When it comes to China's top luxury homes, many people may immediately think of a grand mansion located in Beijing's Houhai area, which is impressive for its huge footprint and billions of dollars. However, in fact, the real Chinese prime luxury property dates back 300 years, and each of its pillars is worth as much as a whole set of high-end luxury homes today, and it may be difficult for even the richest people in the world to own them all.
Exactly, "China's No. 1 Mansion" is located in **? What's the story behind its construction?
This article is based on comprehensive and credible sources, and the details will be explained at the end of the article.
This mansion was built by Emperor Qianlong when Emperor Qianlong decided to marry her to Heshen's son, Fengshen Yinde, in order to express his favor for his favorite daughter, the Tenth Princess. In order to marry the princess, he decided to spend a huge amount of money to build an extremely luxurious residence.
He Shen chose a place with excellent feng shui located on the southwest side of Shichahai. The terrain here is open, and you can overlook the towers of the imperial city in the distance; The backrest of the dragon vein of Beijing Xishan, the main building faces south, conforming to the topography; The east side is surrounded by the crystal clear crescent river, and the scenery is beautiful.
According to the view of feng shui at that time, the vicinity of Shichahai is second only to the Forbidden City, and living here will surely gain fame and fortune, and enjoy all the glory and wealth.
He Shen was determined to build his new home on the site.
However, despite the excellent feng shui, many residents have settled here, including some of the most dignitary residences.
But He Shen did not care, and used his power to carry out forced demolition, emptying this land of about 40,000 square meters.
As soon as the plot was chosen, Heshen began to gather top craftsmen from all over the country and brought in high-quality building materials.
At any cost, Heshen introduced hundreds of precious nanmu and fir trees from the south to be used as the main pillars of the building; From the northwest, white marble and bluestone were brought as pedestals; A large number of corridor bricks and glazed tiles were also collected from all over the country;
It is even rumored that he also called the Golden Silk Nanmu ...... from the palace's building materials warehouseMountains of building materials are piled up, craftsmen gather here, and the mansion rises from the ground surrounded by high walls.
Once, when He Shen inspected the construction site and found a few wooden pillars with slight defects, he immediately became furious and demanded that all the wood be replaced, which reflected his extremely strict requirements for building materials.
This attitude of "wealth is in me, and there is no room for loss" runs throughout.
The ingenuity of the craftsmen, the fine carving, the complex design, and the extremely difficult construction were unprecedented at that time.
After four years of hard work, this majestic mansion was finally completed, with two dragons carved on the door and all the roof tiles made of royal yellow and green glass.
Relying on Qianlong's favor, He Shen built this luxurious private residence second only to the imperial palace.
However, this behavior caused the dissatisfaction of the other princes, who thought that how could He Shen, a minister from a civilian background, have a mansion comparable to that of the imperial palace? This was a clear challenge to imperial power.
Several close princes complained privately that He Shen's pursuit of lifelong wealth and nobility might lead to trouble.
Sure enough, after Qianlong's death, Jiaqing succeeded to the throne and immediately launched a blow to He Shen.
Jiaqing first asked He Shen to be in charge of Qianlong's funeral, and when the matter was over, he immediately announced He Shen's crime and ordered the house to be raided. The seized wealth was as high as 800 million taels**, equivalent to the tax revenue of the imperial court for fifteen years at that time, and then He Shen was executed.
After He Shen's death, the luxurious mansion he built by Shichahai was given to his younger brother Yongxuan by Jiaqing.
In fact, Yongxuan coveted this palatial mansion for a long time before He Shen's death.
When he was young, he said at the gatherings of other princes that he had little interest in the throne and only hoped that one day he would inherit Heshen's mansion, which would be his satisfaction.
After dealing with Heshen's affairs, Jiaqing thought of his younger brother Yongxuan's wish and gave him the mansion.
In order to conform to Yongxuan's status as the county king, Jiaqing also instructed the Internal Affairs Office to renovate the mansion according to the standards of the county king, and the mansion was renamed "Qingwang Mansion".
However, considering that He Shen's daughter-in-law Gu Lun and Princess Xiao still lived there, Jiaqing did not give Yongxuan the entire mansion, but only gave him a part of the mansion.
It wasn't until 1823, the third year of Daoguang, that after the death of He Shen's daughter-in-law, Gu Lun and Princess Xiao, that the mansion officially became Yongxuan's private property.
However, by this time, Yongxuan had been dead for many years.
According to the Qing Dynasty's system of succession, Yongxuan's descendants could only inherit the title of auxiliary general, and were no longer suitable to live in such a grand palace.
As a result, Yongxuan's descendants eventually moved out of the mansion.
Yixun's revival.
In 1851, after Emperor Xianfeng ascended the throne, he decided to give this vacant mansion to his younger brother Yixun, and officially named it "Prince Gong's Mansion".
Immediately after Yixun moved in, he summoned the best court craftsmen in the capital to repair and decorate Prince Gong's Mansion according to the standards of the palace.
