Xiyang Lou
Xiyang Lou ( Chinese 西洋 樓 / 西洋 楼 , Pinyin Xīyáng Lóu , "western multi-storey building", "western" means "European") is a historical garden laid out from 1747/49 in the northwest of the Chinese capital Beijing in the area of the Yu Yuan ( so-called "Old Summer Palace"). The building and garden equipment based on the design by Giuseppe Castiglione combined the architectural styles of European Rococo with classical Chinese architecture . The facility has been preserved as a ruin.
location
The garden comprised an 850 meter long strip on the northern edge of the Changchun Yuan ("Garden of Everlasting Spring"). The shape of the garden, which covers about ten hectares, is a "T" pointing to the east. The main components were buildings in the late Baroque style, water features and a maze with brick barriers and a lookout point at the finish.
Building history
From 1737 to 1766 a group of Jesuits worked as missionaries in China. Among them were the Italian Giuseppe Castiglione (Shining Lang) , the French Michel Benoist (Youren Jiang) and Jean-Denis Attiret (Zhicheng Wang) , the Florence-born Ferdinand Bonaventura Moggi (Boming Li) (1684–1761) and Ignaz Sichelbarth ( Qimeng Ai) , which was of German origin (Chinese names in brackets). They had won the trust of Emperor Qianlong , who valued the strangers' artistic skills. Under Qianlong, numerous gardens were created or expanded in the Chinese Empire (“Golden Age of Garden Art”).
An important design element in the imperial gardens consisted in the staging of landscape sections that were characteristic of certain regions or landscapes. In addition to Chinese motifs, there were also Mongolian or Tibetan designs and buildings; the inclusion of a European staffage fitted into the concept of the extensive imperial gardens and palaces and was in no way at odds with contemporary Sinocentrism .
Planning began in 1747. Qianlong was so enthusiastic about the depiction of a European fountain that he wished the pleasure of water games , which was previously unknown in China , at his court. The work, which was directed by Castiglione and carried out by Chinese workers, took place in three phases, 1749–1751, 1755–1759 and 1767. In 1756, Qianlong, the area with the character of a garden, decided Xiyang Yuan ("garden of western style") to give. The Changchun Yuan , adjacent to the south and separated by a wall, was created in the same period (Hui Zou 10). In contrast to most of the houses, halls and temples in the Yu Yuan area , the friars did not use wood but stone as the material for their structures.
The “western style” buildings were laid out in the Italian Rococo style in terms of their layout and appearance. However, all roofs were designed in a Chinese shape, which gave the buildings an exotic appearance. The tent-like, slightly swinging roof shapes fit into the overall picture of the gardens of Yu Yuan , which was a landscape of bodies of water, trees and bushes from which the building roofs protruded.
Decline and destruction
A short time after Benoist's death (1774), parts of the technical systems failed. Due to the lack of competent staff, repairs were not carried out. In order to operate the fountain occasionally, the water reservoir was filled manually. In addition, the emperor's interest waned; his successor may not even visit this area of the garden.
Almost all buildings on the approximately 350 hectare grounds of the Yu Yuan were looted and burned down during the Second Opium War in 1860 as part of an unprecedented "punitive action" by British and French troops. The Xiyang Lou area was also destroyed. At dusk on October 6th, 1860, the main gate of the Yuanming Yuan was stormed, the prelude to an extensive pillage. It was not until October 17 and 18 that the troops systematically set fire in all areas (Thiriez 56-57). This vandalism represented a cultural catastrophe for China, as not only the large and magnificent gardens with hundreds of buildings were destroyed, but also countless cultural assets were stolen or destroyed.
Most of the “western style” buildings were made of stone. In contrast to the Chinese structures made of wood and bamboo, the masonry withstood the fire (Thiriez 60). In the years after 1860, almost all the buildings were largely preserved as ruins, as early photographs document ( Heinz von Perckhammer , Osvald Sirén , Carroll Brown Malone ). Destruction occurred again during the Boxer Rebellion and only the ruins of Xiyang Lou remained as recognizable structures. After the end of the imperial era, they were used to extract building material, and some garden areas were used for agriculture. The ruins gradually turned into piles of rubble, marble was crushed and was used to make quicklime . Some security measures were not implemented until after 1977.
Components
The description is from west to east.
Xie Qi Qu
The three-winged pavilion in the southeast corner of the garden opened up like a courtyard to the south. Construction began in 1749 and was the oldest of the “western” buildings. The Xie Qi Qu ("harmony, wonder and delight", also "joys of harmony") comprised a water feature, the first water art facility based on a European model. Bronze animal figures depicting rams, ducks and fish served as gargoyles. The basin had a floral layout.
