What are the architectural layout features of the Imperial Garden?

The Royal Garden is located at the northernmost part of the central axis of the Forbidden City in Beijing, behind the Palace of Kunning. Built in 1420, it is called "the back garden of the palace". Later generations added many repairs, but all of them basically retained the basic pattern when they were first built, and it was renamed the Royal Garden in the Qing Dynasty.

There are many temples, trees and stones in the garden, all of which are relics of the Ming Dynasty. The imperial garden was originally built for the rest and enjoyment of emperors and queens, but it also has the functions of offering sacrifices, offering sacrifices, collecting books and reading.

The Imperial Garden is located at the northern end of the central axis of the Forbidden City, with Kunning Gate in the south connected with the last three palaces, Qiongyuan East Gate and Qiongyuan West Gate on the left and right, which can connect the six palaces in the east and west, that is, the archway gate and Shunzhen Gate surrounded by Jifu Gate, Yanhe Gate and Chengguang Gate in the north, opposite to Shenwu Gate on the northernmost border of the Forbidden City.

The Royal Garden covers an area of 12000 square meters. The buildings in the park adopt a symmetrical layout. The middle road is a courtyard with double eaves, with a gold vase as the main building.

The buildings on the east and west roads are basically symmetrical, and the buildings on the east road are Dui Xiushan Yujing Pavilion, Li Zaotang Pavilion, Fu Bi Pavilion, Wanchun Pavilion and Jiang Xuexuan. There are Yanhuige, Weiyuzhai, Chengruiting, Qian Qiu Pavilion, Yangxingzhai, Shen Si Temple, Jingting and Lutai on the west road.

The famous Duixiushan Mountain is the climbing place of the Double Ninth Festival in the palace, with unique stacked stones, winding roads, stone carvings and dragons spraying water below, and a royal pavilion built on it, overlooking the surrounding scenery.

The imperial gardens mainly include Kunning Gate, Qin 'an Hall, Chengguang Gate and Tianyimen. Kunning Gate, located at the northern end of Neiting Middle Road, is the north gate of the Imperial Garden. It was built in the early Ming Dynasty, 1535, and it was renamed Shunzhen Gate because it was moved to the center of Houbei Corridor of Kunning Palace. Shunzhen door consists of three glazed doors along the wall, each glass door is equipped with two solid couch doors, and each door has nine doornails vertically and horizontally.

Outside the gate is Beiheng Street, facing Shenwumen across the street. The south of the gate is opposite to the city light gate, and there is an east-west glazed gate on the left and right of the gate, named Yanhe Gate and Jifu Gate. These three doors are connected by a low wall with a glazed roof and surrounded by Shunzhen Gate, forming a pocket courtyard.

Shunzhen Gate is an important passage from the Imperial Palace to Shenwu Gate, which is forbidden for no reason. Empress goes to the Sacrifice Ceremony of Xianyuan Silkworm Altar in Xiyuan or goes to Yuanmingyuan and Shouhuang Hall, and the emperor sometimes passes through this gate.

In addition, during the period of Qin 'an Temple Dojo, Taoist priests are open at any time, but they must be strictly checked and no idle people are allowed to enter or leave. In the Ming dynasty, if every imperial concubine died, the coffin was sent from the right door of Shunzhen Gate. In the Qing dynasty, the relatives and concubines of the harem were ordered to kiss here, and they also entered this door when recruiting.

Qin 'an Hall is located in the center of the royal garden, on the north-south axis, and is the main building in the garden. Qin 'an Hall was built in Ming Dynasty. In Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty, a wall was added to form its own pattern. In Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty, Bao Xia was added in front of the hall.

Qin 'an Hall is dedicated to a mysterious god, also known as Zhenwu Emperor. Legend has it that Xuanwu is the god of the north, representing the seven nights in the north among the twenty-eight stars, showing a tortoise-snake shape. In the five elements of yin and yang, the north belongs to water and the color is black, which protects the buildings in the Forbidden City from fire.

