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Yuanmingyuan
The Old Summer Palace, also known as Yuanmingyuan () or Yuanmingyuan Park, originally called the Imperial Gardens (), and sometimes called the Winter Palace, was a complex of palaces and gardens in present-day Haidian District, Beijing, China. It is northwest of the walls of the former Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City section of Beijing. Widely perceived as the pinnacle work of Chinese garden, Chinese imperial garden and palace design, the Old Summer Palace was known for its extensive collection of gardens, its Chinese architecture#Imperial, building architecture and numerous Chinese art, art and historical treasures. Constructed throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, the Old Summer Palace was the main imperial residence of Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty and List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, his successors, and where they handled state affairs; the Forbidden City was used for formal ceremonies. It was reputed as the "Garden of Gardens" () in its heyday. Dur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuanmingyuan2
The Old Summer Palace, also known as Yuanmingyuan () or Yuanmingyuan Park, originally called the Imperial Gardens (), and sometimes called the Winter Palace, was a complex of palaces and gardens in present-day Haidian District, Beijing, China. It is northwest of the walls of the former Imperial City section of Beijing. Widely perceived as the pinnacle work of Chinese imperial garden and palace design, the Old Summer Palace was known for its extensive collection of gardens, its building architecture and numerous art and historical treasures. Constructed throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, the Old Summer Palace was the main imperial residence of Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty and his successors, and where they handled state affairs; the Forbidden City was used for formal ceremonies. It was reputed as the "Garden of Gardens" () in its heyday. During the Second Opium War, French and British troops captured the palace on 6 October 1860, looting and destroying the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haiyantang
The Twelve Old Summer Palace bronze heads are a collection of bronze fountainheads in the shape of the Chinese zodiac animals that were part of a water clock fountain in front of the Haiyantang () building of the Xiyang Lou (Western style mansions) area of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. Believed to have been designed by the Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione for the Qianlong Emperor, the statues would spout out water from their mouths to tell the time.CSmonitor.com.CSmonitor.com" ''China protests Christie's auction in Paris of relics.'' Retrieved on 2009-02-20. The bronze-cast heads of the stone statues were among the treasures looted during the destruction of the Old Summer Palace by British and French expeditionary forces in 1860 during the Second Opium War.Wtop.com.Wtop.com" ''French judges allows auction of Chinese artifacts.'' Retrieved on 2009-02-20. Since then, they have been among the most visible examples of attempts to repatriate Chinese art and cultural artifacts. Tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haidian District
Haidian District () is a district of the municipality of Beijing. It is mostly situated in northwestern Beijing, but also to a lesser extent in the west, where it has borders with Xicheng District and Fengtai District. It is 431 square km in area, making it the second-largest district in urban Beijing area (after Chaoyang), and is home to 2,240,124 inhabitants (2000 Census). Sister cities Since 1992, Haidian District has signed official papers and established Sister City relationship with 14 cities and districts from 10 countries of 4 continents. Some sister cities are shown below: South America * Santa Fe, Argentina (May 2010) * La Falda, Cordoba, Argentina (10 September 2009) North America * Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (8 February 2008) * Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States (15 April 1998) Europe * Savonlinna, Finland (9 March 2016) * Olympia, Peloponnesus, Greece (28 February 2008) * Groningen, Netherlands (19 October 2004) * Bures-sur-Yvette, Massy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giuseppe Castiglione (Jesuit)
Giuseppe Castiglione, S.J. (; 19 July 1688 – 17 July 1766), was an Italian Jesuit brother and missionary in China, where he served as an artist at the imperial court of three Qing emperors – the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors. He painted in a style that is a fusion of European and Chinese traditions. Early life Castiglione was born in Milan's San Marcellino district on 19 July 1688. He was educated at home with a private tutor, then a common practice among wealthy families. He also learned to paint under the guidance of a master. In 1707, he entered the Society of Jesus in Genoa aged 19. Although a Jesuit, he was never ordained as a priest, instead joining as a lay brother. Works Paintings In the late 17th century, a number of European Jesuit painters served in the Qing court of the Kangxi Emperor who was interested in employing European Jesuits trained in various fields, including painting. In the early 18th century, Jesuits in China made a request for a pai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xiyang Lou
Xiyang Lou (), are ruins of 18th-century European-style imperial buildings on the grounds of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, China. They are located in the northern part of the ''Changchun Yuan'' (Garden of Eternal Spring), one of the three gardens which once made up the Old Summer Palace, and cover an area of about 7 hectares. History The Xiyang Lou were commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor and designed mainly by the Italian Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione who was in his service as a court painter. Castiglione relied on the French Jesuit scientist Michel Benoist for the engineering tasks, in particular for the fountains, which were the chief interest of the emperor. Construction was carried out by Chinese craftsmen working under their supervision with some further contributions by other European artists, such as the German Ignaz Sichelbarth and the Florentine Bonaventura Moggi. Planning of the gardens started in 1747 and four years later in 1751, the first waterworks (Xieqiq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michel Benoist
