Finding childhood happiness - revisiting the Summer Palace, 2022, September, (4)

Born in the 1960s, when I was in elementary school or middle school, the happiest thing of the year was going out in spring or autumn. At that time, I usually went to parks, and most of them were parks in the city or suburbs, such as the Summer Palace, Beihai, and Zhongshan Park. Knowing the news of the garden tour, I will be excited for several days. Parents prepare bread, biscuits and other delicious food in advance, and some difficult families bring pancakes, and some even sweet potatoes and corn bread. Basically, no one brought water, let alone drinks. It seemed that there were no drinks at that time, and they all drank tap water. The drinking water in the park seems to be relatively high-end. There is a kind of tap water specially for tourists to drink. They are all the same water, but the water spout is facing upwards and is relatively thin. The water tastes sweet and refreshing, and it is better than the current pure water. too much.

At that time, children played a lot of things, and they were all outdoors, such as playing, skating, smoking traitors, bouncing glass balls, making smoke paintings, pulling roots, pushing hoops, and sticking buttocks. Curtain and so on. During the day, before school and after school, the streets are full of crazy fun, very happy. But few people go to the park, so the school organized garden tours are especially attractive to us as children. When I came to the park, the children were like a flock of happy birds, chirping non-stop. Although I don't know much about many things in the park, and I don't know how to appreciate them, but this novelty, this happiness, and this freedom still make me miss it deeply.

As we grow older, we see more of the world and our living conditions improve, but our happiness decreases. I often go to other places to play, but I basically don't go to the parks in Beijing. The happy childhood is a memory that will never be erased. Taking advantage of the fact that you can't travel far during the epidemic, take a good tour of the parks in Beijing, find the happy childhood memories, and try to understand the things that were confused before. A wonderful thing.

summer palace

The Summer Palace has a large area (3.09 square kilometers) and consists of two main parts, Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. There are too many things to play and see in it. If you look carefully, you may not be able to finish it in ten and a half months. My wife and I spent four days (sometimes half a day) to take a quick tour, of course, mainly for walking, walking, and looking for the feeling of going to the garden when we were children.

On the first day, enter the new palace gate, go counterclockwise along Kunming Lake, that is, go north, Kunlun Stone Stele, Wenchang Pavilion, Zhichun Pavilion, Ou Xiangxie, Leshou Palace, Promenade, Yunhui Yuyu Archway, Stone Boat, Suyunyan Chengguan, Banbi Bridge, Jiehu Bridge, Xidi, Xiuyi Bridge, Langru Pavilion, Tongniu, that is, a counterclockwise circle along Kunming Lake.

On the second day, enter the new palace gate, go north, Wenchang Pavilion, Yulan Hall, Yiyun Hall, Renshou Hall, Ziqi Donglai Chengguan, Harmony Garden, Overlook Zhai, Yinhui Chengguan, Suzhou Street, Yanqing Shanglou .

On the third day, in the morning, enter the west gate, Tuancheng Lake South Road, Xidi, Yudai Bridge, Gengzhitu, Tuancheng Lake West Road, back to the west gate, actually almost turn around Tuancheng Lake. In the afternoon, enter the west gate, go back to the west bank of Kunming Lake West Lake, West Causeway, Liuqiao, and Jingming Bridge.

On the fourth day, Xuhan Pailou, East Palace Gate, long corridor, Paiyun Gate, Buddha Incense Pavilion, Yunsong Nest, Luqi Pavilion, Zhishu, Wisdom Sea, Four Continents, the back mountain, and Ziqi Go east to Chengguan, Dehe Garden, and go back to the East Palace Gate.

The content in the Summer Palace is too rich, and it takes a lot of time to understand it in more detail. Four days is far from enough. In the future, I will take time to visit and continue to add and update.

As a royal garden in the Qing Dynasty, the Summer Palace was modeled on the West Lake in Hangzhou and conceived with the ancient Chinese mythology "Three Immortals on the Sea". . The door opens at six o'clock in the morning, there are not many people, the light is suitable, and the viewing effect is the best.

The access to the Summer Palace is very convenient, with six gates in total.

1. East Palace Gate: Located near Xiyuan. Entering the door is the Hall of Renshou and the Garden of Virtuous Harmony.

2. Wenchang courtyard gate: on the south side of the East Palace gate. After entering the gate, there are Wenchang Courtyard, Wenchang Pavilion and Zhichun Pavilion.

3. Beigong Gate: Opposite the Central Party School.

4. Xinjian Palace Gate: Wenchang Courtyard Gate faces south, facing Xinjian Palace Gate Road. At the entrance, you can see the Seventeen-Arch Bridge and Tongniu.

5. South Ruyi Gate: Located in the southeast corner of the Summer Palace, you can see the Xiuyi Bridge after entering the gate, close to the West Causeway.

6. West Gate: It is located on the southwest side of the West Lake of the Summer Palace, close to the Changguan Hall and the West Causeway.

7. North Ruyi Gate: Located in the northwest corner of the Summer Palace, on the west side of the North Palace Gate, near Banbi Bridge.

The transportation of the Summer Palace extends in all directions, whether it is by bus or by car, it is very convenient.

