What beautiful scenery are there in the Royal Garden?

The stacked stones in the Royal Garden are mountains, which are divided into two areas. There are four groups of stacked stone mountain scenes in the southwest of the garden, all of which are modeled on natural mountains. According to the location and environment of the garden, there are combinations of due west, southwest curved and northwest oblique shapes.

The stacked stones are staggered and well-proportioned. Through the combination of lines and surfaces, strong contrasts such as high and low, curved and straight, clever and clumsy, complex and simple, etc. form a rich variety, with a unique beauty of unity and harmony. form, and constitute multiple small garden spaces filled with artistic atmosphere.

The rock formations are set against the curves of the garden architecture, and stacked stones are combined with flowers, plants and trees to form a courtyard-style garden, which is small, exquisite, quaint and unique. "Zheliang Stone" South Taihu Stone and North Taihu Stone from Fangshan, Beijing are mainly combined ingeniously. They are porous and cavernous, with undulating ripples. The stacked mountains form "a land of several bows, deep streams and secluded ravines, as if they were made by nature."

In the Ming Dynasty, Zeng Mianzhi mentioned in "Wu Feng Lu":

To this day, the rich in Wuzhong use lake rocks to build caves on strange peaks, and even nobles occupy famous islands and chisel them into the hollows. It is extremely wonderful, with precious flowers and exotic trees reflecting in the garden. Although the pavilion is decorated with small basins and islands for fun.

The beauty of the mountains is the soul of the garden landscape.

The large number of stone species in the Imperial Garden is also a major feature. The main stone types include Taihu stone, Yingde stone, Lingbi stone, Yuhua stone, sea pumice, stalactite, painted pottery stone, petrified wood, crystal stone, tiger skin stone, quartzite and sedimentary metamorphic rock. The four famous ancient stones are also in it.

On the west side of Yong Road in front of Tianyimen, there is a strange stone, which is famous for its naturally textured surface. The surface of this strange stone shows the image of an old man bowing down, with his hands arched and his long sleeves drooping, worshiping the stars in the sky devoutly, so it is called the "Moon Worshiping Stone".

There is also a legend that the old man in the pattern is Zhuge Liang. He is raising his hands and focusing on the Big Dipper in the sky, so this stone is also called "Zhuge worships the Big Dipper".

The sea cucumber stone is placed on the east side of the Tianyi Gate of the Imperial Garden. It is made up of a large number of small sea cucumber-shaped stones. The stone is 0.76 meters high and 0.25 meters high. The entire stone body looks like countless sea cucumbers connected end to end, entangled and coiled. The stone is yellowish brown and slightly translucent, making it a rare fine product.

There is no way to verify why this strange stone was formed. However, according to relevant historical records, it was placed when the imperial garden was built during the Jingtai period of the Ming Dynasty. The stone is a quartz crystal cluster, which is indeed rare in the world. of rare stone treasures.

The coral stone stands on the east side of the Tianyi Gate of the Royal Garden, paired with another coral stone on the west side. Coral stone is a fossil formed from the calcareous skeleton of ancient coral polyps after petrification. The surface of this piece of coral stone is antler-shaped and looks very plump, as if the coral is still growing.

The Yun Basin Stone, also known as the Stone Fish Pond, is located in the middle of the Imperial Garden. This stone is 1.9 meters long, green-gray in color, and loose in texture. The whole stone is like a long basin lying horizontally, with a depression in the middle, like a long lake or clouds. Basin, this is a strange stone that grows in limestone caves.

When water continues to erode and flow on the rock wall, calcium carbonate is dissolved in the water, the water containing calcium carbonate slowly evaporates, and the calcium carbonate is deposited. And because water is constantly flowing, cloud-like concave corrugated grooves are formed during the deposition process. This is the formation process of cloud basins. During the Ming Dynasty, Yun Basin contained water and fish in each groove, so it was also called "Stone Fish Pond".

On the stone seat in front of Jiang Xuexuan in the Royal Garden, there stands a 1.3-meter-high thick wooden board, which looks like a piece of rotten wood that has been exposed to the sun for a long time. There are countless small holes eaten by insects on the back, but with the help of hands, Upon touching it, it is indeed stone, ancient petrified wood.

