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95-607: During the Second Opium War , French and British troops captured the palace on 6 October 1860, looting and destroying the imperial collections over the next few days. As news emerged that an Anglo-French delegation had been imprisoned by the Qing government , with 19 delegation members being sentenced to death, the British High Commissioner to China, James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin , retaliated by ordering

190-526: A British ship and still flew the British flag at the time of its detention, though its registration had expired. Its captain, Thomas Kennedy, who was aboard a nearby vessel at the time, reported seeing Chinese marines pull the British flag down from the ship. The British consul in Canton, Harry Parkes , contacted Ye Mingchen , imperial commissioner and Viceroy of Liangguang , to demand the immediate release of

285-496: A colossal undertaking, and no rebuilding of above-the-ground structures has been approved. However, the lakes and waterways in the eastern half of the gardens have been dug up again and refilled with water, while hills around the lakes have been cleared of brushwood, recreating long-forgotten vistas. Several temples located inside the Old Summer Palace grounds have also been refurbished and rebuilt. In February 2005, work

380-652: A few buildings in Tibetan and Mongol styles, reflecting the diversity of the Qing Empire. Initial construction of the Old Summer Palace began in 1707 during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor . It was intended as a gift for the emperor's fourth son, Prince Yong (the future Yongzheng Emperor ), who would greatly expand the Imperial Gardens in 1725. The Yongzheng Emperor also introduced the waterworks of

475-465: A new wave of painters such as Fang Lijun and musicians such as Fa Zi on the site before it was shut down by the government and many artists relocated to the Songzhuang area outside of Beijing. Debates in the 1990s arose regarding restoration and development issues and a more recent environmental controversy brought a new political life to the park as it became a symbol of China's "national wound". In

570-522: A population of over 1,000,000 by less than 6,000 troops, resulted in the British and French forces suffering 15 killed and 113 wounded. 200–650 of the defenders and inhabitants became casualties. Ye Mingchen was captured and exiled to Calcutta , India, where he starved himself to death. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, there was a possible attempt to poison John Bowring and his family in January, known as

665-721: A result of the torture. On the night of 5 October, French units diverted from the main attack force towards the Old Summer Palace. At the time, the palace was occupied by only some eunuchs and palace maids; the Xianfeng Emperor and his entourage had already fled to the Chengde Mountain Resort in Hebei . Although the French commander Charles Cousin-Montauban assured his British counterpart, James Hope Grant , that "nothing had been touched", extensive looting of

760-643: A treaty from the Qing court, and on 20 May 1858, captured the Taku Forts , stormed Tianjin , and threatened the capital Beijing . The Qing asked for peace, and signed the Treaty of Tientsin with Great Britain and France in 1858. However, the Xianfeng Emperor refused to ratify the treaty, after which the Qing general Sengge Rinchen restarted the war with the British and French that month. Allied reinforcements sailed from Hong Kong , and his troops were defeated. As

855-612: A vandal-like manner most valuable property which [could] not be replaced for four millions. We got upward of £48 apiece prize money ... I have done well. The [local] people are very civil, but I think the grandees hate us, as they must after what we did the Palace. You can scarcely imagine the beauty and magnificence of the places we burnt. It made one's heart sore to burn them; in fact, these places were so large, and we were so pressed for time, that we could not plunder them carefully. Quantities of gold ornaments were burnt, considered as brass. It

950-764: Is thicker than water ", and provided covering fire to protect the British convoy's retreat. The failure to take the Taku Forts was a blow to British prestige, and anti-foreign resistance reached a crescendo within the Qing imperial court. Once the Indian Mutiny was finally quelled, Sir Colin Campbell , commander-in-chief in India, was free to amass troops and supplies for another offensive in China. A 'soldiers' general', Campbell's experience of casualties from disease in

1045-685: The China Daily . It is still debated in China whether to apply for an inclusion of the Old Summer Palace on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites . The ruins of the Old Summer Palace remain open to the public and are an important tourist attraction in Haidian District , the Yuanmingyuan Park . They can be accessed from Yuanmingyuan Park station on Line 4 of the Beijing Subway . Hundreds more photographs of

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1140-577: The Arrow incident (and the British military response) became the subject of controversy. The British House of Commons on 3 March passed a resolution by 263 to 249 against the Government saying: That this House has heard with the concern of the conflicts which have occurred between the British and Chinese authorities on the Canton River; and, without expressing an opinion as to the extent to which

1235-659: The Convention of Peking with the alliance on 24 October 1860, thus ratifying the Treaty of Tientsin and bringing the Second Opium War to an end. During and after the Second Opium War, the Qing government was also forced to sign treaties with Russia, such as the Treaty of Aigun and the Convention of Peking . As a result, China ceded more than 1.5 million square kilometres (0.58 million square miles) of territory to Russia in its north-east and north-west. With

