Yi X was less than 30 years old when he chose this land of geomantic omen. This place has beautiful springs and valleys, overlapping mountains and pleasant scenery. At that time, Yi X was recuperating in Weixiu Garden. One day, he went to Xiangtang Temple in Xishan, which was only ten miles away and was built by his old servant Wang and Wang. They brought Mr. Feng, Mr. Tang and Mr. Wang to investigate. Li Tang thought the geomantic omen here was the best. He was so happy that he no longer doubted it and made a decision in one sentence. But it wasn't long before someone said there was no one here, so Yi X invited Mr. Feng Shui to see it, and finally made up his mind to build a garden bed here.
In order to help Yi X buy land, Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Tongzhi also allocated 52,000 pieces of silver. He couldn't help but feel grateful for this, and wrote a poem in particular, which was engraved in the garden as a souvenir. One of them said, "He was rich all his life, and Ming Sheng Qin gave me money to buy a mountain."
From west to east, the Chun Wang Garden has a round front and rises step by step according to the mountain trend. Above the steps, there are Stone Pavilion, Crescent River, Stone Arch Bridge, Pleasure Hall and Baoding. According to the system of Qing Dynasty, the palaces and gardens of princes were covered with green and blue glazed tiles, while the pavilions of Alcohol Kings were covered with yellow glazed tiles dedicated to the royal family. This ending alone shows the extraordinary identity of the alcohol prince. According to records, after Yi X's death, the stone tablets originally moved were much higher than those erected in the pavilion now. Because it was too heavy to climb halfway up the mountain, I was forced to stay at the foot of the mountain. After the inscription was carved, it was erected in the pavilion of Prince Chun and his mother's younger brother Wang Yi's M Garden Bedroom (now called Jiuwangfen), and a smaller tablet of Wang Garden Bedroom in Fuxian County was transported to the mountain.
The garden is full of springs and lush trees. In addition to pine and cypress, there is also an ancient ginkgo tree (ginkgo tree) in front of the tomb of X. The tree is folded by eight or nine people and is more than ten feet high. It is said to be from the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. However, it is this leafy old tree that makes it difficult for Yi X to settle down after his death.
(Beautiful scenery in front of the Prince of Alcohol)
Regarding the felling of ancient trees, the most detailed record is Wang Zhao's Chronicle of Miscellaneous Fu of Fangjiayuan: the Minister of the Interior died young and was famous for his geomantic omen. He once chose Putuo Valley as the auspicious place for Empress Dowager Cixi. He was eager for a promotion, so he looked for an opportunity to flatter the Queen Mother and said, "There is an old ginkgo tree in the Spring Garden, which is more than ten feet high and has a few acres of shade. Shaped like a green cover, covered on a tomb, geographically like an emperor's mausoleum. Moreover, the white character of ginkgo biloba, added to the word of king, is obviously the word of emperor, which is unfavorable to the imperial branch. Please order this tree to be cut down quickly. " The queen mother said, "I told you to wait, and you don't have to sue him." "He" refers to Emperor Guangxu. Although the ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs received the imperial edict, no one dared to act rashly, so they heard about the emperor. Emperor Guangxu banned it and strictly ordered: "If anyone dares to cut down this tree, please cut off my head first!" Ministers had to ask the queen mother again, and her attitude remained the same. Stalemate for more than a month. One day, Emperor Guangxu retired from the DPRK and heard from the eunuch that Empress Dowager Cixi was sleeping in Wang Chunyuan at dawn with officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Emperor Guangxu hurriedly ordered him to drive out of the city and rush to Hongshankou. He couldn't help crying when he saw the elegant ginkgo tree disappear in the distance. I cried for more than 20 miles and came to the garden. The queen mother has gone and the tree is lying. Hundreds of people are cutting down roots. A deep pool of more than 10 feet was dug around, and the roots were watered with more than 1000 bags of lime water to prevent germination. Emperor Guangxu was silent. He walked around the grave and wiped his tears.
There are still various rumors among local villagers about this matter. Some people say that hundreds of snakes, large and small, were drilled from the bottom when digging roots. The big ones were more than a foot thick and several feet long. It is also said that it was these snake spirits who were reincarnated for revenge during the Boxer Rebellion. These rumors are based on false information and are obviously nonsense. So, is there anything about cutting down trees?
In order to confirm this, Wang Zhao personally visited the local area and talked with the villagers about ginkgo trees. He was relatively embarrassed to hear all kinds of things. One of the donkey drivers, surnamed Wang, said that he personally carried a small sedan chair to send Emperor Guangxu up the mountain.
The most reliable evidence can be found in the diary of Weng Tong, the master and college student of Emperor Guangxu on the seventh day of May, the 23rd year of Guangxu, which clearly remembers:
There is a ginkgo tree in the garden, which was discovered during the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, like the 23rd incident last month, and was sawed off by imperial edicts.
Weng Tong simply put pen to paper, ignoring the antecedents and only remembering the consequences. It would be confusing if it were not for the records of Wang Xiaohang and others.
Why does Empress Dowager Cixi care about a ginkgo tree? The theory of "Feng Shui" seems far-fetched. Wang Yi-x, an alcoholic, was cautious before his death and never dared to offend her. After his death, he was chased as a "sage", so it seems unnecessary for the Queen Mother to do this to an ancient tree in his garden. So it is also possible that this is because she is determined to reform after taking office, and she is increasingly unwilling to listen.