There are parking lots at East Palace Gate, Xinjian Palace Gate, North Palace Gate, and West Gate. However, during holidays, the parking spaces will still be tight, so it is recommended to travel by bus.

Multiple ground buses stop at the Summer Palace, Metro Line 4 has a station at Beigongmen, and tram Xijiao Line has a station at the Summer Palace West Gate.

During the epidemic period, for the sake of safety, I chose to drive by myself. The time slots were basically before the morning and around three or four in the afternoon, avoiding the peak hours of driving. The parking lot of Xinjian Palace Gate, West Gate, and East Palace Gate are quite large, not far from the gate.

For the convenience of recording, I will introduce them one by one in chronological order.

fourth day. In the morning, enter the East Palace Gate.

There is no parking lot in front of the East Palace Gate. There are several nearby parking lots. You have to walk five or six minutes to get in on Erlongzha Road and Kunming Lake East Road. Driving from south to north is prohibited after 9:00 a.m. on the section of Kunming Lake Road to Donggongmen.

Appreciate the Hanxu archway before entering the door. The Hanxu Archway is just east of the East Palace Gate, at the west end of Tongqing Street, so you might miss it if you don't pay attention.

According to historical records, in the 15th year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, when Qingyi Garden was built, a wooden archway with four columns, three rooms and three floors was built outside the Dagong Gate (now the East Palace Gate). There is a plaque embedded on the east and west sides of the archway, with "罨秀" on the east side and "Hanxu" on the west side. This archway has become the first landscape of the Summer Palace.

In the twenty-first year of Guangxu, Qingyi Garden was restored and renamed the Summer Palace. At the same time, the Dagong Gate was renamed Donggong Gate. The archway outside the gate has been eroded by wind and rain for more than 130 years, and it is very dilapidated. So it was dismantled as a whole, and moved eastward to a location about 200 meters away from the East Palace Gate for reconstruction. The newly-built archway has changed from the original four-column three-room third floor to four-column three-room seven-floor. It is still located east-west, but the characters on the plaque have been reversed. .

There is an article saying that the words on the plaque on the archway come from the imperial pen of Emperor Qianlong, but this is not the case.

According to regulations, the plaque on the main building of the royal garden should have been written by the current emperor, but for unknown reasons, the plaque of this archway was not stamped with the seal of "Treasure of Qianlong's Imperial Brush", commonly known as "no money, no chapter". According to legend, after the completion of the Dagong gate archway, the minister of the Ministry of Industry specially asked Emperor Qianlong to inscribe the plaque. Emperor Qianlong named it "Hanxu" and "Fengxiu", and Wang Youdun, then Minister of Military Affairs, inscribed it. Wang Youdun was very apprehensive and did not dare to write rashly. He wrote a total of ten times before he was satisfied. Emperor Qianlong admired the words on the plaque after reading it, and ordered it to be made into a stone plaque and inlaid on the archway. But Wang Youdun was a courtier and did not dare to write his name on the plaque bestowed by the emperor, so naturally there was no money or rules on this plaque.

The grade of the Hanxu archway is very high, and the workmanship is extremely exquisite. The front and rear eaves are carved with dragons and phoenixes, and the two sides are painted with golden dragons and phoenixes. There are seven ridges at the top, and the beasts on the ridges are regular, showing the grandeur and grandeur of the royal archway.

The archway is due west and comes to the East Palace Gate.

The East Palace Gate is the main entrance of the Summer Palace. There are five palace gates, three bright and two dark.

On the eaves of the door hangs a golden plaque inscribed by Emperor Guangxu himself on the "Summer Palace", on which five seals are engraved, namely "The Treasure of Guangxu's Imperial Brush", "The Treasure of Empress Dowager Cixi's Imperial View", "Counting the Heart of Plum Blossoms", " Peace and benevolence agree with heaven and earth", "Beautiful sun and long spring". The plaque is surrounded by nine golden dragons, so it is called "Kowloon Golden Plaque", which is the highest specification and grade among all the plaques in the Summer Palace.

Echoing the plaque is a cloud road stone of "two dragons playing with pearls" in the middle of the steps on both sides. The two flying dragons are carved delicately and realistically, which is a rare stone carving.

There are two copper lions on both sides in front of the East Palace Gate. The male lion on the left is teasing the hydrangea with its right paw, symbolizing authority; the female lion on the right is teasing the cub with its left paw, symbolizing the inheritance from generation to generation. Lions are imported products and are usually regarded as beasts to ward off evil spirits.

After entering the gate is Renshou Gate.

Renshou Gate is the second palace gate.

Entering the Renshou Gate, there is a huge stone called the Shouxing Stone. After that is the Hall of Renshou (introduced before).

The osmanthus flowers on both sides of Renshou Hall are full of vitality. Although only a few flowers are blooming lightly, the garden is still full of fragrance. It is said that they will enter the blooming period around the National Day, and then come to taste the fragrance of flowers.

Pass the Hall of Renshou and go to the lake, and then come to Zhichun Pavilion again.

Standing on Zhichun Island, the beautiful scenery of Kunming Lake reappears in front of you.

The West Causeway, the Six Bridges, the distant mountains and the near shadows are so beautiful that people are intoxicated.