1330-525: The Esing Bakery incident . However, if it was deliberate, the baker who had been charged with lacing bread with arsenic bungled the attempt by putting an excess of the poison into the dough, such that his victims vomited sufficient quantities of the poison that they had only a non-lethal dose left in their system. Criers were sent out with an alert, preventing further injury. When known in Britain,

1425-614: The Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione with Michel Benoist responsible for the fountains and waterwork. Qianlong Emperor became interested in the architectural project after seeing an engraving of a European fountain, and employed Castiglione and Benoist to carry out the work to satisfy his taste for exotic buildings and objects. Western-style palaces, pavilion, aviaries, a maze, fountains, basins, and waterworks as well as perspective paintings organized as an outdoor theatre stage were constructed. A striking clock fountain

1520-666: The Old Summer Palace in Beijing , China . In 1744, the Qianlong Emperor commissioned a set of forty paintings from two court artists, Shen Yuan and Tangdai, and a calligrapher, Wang Youdun. The paintings, currently in the collection of Bibliothèque nationale de France , are among the few remaining visual records of the Yuanmingyuan prior to the sack by French and British troops in 1860. Twenty-four out of

1615-628: The Second Anglo-Chinese War or Arrow War, was fought between the United Kingdom and France against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major conflict in the Opium Wars , which were fought over the right to import opium to China, and resulted in a second defeat for the Qing and the forced legalisation of the opium trade. It caused many Chinese officials to believe that conflicts with

1710-501: The right to own property , and the right to evangelize . Forty Scenes of the Yuanmingyuan From Misplaced Pages, the 💕 Painting series Forty Scenes of the Yuanmingyuan [REDACTED] Year 1744 Location France [REDACTED] [ edit on Wikidata ] The painting series Forty Scenes of the Yuanmingyuan depicts historically recognized vistas in

1805-478: The "Courtyard of Universal Happiness" which was a mock village where the imperial family could interact with shopkeepers, again eunuchs in disguise. During the Qianlong Emperor 's reign, the second expansion was well underway and the number of scenic spots increased to 50 (the emperor personally directed the construction process). The splendors of the palace and the grounds were depicted in the Forty Scenes of

1900-621: The 16th-century Li Wei of the Ming Dynasty built the Qinghua Yuan estate at the site. The most visible architectural remains of the Old Summer Palace can be found in the Western mansions (Xiyang Lou) section of 18th-century European-style palaces, fountains and formal gardens. These structures, built partly of stone but mainly with a Chinese infrastructure of timber columns, coloured tiles and brick walls, were planned and designed by

1995-542: The 1890s and after 1900 the palace was used as a veritable builder's yard for anyone who wanted construction materials. Entire buildings were built of materials taken from the Yuanming Yuan and smart Peking houses were adorned with sculptures and architectural elements plundered from the site. Like the Forbidden City , no commoner had ever been allowed into the Old Summer Palace, as it was used exclusively by

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2090-597: The American and Chinese governments signed an agreement for U.S. neutrality in the Second Opium War. Throughout 1857, British forces began to assemble in Hong Kong, joined by a French force. In December 1857 they had sufficient ships and men to raise the issue of the non-fulfilment of the treaty obligations by which the right of entry into Canton had been accorded. Parkes delivered an ultimatum, supported by Hong Kong governor Sir John Bowring and Admiral Sir Michael Seymour , threatening on 14 December to bombard Canton if

2185-1641: The Beauty of the Hills Chinese : 接 秀 山 房 ; pinyin : Jiēxiù shānfáng [REDACTED] There Is Another Cave Of Heaven Chinese : 別 有 洞 天 ; pinyin : Bié yǒu dòngtiān [REDACTED] Double Reflection and Sound of the Lute Chinese : 夾 鏡 鳴 琴 ; pinyin : Jiājìng míngqín [REDACTED] Vast Empty Clear Mirror Chinese : 涵 虛 朗 鑒 ; pinyin : Hánxū lǎngjiàn [REDACTED] Boundless Impartiality Chinese : 廓 然 大 公 ; pinyin : Kuòrán dàgōng [REDACTED] Sitting Rocks and Winding Stream Chinese : 坐 石 臨 流 ; pinyin : Zuòshí línliú [REDACTED] Distillery and Lotus Pond Chinese : 麴 院 風 荷 ; pinyin : Qūyuàn fēnghé [REDACTED] Deep Vault of Heaven (The Princes’ School) Chinese : 洞 天 深 處 ; pinyin : Dòngtiān shēnchù References [ edit ] Footnotes [ edit ] ^ Li, Lillian. "The Garden of Perfect Brightness – 1: The Yuanmingyuan as Imperial Paradise (1700-1860)" . MIT Visualizing Cultures . Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Retrieved 9 March 2013 . ^ Wang Daocheng (2005) in "Should Yuanmingyuan Be Rebuilt?", People's Daily Online Sources [ edit ] For 40 scenes in reduced size reproduction, and Chinese language comments about