Emperor Yongle, the founder of Ming Dynasty, claimed to be the reincarnation of Zhenwu Emperor when he was 500 years old. Under his impetus, Zhenwu Emperor's belief in the palace was particularly popular.

Every year in beginning of spring, Changchun, beginning of autumn, beginning of winter and other festivals, the emperor will come here to burn incense and salute, praying for the water god to bless the palace and eliminate fires.

The top of the temple is a double-eaved roof, and the white marble railings around the temple base are exquisite stone carvings of the Forbidden City. Lianlibai, which forms an arch above Yong Road in front of the temple, is also one of the Gong Zhongqi trees.

Qin 'an Hall is the only Taoist temple located on the meridian of Beijing's central axis. In the Qing Dynasty, on New Year's Day, a fighting altar and Dojo were set up here, and the emperor personally came to light incense and salute.

There is a light-bearing gate in the north of Qin 'an Temple, and there is a glazed archway gate in the middle, which is called the light-bearing gate. To the north of the door, there is a pair of clay sculptures of gold bronze statues in the door. The door is connected with the low walls on the left and right sides. The low walls are only above the height of people, but they are laid very luxuriously. There are blue bricks under the shoulders, earth-red walls and a row of glass arches under the yellow glass walls.

The city wall extends from east to west, bends to the north, and then connects with a archway gate, namely Yanhe Gate in the east, Jifumen Gate in the west and Shunzhen Gate in the north. The four gates form a garden space. It has become a unique landscape of royal gardens, which is different from other ancient gardens in China. The natural scenery here, such as flower gates and rockeries, is bound by walls and halls, showing a kind of neat beauty.

The south gate of Qin 'an Hall is Tianyi Gate, which was built by Emperor Jiajing when he added the wall of Qin 'an Hall. Formerly known as "Tianyimen", it was changed to "Tianyimen" in Qing Dynasty.

According to the ancient theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, the north belongs to water. Qin 'an Hall is located at the northern end of the central axis of the Forbidden City, and its courtyard door is named "Tianyi", which means "Yi Tian Shui Sheng" in the Book of Changes, corresponding to the Five Elements Theory.

In addition, due to the repeated fires in the Forbidden City during Jiajing period, the walls and gates of Qin 'an Hall were built under this background, and the gates were inscribed by Emperor Jiajing, which obviously meant to pray for peace.

Tianyimen sits facing south, and the main body is blue bricks, and the bricks are ground and stitched, with exquisite craftsmanship. There are two red painted palace doors in the middle of the single-hole ticket door, and nine bronze gold-plated doornails are embedded in the doors. The yellow glazed tile rests on the top of the mountain, and under the eaves of the green glazed tile, the rafters, beams and buckets of the wooden structure are imitated. Erfang color painting is a kind of spiral color painting with typical Ming characteristics, which is the predecessor of spiral color painting in Qing Dynasty.

On both sides of Tianyimen, there are colored glass shadow walls connected with the courtyard wall. The box body and fork angle of the shadow wall are decorated with colored glass cranes and clouds, which is exquisite in workmanship. There is a bronze gold-plated plaque on the left and right in front of the door, and a bronze incense burner is set in the middle of the imperial road. The door is facing a cypress tree, lush and unpretentious.

Tianyimen is a rare blue brick building in the Forbidden City. On the one hand, it intuitively reflects the desire to avoid fire and effectively plays a role in fire prevention. On the other hand, the elegant color of blue bricks is also in harmony with the garden environment of the imperial garden. Huaying Gate in the northwest corner of the Forbidden City is exactly the same as Tianyi Gate.

Daizaotang is located in the northeast of the Imperial Garden and east of Xiushan. It was built during the Qianlong period and was mainly used to store the essence of Sikuquanshu, in which Daizaotang meant to spread and spread, and Daizaotang meant to promote culture.

