Foreword: 160 years ago, the British and French allied forces burned the Yuanmingyuan, and the fire burned for three days, and a large number of architectural relics were reduced to ashes, while the invaders left the capital with cultural relics. Today, only the ruins of the Yuanmingyuan are left, and October 18 every year is a free opening day of the Yuanmingyuan Ruins Park. If you have the chance, be sure to visit the Old Summer Palace once, as it is the most educational patriotic base.
According to the news on September 10, another Yuanmingyuan cultural relics Taihu stone finally "home", and other lost cultural relics are different, Taihu stone has been stored in the courtyard in Beijing, and the owner of this courtyard is an old lady in her 80s, even she did not expect that this ordinary looking stone is actually a cultural relics of the Yuanmingyuan.
According to the old man, this courtyard was a house allocated by the unit, and it was only in 1957 that the stone was already here. Decades have passed, and the stone has been overgrown with weeds, uneven surfaces, and full of holes.
Later, someone put a picture of the stone on the Internet, which quickly attracted the attention of experts. In addition to the appearance, the most surprising thing for experts is that there are 2 inscriptions on the stone, one of which is engraved with "Rockery" and the other is engraved with "Right Rockery".
Finally, after the identification of experts, these 2 inscriptions were all inscribed by Qianlong himself, and as for this stone, it once belonged to one of the sixteen scenes of the Lion Forest in the Yuanmingyuan, which is of extraordinary value.
Those who know Qianlong know that he has gone to Jiangnan many times to play, and the Suzhou Lion Forest is one of the favorite Jiangnan gardens of the Qianlong Emperor. After returning to the capital, Qianlong ordered that a similar landscape be established in the Changchun Garden in the Yuanmingyuan, which imitated the Suzhou Lion Forest.
Until 1860, when the Anglo-French army looted the Yuanmingyuan, many stone carvings in the Lion Forest were lost, including this Taihu stone. Unexpectedly, after many years, this Piece of Taihu Stone magically appeared in a courtyard in Beijing, although it was overgrown with weeds, but the overall shape was still well preserved.
Later, experts transported the Taihu stone back to the Yuanmingyuan and restored it. Unfortunately, the inscription of Qianlong on the Taihu Lake Stone has been very vague due to the long-term wind and rain, and experts must immediately carry out scientific protection.
It is believed that it will not be long before this Taihu stone will be officially exhibited to tourists.
According to experts, since the establishment of the Yuanmingyuan Management Office, the collection of scattered cultural relics has never stopped. Up to now, the Yuanmingyuan has collected more than 80,000 cultural relics, some of which have been publicly exhibited, and some of which are still under restoration.
In fact, we are very clear in our hearts that these 80,000 cultural relics are only the tip of the iceberg of the Yuanmingyuan, and most of the cultural relics are still lost abroad, and the day of return is far away. For example, the British Museum in the United Kingdom has a large collection of precious cultural relics, if you have the opportunity to go abroad, you must go to see them, perhaps at this moment they are also missing their hometown.