The Old Summer Palace in the Winds of TimeIn 1644， earth-shaking historic changes erupted in China， precipitating unprecedented consequences in Beijing. In April 1644， a peasant army led by Li Zicheng entered the city of Beijing. EmperorChongzhen of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) hanged himself on Meishan Hill (now Jingshan Hill) outside the northern gate of the Forbidden City – thus ending the Ming Dynasty. In May 1644， there was an enthronement ceremony for Li Zicheng in the Forbidden City， but the Qing army was already advancing through Shanhaiguan Pass. On the second day after his enthronement， Li Zicheng abandoned the capital and fled. In June， the Qing army entered Beijing. In November， Emperor Shunzhi (r. 1644-1661) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) issued an imperial edict to ascend the throne. Thus was the central Qing government established. Over just a few months， two dynastic changes took place. Who really knows how the people of Beijing got through that year’s chaos of war. After the Qing Dynasty established its capital in Beijing， the empresses and concubines， princes and ministers， accompanying the emperor to the capital， took residence in and around the Forbidden City. They had moved from the forests of northern China to the bustling capital， and lived in magnificent palaces. Despite all the comforts， they also felt strange at first. Astime passed， they found life within the deep palace courtyards lacked the sweet breezes of the mountains， nor could they ride horses for pleasure， and soon grew extremely bored. From 1683 onwards， the imperial Qing court began to build palaces and gardens in the western suburbs of the capital. Kangxi (r. 662-1722)， second emperor of the Qing Dynasty， had Changchun (Everlasting Spring) Garden built in the scenic Haidian suburb， moving there in 1687. Changchun Garden soon became not only a summer resort for Emperor Kangxi and Empress Dowager， but also a refuge for the emperor from the urban clamor outside， allowing him to deal with the affairs of government in relative peace. When Kangxi cameto Changchun Garden， he was often accompanied by courtiers and princes. Accommodation had to be provided for them as well， leading to an upsurge in the construction of surrounding gardens. The Yuanming (Perfection and Brightness) Garden was a garden Kangxi had built for his fourth son Yinzhen as a reward， with a plaque above the garden gate inscribed with the Chinese characters for “Yuanmingyuan ( 圆明园).” Yinzhen， the later Emperor Yongzheng， adopted “Yuanming ( 圆明)” as his Buddhist name. Yuanming Garden was built less than a kilometer north of Changchun Garden. According to Qing regulations， the size of a reward garden could not surpass Changchun Garden where the emperor lived， so when Yuanming Garden was first built， it was only about 33 hectares (1 hectare equals 10，000 sq m). After ascending the throne， in 1725 Emperor Yongzheng had Yuanming turned into an imperial garden， as a permanent palace outside the capital， with a complex of outer and inner courts built， and Fuhai Lake dug to expand the garden. After the expansion， there were 28 complexes within Yuanming Garden， increasing it to a total area ofmore than 200 hectares. In 1737， Qianlong (r. 1736-1795)， fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty， expanded Yuanming Garden for a second time， adding 12 new complexes， thus forming the garden’s40 famous scenic sites. Later， Changchun (Eternal Spring) Garden and Qichun (Blossoming Spring) Garden were built nearby. In addition to Yuanming， Changchun and Qichun were also managed by the minister in charge of Yuanming Garden， so these gardens all came to be referred to as the three gardens of Yuanmingyuan. Construction of the three Yuanming gardens， now known as the Old Summer Palace， continued beyond Qianlong’s reign through to the reign of Emperor Jiaqing (r. 1796- 1820). After 150 years of expansion， the three Yuanming gardens now covered 350 hectares， with over half of the water surfaces artificially created， and a built-up floor space of about 160，000 sq m， including palaces， gardens， temples， theaters， library buildings， and wharves. Each palace housed innumerable ancient books， treasures， the scholar’sfour treasures (writing brush， ink stick， ink slab， and paper)， antiques， calligraphy and paintings.In 1856， Britain and France jointly launched the Second Opium War. On October 6， 1860， English and French allied forces broke into the Old Summer Palace and looted gold and silver treasures， and rare artworks. Two days later， the British army set fire to the Old Summer Palace. Yuanmingyuan， the garden of ten thousand gardens， was thus destroyed by this evil act of arson by these invaders. Now only broken walls and columns remain of this original famous garden – once an architectural miracle. Visitors may no longer see the buildings and facilities of old. Archivesmust be relied on to reimagine the magnificent scenes of the Old Summer Palace. In this book ， too， we can only invite readers to revisit pictorial memories of the garden.
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