The Old Summer Palace – China’s Lost Imperial Garden: The World’s Most Exquisite Garden Rediscovered

This is a beautifully illustrated book on all the buildings and gardens of the Old Summer Palace. Known in Chinese as Yuan Ming Yuan ( Garden of Perfect Brightness) construction began in 1707 by Emperor Kangxi as the garden for his son who later bacame Emperor Yongzheng. The 4 succeeding Emperors Qianlong, JiaQing, Daoguang and Xianfeng all stayed in Yuan Ming Yuan. Sadly it was looted by Anglo -French forces and burned down by Anglo forces under the order of Lord Elgin in 1860 , an act which is criminal in nature .

Fortunately the author of this book is able to lead a team to digitally reconstruct the gardens and buildings relying on a painting on silk called Forty Scenes of the Yuan Ming Yuan by court painters in the ninth year of the Qianlong era.

Another excellent book with excellent analysis is A Paradise Lost The Imperial Garden Yuan Ming Yuan by Wong Young Tsu.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *