is, where is the "Restoration Map of Yuanmingyuan" that has never been heard of or met? According to the agent of Jin Xun's grandson and great-grandson, it turns out that this painting is not in anyone's hand, but in the National Library. Ask again carefully, it turns out that this picture is 3 meters long and 2 meters wide, which is huge. Then the problem naturally comes. How can this huge picture, which can't be opened on one wall, be related to the original picture of Yuanmingyuan, which is less than one square meter? What kind of ultra-high-tech technology can be so "shrunk" without distortion? How can such a big picture be copied from the National Library in high definition and then "modified" into the original picture of Yuanmingyuan without public display? As for the claim amount of 12 10000 from nowhere, it is even more puzzling.
Perhaps this is because the Old Xun's Yuanmingyuan happened to adopt the traditional painting method of China? Perhaps it is difficult for Lao Xun to consult a large number of historical documents and materials, let alone use western painting methods, because of the painting skills he was able to master at that time and the conditions for collecting materials himself. In addition, Yuanmingyuan actually exists as a "real scene" after all, and the outline, shape and scenic spot name of the park are not imaginary creations, so the inevitable coincidence of the two pictures will inevitably lead to "connection" and "association".
Now this matter has entered the legal procedure and the dispute has its own arbitration. I wonder if this "original picture of Yuanmingyuan" can be seen by the public? For Academy Press, the work of exploring, protecting and popularizing China's intangible cultural heritage can't stop for a moment. As long as you have a "brave heart" that beats for China culture, no matter what kind of interference and obstacles you encounter, you can finally solve them.