2280-563: The British a day later. With the Qing army devastated, the Xianfeng Emperor fled the capital and left behind his brother, Prince Gong , to take charge of peace negotiations. Xianfeng first fled to the Chengde Summer Palace and then to Rehe Province . Anglo-French troops began looting the Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) and Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) immediately (as they were full of valuable artwork). After

2375-466: The British bombarding at intervals, causing fires. On 5 January 1857, the British returned to Hong Kong. On 3 March 1857, the British government lost a Parliamentary vote regarding the Arrow incident and what had taken place at Canton to the end of the previous year. This defeat led to a general election in April 1857 which increased the government's majority. In April, the British government asked

2470-579: The British faithfully and cheerfully... At the assault of the Peiho Forts in 1860 they carried the French ladders to the ditch, and, standing in the water up to their necks, supported them with their hands to enable the storming party to cross. It was not usual to take them into action; they, however, bore the dangers of a distant fire with great composure, evincing a strong desire to close with their compatriots, and engage them in mortal combat with their bamboos." After taking Tianjin on 23 August 1860,

2565-656: The British were delayed by the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , they followed up the Arrow Incident in 1856 and attacked Guangzhou from the Pearl River . Viceroy Ye Mingchen ordered all Chinese soldiers manning the forts not to resist the British incursion. After taking the fort near Canton with little effort, the British Army attacked Canton. The capture of Canton, on 1 January 1858, a city with

2660-744: The Chinese capital. The Anglo-French forces insisted on landing at Taku instead of Beitang and escorting the diplomats to Beijing. On the night of 24 June 1859, a small group of British forces blew up the iron obstacles that the Chinese had placed in the Baihe River. The next day, the British forces sought to forcibly sail into the river, and shelled the Taku Forts. Low tide and soft mud prevented their landing, however, and accurate fire from Sengge Rinchen's cannons sank four gunboats and severely damaged two others. American Commodore Josiah Tattnall III , though under orders to maintain neutrality, declared " blood

2755-586: The Chinese government has tried to recover them, only a few statuettes from the Garden of Eternal Spring have actually been returned. Seven of the 21 columns displayed at the KODE Art Museums in Bergen , Norway were returned to Peking University in 2014 as part of a deal set up by alumnus Huang Nubo, a real estate developer who donated 10 million Norwegian kroner (US$ 1.6 million) to the museum, according to

2850-621: The Clouds Chinese : 多 稼 如 雲 ; pinyin : Duōjia rúyún [REDACTED] Fish Leap and Birds Fly Chinese : 魚 躍 鳶 飛 ; pinyin : Yúyuè yuānfēi [REDACTED] Village of Distant Northern Mountains Chinese : 北 遠 山 村 ; pinyin : Běi yuǎn shān cūn [REDACTED] Elegant Color of the Western Peaks Chinese : 西 峰 秀 色 ; pinyin : Xifēng xiùsè [REDACTED] Library of

2945-667: The Dutch-American Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest , and the Frenchman Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de Guignes . Both published complementary accounts of the mission. Titsingh died before he could publish his version of the events. In 1860, during the Second Opium War , a combined Anglo-French expeditionary force, having marched inland from the coast at Tianjin (Tientsin) , arrived in Beijing (Peking) . In mid-September, two envoys, Henry Loch and Harry Parkes , went ahead of

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3040-582: The First Opium War is considered to have been the beginning of modern Chinese history. Between the two wars, repeated acts of aggression against British subjects led in 1847 to the Expedition to Canton which assaulted and took, by a coup de main , the forts of the Bocca Tigris resulting in the spiking of 879 guns. The 1850s saw the rapid growth of Western imperialism . Some of

3135-442: The First Opium War led him to provide the British forces with more than enough materiel and supplies, and casualties were light. The Third Battle of Taku Forts took place in the summer of 1860. London once more dispatched Lord Elgin with an Anglo-French force of 11,000 British troops under General James Hope Grant and 6,700 French troops under General Cousin-Montauban . They pushed north with 173 ships from Hong Kong and captured

3230-878: The Four Seasons Chinese : 四 宜 書 屋 ; pinyin : Sìyi shūwū [REDACTED] Beautiful Scene of the Square Pot Chinese : 方 壺 勝 景 ; pinyin : Fānghú shèngjǐng [REDACTED] Bath in Virtue Chinese : 澡 身 浴 德 ; pinyin : Zǎoshēn yùdé [REDACTED] Calm Lake Under the Autumn Moon Chinese : 平 湖 秋 月 ; pinyin : Pínghú qiūyuè [REDACTED] Jade Terrace of Paradise Island Chinese : 蓬 島 瑤 臺 ; pinyin : Péngdǎo yáotái [REDACTED] House Which Meets

3325-491: The Government of China may have afforded this country cause of complaint respecting the non-fulfilment of the Treaty of 1842, this House considers that the papers which have been laid on the table fail to establish satisfactory grounds for the violent measures resorted to at Canton in the late affair of the Arrow, and that a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into the state of our commercial relations with China. In response,

