圆仓

Was Yuanmingyuan truly the “Garden of Gardens”? Here, amidst the ruins of the Old Summer Palace, that question hangs heavy in the Beijing air. The Old Summer Palace, or Yuanmingyuan, once sprawled across 3.5 square kilometers, a complex of palaces, gardens, and treasures dwarfing even the Forbidden City. It served as the primary residence for emperors like Qianlong, a place where they governed the vast Qing Dynasty. Imagine lavish halls overflowing with 5,000 years of Chinese art and antiquities, unique literary works, and treasures beyond measure. Imagine strolling through meticulously recreated landscapes, miniature versions of southern China’s famed scenery. This was a place where emperors could witness “living tableaux” – eunuchs acting as farmers harvesting crops or shopkeepers in a mock village, creating a world within a world. The Old Summer Palace even boasted European-style palaces, fountains designed by Jesuit missionaries like Giuseppe Castiglione, and a clock fountain with zodiac animals spouting water. But this paradise, this “Garden of Gardens,” was not to last. In 1860, the Second Opium War brought British and French troops to Beijing. They looted Yuanmingyuan, then, in retaliation for the torture and death of a British delegation, Lord Elgin ordered the palace destroyed. For three days, flames consumed Yuanmingyuan, obliterating centuries of artistry and history. Only a handful of structures, mainly in the outer reaches, escaped the inferno. The scale of the destruction was so immense that even British soldiers like Charles George Gordon expressed remorse at the “vandal-like” act. Yet, amidst the devastation, fragments of Yuanmingyuan remain. These ruins are not just stones and ashes, they are a testament to a lost world, a poignant reminder of a chapter in history that continues to resonate in China today.