Transcript Summer Palace

History
The Summer Palace (1)
The Summer Palace has a history of over 800 years. Early in the
Jin dynasty, an imperial palace was built on the present site.
In 1750, Emperor Qian Long of the Qing dynasty
built the Garden of Clear Ripples and renamed the
hill Longevity Hill to celebrate his mother's
birthday.
In 1860, the Anglo-French Allied
Forces invaded Beijing and set fire
to the garden.
In 1888, Empress Dowager Cixi,
with funds embezzled from the
Imperial Navy, restored the grand
garden.
History
The Summer Palace (2)
The construction lasted for ten year and
after completion, Cixi renamed it
Yiheyuan - Garden of Peace and
Harmony.
In 1900, the garden was plundered again
by the eight powers. This time, nearly all
big temples and halls at the back of the
Longevity Hill were destroyed and only
one survived.
When the fugitive Cixi returned to
Beijing in 1903, did the full-scale
restoration begin. This is what we see
today.
The Maps of The Summer Palace
Palace of Benevolent Longevity (1)
The place where Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu took
charge of state affairs.
It is the main hall in the
Summer Palace. It was first
built in 1750.
In 1860 when the AngloFrench allied forces invaded
Beijing, the original building
was burned down.
In 1890, the hall was rebuilt
and renamed as Hall of
Benevolent Longevity by
Emperor Guangxu.
Palace of Benevolent Longevity (2)
In front of the hall, bronze animals,
cauldrons, dragons and phoenixes were
placed. Kylin is the most attractive. With
a body covered with fish scales, the
legendary animal has a dragon's head,
lion's tail, deer's antlers and ox's hooves.
Bronze Kylin
Bronze
Phoenix
Bronze Dragon
Hall of Jade Ripples Yulan Tang
where Guangxu was house arrested (1)
Located at the back of the Palace of Benevolent
Longevity, Jade Ripple is the place where Emperor
Qianlong spent his leisure hours.
It is later Emperor Guangxu’s private living place and
where he was house arrested for 10 days by Empress
Dowager Cixi after Wuxu Reform in 1898.
Cixi made her nephew, four-year old Guangxu, a
successor after Emperor Tongzhi, Dowager Cixi’s
son, Died.
Hall of Jade Ripples, Hallmark of Wuxu Reform (2)
In 1898, Wuxu Reform was lead
by Kang Youwei and Liang
Qichao who won Emperor
Guangxu for their cause. They
tried to reform the state
examinations, administration,
state budget, ministries,
education, jurisdiction, and
military. The reform, lasted for
100 days, was abruptly ended
by Empress Dowager Cixi.
Hall of Joyful Longevity, Dowager Cixi (1835-1908)
The place where Cixi lived from April to Oct. every year. The eastern
sub-garden is the residence of Li Lianying, her favorite eunuch.
The Hall was burned down by the Anglo-French
allied forces, and was rebuilt by Cixi in 1889.
Dowager Cixi
Cixi became a concubine of Emperor Xian Feng
at the age of 16. She was the only concubine who
gave a birth of a son, Tong zhi.
Her Son became emperor at the age of 5 when the
father, Emperor Xianfeng died at the age of 30 in
1861. Dowager Cixi become a regent.
Hall of Joyful Longevity, Dowager Cixi
(2)
Emperor Tongzhi died at the age of 18, left no children. Cixi
Chose her nephew, 4-year-old Guangxu to be the emperor.
Cixi house rested Guangxu after 100-day Wuxu Reform in 1898.
Cixi manipulated and Suppressed the boxer Rebellion (18991900). She fled to Xian when the allied 8 foreign powers cruelly
and destructively invaded Peking. Xinchou Treaty was signed in
1901.
Decided Puyi to be the successor who was 2 years old in 1908.
Died in 1908, one day after the death of Guangxu who was at
the age of 37.
A corrupted ruler who squandered money on banquets, jewels,
and used navy funds to build the Summer Palace.
Pavilion of Precious Clouds
Palace of Parting Clouds was the place
where Empress Dowager Cixi
celebrated her birthdays. Every October
10 on the lunar calendar, a grand
ceremony was due here in the palace to
mark the dowager's birthday.
Sitting atop a treasure a treasure chair
with nine-dragon motif (normally only
used by emperor), Cixi received
kowtows of Emperor Guangxu and the
retinues.
Kunming Lake, Zhichun Pavilion
Kunming Lake, connected with
Beijing's largest reservoir -- the
Miyun Reservoir, is the largest
water body in suburban Beijing.
Zhi Chun Ting
(Understanding Spring
Pavilion) on the islet
is characterized by
four - edged,
multiple eaved roofs.
Western Dike
Like a green necklace, Western
Dike winds around the western
bank of Kunming Lake. Similar to
the Sudi Dike, a famous scenic city
in South China's city of Hangzhou .
