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A Paradise Lost

Part of the China Academic Library Book Series

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-1881-7

ISBN: 978-981-10-1880-0

Publisher: Springer Singapore - Springer Journals

Nov 26, 2016

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Provenance

Wong, Young-tsu

Pages: 3 –22

[Before discussing the rise of the Yuanming Yuan, the greatest garden the Chinese have ever built, let us first summarize traditional Chinese garden art. Garden design and construction constitute a vital part of the Chinese cultural tradition. Living in a beautiful and diverse natural environment...
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Disposition

Wong, Young-tsu

Pages: 23 –49

[The Yuanming Yuan imperial garden consisted of the most magnificent architectural works the Qing Empire ever created. It represents a glory in the Chinese cultural tradition and the pinnacle of Chinese garden arts.]
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Expansion

Wong, Young-tsu

Pages: 51 –72

[The Qianlong Emperor considered his garden project complete when he designated in 1744 the Forty (Best) Views, a kaleidoscopic series of selected scenic spots in the Yuanming Yuan. But, actually, the emperor’s extraordinary passion for building more gardens had just begun.]
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Rise

Wong, Young-tsu

Pages: 75 –107

[The history of the Yuanming Yuan began with Kangxi, the emperor of China from 1662 to 1722. He was the Son of Heaven and the ruler of the Celestial Empire, with Beijing as his imperial capital—the center of his imperial world. When he fully secured his immense power in the final decades of the...
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Structure and Function

Wong, Young-tsu

Pages: 109 –127

[We have thus far recounted the physical appearance as well as the historical evolution of the Yuanming Yuan. In this chapter, we shall look into the inner operation of the garden. How was the garden administered? Who ran the daily matters? How was security maintained? What was the punishment...
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Royal Daily Life

Wong, Young-tsu

Pages: 129 –146

[The emperor of China, or Son of Heaven, was entitled to the maximum pleasure. In imperial China, it was taken for granted that the country and people are both “to consecrate one person” (gongfeng yiren). Only the ruler’s own conscience could restrain his passion and desire. In this sense, the...
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The Sacking

Wong, Young-tsu

Pages: 147 –176

[The fall of the Yuanming Yuan to foreign invaders must be understood in the context of Sino-Western confrontations in the nineteenth century. Although the post-Opium War (1840–1842) treaty system had secured British commercial interests that neither Macartney nor Amherst had been able to obtain,...
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Repairs and the Final Blows

Wong, Young-tsu

Pages: 177 –204

[The inferno of 1860 disfigured the Yuanming Yuan so much that the imperial garden was no longer fit for royal living. Troops and eunuchs, however, guarded the destroyed garden estate to keep out unauthorized persons. The newly ascended Tongzhi Emperor, together with the two dowagers, Ci’an and...

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