3420-1171: The Moon, Earth, and Clouds Chinese : 月 地 雲 居 ; pinyin : Yuèdi yúnjū [REDACTED] Vast Compassion and Eternal Blessing (Ancestral Shrine) Chinese : 鴻 慈 永 祜 ; pinyin : Hóngcí yǒnghù [REDACTED] Library of Collected Fragrances Chinese : 彙 芳 書 院 ; pinyin : Huìfāng shūyuàn [REDACTED] Dazzling Eaves Under Heaven (Buddhist compound) Chinese : 日 天 琳 宇 ; pinyin : Rìtiān línyǔ [REDACTED] Simple Life in Quietude (The “Field” Character Building) Chinese : 澹 泊 寧 靜 ; pinyin : Dànbó níngjìng [REDACTED] Reflections on Water and Fragrance of Iris Chinese : 映 水 蘭 香 ; pinyin : Yìngshuǐ lánxiāng [REDACTED] Sounds of Trees and Water Chinese : 水 木 明 瑟 ; pinyin : Shuǐmù míngsè [REDACTED] Happy Place of Lianxi Chinese : 濂 溪 樂 處 ; pinyin : Liánxī lèchù [REDACTED] Crops as Beautiful as

3515-533: The Old Summer Palace. Photographic evidence and eyewitness accounts make it clear that (although the palace complex was initially protected by the Qing emperors) it was during the Boxer Rebellion and in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the dynasty when most of the surviving structures were destroyed. Further, the Imperial household itself sold off the magnificent trees in the garden for revenue during

3610-593: The Pacific coast, where Russia founded the city of Vladivostok in 1860. On 20 May, the British were successful at the First Battle of Taku Forts , but the peace treaty returned the forts to the Qing army. In June 1858, shortly after the Qing imperial court agreed to the disadvantageous treaties, hawkish ministers prevailed upon the Xianfeng Emperor to resist Western encroachment. On 2 June 1858,

3705-758: The Present with the Past Chinese : 茹 古 涵 今 ; pinyin : Rúgǔ hánjīn [REDACTED] Eternal Spring Immortals Hall Chinese : 長 春 仙 館 ; pinyin : Chángchūn xianguǎn [REDACTED] Peace and Harmony Everywhere (Swastika House) Chinese : 萬 方 安 和 ; pinyin : Wànfāng ānhé [REDACTED] Spring Color at Wuling Chinese : 武 陵 春 色 ; pinyin : Wǔlíng chūnsè [REDACTED] Hills High and Waters Long (The Drill Field) Chinese : 山 高 水 長 ; pinyin : Shāngāo shuǐcháng [REDACTED] Dwelling of

3800-410: The Qing Empire not to use kidnapping as a political tactic against Britain. It took 3,500 British troops to set the entire place ablaze, and the massive fire lasted for three days. Unbeknownst to the troops, some 300 remaining eunuchs and palace maids, who concealed themselves from the soldiers in locked rooms, perished when the palace complex was burnt. Only 13 buildings survived intact, most of them in

3895-540: The Royal Navy blasted a hole in the poorly defended and inadequate city walls. The troops entered Canton, with the flag of the United States being planted on the walls and residence of Ye Mingchen by James Keenan, the U.S. Consul. Losses were three killed and 12 wounded. Negotiations failed and the city was bombarded. On 6 November, 23 war junks attacked and were destroyed. There were pauses for talks, with

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3990-559: The Summer Palace. In a letter, he explained that the burning of the palace was the punishment "which would fall, not on the people, who may be comparatively innocent, but exclusively on the Emperor, whose direct personal responsibility for the crime committed is established". On 18 October, British soldiers burnt the Old Summer Palace, the French refusing to assist. The razing of the buildings took two days, with imperial property in

4085-559: The Tongzhi Emperor before the project was abandoned. In 1900, many of the buildings that had survived or had been restored were burnt by the forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance . Most of the site was left abandoned and used by local farmers as agricultural land. Only in the 1980s was the site reclaimed by the government and turned into a historical site. The Yuanmingyuan Artists Colony became famous for germinating

4180-404: The Treaty of Nanjing, British authorities granted the vessels British registration in Hong Kong. In October 1856, Chinese marines in Canton seized a cargo ship called the Arrow on suspicion of piracy, arresting twelve of its fourteen Chinese crew members. The Arrow , which had previously been used by pirates, was captured by the Chinese government and subsequently resold. It was then registered as

4275-463: The United States of America and Russia if they were interested in alliances, but both parties rejected the offer. In May 1857, the Indian Mutiny became serious, and British troops destined for China were diverted to India. which was considered the priority issue. France joined the British action against China, prompted by complaints from their envoy, Baron Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gros , over

4370-499: The Western powers were no longer traditional wars, but part of a looming national crisis. On 8 October 1856, Qing officials seized the Arrow , a British-registered cargo ship, and arrested its Chinese sailors. The British consul, Harry Parkes , protested, upon which the viceroy of Liangguang , Ye Mingchen , delivered most of sailors to the British on 22 October, but refused to release the rest. The next day, British gunboats shelled