Marble Boat
First built in 1750 by Emperor Qianlong,
the boat to symbolize ever-stable
governance of Qing Dynasty which "could
not be turned down by water."
The boat was with a Chinese-style
wooden superstructure.
In 1860, the original boat was burned
down by the Anglo-French forces. In
1893, it was rebuilt with a French-style
superstructure and two wheelers
added to it.
Seventeen-Arch Bridge
Built during the Qianlong Reign (17361795) of the Qing dynasty, SeventeenArch Bridge, 150m long and 8m wide,
is ranked as the biggest bridge in
Summer Palace.
Connecting Dragon King Temple
in the east and the Island west,
the bridge spans Kunming Lake
with 17 bridge openings under it,
hence the name Seventeen-Arch
Bridge.
Bronze Ox
Bronze Ox, located to the east of
Seventeen-Arch Bridge, was cast in
1755 when Emperor Qianlong
expanded Summer Palace.
It was said that in ancient times, ox used to be a symbol
of flood control. Early in the Xia dynasty, whenever
flood was brought under control, people used to put an
iron ox in the riverbed. In the Tang dynasty, people
placed the ox by the bank of the river instead in the
riverbed. In the Qing dynasty, Emperor Qianlong,
following the Tang dynasty example, placed a bronze
ox east of Kunming Lake to bless the safe of the lake.
Garden of Harmonious Delights
When Emperor Qianlong
paid a visit to South China in
1751, he fell in love with the
architectural style of Jichang
Garden under the Hui Hill of
Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province.
This garden in Summer
Palace modeled after the
Jichang Garden. The
building is composed of
10 pavilions, halls,
terraces and 100-odd
winding corridors.
Long Corridor
The Long Corridor is like a
gallery that has 8000 colorful
paintings. It has almost 300
rooms with paintings,
designs and decorations. The
figures on the paintings are
based on Chinese classical
novels such as Liao Zhai,
Xiyou Ji, Sanguo Yanyi and
Shuihu Zhuan. .
Traveling along the Long
Corridor, visitors feel like
going through a picturesque
journey.
Suzhou Street
Nicknamed Fair Street at
Qianlong's reign, Suzhou Street was
destroyed in 1860. It was once a
commercial street for emperor,
empress and concubines to have a
taste of shopping.
Reconstructed in 1990 at
the same site, the street
stretches 300 meters
along a stream.
Pavilion of Buddhist Fragrance
The eight-facet, threestory, four-cables
Pavilion of Buddhist
Fragrance is built on a
huge stone foundation
before the Longevity
Hill.
The altar-like
foundation upholds the
41-meter-high pavilion
to oversee other
buildings.
Sea-of-Wisdom Temple
Sea-of-Wisdom Temple and
Bounday of Popular
Fragrance are two religious
structures located on the
upper axis line of the Tower
of Buddhist Fragrance.
Sea-of-Wisdom Temple, on the
top of Longevity Hill, implies
the Buddha's wisdom is as
wide as the sea.
Pavilion of Precious Clouds and Revolving Scripture
Repository
Pavilion of precious clouds, west of
Pavilion of Buddhist Fragrance, is a
pure copper building weighing 207
tons. The 7.5-meter-high pavilion is
made up of thousands of copper parts
and components.
Longevity Hill
Longevity Hill (Wanshou Shan) faces
Kunming Lake in the front. The buildings
go symmetrically along its eastern and
western slopes. Gardens, pavilions, and
halls now and then emerge or disappear
amidst evergreen trees.
Pavilions of
Buddhist
Fragrance
takes its
stance on the
front hill.
Four Continents (1)
The Four Continents are the main
group of buildings in the rear hills.
Its unique layout, magnificent
architecture and religious
atmosphere surrounding the
buildings add a touch of mystery
to the region.
According to Buddhist
scriptures, around the Xuni
Mountain, the residence of
Buddha, there is a salty sea.
The four continents of
different shapes are in the
four corners of the sea.
Four Continents (2)
The four shapes represent "Four Greatness" in Buddhist Scriptures,
namely Earth (square), Fire (triangle), Wind (crescent), and Water
(circle). Accordingly, the Four Continents, actually four buildings, are
built after the element they represent.
Yuan Ming Yuan
The Ruins of "Garden of Gardens“
The most magnificent and largest garden of both
the east and west styles
• First built in 1709 and completed in
1859. Substantial work was done
especially in the Qianlong period
(1736-1796). It had three gardens
with European palaces, Renaissance
styles and Venice lakes.
• Burned down by Britain and France
alliance in 1860.
• Reconstruction started in 1885 and
completed in 1895
• The Eight Foreign Powers destroyed
and looted it again in 1900.