Old Summer Palace - Garden of All Gardens
The Old Summer Palace in Beijing consists of the Yuanming Garden, Changchun Garden and Qichun Garden. All three gardens are waterscape gardens, as most garden landscapes were at the time. These scenic spots constituted relatively independent small gardens, interconnected by a river system and roads. Because of techniques such as scenery opposition, scenery borrowing and scenery disclosure, people wandering in them felt as if they were walking naturally from one environment to a completely different environment, and the technique of "big gardens containing small ones" was shaped.
This is the most salient feature of the Old Summer Palace. As a result, the Old Summer Palace was reputed as the "garden of all gardens." During the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Catholic missionary undertakings were carried out in China and some preachers also took part in the building of the Old Summer Palace. They designed six 18th century Baroque-style palaces and gardens, commonly called the "Western mansions," which became a unique sight in the Old Summer Palace. These Western mansions were the first complete works built after European architectural culture spread to China and the first creative attempt to combine the European and Chinese garden systems.
The Old Summer Palace inherited China's excellent tradition of garden building that was more than 3,000 years old, manifesting the elegance of palace buildings and the charm of gardens in the watery region south of the Yangtze River and at the same time absorbing the architecture forms of European gardens and integrating garden buildings of different styles.
It was not only known for its gardens, but also an imperial museum with a huge collection. The great French writer Victor Hugo (1802-85) once said, "All the treasures of all our cathedrals put together could not equal this formidable and splendid museum of the Orient."
About the book
Chinese Architecture Written by Cai Yanxin Published by China Intercontinental Press, Beijing, 2018
The Old Summer Palace in Beijing consists of the Yuanming Garden, Changchun Garden and Qichun Garden. All three gardens are waterscape gardens, as most garden landscapes were at the time. These scenic spots constituted relatively independent small gardens, interconnected by a river system and roads. Because of techniques such as scenery opposition, scenery borrowing and scenery disclosure, people wandering in them felt as if they were walking naturally from one environment to a completely different environment, and the technique of "big gardens containing small ones" was shaped.
This is the most salient feature of the Old Summer Palace. As a result, the Old Summer Palace was reputed as the "garden of all gardens." During the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Catholic missionary undertakings were carried out in China and some preachers also took part in the building of the Old Summer Palace. They designed six 18th century Baroque-style palaces and gardens, commonly called the "Western mansions," which became a unique sight in the Old Summer Palace. These Western mansions were the first complete works built after European architectural culture spread to China and the first creative attempt to combine the European and Chinese garden systems.
The Old Summer Palace inherited China's excellent tradition of garden building that was more than 3,000 years old, manifesting the elegance of palace buildings and the charm of gardens in the watery region south of the Yangtze River and at the same time absorbing the architecture forms of European gardens and integrating garden buildings of different styles.
It was not only known for its gardens, but also an imperial museum with a huge collection. The great French writer Victor Hugo (1802-85) once said, "All the treasures of all our cathedrals put together could not equal this formidable and splendid museum of the Orient."
About the book
Chinese Architecture Written by Cai Yanxin Published by China Intercontinental Press, Beijing, 2018
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