Xushui Lou
It was a technical building ("higher building with water tank", "building of nourishing water") that was needed to feed the neighboring water features. The tank was using one of mules driven Göpel plant filled from the north inflowing into the garden stream. It also fed a fountain in the middle of a square formed by the Xushui Lou to the west, the gateway to the flower garden to the north, and the Xie Qi Qu to the south. From this place a doorway led east to the other parts of Xiyang Lou.
Most of the windows of the two-story building were blind ( executed as trompe l'œil , inganno dell 'occhio ), the palatial facade was supposed to hide the function of the functional building.
Hua Yuan
In the northern rectangle of Xiyang Lou was Hua Yuan ("flower garden"), the main component of which was a rectangle 89 × 59 meters in which there was a labyrinth , the Wanhua Zhen ("maze of ten thousand flowers") or Huanghua Zhen (" Yellow Flower Maze ”). The complex was built between 1756 and 1759.
The maze, whose path system followed European models, consisted of barriers that were formed by 1.2 meter high walls that had a total length of 1600 meters. In the finish area there was an elevated garden kiosk from which the emperor could observe his concubines on the occasion of the mid-autumn festival , who carried yellow lanterns as they paced the labyrinthine paths. The labyrinth and kiosk escaped complete destruction by chance.
The maze was accompanied by two moats on both its west and east sides. It could also be entered through a gate from the west from the Yuanming Yuan ; the connection led from the landscape of Fanghu Shengjing (“Wondrous Place in the Square Vase”) through a gate in the wall separating the gardens.
From 1977 to 1992 the maze was restored. Originally there was a rectangular garden pavilion and two groups of trees in the complex.
Huayuan Men
The "gate of the flower garden" (Huayuan Men) formed the end of the Hua Yuan to the south. The passage led over a small bridge directly to the main entrance of the maze. At the north end was a tree-lined area with small hills and a pavilion.
Yang Que Long
The building with two aviaries for birds formed a doorway that led from the square north of Xie Qi Qu to the east and represented the beginning of the main axis running through the garden from west to east. Only the base of the building and the columns were made of stone, the main part in a Chinese, light style. The area was completed in 1759. To the north was a single-storey, horseshoe-shaped structure that served as accommodation for the maintenance staff. The gate was not destroyed until 1924 (Malone 146).
Fangwai Guan
The building ("distant view") with its south-facing side was a viewing point (Belvedere). It had two floors; the interiors were decorated with landscapes showing European motifs. They were the work of Jean Denis Attiret.
Wuzhu Ting
There are no traces of the five bamboo pavilions (Wuzhu Ting) south of the Fangwai Guan . The similar, small buildings with a square floor plan had double-pitched roofs and were connected by galleries. The symmetrical ensemble formed a square open to the north with a fountain. The light pavilions came from the first phase of construction and were only moved to this location in 1770.
Haiyan Tang
The striking and largest building, erected in 1759, was located east of the Belvedere. The two-storey Haiyan Tang ("Hall of the Peaceful Sea" or "Hall of the Calm Sea"), consisting of a central building and a transverse wing in front of it to the west, contained a large water reservoir inside, which supplied the water features on both sides, the eastern center of which is the center of the Garden. The water tank was hidden by palatial facades with blind windows (similar to the Xushui Lou). In front of the west facade was a basin with fountains, which was called the "water clock"; The most impressive water art, Da Shuifa, lay in front of the east facade with a flight of stairs .
The “water clock” consisted of a water basin with twelve figures of human form with animal heads on the edge of the building, arranged in two groups. They corresponded to the Chinese zodiac signs . Every two hours one of the figures indicated the hour with a jet of water, at noon all fountains rose simultaneously. The technically demanding system was implemented by Michel Benoist. The later Emperor Xianfeng did not appreciate the figures, which is why he had them removed and stored.
Guan Shuifa
It was an observation structure in the center of the Xiyang Lou, east of the Haiyan Tang opposite the (later built) Yuanying Guan . From this point, the emperor had the opportunity to observe the great Da Shuifa water feature : Guan Shuifa (“seat for observing the great water art”), also known as the “throne”.
Da Shuifa
The Da Shuifa ("great work of water art") was the largest and most artistic water feature in the garden. It represented the climax of all water works of art and formed the center of the Xiyang Yuan. The model was the grand buffet in the garden of Versailles . The complex was flanked by two obelisks in fountain basins, which were enveloped in a veil of water by fountains.