4465-676: The Whig Prime Minister Lord Palmerston attacked the patriotism of the Whigs who sponsored the resolution, and Parliament was dissolved, causing the British general election of March 1857 . The Chinese issue figured prominently in the election, at which Palmerston won an increased majority, silencing the voices within the Whig faction who supported China. The new parliament decided to seek redress from China based on

4560-421: The Xianfeng Emperor ordered the Mongol general Sengge Rinchen to guard the Taku Forts (also romanized as Ta-ku Forts and also called Daku Forts) near Tianjin. Sengge Rinchen reinforced the forts with additional artillery pieces. He also brought 4,000 Mongol cavalry from Chahar and Suiyuan . The Second Battle of Taku Forts took place in June 1859. A British naval force with 2,200 troops and 21 ships, under

4655-436: The Yuanmingyuan , an album produced in 1744 by the Qianlong Emperor's court painters. The construction of the European-style palaces was initiated in 1747. The last European appearance in the Old Summer Palace in the context of traditional Chinese imperial foreign relations was a diplomatic mission in 1795 representing the interests of the Dutch and Dutch East India Company . The Titsingh delegation included Isaac Titsingh ,

4750-402: The alliance's forces advanced toward Beijing, Parkes and a number of British and French officers were captured as hostages, and some were tortured or murdered. These events prompted Lord Elgin to order his soldiers to loot and burn the Old Summer Palace as soon as they captured Beijing. The emperor and his entourage fled to Rehe , while Prince Gong stayed to conduct the negotiations, signing

4845-487: The allied demands, the emperor having fled to Chengde on 22 September. British and French troops entered Beijing, where the Treaty of Tientsin was ratified by the Convention of Peking . At the time, the largest encyclopedia ever compiled in world history was the 1408 Ming Dynasty Yongle Encyclopedia , most of which was looted or destroyed by foreign soldiers during the sack of Beijing, leaving only 3.5 percent surviving volumes today. The British, French and—thanks to

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4940-425: The apology through the literature by Victor Hugo and mentioned in his story entitled "Redemption" the bust of the French writer located in the old Summer Palace: "at the site where their French peers ever posed his destructive feet today a radiant bust of the great Victor Hugo rises. From the old Summer Palace, the gardens of perfect brightness, a righteous French poses her look of stone in the snow falling obediently on

5035-594: The area who they believed were redeploying for an ambush, and the Qing court learned that the British had detained the prefect of Tianjin. It was around this time that the Qing general Sengge Rinchen took the members of the delegation prisoner as they were traversing Qing lines to return to the expeditionary forces. The delegates and their escort were taken to the Ministry of Justice (or Board of Punishments) in Beijing, where they were confined and tortured. Parkes and Loch were returned after two weeks, with 14 other survivors. Nineteen British, French and Indian captives died as

5130-428: The city governor at his post in order to maintain order on behalf of the victors. The British-French alliance maintained control of Canton for nearly four years. The coalition then cruised north to briefly capture the Taku Forts near Tianjin in May 1858. The United States and Russia sent envoys to Hong Kong to offer military help to the British and French, though in the end Russia sent no military aid. The U.S.

5225-425: The city of Canton . The British government decided to seek redress from China and dispatched a naval force led by Michael Seymour , and France joined in the action, citing as its reason the murder of a French missionary in China. After coordination with each other, the British and French stormed Canton in December 1857. Ye was captured and the governor of Guangdong surrendered. The alliance then moved north to demand

5320-444: The command of Admiral Sir James Hope , sailed north from Shanghai to Tianjin with newly appointed Anglo-French envoys for the embassies in Beijing. They sailed to the mouth of the Hai River guarded by the Taku Forts near Tianjin and demanded to continue inland to Beijing. Sengge Rinchen replied that the Anglo-French envoys might land up the coast at Beitang and proceed to Beijing but he refused to allow armed troops to accompany them to

5415-431: The complete destruction of the palace on 18 October, which was then carried out by troops under his command. The palace was so large – covering more than 3.5 square kilometres (860 acres) – that it took 4,000 men three days to destroy it. Many exquisite artworks – sculptures, porcelain , jade , silk robes, elaborate textiles, gold objects and more – were looted and, according to UNESCO , are now located in 47 museums around

5510-564: The conclusion of the war, the Qing government was able to concentrate on countering the Taiping Rebellion and maintaining its rule. Among other things, the Convention of Peking ceded the Kowloon Peninsula to the British as part of Hong Kong . The terms "Second War" and "Arrow War" are both used in literature. "Second Opium War" refers to one of Britain's strategic objectives, legalizing the opium trade . China's defeat also opened up all of China to British merchants, and exempted foreign imports from internal transit duties. "Arrow War" refers to