The twin pagodas of Yuquan are charming and charming.

The water is blue, the mountains are emerald green, and there are towering pavilions in the mountains.

In front of the Leshou Gate, explore the Sea God Lamp; on the Buddha Incense Pavilion, the wisdom of the incense world.

Pass through the Yaoyue Gate and walk westward along the promenade. The central tower stands tall, the pavilion bridge is faint, the water is rippling, and the cruise ship is lightly passing.

In front of the Paiyun Gate, the bronze lion opened its mouth wide, with a ferocious face and a mighty posture.

You have to enter from this door to ascend Buddha Fragrance Pavilion. Since it is still early (the door opens at 8 o'clock), let's take a stroll around first.

On the west side of Paiyun Gate is a small courtyard called Qinghuaxuan, which was originally the Hall of Five Hundred Arhats in the Qingyi Garden period. When Guangxu rebuilt it, it became the current courtyard with two entrances.

The white marble bridge and so on are all buildings of that time.

At eight o'clock, buy a ticket (10 yuan) and enter Paiyunmen.

Entering the Paiyun Gate, you can see the plaque on the gate "Multiple Blessings", which means that there is a lot of auspiciousness gathered here. It comes from the song "Sacrificial Elegance" played during sacrifices in suburban temples in the Sui Dynasty: "The Pao Ding is at ease, and Ge Lu is testing his voice. Many blessings are gathered, and Jing Fu comes together."

Second Palace Gate.

(This picture comes from the Internet)

It has been introduced before that the Hall of Dispelling Clouds is located in the middle of the front mountain of Wanshou Mountain. The Pavilion and the Sea of ​​Wisdom, rising successively, are the core and most spectacular buildings in the Summer Palace.

Paiyun Hall was originally built by Qianlong for his mother's 60th birthday. It was changed to Paiyun Hall when Cixi was rebuilt. It is the place where Cixi lived in the garden and received worship on her birthday.

The second palace gate is the gate of the second entrance to the Paiyun Palace, and it is the place where the birthday celebration of the Empress Dowager Cixi was read out. In the middle of the courtyard is a single-hole stone bridge, also known as Jinshui Bridge, with pools on both sides, which have the functions of fire prevention and Fengshui.

There are east and west supporting halls on both sides of the courtyard.

The East Side Hall - Yuhua Hall is the place where the emperor rested when Cixi held the Longevity Celebration.

The plaque on the lintel reads "Zhuwei Lianhui".

The West Side Hall - Yunjin Hall is the temporary rest place for princes and ministers above the second rank when Empress Dowager Cixi held the Longevity Celebration.

The plaque on the lintel reads "Xiangying Changji".

Pass through the gate of the second palace and come to the Hall of Dispelling Clouds. The Hall of Dispelling Clouds was built on the site of the Daxiong Hall of the former Dabaoen Yanshou Temple. The Nine Dragon Throne in the hall is the seat for Empress Dowager Cixi to receive congratulations on her birthday. Visiting inside the temple is currently prohibited.

Paiyun Hall is a Dougong and beam structure, with yellow glazed tiles and double eaves on the top of the mountain. There are seven ridge beasts on the vertical ridge. In front of it is a fairy riding a rooster. Although the Hall of Dispelling Clouds is not as large as the Hall of Renshou, it is the highest in the Summer Palace.

The plaque of "Dayuan Baojing" is hung on the eaves of the main hall, and the double dragons are pasted with gold and seals on the beams.

On the platform in front of the main hall, there are bronze dragons, bronze phoenixes, bronze tripods and incense burners. The copper dragon and copper phoenix were probably wrapped in iron wire for protection reasons.

There are four copper vats symmetrically placed on both sides of the stage, all of which are cast with the inscriptions of "Heaven, Earth, One Family Spring" and "Guangxu Year System".

Papaya and Xifu Begonia are planted in the courtyard, as well as two white-bark pines with plump branches, which symbolize the wealth and longevity of Yutang.

There are many Luchen piers around the courtyard, all of which are exquisite.

Paiyun Hall also has east and west side halls.

Dongbei Hall - Fanghui Hall,

A plaque of "Qi Rong Fu Fen" is hung on the eaves of the door.

Xibei Hall - Zixiao Hall.

The plaque on the inner eaves reads "Dengxiang recommends welfare".

The Hall of Dispelling Clouds has a very high standard and is very special. In addition to the east-west side halls, there are also east-west backing halls on both sides of the main hall, which are similar to the ear rooms on both sides of the main hall, and there are corridors connecting with the main hall. On the top is also the top of the mountain with yellow glazed tiles and double eaves. There are five ridge beasts on the vertical ridge, and there are gilt kisses on the main ridge. Among the existing medieval buildings, there is only one building with the main hall and the backing hall, which shows the high standard of the cloud-dispelling hall.

There is a plaque of "Feng Zaoteng Wen" hanging on the east side of the mountain hall.

In addition to the connecting corridors between the east and west side halls and the east and west backing halls, there is also a corridor at the courtyard wall, also called a climbing corridor, which can directly lead to the buildings above, but it is currently closed.