The front of this petrified wood is engraved with a poem written by Qianlong:

If you don’t remember the day you threw yourself into the river, it will be like the year of turning stone.

Knocking on one's own horn, the integrity remains.

The side branches are all withered, and the straight branches are strong.

Although Kang and Qian paid tribute every year, they were inferior to this one.

The poem was written in the first month of Bingxu, Qianlong's reign, which has been more than 200 years ago.

In front of the Jiangxue Pavilion in the Royal Garden, there is a strange stone that looks like a dragon. This stone is 0.8 meters high, blue-grey, with rich wrinkles, smooth lines, and a vivid image. It looks like a galloping blue dragon. The dragon's head looks up at the sky, and it is indescribable. A generation. According to research, it is a treasure among British stones and has a sound.

On the west side of Qin'an Hall in the Imperial Garden, there is a British stone, about 1.48 meters high, 1.4 meters wide and less than 0.3 meters thick. The stone body is rich in changes, like a dragon and a lion, and is unpredictable. The upper part of the stone surface is rough, the lower part is smooth, and there are scattered ravines. The stone body is greenish gray, the quality of the stone is tight, and the sound of hitting it is clear and clear.

Outside the Dongbian Gate on the east side of Qin'an Hall, there is a piece of Lingbi stone, 1.97 meters high, rectangular in shape, with a flat back and crisscrossing ravines and undulations on the front, all caused by water erosion. Make people feel the power of nature. The white marble rectangular base is a square platform from the Yuan Dynasty.

There is a Taihu stone in the southeast of the Imperial Garden, about 4 meters high, with a large top and a small bottom. The holes throughout the body are sparse, the vortices are shallow, the stone quality is uniform, and the color is warm. This stone is placed on a brick pedestal.

The brick altar adopts a hexagonal xumizuo structure. The upper part of the brick altar is surrounded by brick hook rails and twelve hexagonal columns. According to literature, this Taihu stone was moved from another place, but the Taihu stone itself is very beautiful and has an ancient style.

On the west side of the Tianyi Gate of the Royal Garden, there is a bamboo shoot-like stone, only 0.8 meters high, with green and brown colors. In my country's classical gardens, bamboo shoots are usually thin and tall, and massive ones are rare.

All the stone cores on the front of this stone have fallen off, which is a sign of the maturity of the asparagus stone. This stone may have come from the Yunnan Stone Forest. It stands upright on a rectangular octagonal white marble Xumizuo.

The Bent Rabbit Stone is located outside the Chengrui Pavilion in the Royal Garden. The stone is 0.42 meters high, black and gray in color, has a warm surface, a dense texture, and makes a sound when knocked. The stone body contains white rock veins, and looks like a stopped running rabbit when viewed from the side. There is movement in the silence, which is very interesting. It is placed in a white marble carved stone basin. The relief around the basin shows a white rabbit playing among the forest stones, which is very exquisite. Under the basin is a high-waisted stone Xumizuo with lotus flowers.

The pebble road along the passage of the Imperial Garden is made of pebbles of various colors to form various patterns and outlines. Most of these five-color pebbles are quartz stones of various colors. Each pattern has its own independent content, including flowers, birds, insects, fish, characters, stories, trees, jungles, towers and palaces, etc., each of which is unique in its own way. There are about 900 paintings in total, which can be said to be masterpieces of the wisdom of the ancient working people.

Entering the elegant and leisurely Imperial Garden from Qianqing Palace, at the entrance to the west gate of Qiongyuan, there is a Taihu stone standing beside the red wall. It is gray, about 1.63 meters high, and contains thick red and white veins and crystals. The holes in the stone body are interconnected, rich in changes, and the overall shape is rising upwards. The Taihu stone stands on a stone base carved with lotus branches and entangled branches.