Michel Benoist (, 8 October 1715 in Dijon, France – 23 October 1774 in Beijing, China) was a Jesuit scientist who served for thirty years in the court of the Qianlong Emperor (1735 - 1796) during the Qing Dynasty, known for his architectural and landscape designs of the Old Summer Palace (Yuanming Yuan). Along with Giuseppe Castiglione, Benoist served as one of two Jesuit advisors to the Qianlong Emperor, and transformed parts of the Old Summer Palace into what historian Mark Elliott calls an "imitation of Versailles or Fontainebleau." Early life Michel Benoist was born on 8 October 1715 in Dijon, France. The name Benoist is an archaic form of the name " Benoît," and both are used interchangeably in textual sources. Benoist studied in Dijon and at Saint Sulpice, Paris. He entered the Jesuit Novitiate at Nancy on 18 March 1737 and was formally ordained as a Jesuit priest in Trier in 1739. Shortly after, he left for Paris to study mathematics, astronomy, and hydraulics unde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Garden
The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate gardens created by scholars, poets, former government officials, soldiers and merchants, made for reflection and escape from the outside world. They create an idealized miniature landscape, which is meant to express the harmony that should exist between man and nature. A typical Chinese garden is enclosed by walls and includes one or more ponds, rock works, trees and flowers, and an assortment of halls and pavilions within the garden, connected by winding paths and zig-zag galleries. By moving from structure to structure, visitors can view a series of carefully composed scenes, unrolling like a scroll of landscape paintings. History Beginnings The earliest recorded Chinese gardens were created in the valley of the Yellow River ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Summer Palace
The Summer Palace () is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was an imperial garden in the Qing dynasty. Inside includes Longevity Hill () Kunming Lake and Seventeen Hole Bridge. It covers an expanse of , three-quarters of which is water. Longevity Hill is about high and has many buildings positioned in sequence. The front hill is rich with splendid halls and pavilions, while the back hill, in sharp contrast, is quiet with natural beauty. The central Kunming Lake, covering , was entirely man-made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill. Inspired by the gardens in South China, in the Summer Palace there are over 3,000 various Chinese ancient buildings that house a collection of over 40,000 kinds of valuable historical relics from each dynasty. In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Empire against the Qing dynasty of China. It was the second major conflict in the Opium Wars, which were fought over the right to import opium to China, and resulted in a second defeat for the Qing dynasty and the forced legalisation of the opium trade. It caused many Chinese officials to believe that conflicts with the Western powers were no longer traditional wars, but part of a looming national crisis. In 1860, British and French troops landed near Beijing and fought their way into the city. Peace negotiations quickly broke down and the British High Commissioner to China ordered the foreign troops to loot and destroy the Imperial Summer Palace, a complex of palaces and gardens at which Qing Dynasty emperors handled affairs of state. Dur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 to 1796. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796. In 1796, he abdicated in favour of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor, out of filial piety towards his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor, who ruled for 61 years, so that he not officially usurp him as the longest-reigning emperor. Despite his retirement, however, the Qianlong Emperor retained ultimate power as the Emperor Emeritus until his death in 1799, making him one of the longest-reigning monarchs in history, and dying at the age of 87, one of the longest-lived. As a capable and cultured ruler inheriting a thriving empire, during his long reign, the Qing Empire reached its most splendid and prosperous era, boasting a large popul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vaticano—' * es, Ciudad del Vaticano—' is an independent city-state, microstate and enclave and exclave, enclave within Rome, Italy. Also known as The Vatican, the state became independent from Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty, and it is a distinct territory under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See, itself a Sovereignty, sovereign entity of international law, which maintains the city state's Temporal power of the Holy See, temporal, Foreign relations of the Holy See, diplomatic, and spiritual Legal status of the Holy See, independence. With an area of and a 2019 population of about 453, it is the smallest state in the world both by area and List of countries and dependencies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jade Spring Hill
Jade Spring Hill () is located to the west of the Summer Palace in Beijing, China. It was also formerly known as Jingming Palace (景明宫, "Jǐngmíng gōng"). It contains an imperial garden, the Jingming Garden and is named after the Jade Spring. It is the location of the Xiangji Temple, the Yufeng Pagoda, the Jinxing Palace and the Furong Palace. Jade Spring Hill reportedly hosts the private villas of high ranking members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s Central Military Commission (CMC) and People's Liberation Army (PLA). Entry is forbidden for non-residents and the area remains under tight security at all times. Jade Spring Hill has been called the "back garden" of Chinese politics (in contrast to the official political compound of Zhongnanhai) because so many influential leaders reportedly have residences in the area. Several of the most recent CCP general secretaries, including Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping reportedly have been assigned houses in Jade Spri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