The building faces south against the wall, with five rooms wide, yellow glazed tile hard mountain roof, and a small door on the west wall of the hall, which can lead to the west wing. There are only a few exquisite pavilions in the garden, and the space is spacious.

Out of the corridor in front of the hall, the door opens in the bright room and the sill window is between the secondary tips. Bookshelves are placed indoors for the collection of books in the palace. After 1779, The Four Ku Quan Shu Hui Yao was stored here for Emperor Qianlong to read at any time.

The plaque of Daizao Hall was inscribed by Emperor Qianlong with the words "Daizao expresses China", and the couplet is:

The court paved the business around the fragrant carpet;

There is an ancient joy in the seat.

Among them, the word "Yunbian" refers to the perennial herb turnip, which was often put in books by the ancients to prevent insects from eating, so it was called an ancient book by Yunbian. The couplet outside Simon is:

Left and right books are quiet and wonderful;

In spring and autumn, there is a beautiful place.

In the West Hall, the couplets inscribed by Emperor Qianlong are "Plain Wind" and:

Never older;

You can write new poems.

There are ancient cypress pagodas, strange stones and jade seats, bronze statues of Jinlin and potted flower piles in the park, which increase the changes of the landscape in the park and enrich the landscape level. The ground of the imperial garden is inlaid with pebbles of various colors, forming a colorful pattern symbolizing happiness, luck and longevity.

Fu Bi Pavilion is located in the northeast of the Imperial Garden, with the algae hall built against the north wall of the garden in the north and Wanchun Pavilion in the south. The exhibition hall is square in plane and has three bays, with a total width of about 8 meters. There is Baoxia in front of it, and there is a rectangular pool below, which is long from east to west. The pool spans a single-hole stone bridge, and the pavilion is located on the bridge.

The tops of the pavilion and Baoxia are decorated with green glazed tiles, and the top of the pyramid-shaped roof is covered with glazed treasures. Two liters of leaves in a bucket, safety board under eaves, square column. The east and west sides of the pavilion are stone railings, which are also the railings of the bridge. There are two steps in the middle of the stone railings on the north and south sides, which serve as the entrance and exit of the pavilion.

There is an octagonal algae well in the center of the ceiling in the square pavilion, with double dragons playing with pearls, surrounded by a hundred flowers ceiling, Soviet-style colored paintings under the eaves, and Baoxia on three sides.

The water in the pool is drawn from the moat, and the wall of the pool is carved with a stone pan head outlet. The hibiscus in the pool comes out of the water and swims with fish, adding fresh and lively interest to the scenery of the imperial garden.

Wanchun Pavilion was built on the east side of 1536 Royal Garden. The pavilion is a double-eave, below the upper circle, which is exactly the saying that "the sky is round." The east corresponds to spring, hence the name Wanchun, which means Changchun in heaven and earth.

Yan Hui Pavilion is located in the northwest of the Imperial Garden, next to the palace wall in the north. When it was first built in the Ming Dynasty, it was called Qingwangge. When the Qing Dynasty was rebuilt, it was supposed to stay in the glory of the sunset.

The pavilion is located in the south of the north and has three bays. The appearance is two floors, and there is a dark building between the two floors. Yellow glazed tiles are located on the top of the mountain. The front eaves open the door, the lamp frame has 6 doors, and the second light frame sill window. Surrounded by cloisters on the upper floor of the pavilion, it is exquisite and light.

In the Qing Dynasty, the imperial court also held an activity to select women from the Eight Banners to enter the palace.

Yan Hui Pavilion is located within the palace wall, and forms a balanced pattern with the Xiushan in the east of the garden. It is said that on sunny days in winter, you can also see the snow in the western hills. In the Qing Dynasty, emperors Qianlong, Daoguang and Xianfeng all left poems chanting this pavilion.

Yan Hui Gexi, Wei Yuzhai was renamed Yufangxuan during Jiajing period, and the name of Wei Yuzhai was restored in Qing Dynasty.