5605-434: The crew, and an apology for the alleged insult to the flag. Ye released nine of the crew members but refused to release the other three. On 23 October, the British destroyed four barrier forts. On 25 October, a demand was made that the British be allowed to enter Canton. The next day, the British began to bombard the city, firing one shot every 10 minutes. Ye Mingchen issued a bounty on every British head taken. On 29 October,

5700-401: The execution of a French missionary , Auguste Chapdelaine , by Chinese local authorities in Guangxi province, which at that time was not open to foreigners. The British and the French joined forces under Admiral Sir Michael Seymour . In late 1857, a joint British and French army attacked and occupied Canton (today Guangzhou ). A joint committee of the Alliance was formed. The Allies left

5795-1522: The forty garden scenes depicted in paintings were lost in the destruction of 1860, the remaining scenes have been lost over time since then. Gallery [ edit ] [REDACTED] Hall of Rectitude and Honor Chinese : 正 大 光 明 ; pinyin : Zhèngdà guāngmíng [REDACTED] Diligent and Talented Government Chinese : 勤 政 親 賢 ; pinyin : Qínzhèng qīnxián [REDACTED] Nine Continents Clear and Calm (Emperor’s Private Residence) Chinese : 九 州 清 宴 ; pinyin : Jiǔzhōu qīngyàn [REDACTED] Engraved Moon and Unfolding Clouds Chinese : 牡 丹 臺 ; pinyin : Mǔdān tái Chinese : 鏤月開雲 ; pinyin : Louyue kaiyun [REDACTED] A Painting of Nature Chinese : 天 然 圖 畫 ; pinyin : Tiānrán túhuà [REDACTED] Green Wutong Tree Academy Chinese : 碧 桐 書 院 ; pinyin : Bìtóng shūyuàn [REDACTED] Merciful Clouds Protect All (Island of Shrines) Chinese : 慈 雲 普 護 ; pinyin : Cíyún pǔhù [REDACTED] Heavenly Light Above and Below Chinese : 上 下 天 光 ; pinyin : Shàngxià tiānguāng [REDACTED] Apricot Blossom Spring Villa Chinese : 杏 花 春 館 ; pinyin : Xìnghuā chūnguǎn [REDACTED] The Magnanimous World Chinese : 坦 坦 蕩 蕩 ; pinyin : Tǎntǎn dàngdàng [REDACTED] Harmony of

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5890-406: The gardens, creating lakes, streams and ponds to complement the rolling hills and grounds, and named 28 scenic spots within the garden. The Yongzheng Emperor also constructed a number of "living tableaux" he and his family could observe and interact with. One such scene was called "Crops as Plentiful as Fields" which involved court eunuchs pretending to be rural farmers on an island. Another was called

5985-407: The general public several weeks later, immediately caused an uproar from the press and became one of the hottest debates on the Internet in China due to the still painful memory of foreign humiliation epitomised in the destruction of the Old Summer Palace. The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau (BEPB) recently conducted an assessment of the environmental impact of the measure. A partial copy of

6080-408: The halls, along with unique copies of literary works and compilations. Several famous landscapes of southern China had been reproduced in the Imperial Gardens. The palace was built on a site abundant in fresh water, near the Jade Spring Hill . The region was renowned for its beautiful landscape. Country homes were built here beginning in the 13th century, during the rule of the Yuan dynasty , then in

6175-415: The imperial emissary and word arrived that the British had kidnapped the prefect of Tianjin. Parkes was arrested in retaliation on 18 September. Also captured were a number of British and French officers, Sikh soldiers, and a journalist from The Times . Parkes and the others were imprisoned, tortured, and interrogated. The prisoners had been tortured by having their limbs bound with rope until their flesh

6270-411: The imperial family of the Qing Empire. The burning of the Old Summer Palace is still a very sensitive issue in China today. The destruction of the palace has been perceived as barbaric and criminal by many Chinese, as well as by external observers. In his letter "Expédition de Chine", Victor Hugo described the looting as, "Two robbers breaking into a museum. One has looted, the other has burnt. ... one of

6365-407: The last act of the war. According to Professor Wang Daocheng of the Renmin University of China , not all of the palace was destroyed in the original burning. Instead, some historical records indicate that 16 of the garden scenes survived the destruction in 1860. Wang identifies the Republican era and the Cultural Revolution as two significant periods that contributed further to the destruction of

6460-440: The legalising of the opium trade , the exemption of foreign imports from internal transit duties, the suppression of piracy, the regulation of the coolie trade, permission for a British ambassador to reside in Beijing, and that the English-language version of all treaties takes precedence over the Chinese language one. To give Chinese merchant vessels operating around treaty ports the same privileges accorded to British ships by

6555-399: The main force under a flag of truce to negotiate with Prince Yi and representatives of the Qing Empire at Tongzhou (Tungchow) and to scout out campsites behind enemy lines. The delegation included Thomas William Bowlby , a journalist for The Times , along with a small escort of British and Indian soldiers. As the talks concluded on 18 September, the Allied forces attacked Qing troops in

