Yuanming Yuan, Ruins of Yuánmíngyuán Fèixū 圆明园废墟

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Yuanming Yuan, Ruins of Yuánmíngyuán fèixū 圆明园废墟

A famous imperial park outside of Beijing, Yu- imperial parks worldwide. This vast complex of gardens, anming Yuan is known for its expansive com- lakes, pavilions, temples, and hills is located only 10 kilo- pound of gardens, lakes, and temples. While meters from the walls of Beijing in Haidian, in the vicinity once a truly beautiful Summer Palace for the of the prestigious Peking and Qinghua universities. Since this was the preferred residence of five Qing emperors, Qing court, damages incurred during the Chinese historians have viewed the founding, enlarge- Boxer Rebellion and the Cultural Revolution ment, and destruction of the palatial complex as an illus- have left much of Yuanming Yuan in ruins. tration of the growth, extravagance, and decline of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). The name “Summer Palace” is misleading because un- hanks to its well-documented and tragic history, til 1820 the Qing court spent most of the summer away the Summer Palace Yuanming Yuan (Garden of from Beijing, in the cooler hills of Chengde. Yuanming Perfect Brightness) is one of the most famous Yuan became known in Europe in 1743 when a Jesuit

The Summer Palace of Yuanming Yuan is one of the most famous imperial parks worldwide. This vast complex of gardens, lakes, pavilions, temples, and hills is located only 10 kilometers from the walls of Beijing in Haidian, in the vicinity of the prestigious Peking and Qinghua universities.

Detail of the Summer Palace of Yuanming Yuan.

missionary employed at Qianlong’s court, the painter government wants to preserve the site as a symbol of the Jean-Denis Attiret, mailed an account of his visit in a let- depredations of foreign imperialism and as a reminder of ter to his correspondent in Paris. His description of the the humiliations the Qing monarchs brought to China. beauty of Chinese items and themes in the gardens helped The Summer Palace is on the United Nations Educational, change the history of landscape design and the design of Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World contemporary European gardens. Parks in the Yuanming Heritage List, and the melancholic ruins and ponds of Yuan complex include the parks of the Kangxi emperor Yuanming Yuan and the placid waters of Kunming Lake (1654–1722) and the Qianlong emperor (1711–1799), and in Yihe Yuan attract today nearly as many domestic and Yihe Yuan (Garden of Concord and Peace), renamed by foreign tourists as the Forbidden City does. the Cixi dowager empress (1835–1908) in 1888. Xiyang Lou is a European baroque-style section that Qianlong com- Philippe Forêt missioned in the northeast corner of his residence. Cixi decided to restore the western park of the Summer Palace Further Reading after aFrench- British military expedition plundered and Chiu Che Bing. (2000). Yuanming Yuan: Le Jardin de la burnt to the ground the entire complex during the Second Clarté Parfaite [Yuanming Yuan: The Garden of Per- Opium War (1856–1960). Within its present limits, Cixi’s fect Brightness]. Paris: Les Editions de l’Imprimeur. Yihe Yuan consists of Kunming Lake and Wanshou Hill, Malone, C. B. (1934). History of the Peking Summer Palaces whose massive Buddhist temple dominates the site. under the Ch’ing Dynasty. Champaign: University of The Summer Palace was further damaged during the Illinois Press. Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901) and the Cultural Revolu- Wong Young-tsu. (2001). A paradise lost: The imperial tion (1966–1976). Kangxi and Qianlong’s gardens in Yu- garden Yuanming Yuan. Honolulu, HI: University of anming Yuan have not been rebuilt because the Chinese Hawaii Press.

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