Wei Yuzhai sits facing south, with five rooms wide, hard mountain roof and yellow glazed tiles. Open the door in the morning and pick the window as a branch between times. There is a fish pond and a mid-span arch bridge in front of Weiyuzhai, and a pavilion named Cheng Rui is built on the bridge, which was used as a Buddhist temple in Yongzheng of Qing Dynasty.

Cheng Ruiting is located in the northwest of the Imperial Garden, with Wei Yuzhai on the north wall of the Imperial Garden and Qian Qiu Pavilion on the south. The exhibition hall is square in plane and has three bays, with a total width of about 8 meters. There is Baoxia in front and a rectangular pool under it, which is long from east to west. The pool spans the single-hole stone bridge, and the pavilion is located on the bridge.

The pavilion and Baoxia roof are decorated with green glazed tiles, and the pyramid roof is equipped with glazed tile roof, two-liter bucket and Anhua board cornice. The stone railings on the east and west sides of the pavilion are also the railings of the bridge, and the banana leaves see the stigma. There are steps on the north and south sides of the exhibition hall as entrances and exits. There is a dragon-patterned wellhead ceiling in the square pavilion, an octagonal algae well with dragon play beads in the middle, dragon color paintings under the eaves and Baoxia on three sides.

South of the Cheng Rui Pavilion is the Qianqiu Pavilion, which was built at 1536. The plane of the pavilion is a shape, which consists of a square pavilion outside the building on all sides. There are white jade steps in front of the building, surrounded by Bai Yushi railings. The green glass sill wall is decorated with brocade on the back of a yellow turtle. The sill window and the door center are three-handed and six-handed, and dragons are painted on the beams. Double-eaves pyramid roof, the lower eaves should be single-step and three-step, and the lower eaves should be round, and the single-step and five-step should be used.

Round pyramid-shaped roof, Ming called "an umbrella" type, yellow glazed tile and bamboo tile. Baoding is composed of a colored glass vase supported by a gold-plated canopy. The roof below the upper ring takes the shape of an ancient hall imitating the "circle".

The top of the pavilion is painted with double phoenixes, and the algae well is built with golden eagles and pearls in its mouth. The two pavilions are colorful and beautifully shaped, making them the most pavilions in the palace. Qian Qiu Pavilion, Yangxin Zhai, Shen Si Temple, Jingting and Lutai.

There are two well pavilions in the imperial garden, which are located in the south of Wanchun Pavilion and Qianqiu Pavilion respectively, corresponding to the east and west.

The plane of the pavilion is square, with four pillars carved with lotus flowers, which are 1.9 meters wide, surrounded by stone railings and stone drainage tanks, and the well is in the center of the pavilion, all made of white marble. A beam in the east draws flowers and plants, and a sea bamboo in the west.

Jingting is characterized by a "roof" at the top and an open hole in the middle. Its shape is along the plane of the well, facing the wellhead below. In order to get light to see the water surface in the well, it is also convenient to dig the well and facilitate the long pole to go up and down.

Another feature of the Royal Garden Pavilion is that the roof of the square building is octagonal. The shape of the roof is changed by using a cantilever beam at the top of four pillars and hanging another cantilever beam at both ends of the cantilever beam, so the square becomes eight directions. The roof of the octagonal pyramid is flat in the middle, with an octagonal hole, covered with yellow glazed tiles, eight diagonal kisses and eight ridges, with immortals and animals at both ends of the ridge.

There are two cross bars in the pavilion in the west, with pulleys in the middle, which is the relic of drawing water in the past. There are many well pavilions in the palace, but they are unique with their exquisite structure and petite and exquisite shape.

Xiushan was also established in the Ming Dynasty. Later, it was demolished at the command of God Zhu Yijun. In the same year, Dui Xiushan was built on its foundation, made of Taihu stone, with a height of14m. A pavilion named "Yujingge" was built at the top of the mountain.