6650-485: The measure will destroy the ecology of the park, which depends on the water seepage from the lakes and the connection between the lakes and the underground water system. It is also feared the reduced seepage from the lakes will disturb Beijing's underground water system which is already suffering from depletion. There are also concerns about the gardens, which is a designated heritage site in the city of Beijing, changing their natural appearance. This issue, when brought up with

6745-426: The men were not released within 24 hours. The remaining crew of the Arrow were then released, with no apology from Viceroy Ye Mingchen who also refused to honour the treaty terms. Seymour, Major General van Straubenzee and Admiral de Genouilly agreed the plan to attack Canton as ordered. This event came to be known as the Arrow Incident and provided the alternative name of the ensuing conflict. Though

6840-570: The most notable treasures ended up at the Chinese Museum in the Palace of Fontainebleau , which Empress Eugénie specifically set up in 1867 to house these newly acquired collections. Once the Old Summer Palace had been reduced a sign was raised by the Allied expeditionary force with an inscription in Chinese stating, "This is the reward for perfidy and cruelty". The burning of the palace was

6935-501: The name of the vessel which became the starting point of the conflict. The war followed on from the First Opium War . In 1842, the Treaty of Nanking granted an indemnity and extraterritoriality to Britain, the opening of five treaty ports , and the cession of Hong Kong Island . The failure of the treaty to satisfy British goals of improved trade and diplomatic relations led to the Second Opium War (1856–1860). In China,

7030-519: The outskirts of Beijing for a decisive battle in Tongzhou (also romanized as Tungchow). On 21 September, at Baliqiao (Eight Mile Bridge) , Sengge Rinchen's 10,000 troops, including the elite Mongol cavalry, were annihilated after doomed frontal charges against concentrated firepower of the Anglo-French forces. The French army arrived at the Summer Palace outside Beijing on 6 October, followed by

7125-401: The palace had already been carried out by Allied soldiers. There was no significant resistance to the looting, even though many Qing soldiers were in the vicinity. On October 18, Lord Elgin , the British High Commissioner to China, retaliated against the torture of the delegation members by ordering the destruction of the Old Summer Palace. Destroying the Old Summer Palace was also a warning to

7220-500: The palace, and at the urging of the court, the emperor finally agreed to stop the project in 1874. During the 1880s, an adjacent imperial gardens, the Gardens of Clear Ripples (the present-day Summer Palace ) was restored for the use of Empress Dowager Cixi as a new summer resort, albeit on a smaller scale. A few Chinese-style buildings in the outlying Elegant Spring Garden also survived the fire. Some of these buildings were restored by

7315-458: The palace, the "New Yuanming Gardens" (圆明新园; 圓明新園), was built in 1997 in the southern city of Zhuhai in Guangdong province, as an amusement park of 1.39 square kilometres (0.54 sq mi), including an 80,000 square metres (860,000 sq ft) lake. Up to the present, many relics which were taken from the Old Summer Palace remain in foreign museums and private collections. Although

7410-492: The port cities of Yantai and Dalian to seal the Bohai Gulf. On 3 August they carried out a landing near Beitang (also romanized as "Pei-t'ang"), some 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the Taku Forts, which they captured after three weeks on 21 August. Southern Chinese laborers served with the French and British forces. One observer reported that the "Chinese coolies", as he called them, "renegades though they were, served

7505-532: The present day, the ruins of the European-style palaces are the most prominent building remnants on the site. This has misled some visitors to believe wrongly that the Old Summer Palace was made up only of European-style buildings. There are currently several plans in China for rebuilding the Imperial Gardens, but such moves have been opposed on the grounds that they will destroy an important relic of modern Chinese history. In addition, any rebuilding would be

7600-464: The release of Parkes and the surviving prisoners on 8 October, the extent of their mistreatment became apparent. The destruction of the Forbidden City was discussed, as proposed by Lord Elgin, to discourage the Qing Empire from using kidnapping as a bargaining tool, and to exact revenge on the mistreatment of their prisoners. However, an attack on Beijing was ruled out, as this had already been presented as threat for other terms. Elgin decided on burning

7695-483: The remote areas or by the lakeside. (The palace would be sacked once again and completely destroyed in 1900 when the forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing.) Charles George Gordon , who was then a 27-year-old captain in the Royal Engineers and part of the 1860 Anglo-French expeditionary force, wrote about his experience: We went out, and, after pillaging it, burned the whole place, destroying in

7790-560: The report about the Arrow Incident submitted by Harry Parkes. The French Empire , the United States , and the Russian Empire received requests from Britain to form an alliance. In June 1858, the first part of the war ended with the four Treaties of Tientsin (Tianjin), to which Britain, France, Russia, and the U.S. were parties. These treaties opened 11 more ports to Western trade. The Chinese initially refused to ratify