Behind Paiyun Hall, climb up eighty-eight steps, which is the Dehui Hall. The climbing corridors on both sides have relatively smaller slopes. If they are open, it will save effort.

Climbing up to see the Paiyun Temple, there are seven ridged beasts on the vertical ridges, with the immortal riding a rooster at the front, and the scorpion beasts at the end, with the big owl kissing the gold-plated kissing rope on the ridge.

The Dehui Hall is the last hall in the Paiyun Temple area. The eaves are covered with bilingual plaques in Chinese and Chinese. Dehui: the brilliance of benevolence. A horizontal plaque of "Fu Guang Rong Qing" is hung on the door of the Ming Dynasty, which means to give kindness to all and enjoy blessings for thousands of years.

The Dehui Hall also has yellow glazed tiles with dougong and beams, but the difference is the single eaves resting on the top of the mountain, the main ridge with gilded kisses, and the beams and beams pasted with gold paintings of double dragons and seals.

In the Cloud Dispelling Hall, starting from the Cloud Dispelling Gate to the Dehui Hall, all the main halls and gate halls have gilded kisses on the front ridges. It can be seen that the architectural level of Paiyun Hall is as high as that of the first three halls of the Forbidden City.

The Dehui Hall was the multi-treasure hall in Qingyi Garden, and now exhibits some calligraphy and paintings received by Empress Dowager Cixi when she celebrated her birthday. This owl kiss is the Zhengji owl kiss in the Qing Dynasty that was replaced during the overhaul of the Paiyun Hall.

Looking down from the front of the Dehui Palace, you can have a panoramic view of the mountain in front of the Summer Palace. It can be said that this is the best place to enjoy the beauty of the Summer Palace.

Looking south, you can see the towering tower, the floating boats, the golden dome of the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, the blue sky of Kunming Lake, the Seventeen-Arch Bridge quietly lying in the lake, and the lush Nanhu Island.

Looking to the east, there is a verdant green in front of you, tall buildings in the distance, and the watchtower of the Olympic Sports Center stands upright like a flock of chickens.

Looking southwest, the west dike is shaded by weeping willows, dotted with six bridges, the lake is rippling, and cruise ships shuttle.

Looking to the west, there are emerald mountains and the shadow of Yufeng Pagoda.

The plaque at the back of the Dehui Hall reads "Chunhe Yuanqi", framed with the word Shou, and the three treasures of Cixi and Buddha printed on the bell.

From the platform behind the Dehui Hall, you can see a pavilion and a group of buildings on the east and west sides of the Foxiang Pavilion, both of which are not open.

The two pavilions are both built on a high platform stacked with huge stones. They are exactly the same in style.

The group of buildings on the east side is called Zhuanlun Zang, which is a Buddhist building. It was first built in the Qianlong period, burned down together with the Buddhist Incense Pavilion in 1860, and rebuilt in the Guangxu period.

There is a stone tablet in the middle, with six big characters ""Longevity Mountain Kunming Lake" engraved on the front, which are imperial pens of Emperor Qianlong. Four dragons holding pearls at the top. It is said that the Monument to the People's Heroes on Tiananmen Square was designed based on this.

On the three spiers of the main hall of Zhuanlunzang, there are very rare glass statues of Fu, Lu and Shou. It is said that this is a Buddhist building, but the statues of Fu, Lu, and Shou that are often seen in Taoism appear, which shows that the flavor of "fusion" was very strong at that time. It is said that the current three glazed statues are replicas, and the originals have been stored in the cultural relics library.

The building on the west side is called Wufang Pavilion, which corresponds to the Zhuanlunzang on the east side. In the center is the famous copper hall - Baoyun Pavilion. It is the only remaining copper-cast building in the royal gardens of the Qing Dynasty. It is very precious, but unfortunately it is closed now. , cannot visit.

Climb one hundred and fifteen more steps up the backyard of Dehui Hall, and you will reach the courtyard gate of Foxiang Pavilion, which is connected to a semi-enclosed Chaoshou verandah.

Looking up at the Foxiang Pavilion, there are three layers of octagonal eaves, a circle of eaves on the first floor, and a Dougong under each eaves. The roof is covered with yellow glazed tiles, the eaves are trimmed with green edges, and there are five ridged beasts on the vertical ridges. The Tasha is a gilt double-layer covered bowl on a yellow and green glazed octagonal Xumi seat.

The Buddha Fragrance Pavilion is a five-foot-high white marble xumizuo, with a circle of white marble handrails on it. The stone carvings on Xumizuo are very exquisite and well preserved.

There are stone carving patterns on the handrails, and there are patterns of twining branches and cloud patterns on the pillars.

On the front, a plaque is hung under the eaves on the first floor, "Tianxiang outside the clouds", on the second floor, "Weather Zhaohui", and on the third floor, "Shi Yang Fengjiao".

Now the Foxiang Pavilion can no longer be visited inside, you can only look at the contents outside the door.

A gilded bronze statue of Avalokitesvara with Thousand Hands is placed on the first floor of the Foxiang Pavilion. It originated from the apse of Guanghua Temple in Yaer Hutong, Houhai, Beijing. It was invited to the Foxiang Pavilion in 1989 and placed on the altar on the first floor.

