The Prince's Residence
Cultural relics in the collection (18 photos) In the southwest corner of the beautiful Shichahai Sea in Beijing, there is a long and quiet street shaded by green willows. In this street and alley, there is a palace, which is the most complete preserved Prince Gong's palace among the existing palaces. The predecessor of Prince Gong's Mansion was originally the residence of He Shen, a powerful minister of the Qianlong Dynasty in the Qing Dynasty, and the residence of Yonglin, the younger brother of Emperor Jiaqing. As the residence of the prince of the Qing Dynasty, Prince Gong's Mansion has a regular architectural layout, sophisticated craftsmanship, and staggered pavilions, which fully embodies the glorious and wealthy style of the royal family and the pure and elegant folk charm. Prince Gong's Mansion consists of two parts: the palace and the garden. It is about 330 meters long from north to south and more than 180 meters wide from east to west. It covers an area of ??about 61,120 square meters, of which the palace occupies 32,260 square meters and the garden occupies 28,860 square meters.
Internal structure
The mansion building is divided into three roads: east, middle and west. Each road consists of a multi-entry quadrangle courtyard running from south to north with a strict central axis. The most important buildings on the middle road are Yin'an Hall and Jiale Hall. The roofs of the halls are made of green glazed tiles, which shows the majesty of the middle road and also reflects the identity of the prince. The main room in the front yard on East Road is called Duofuxuan. In front of the hall, there is a vine that has been growing for more than 200 years. It is still growing well and is extremely rare in the capital. The main room of the back courtyard on the east road is called "Ledaotang", which was the living place of Prince Gong Yixin. The quadrangle courtyard on the West Road is relatively small and exquisite, with the main buildings being Baoguang Room and Xijinzhai. The masterpiece is undoubtedly the tall and magnificent Xijinzhai. There are beautifully carved nanmu partitions in the hall, which were modeled by Heshen in the style of the Ningshou Palace in the Forbidden City (this was Heshen's extravagance and excess, and it was the "twenty-year-old" who was sentenced to death. "one of the great sins"). In the deepest part of the mansion, there is a two-story back building, which is 156 meters long from east to west. There are 88 windows in the back wall, and there are 108 rooms inside, commonly known as "99 and a half rooms", which is taken from the Taoist saying that "it will be full when it is full". meaning.
The garden
It is called "Langrun Garden or Cuijin Garden", commonly known as Prince Gong's Mansion Garden. Wandering in the garden is like walking among mountains and rivers. Echoing the mansion, the garden is also divided into three roads: east, middle and west. The middle road has a white marble arched stone gate in the Western architectural style as the entrance, with the Kangxi Emperor's imperial inscription "福" as the center. There is Dule Peak and the Bat Pond in the front, and there is the Green Sky Hidden and the Bat Hall in the back. The layout is evocative. endless. The grand theater hall on East Road is freshly and beautifully decorated, with purple wisteria flowers in full bloom, making people feel like they are watching a play under a wisteria trellis. The Mingdaozhai at the south end of the theater and five other scenes, including winding paths leading to secluded areas, the Green Column, the Chanting of Fragrance and the Drunken Moon, and the Liubei Pavilion, form a garden within a garden. In the garden, there are towering ancient trees, numerous strange rocks, surrounded by mountains and rivers, pavilions, pavilions, and winding corridors. The garden scenery under the moonlight is ever-changing and unique. Many Chinese and foreign tourists come here in search of the green mountains, clear waters, winding paths and secluded terraces that tell the story of the past. Prince Gong's Mansion is located on Qianhai West Street. It was built between 1776 and 1785. It was originally the private residence of He Shen, a favored minister of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty. After He Shen was confiscated and executed for corruption during the Jiaqing period, the private residence here was donated to Prince Qing. During the Tongzhi Dynasty, because Prince Gong Yixin collaborated with Cixi in launching a coup, the Empress Dowager Cixi donated this house to him and it became Prince Gong's Palace.
Grand scale
Photos of Prince Kung's Mansion (9 photos) Prince Kung's Mansion is large in scale, covering an area of ??about 60,000 square meters. It is divided into two parts: the mansion and the garden, and has 30 various building complexes. There are many places, the layout is exquisite and the style is extraordinary. Its garden is also called Jincui Garden, and its layout and design have a high artistic level. The garden is designed to imitate the Ningshou Palace in the imperial palace. The whole garden is surrounded by "mountain"-shaped rockeries. The east, south and west sides are piled with earth and rocks to form mountains. In the middle, caves and ravines are piled with Fangshan rocks, which is a very advanced technique. The summit platform becomes the highest point in the park. From a high position, you can enjoy the view of the whole garden. Due to the magnificent design of Prince Gong's mansion and gardens, the twists and turns of the rooms and courtyards, the deep and beautiful scenery, and the clear water that used to flow through the garden, it has always been said to be the Rongguo Mansion and the Grand View Garden in "A Dream of Red Mansions". As the residence of the prince of the Qing Dynasty, Prince Gong's Mansion has a regular architectural layout, sophisticated craftsmanship and staggered pavilions, which fully embodies the glorious and wealthy style of the royal family and the pure and elegant folk style. Prince Gong's Mansion is the residence of Prince Gongzhong, the sixth son of Emperor Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty. It was formerly the residence of Heshen, the great scholar during the Qianlong reign.