7885-588: The schemes of Ignatiev—the Russians were all granted a permanent diplomatic presence in Beijing (something the Qing Empire resisted to the very end as it suggested equality between China and the European powers). The Chinese had to pay 8 million taels to Britain and France. Kowloon was ceded to the British owned Hong Kong. The opium trade was legalized and Christians were granted full civil rights , including

7980-637: The shared goals of the Western powers were the expansion of their overseas markets and the establishment of new ports of call. The French Treaty of Huangpu , and the American Wangxia Treaty , both contained clauses allowing renegotiation of the treaties after 12 years of being in effect. In an effort to expand its privileges in China, Britain demanded that the Qing authorities renegotiate the Treaty of Nanjing (signed in 1842), citing its most favoured nation status. The British demands included opening all of China to British merchant companies,

8075-441: The site can be found on the website Colonial Architecture Project 40°00′26″N 116°17′33″E  /  40.00722°N 116.29250°E  / 40.00722; 116.29250 Second Opium War [REDACTED]   United Kingdom [REDACTED] France [REDACTED]   United States The Second Opium War ( simplified Chinese : 第二次鸦片战争 ; traditional Chinese : 第二次鴉片戰爭 ), also known as

8170-655: The treaties. The major points of the treaty were: On 28 May 1858, the separate Treaty of Aigun was signed with Russia to revise the Chinese and Russian border as determined by the Nerchinsk Treaty in 1689. Russia gained the left bank of the Amur River , pushing the border south from the Stanovoy mountains . A later treaty, the Convention of Peking in 1860, gave Russia control over a non-freezing area on

8265-428: The two conquerors filled its pockets, seing that, the other filled its safes; and they came back to Europe laughing hand-in-hand. ... Before history, one of the bandits will be called France and the other England." In his letter, Hugo hoped that one day France would feel guilty and return what it had plundered from China. Mauricio Percara, journalist and Argentine writer who works at China Radio International, talks about

8360-445: The vicinity also destroyed. Most accounts say that the Old Summer Palace was burnt for three days and three nights. Both Britain ( Second China War Medal ) and France ( Commemorative medal of the 1860 China Expedition ) issued campaign medals. The British medal had the following clasps: China 1842, Fatshan 1857, Canton 1857, Taku Forts 1858, Taku Forts 1860, Peking 1860. On 24 October, the emperor's brother, Prince Gong , conceded to

8455-603: The world. The Imperial Gardens at the Old Summer Palace were made up of three gardens: Together, they covered an area of 3.5 square kilometres (860 acres)(2.2mi), almost five times the size of the Forbidden City grounds and eight times the size of the Vatican City . Hundreds of structures, such as halls, pavilions, temples, galleries, gardens, lakes and bridges, stood on the grounds. In addition, hundreds of examples of Chinese artwork and antiquities were stored in

8550-483: The worn floor of the capital of the North." Following the sacking of the Old Summer Palace, the Qing imperial court relocated to the Forbidden City. In 1873, the teenage Tongzhi Emperor attempted to rebuild the Old Summer Palace, on the pretext of turning it into a place of retirement for his two former regents, the empress dowagers Ci'an and Cixi . However, the imperial court lacked the financial resources to rebuild

8645-603: Was involved in a minor concurrent conflict during the war, though it ignored the UK's offer of alliance and did not coordinate with the Anglo-French forces. In 1856, the Chinese garrison at Canton shelled a United States Navy steamer, and the U.S. Navy retaliated in the Battle of the Pearl River Forts . The ships bombarded then attacked the river forts near Canton, taking them. Diplomatic efforts were renewed afterwards, and

8740-412: Was lacerated and became infected with maggots, and by having dung and dirt forced into their throats. Several were executed by beheading, their corpses fed to animals. Captured coolies who had worked for the allies were buried up to their necks and left to dogs. The Anglo-French forces clashed with Sengge Rinchen 's Mongol cavalry on 18 September at the battle of Zhangjiawan before proceeding toward

8835-578: Was placed in front of the largest palace, the Haiyan Tang . The fountain had twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac that spouted water in turn every 2 hours, but all spouting water in concert at noon. These European-style buildings however only occupied an area along the back of the Garden of Eternal Spring that was small compared to the overall area of the gardens. More than 95% of the Imperial Gardens were made up of Chinese-style buildings. There were also

8930-476: Was undertaken to reduce water loss from the lakes and canals in the Old Summer Palace by covering a total of 1.33 square kilometres (0.51 sq mi) of the beds with a membrane to reduce seepage. The park administration argued the prevention of water loss saves the park money, since water would have to be added to the lakes only once per year instead of three times. However, opponents of the project, such as Professor Zhengchun Zhang of Lanzhou University , feared

9025-519: Was wretchedly demoralising work for an army. British and French soldiers preferred porcelain while neglecting bronze vessels prized locally for cooking and burial in tombs. Many such treasures dated back to the Shang , Zhou and Han dynasties and were up to 3,600 years old. A specific exception was the looting of the Haiyantang Zodiac fountain with its twelve bronze animal heads . Some of

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