There are doors in the southeast, north, and west of the corridor of Foxiang Pavilion. Now only the main entrance on the south side is open, and the other doors are closed. This is the east side seen from the courtyard

Huating.

The Foxiang Pavilion is definitely the highest point of the front mountain buildings in terms of height alone, but if you look at the terrain, the Foxiang Pavilion is not on the top of the mountain. Standing on the first floor platform of Foxiang Pavilion and looking towards the top of the mountain, there is a colorful glazed archway on top of the stacked stone rockery outside the north gate. Behind the glazed archway is the glazed hall on the top of Wanshou Mountain.

The plaque facing south on the archway reads "All Fragrances", and the plaque facing north reads "Zhishu", both are Buddhist terms.

The architectural form of this archway is the same as that of Xiangshan Zhao Temple, imitating wood with four pillars and seven floors with hipped roof. The pattern on the archway between the two sides is called "Double Dragons Holding Longevity".

On the main ridges of the three buildings in the Ming Dynasty and the second period, there is a covered bowl pagoda ridge brake, below which is a glazed base, then a colored glazed covered bowl, above which is a dew bearing plate, a nine-story phase wheel, and above the phase wheel is a Canopy, the top is a yellow glazed orb. The three ridge brakes have the same structure, but the colors are different

same.

There are five ridge beasts, Zhengji Owl Kiss and Hanging Ridge. The three ridge beasts are the sub-ridge owl kiss and the vertical ridge. The glazed components are vivid in shape and bright in color.

Since we can't reach the back mountain, we can only go back the same way, take a rest, and climb from the west side.

In the past, from the Foxiang Pavilion to the Liuli Pailou. Now if you want to go to the top of the back mountain, you can only go down the mountain and climb from both sides. I don't know what the manager thinks about, but it has virtually doubled the intensity for tourists. Think about it, there are about 300 steps from Paiyun Gate to Foxiang Pavilion. When you arrive at Foxiang Pavilion, you can easily reach the Liuli Archway and then visit the buildings on the back mountain. But now, we have to climb again. Can our managers consider the problem from the perspective of tourists, listen to tourists' opinions more, and don't slap their heads on everything.

At present, in the current epidemic situation, the pressure on managers at all levels is indeed not small, but a common problem is that the handling of problems is simplified, and to be precise, it is to shirk responsibility. It is all right to control the flow of people, wear masks, prohibit people from gathering, close indoor places, etc., but for some problems that can be easily solved through simple work, instead of spending effort to solve the problem, simply close and stop , Break, this saves trouble and does not take responsibility. As for the convenience of the service target, that is not the focus of their consideration. The focus of their consideration is that the leaders are happy, the superiors are satisfied, and they don't want to make trouble or take responsibility. So this is the reality, the sad reality, I can only make complaints about it, hey.

Go down to Paiyun Gate and walk west along the promenade. I originally wanted to go up the mountain from the painting, but I was told that the middle reaches of the painting were repaired and the road was broken, so I chose a road on the east side of the middle reaches of the painting.

Between the first floor and the Qiushui Pavilion, between the first floor and the Qiushui Pavilion, between the two uphill corridors, on the platform piled up with mountains and rocks, there is a courtyard with closed gates - Yunsong Nest. Although the vertical flower gate is a bit dilapidated, it is said that there is a hole in it. Ding Ling and Chen Ming once lived here, and Mao Zedong also visited here.

Along the path in front of the gate of Yunsong Nest, the mountain road becomes steeper after passing the Lvqi Pavilion and Shaowo Hall.

Further up, basically along the outer wall of the Foxiang Pavilion, there is no proper path. It is this kind of mountain path stepped on by pedestrians. There are no steps, and you can only use your hands and feet. It is not recommended for elderly people to walk.

Not far away, we came to the glazed archway seen from the Foxiang Pavilion - Zhongxiangjie.

On this side (north side) of the archway is a plaque with the words "Ji Shulin", with red characters on a white background, and golden dragons twining around the forehead, and the same "Double Dragons Holding Longevity" in the workshop.

The stone arch is exquisitely carved, and the door can be opened to the Buddhist Incense Pavilion.

The main hall opposite Zhishulin is a religious building on the top of Longevity Hill - the Sea of ​​Wisdom. It is a beamless Buddhist hall completely made of bricks and stones, and is composed of vertical and horizontal arch structures. There is not a single piece of wood in the building, and it is all built with stone bricks and has no load-bearing purlins, so it is called "Beamless Hall".

The Sea of ​​Wisdom was first built in the fifteenth year of Qianlong. Sitting north and facing south, the white marble platform is seven rooms wide and has two floors, a five-color glazed tile roof, a gable-shaped roof, and five pagodas on the main ridge. The outer walls are all decorated with yellow and green glazed tiles, and the top is decorated with purple and blue colors. There is a stone plaque "Sea of ​​Wisdom" above the doorway of the Mingjian in the front eaves, and a stone plaque "Auspicious Clouds" in the back eaves.

There are two solid doors in each room of the front eaves, and above the doors are square arch windows. There are white marble arched doors on the back eaves, and there are also white marble arched doors on the mountains on both sides. There are three small towers on the main ridge, and kissing beasts and immortals on the oblique ridge.