The square corner of the pavilion is crowded with gold treasures. From the pavilion, you can overlook the Palace Museum, Jingshan and Xiyuan. The mountain is in the north of the palace wall and is about 10 meter high.

There is a coupon cave door in the middle of the front at the foot of Shidie Mountain. There is a plaque named "Duixiu" on the forehead of the cave gate, written in Manchu and Chinese. There is a cave in the door, and a brick dome-shaped stone dragon caisson.

The names "Yujingge" and "Duixiu" were given by the Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and the old names of the Ming Dynasty were retained by the Qing Dynasty. At the foot of the east mountain, the stone wall is also engraved with the word "cloud root" inscribed by Emperor Qianlong to appreciate the beauty of the layered clouds on the stone mountain.

Although Duixiushan Mountain is a rockery, Taihu stones of different sizes and shapes have been carefully designed and skillfully used by craftsmen, and have risen from the ground in a relatively narrow area and accumulated into rugged and steep mountains.

Some stones on the mountain are shaped like chickens, dogs, pigs, monkeys, horses, rabbits and other animals, lying or standing, with different postures, attracting people to try and guess, which increases the interest of viewing.

Towering high on the mound of Xiushan, Yujingge is an excellent place to overlook the scenery in the palace. It used to be the former site of the flower viewing hall in the Ming Dynasty, and it was converted into a rockery in the Wanli period. There is a road between the east and west rocks of the mountain, and you can reach the royal pavilion at the top of the mountain by climbing the stairs.

The pavilion is square in plane, with four pillars, a bucket and two leaves, and a pyramid-shaped roof. Covered with green glazed tile, inlaid with yellow glazed tile, gilded, surrounded by partition doors. There are white marble railings around. There is a ceiling algae well in the pavilion and a throne in the south.

Yujingge is the place where emperors and empresses climb on the ninth Double Ninth Festival of the ninth lunar month.

Jiang Xuexuan is located in the southeast corner of the Imperial Garden. The doors and windows of Yixuexuan are all carved with nanmu, and the pattern of "Long life without borders" is carved on the window lattice. Emperor Qianlong often went to Jiang Xuexuan to recite poems as a tribute.

At that time, there were five begonia trees in front of Jiang Xuexuan. Whenever the petals fall, they fall like red snowflakes one after another, so they are named Yixuexuan. Emperor Qianlong once wrote the poem "A hundred years of snow, five forbidden gardens". There is a cluster of extremely rare Taiping flowers in the glass flower bed in front of the porch, which was moved from Henan by order of the Western Empress Dowager in the late Qing Dynasty and planted here.

Yangxingzhai is a pavilion-style library. After the last emperor Puyi abdicated, he hired a teacher to teach him English and mathematics.

Jiang Xuexuan's doors and windows are all nanmu, without any oil ornaments. Columns, frames, beams and squares are decorated with bamboo colored paintings, which are simple and elegant. The glass flower bed system in front of the porch is quite exquisite. There are mountains of stones in the altar, and precious flowers and trees such as peony are planted. It turns out that there are five begonia trees in front of the porch. Whenever the petals fall, they are like colorful flowers in falling snowflakes, hence the name Jiang Xuexuan.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Cixi ordered the Taiping flower to be moved from Henan to replace the ancient begonia. In front of the flower bed stands an ancient wooden stone pillar engraved with a poem by Emperor Qianlong, which is also very rare.

Yangxingzhai is located in the southwest corner of the Imperial Garden, behind the palace wall. Zhai is a two-story pavilion, facing east from west, surrounded by piles of stones in front of Zhai. 1754, three rooms are connected forward at both ends of the building and converted into a turret. The building plane is concave, corresponding to the positive concave shape of Jiang Xuexuan in the east of the garden.

Qing Jiaqing and Emperor Daoguang often came here, and Emperor Puyi of Xun Qing arranged for his English teacher, Johnston, to live here.

Yanhe Gate in the Imperial Garden

Bronze statue of Royal Garden