In the fourth year of Jiaqing (1799), Heshen was convicted and his residence became an official. Emperor Jiaqing gave part of it to his younger brother, Prince Qingxi Yonglin, which became the palace of Prince Qing. Later, Xianfeng took back Prince Qing's Mansion and gave it to his younger brother Yixin, which was called Prince Gong's Mansion. During the Xianfeng and Tongzhi years, it was renovated and a garden was added behind the mansion.
Inscription on Prince Gong’s Mansion
The owner of the palace, Yi Xin, is a first-class nobleman, so his mansion is not only spacious, but also has the highest architectural standards, showing its insurmountable rank. The hallmark is the gatehouse and the bay size of the house. The Prince's Mansion has 5 gatehouses, 7 main halls, 5 back halls, 7 back bedrooms, and side halls on the left and right. There can never be more palaces for princes below the princely level than these numbers. The form of the roof and the color of the roof tiles are also irreplaceable. Edit this paragraph "Half of Qing History"
Prince Gong's Mansion was built during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. It was originally the private residence of the great scholar He Shen. In the early years of Tongzhi, the third-generation owner, Prince Gong, Yi Xin, held important positions such as political king, military foreman and minister. He held great power and became prominent. He built a large mansion and garden, and also repaired and renovated parts of the mansion. The architectural scale and layout of Prince Gong's Mansion that we see now were finally formed at that time. The front half of Prince Gong's Mansion is a magnificent mansion, and the back half is a deep and beautiful classical garden, covering a total area of ??nearly 60,000 square meters. The architecture of his mansion is solemn and solemn, simple and elegant, with bright corridors leading to the ridge, and majestic, second only to the palace where the emperor lives. The Cuijin Garden behind the mansion is surrounded by mountains, with towering ancient trees, winding corridors and pavilions, and is gorgeous and natural. The scenery here is constantly changing and the openings and closings are well-organized. It is indeed a model of Chinese garden architecture. According to existing literature records, on this geomantic treasure land located on the west bank of the Qianhai Sea in Beijing and surrounded by "coiled dragon water", there was a large-scale temple in the Yuan and Ming dynasties, which was full of incense and tourists. Even the emperor came here to worship the Buddha and offer incense. Around the middle of the 16th century, the temple gradually fell into disuse and was reduced to a supply factory for the Ming Dynasty. After the Qing Dynasty took control of Beijing, several courtyards of varying sizes were built here for the residence of ordinary bannermen such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Around 40 years of Qianlong’s reign, He Shen, who was very popular in front of the emperor, fell in love with this geomantic treasure land surrounded by water, connected to the Western Mountains in the distance, and not far from the “Emperor’s Home”. So he purchased many properties here at high prices and built the famous "Hedi". Prince Gong's Mansion is known as "half of the history of the Qing Dynasty", which is closely related to the three generations of owners who lived here. As everyone knows, the first-generation palace lord He Shen was a prime minister and a bachelor in the late Qianlong period. He was also a famous corrupt official in history. He was very eye-catching in the history of the Qing Dynasty, and there were countless legends about him. In particular, his son Fengshen Yinde later married Emperor Qianlong's youngest daughter Gu Lun and Princess Xiao, making this mansion a de facto princess palace for a while... In the fourth year of Jiaqing, He Shen died for his crime. Emperor Jiaqing then transferred the mansion to his younger brother Yonglin, Prince of Qingjun. Yong Lin is probably the most fond of this mansion among the previous owners. As early as when Heshen was in power, all the princes of Qianlong got together to discuss that no matter who became emperor in the future, Heshen would be "dealt with". However, the seventeenth prince Yonglin said: "No matter which brother becomes emperor in the future, Heshen will be killed." Emperor, as long as you give me this mansion in Heshen, I will be satisfied!" Speaking of Yonglin, many people may not be familiar with it, but when it comes to his grandson, he signed the "Xin Chou" with the Eight-Power Allied Forces together with Li Hongzhang! The Qing Prince Yi Kuang of the Treaty is probably well known to everyone. Yikuang is also a famous corrupt official in modern Chinese history, but compared with the group of cowardly and incompetent princes Beile in the late Qing Dynasty, he is still a person who dares to take responsibility and can be entrusted with important tasks. Therefore, since the Tongzhi Dynasty, Yikuang has been favored by the Empress Dowager Cixi. Before Xianfeng gave the mansion to Prince Gong, he had been living here as a general of the auxiliary state.
As for Prince Gong Yixin, he was one of the most important political figures in modern Chinese history. He participated in the Second Opium War and almost all subsequent conflicts (between 1853 and 1898). During the major political events, the "Xinyou Coup", it was he who helped Cixi to the throne of "listening to politics behind the curtain"... It is no exaggeration to say that without Yi, the entire modern history of China, and even later Chinese history, would have been rewritten. .