The most distinctive feature of the Sea of ​​Wisdom is the more than a thousand glazed Buddha statues embedded in the outer wall of the hall, with a total of 1,110 statues.

If you look closely at these Buddha statues, you will find that many Buddha statues are exquisite and intact below the head, but the face has been damaged and blurred. This is because: Although Zhongxiangjie and Wisdom Sea survived the fire of the British and French allied forces in 1860 due to their masonry structures, all the wooden Buddhist niches in the hall were destroyed. In the 14th year of Guangxu, the glazed archway of Zhongxiangjie and the glazed hall of Wisdom Sea were rebuilt. When the "Eight-Power Allied Forces" invaded China in the 26th year of Guangxu, they knocked off a lot of glazed Buddha heads on the outer wall of the Wisdom Sea Wall, and after they were looted by the Cultural Revolution, there were very few left. So a lot of what you see now is re-repaired. Due to the limitations of the firing process at that time, the head and body of the Buddha statue were fired separately and then bonded together. After a long time, the head and body were easily separated. Coupled with man-made damage, we can see the current situation.

The Sea of ​​Wisdom is currently closed and cannot be visited inside.

Continue to go east and down, walk through the towers and pavilions piled up with mountains and rocks, and come to the four major continents.

(picture from the Internet)

The Four Continents are the highest point of the building on the back mountain, and also the top of the axis of the building on the back mountain. The buildings on the back mountain and the buildings on the front mountain are not on the same axis, and the axis of the buildings on the back mountain is east of the axis of the buildings on the front mountain. According to the axis, the Sea of ​​Wisdom and the Foxiang Pavilion are on the same axis, that is, the axis of the buildings in front of the mountain. At the same time, the sea of ​​wisdom is a transition, linking the buildings on the front mountain with the buildings on the back mountain.

(picture from the Internet)

During the Qingyi Garden period, the entire Houshan Buddhist complex was collectively called the Houda Temple. Houda Temple and Puning Temple in Chengde are Han-Tibetan mixed-style Buddhist temples of the same shape built in the two places at the same time during the Qianlong period. The Buddhist temple is based on a famous lamasery in Tibet-Sangye Temple as the blueprint for planning and design, facing north from south.

This group of buildings, which combines the Han and Tibetan styles, consists of two parts, the north and the south. The northern half is in Chinese style, with Xumi Lingjing as the center. The southern half is Tibetan-style, with Xiangyan Zongyin Pavilion as the center, surrounded by many Tibetan-style blockhouse buildings and Lama pagodas, that is, the four continents, which have a strong Tibetan color.

In the four major continents, the building is located on a high platform, and the high platform is built with Tibetan-style diamond walls. The lowest floor is ten meters high, and it shrinks as it goes up, making it look particularly tall and stable. There are many stacked stones around the high platform, which are rugged and thick, and complement each other with the buildings in front of the mountain.

In 1860, all the wooden buildings of the Houda Temple were destroyed by the fire of the British and French coalition forces. In the 14th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1888), the Xiangyan Zongyin Pavilion was built on the original site, and the rest of the place was still a piece of rubble.

The current layout was rebuilt in 1980 as it was originally. Although it is not as good as the scene in the Qianlong period, it can still show a strong and brilliant plateau charm. The four major continents and the four major continents of Puning Temple, one of the eight temples outside the Chengde Mountain Resort, use the same drawing, so they are exactly the same.

According to the "Agama Sutra", there are four worlds in the world, that is, four continents, which respectively express the human beings in the four social classes. The first is Beiju Luzhou, the second is Nanfangbuzhou, the third is Dongshengshenzhou, and the fourth is Xiniuhezhou. In the Aral Sea surrounded by Mount Sumeru.

The four continents were built according to ancient Indian philosophy. The four major continents and eight small continents are arranged in four directions around the pavilion of Xiangyan Zongyin, which symbolizes Mount Sumeru, the center of the world. In the southeast, southwest, northeast and northwest of the pavilion, there are four lama towers representing the "four wisdoms" of Buddhist scriptures, red, white, black and green.

Main buildings on the four continents:

1) Sutra building: Two Buddhist decorations in front of the four continents, with many small Buddha statues and Diamond Sutra engraved on it.

2) Diamond Wall: A brick wall that elevates the four major continents as a whole, showing its majesty.

3) The main hall: It is made of glazed tiles, resplendent and resplendent, representing Mount Sumeru, which is located in the center of the world in Buddhism.

4) Four major continents and eight small continents: represent the four major continents and eight small continents located around Mount Sumeru in Buddhism.

5) Temple of Sunlight Bodhisattva and Moonlight Bodhisattva: It represents the sun and moon surrounding Mount Sumeru.

6) Black, red, white, and green Lama towers: represent the four kinds of wisdom in Buddhism. White: the wisdom of the big round mirror. Red: the wisdom of success. Black: the wisdom of equality. Green: the wisdom of wonderful observation.