They repaired the yellow and green glazed tiles and decorated the main hall with a phoenix pattern; The rosewood furniture was re-sanded and oiled, replaced with new brocade upholstery; All the columns have been replaced with rare golden silk nanmu.
Under the management of Yixun, the historic palace of Prince Gong has been rejuvenated with new brilliance, reasserting its splendor and dignity as a royal asset.
However, the good times did not last long, and the conflict between Yixun and the Empress Dowager Cixi eventually intensified, and he gradually lost the trust of the Empress Dowager.
In the second half of his political life, Yixun could only silently live in Prince Gong's mansion, watching it gradually decay and his political ideals disappear.
A century of change from a private mansion to a public park.
After the Xinhai Revolution, Pu Wei, a descendant of Yixun, tried to help restore the Qing dynasty and did not hesitate to use Prince Gong's mansion as collateral.
After several changes of hands, the magnificent palace was finally purchased by a church school in 1925 and converted into a women's college.
At the beginning of liberation, the site was used as a campus for the Teachers' College. In the 50s of the 20th century, China's ** College also briefly moved to Prince Gong's Mansion to run a school.
Due to negligence in management, the ancient buildings of Prince Gong's Mansion were seriously damaged. The garden was partially converted into a factory building, and many precious ancient buildings were destroyed.
The former royal palace was reduced to the residence and workplace of ordinary people.
In the 70s of the 20th century, after the then Prime Minister learned that Prince Gong's Mansion had suffered serious damage, he personally ordered: Prince Gong's Mansion must be protected and open to the public when conditions permit.
Under the special care of the Prime Minister, ** invested heavily in the comprehensive restoration of Prince Gong's Mansion. The units that originally lived here were gradually relocated, and the damaged buildings were restored.
The palace gate, the theater building, the inscriptions, etc. were restored as they were, and Prince Gong's Mansion once again showed the glory of its history.
In July 1988, after six years of restoration work, Prince Gong's Mansion was officially opened to the public.
Today, it has become an important historical site and tourist attraction in Beijing, attracting a large number of tourists every year to visit and experience history.
The architectural art of Prince Gong's Mansion.
Prince Gong's Mansion brings together the essence of classical Chinese court architecture, and its rigorous layout and architectural art have reached a very high level, and is known as the benchmark of Chinese classical garden architecture.
The entire palace of Prince Gong seems to be a villa palace adjacent to the imperial city. The main buildings, such as the main hall and the east and west side halls, completely imitate the design of the imperial palace, showing the ultimate luxury and grandeur.
Most of these buildings consist of two entrances, equipped with hugging buildings, with corridors between each entrance. Its structure is rigorous and its layout is reasonable. The layout from the main hall to the harem and then to the garden became a typical model of court architecture in the Qing Dynasty.
The main hall adopts a single-eaves hilltop design, with layers of height, and the highest point reaches 17 meters. There are seven bays, three of which are the largest, each decorated with elaborate paintings and couplets, and the three in the middle are painted with flying dragons.
The roof design of the east and west side halls is diverse, including the top of the hard mountain, the top of the hanging mountain, the top of the rest of the mountain, etc., which forms a major feature of the court architecture of the Qing Dynasty.
It is worth mentioning that Prince Gong's Mansion used a large number of precious materials such as rosewood and golden silk nan wood in its construction, and these noble woods were usually only used by the royal family.
This reflects the prominent position of the master of Prince Gong's Mansion from the side.
The interior decoration is extremely gorgeous. The walls are carved with dragons and phoenixes, and the beams and pillars are painted with colorful paintings, and their luxury is comparable to that of the imperial palace at that time. These exquisite handicrafts fully demonstrate the glorious achievements of ancient Chinese architecture.
It can be said that Prince Gong's Mansion represents the pinnacle of Chinese architectural art in the 18th century. Its architectural style and artistic achievements have become valuable teaching materials for the study of classical Chinese court architecture.
The historical value of Prince Gong's Mansion.
The reason why Prince Gong's Mansion is known as "China's No. 1 Mansion" is not only because of its historical and cultural value, but also because it has surpassed the status of ordinary mansions and has become a spiritual symbol of the country and the nation, and is the pride of the Chinese nation.
Prince Gong's Mansion has witnessed the entire process of the Qing Dynasty from its heyday to its decline, and is of great historical significance. It is like a living historical fossil, recording the most glorious period of China in the 18th century.
Through it, we are able to get a glimpse of the extravagant life and profligacy of the royalty of the time. These princes and nobles indulged in the glory and wealth brought by the emperor's grace and wealth, and were ignorant of the people's suffering.
At the same time, it also records the turmoil and decay of the late Qing Dynasty. Foreign invasions and internal strife have brought this ancient empire to the end of its history.
Today, Prince Gong's Mansion is no longer the private property of a noble family, but has become a cultural heritage shared by the whole people. We have restored and preserved it, and it has given back to us with the memory of history.
**Ten Thousand Fans Incentive Program It can be said that this ancient mansion, which once reflected the rise and fall of the empire, is now integrated into public life with a new look, becoming a bridge between the past and the future.
We hope that it will continue to develop and become a vivid history textbook that tells the story of China.