The large water art work Da Shuifa adjoined Zelan Tang ("Hall of Wet Orchids") in the south , an area in Changchun Yuan , from which it was separated by a wall. At this point, the Koutou Men ("dog head gates", two passages) were the only connection to Changchun Yuan.
Yuanying Guan
The magnificent Yuanying Guan building ("View of the Distant Sea", "View of the Distant Lakes"), located north of the great waterworks, was not added until 1783, after Castiglione's death; the architect is not known. It allowed the view to the south of the water surface of the Changchun Yuan, which was laid out in 1751 .
Xianfa-Shan Men
The main axis led from the great water art further east through the Xianfa-Shan Men gate ("Western gate of the hill of perspective"). It was designed in the manner of a European triumphal gate.
Xianfa Shan
Behind the gate was a hill of round shape, Xianfa Shan ("Hill of Perspective"), the top of which was adorned with an octagonal garden pavilion, of which only a few scattered stones remain. Its base was a stepped platform, the side walls had rectangular window openings. The roof ended on all sides in triangular gables , the roof edges were decorated with dragon-like mythical creatures .
The path led down again on the east side of the hill. From here a backdrop -like landscape with western buildings, the Xianfa Hua , could be seen over the Fang He .
Xianfa-Shan Dongmen
This gate, also designed as a triumphal gate ("East Gate to Xianfa Shan") represented the counterpart to the Xianfa-Shan Men on the west side of the hill of perspective. The path ended directly in front of the rectangular pond.
Catch he
The Fang He ("square river") pond measured 144 × 48 meters, a rectangle with an aspect ratio of three to one. The excavation from the construction of the pond was used to back up the hill Xianfa Shan . The water surface created a distance to the landscape on the other bank, which increased the depth effect.
Xianfa Hua
The Xianfa Hua ("perspective landscape pictures "), the landscape theater , filled the easternmost area of the Xiyang Lou. It was a stage-like facility into which seven backdrop walls protruded symmetrically from both sides , which presented a view of the northwestern Chinese city of Aksu in front of a mountain range. The depth effects of the backdrop illusion could best be perceived through the square river from the hill of perspective.
Other elements, planting
The garden was surrounded by a double wall in the north. In the west was the "Bridge of Perspectives" (Xianfa Qiao) with a landscape that filled the portal. The water was taken in at three points: from the north into the “flower garden” and from the west from the Yuanming Yuan at the labyrinth and a little further south through the “Bridge of Perspective”. The outflow took place to the east.
The secondary vegetation that has developed over time does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the original planting of the Xiyang Yuan. The arson organized by the military in 1860 resulted in a major fire that also spread to the trees. Only charred trunks remained between the ruins (Thiriez 57–58).
literature
- Osvald Sirén : Les palais impériaux de Pékin. Deux cent soixante-quatorze planches en héliotypie d'après les photographes de l'auteur, douze dessins architecturaux et deux plans avec une notice historique sommaire . Van Oest , Paris and Brussels 1926. - Volume 1, pp. 46-60; Volume 3, plates 207-216.
- Carroll Brown Malone : History of the Peking Summer Palaces under the Ch'ing dynasty. University of Illinois, Urbana 1934.
- Alexander Schulz: Hsi Yang Lou. Investigations into the "European buildings" of the Emperor Ch'ien-lung . Dissertation. Wuerzburg 1966.
- Régine Thiriez : Barbarian lens. Western photographers of the Qianlong emperor's European palaces . Gordon and Break , Amsterdam 1998, ISBN 90-5700-519-0 .
- Victoria Siu: China and Europe intertwined: A new view of the European sector of the Chang Chun Yuan . In: Journal of garden history . Volume 19, 1999, pp. 376-393.
- Young-Tsu Wong: A Paradise Lost. The Imperial Garden Yuanming Yuan. Honolulu University of Hawaii Press 2001 (and Springer 2016).
- Hui Zou: A Jesuit garden in Beijing and early modern Chinese culture . Purdue University Press, West Lafayette 2011, ISBN 978-1-55753-583-2 .
- Vimalin Rujivacharakul: How to map ruins: Yuanming Yuan archives and Chinese architectural history . In: Getty research journal . Number 4, 2012, pp. 91-108.
- Hermann Schlimme: Western Style Spring Fountains, Plays of Water and Hydraulic Construction in the Yuanmingyuan in Beijing and their European Models . In: B. Bowen, D. Friedman, T. Leslie, & J. Ochsendorf (Eds.): Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Construction History. Chicago, June 03-07, 2015. Chicago 2015, pp. 255-263 online .
Coordinates: 40 ° 0 '43.3 " N , 116 ° 18'23.9" E