Xiangyan Zongyin Pavilion

The Xiangyan Zongyin Pavilion symbolizes Mount Sumeru, the center of the Buddhist world. It was originally a square triple eaves, a two-story Buddhist building with pointed pavilions around the roof, and a hipped hall in the center. It was built after the Wuce Hall in the Sangyuan Temple in Tibet.

four continents

Beijuluzhou, Nanzhanbuzhou, Dongshengshenzhou, and Xiniuhezhou are in four different shapes: square, triangle, half-moon, and circle, corresponding to the "four major" places (squares) called by Buddhists. , fire (triangle), wind (half moon), water (circle).

In the south of Xiangyan Zongyin Pavilion is Beiju Luzhou. The Buddha Hall is a square platform with a single eaves and pointed roof. The existing building is in the shape of a rectangle, facing south and facing north, with two floors, a verandah roof, a round treasure roof in the main ridge, and yellow glazed tiles.

The shape of Nanzhan Buzhou is triangular, with a Xieshan-style yellow glazed tile roof, and there are kissing beasts and immortals.
Dongsheng Shenzhou is located on the west side of the Xiangyan Zongyin Pavilion. It is shaped like a half-moon building and faces north from the south. The wooden structure building on the blockhouse-style platform is a single-eave hipped hall style, with a yellow glazed tile roof and kissing beast immortals.

Xiniu Hezhou is on the east side of Xiangyan Zongyin Pavilion. The building plane is oval. On the second floor, there is a yellow glazed tile roof, and there are kissing beasts and immortals.

Ba Xiaobuzhou

The Eight Small Continents, also known as the Eight Central Continents, are geographical terms in legends. "Taraman Tanili Nazhou", "Shedizhou", "Labazhou", "Julapozhou".

There is a rectangular small continent on the south and north sides of Dongsheng Shenzhou, which are "Videha Continent" and "Tihe Continent" among the eight small continents.

There is a hexagonal small Buzhou in the east, west and west of Nanzhan Buzhou, which respectively represent "Faluo Jamalozhou" and "Zemaluozhou" among the eight small Buzhous.

There is a hexagonal small continent in the south and north of Xiniu Hezhou, representing the "Katara Mandarina Continent" and "Shedi Continent" among the eight small continents.

There is a hexagonal small continent in the east and west of Beiju Luzhou, which symbolizes "Labazhou" and "Julabazhou" among the eight small continents.

Vatican Tower

The southeast, northeast, southwest and northwest of Xiangyan Zongyinzhi Pavilion are divided into four white, green, black and red Vatican pagodas of different colors, shapes, patterns and decorations, that is, Lama pagodas. There are different opinions on the purpose of the four Vatican towers: one is to represent the four wisdoms of Buddhism, the white tower represents the wisdom of the great circle mirror, the green tower represents the wisdom of wonderful observation, the black tower represents the wisdom of equality, and the red tower represents the wisdom of accomplishment. One said that it represents the four sects of Buddhism, the white pagoda represents Mahayana Sutra, the green pagoda represents Theravada Buddhism, the black pagoda represents Mahayana Tantric Buddhism, and the red pagoda represents self-accomplished Buddha.

The four lama pagodas are pure Tibetan buildings, consisting of four parts: the base, the tower body, the phase wheel and the tower brake. The base is made of granite and is square. The tower body is round-bellied, white, green, black and red in color, with thirteen floors. The tower brake is composed of an umbrella cover and a treasure brake. The phase wheel and Tasha of the four Vatican pagodas symbolize the head of the Buddha, and the body of the pagoda contains profound Buddhist connotations.

Sun and Moon

On the hillsides behind Xiangyan Zongyinzhi Pavilion, there are two rectangular blockhouse-style platforms with the same style symmetrically built on the hillsides on both sides. side sun and moon. It is said in the Buddhist scriptures that "there are two Bodhisattvas in this country, one is full of sunshine and the other is full of moonlight, and they are the heads of the five countless Bodhisattvas." The sun platform sits west facing east; the platform sits east facing west. The yellow glazed tile roof has a kissing animal fairy, the green roof has a six-color waist, and the yellow glazed tile wall cap.

Going down from the Sea of ​​Wisdom, you first pass through the Mountain Gate of the Four Continents. The Mountain Gate of Sibuzhou is located at the highest point of Sibuzhou, facing Xiangyan Zongyin Pavilion, surrounded by courtyard walls on both sides.

Pass through the mountain gate and go down the steps built of huge stones. On the east side is the rectangular Beiju Luzhou.

On the west side is Nanzhan Buzhou, which is also rectangular. It is no different from Beiju Luzhou in appearance. It is not a triangle as mentioned in the introduction. Maybe the original building was a triangle, and it became what it is now after reconstruction.

Below Beiju Luzhou, on the east side of Xiangyan Zongyin Pavilion, is the oval-shaped Dongshengshenzhou.

Corresponding to Dongsheng Shenzhou is the half-moon-shaped Xiniuhezhou located on the west side of Xiangyan Zongyinzhi Pavilion and below Nanzhanbuzhou.

There are two small states with roughly the same appearance in each of the four major continents, north and south, or east and west, totaling eight.

To the southwest of the Xiangyan Zongyin Pavilion is the Black Tower.

To the southeast is the White Tower.

To the northwest is Hongta.

To the northeast is the Green Tower.

Vatican canopy and pagoda.