There is a lake stone at the southern entrance of the Imperial Garden, which is 1.8 meters high. It is large at the top and small at the bottom. It is based on the bulge at the bottom and is branched into an arch. It stands on the table of the Xumizuo. The stone body is in the shape of a vortex. Overlapping, the holes are connected, exquisite and clear. Under the Taihu Stone is a hexagonal pedestal in the mid-Ming Dynasty. The stone and the pedestal are not the original pair. This Taihu Stone may have been moved here later.

There are many ancient trees in the Royal Garden. According to rough statistics, there are more than 160 trees, most of which are more than 300 years old.

In front of the Qin'an Hall, there is a cypress tree occupying a prominent position. The two branches of the tree are located on both sides of the central axis of the Forbidden City. They merge into one at a height of more than one meter, just as the tree changes above the central axis. For one tree.

According to legend, the two trees automatically became partners, and their hearts were united and unyielding, which moved God and made them merge into one. People called it the Lianli tree, symbolizing pure love, which attracted many people from all over the world. Few infatuated men and women embrace it.

There is an ancient cypress on the east side of Duixiu Mountain, which is called "Yinhou". It is the most famous in the garden. The tree is 7.8 meters high and 0.9 meters in circumference. Although its appearance is not outstanding and its location is not prominent, how did it get this honor?

It is said that one year, Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River. The weather was very hot. All the ministers who accompanied him were sweating, but Qianlong was the only one who felt refreshed and comfortable. After returning to the court, Emperor Qianlong was playing in the garden and came to this tree. An eunuch flattered him and said: This tree withered when the emperor went to Jiangnan. When the emperor came back, the tree became lush again. It seemed that the tree went to the south of the Yangtze River with the emperor.

Qianlong thought that on the way to the south of the Yangtze River, others were sweating profusely, but he was very cool. When the eunuch said this, he must have been secretly shaded by this tree. Ancient cypress is the "shade house". Later, he inscribed "Cypress Tree Row" on it and engraved it on the stone tablet. The tablet is on the west wall of Gaozao Hall next to the tree.

There are many precious ancient trees in the garden, such as Wolong pine and Sophora japonica. Although these ancient trees are old, they are still luxuriant and welcome many people to come and watch them every day.

The Royal Garden is the oldest preserved palace garden. Its scenery characteristics are very different from the general royal gardens with landscape as the theme. It can be summarized into four points.

First, the layout is symmetrical and rigorous. There is a clear axis in the middle of the Imperial Garden, and the main buildings and garden sketches are arranged relative to each other. For example, the buildings in the northwest area of ​​the garden, from Weiyuzhai to Qianqiu Pavilion, and in the northeast area of ​​the garden from Liocaotang to Wanchun Pavilion, all adopt the symmetrical style of one on the left and one on the right, and in pairs, from form to layout. Including the naming of buildings, they also use the method of contrasting east and west, such as golden fragrance vs. jade, floating green vs. clear auspiciousness, eternal spring vs. Qianqiu, etc.

This neat layout and strict symmetry are rare in general garden architecture. The Imperial Garden boldly adopts this form according to local conditions, mainly to coordinate with the layout of the entire Forbidden City.

However, although the architectural form and layout are so symmetrical, due to the different treatments of rockeries, trees, and environmental landscapes, they do not give people a similar feeling. It shows the superb level of ancient Chinese garden art.

Second, there are many ancient and famous trees. The garden has been built for a long time, and there are many ancient pines and cypresses in the garden. Its beautiful and picturesque posture and lush green color add a lot of quaint beauty to this special garden.

The third is the high density of buildings. Generally, there are landscapes and other natural scenery in the gardens, but the Imperial Garden is located deep inside the palace and is restricted by curtains. Influenced by patriarchal etiquette thoughts, it is still an extension of the Forbidden City complex in general. Therefore, there are many buildings in the garden, such as pavilions, halls, and pavilions. , are relatively dense, presenting a special garden style.

The fourth is the colorful stone pavement, which is simple and unique. The corridors in the garden are carefully paved with pebbles of different colors, forming more than 900 different patterns, including characters, flowers, scenery, dramas, allusions, etc. It is endless fun to watch along the road.