The building specifications of the four continents are very high. The main ridge and the vertical ridge are five ridge beasts and immortals. The roof is covered with yellow glazed tiles, and the workmanship is exquisite.

The Xiangyan Zongyin Pavilion on the high platform also has a screen-like mountain gate in front of the hall, corresponding to the highest mountain gate. The middle door of the mountain gate is not open, and people can enter and exit on both sides.

The glazed palace on the high platform - the Sea of ​​Wisdom is in the southwest of the four major continents.

Looking down from the four major continents, you can see a large area of ​​blank ground with exposed pillars in the middle. This is the Xumi Lingjing site, and it is estimated that it may be rebuilt in the future.

Go down to the bottom of the four major continents and look back. The bottom is the Xumi Lingjing ruins. Upwards, the main hall in the middle is the Pavilion of Xiangyan Zongyin.

The buildings are arranged on both sides of the bottom.

Stone lions on both sides of the bottom.

Xumi Lingjing Ruins, Four Continents and Sea of ​​Wisdom.

Going further down is Songtang and Cifu Pailou, and the architectural complex in the back mountain ends here.

Looking down at the square in front of the Cifu archway, you will see several stone carvings on the east and west sides. Some of the stone beasts on them have been incomplete, but you can still see that the stone carvings are extremely exquisite. This is the hugging stone of the east and west archway. In the past, there were three archways in front of Xumi Lingjing, east, west, and north. Later, only the Cifu archway in the north was restored.

Continue to the east, pass the Yinhui Chengguan, and want to see the Duobao Liuli Pagoda.

It was recently discovered that it was being repaired.

Pass the Harmonious Interest Garden, Ziqi East to Chengguan, and come to the Virtuous Harmony Garden.

As mentioned before, the Virtuous Harmony Garden is the place where Empress Dowager Cixi watched operas and enjoyed music. It was originally the former site of Yichun Hall in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and was rebuilt in the Guangxu period. Its main buildings are the theater building, the big theater building, the Yile Hall and the theater viewing gallery.

Dehe Garden, Changyin Pavilion in the Forbidden City and Qingyin Pavilion in Chengde Mountain Resort in Hebei are known as the three major theater buildings of the Qing Palace. The Changyin Pavilion of the Forbidden City was demolished during the Jiaqing period, and the Qingyin Pavilion of the Summer Resort was destroyed by the Japanese invaders. Only the Dehe Garden survived. In addition, the architectural specifications and historical connotations of the Deheyuan Theater Building are the best among the three theater buildings, and can be regarded as the pinnacle surviving representative of ancient Chinese theater buildings.

The fee for Dehe Garden is 5 yuan. The gate tower is very ordinary, but the sparrows and eaves are covered with gold, which does not lose the royal style.

After entering the gate, there is a wooden screen wall.

In the center of the garden, there is a building with two sides, the south side is slightly narrower, and the north side is slightly wider. The one facing south is called the theater building, with two floors, where actors put on makeup, dress up, wait for the stage, store clothes, and change props. The corridors are connected on both sides to separate the courtyard.

The east and west sides of the garden are corridors and courtyard walls. There are many varieties of sweet-scented osmanthus in the garden, such as golden osmanthus, silver osmanthus, four seasons osmanthus, and Japanese osmanthus. They are the favorite tree species in the royal courtyard. "meaning. But sweet-scented osmanthus cannot survive the winter in the north, so they are all planted in wooden barrels and moved to indoor greenhouses in winter.

Passing through the corridor, you can see the big theater building, also called the singing theater building, which is integrated with the playing theater building. The ground is divided into three floors: Fu, Lu and Shou.

The lower plaque: Huan Lu Rong Exposure.

Middle level plaque: Taiping Yutai.

The upper plaque: Qingyan Changchen. The three-layer plaques are all written by Cixi.

The construction of the theater building is at its peak.

The lower stage is 17 meters wide, 16 meters deep and 4.48 meters high. The middle stage is 12 meters wide, and the upper stage is slightly smaller.

Behind the stage on the lower floor, there is a three-bay fairy tower, and four fairy bridges are connected between the fairy tower and the stage.

A brick well with a depth of 10.1 meters, an upper diameter of 1.1 meters and a lower diameter of 2.8 meters was excavated at the bottom of the lower stage. On the east, west and north sides of the brick well, five pools of about 1 meter square and 1.28 meters deep were excavated, which can not only create water spray effects during performances, but also increase the resonance effect of singing with the sound of water.

Corresponding to the five pools, there are five pulleys built on the middle and upper theater buildings. When acting, you can cooperate up and down, and at the same time perform big cut-off plays with water tricks and tricks.

The architecture of the theater building is even more exquisite. The sparrows, eaves, and gilded paintings all show a noble and royal style.

Opposite the Grand Theater Building is the Hall of Yile, which was specially built for Cixi to watch operas. Inside, there are thrones, lounges and dormitories for the Empress Dowager Cixi. Unfortunately, it is not possible to visit it now.

On the east and west sides of the theater building, there are also theater theaters for Cixi, Enshang, princes and nobles to watch operas, with ten rooms on each side.

After visiting the Dehe Garden, go out of the East Palace Gate, and the day's tour ends.

(use up)