Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, can't afford to buy a mansion in China? You may not believe it, because someone once joked that Musk's financial resources are enough to buy a small city.
Although Musk is a "homeless", he sold all his mansions, each worth more than 10 million dollars, and he himself rented a house.
But if he spends all his wealth and has more than 200 billion US dollars, I am afraid that even Buckingham Palace, the royal palace of the British royal family, worth more than 1 billion pounds, he can buy hundreds of them.
What is so special about this house, which is called "China's No. 1 luxury house"? Even Musk, the world's richest man, may not be able to afford it?
China's No. 1 luxury house
"China's No. 1 Mansion" is not actually sold to the outside world, but the value contained in it can still afford the honor of "China's No. 1", it is - Prince Gong's Mansion.
Speaking of which, some people may think of one person, that is, He Shen, an unprecedented corrupt official in the Qing Dynasty, because Prince Gong's Mansion was He Shen's private residence at the beginning.
How much money did He Shen covet in his life? There is still no definite number, but just before he died, Emperor Jiaqing searched for 800 million taels of silver from him, and that's not all.
If converted according to today's silver price, 800 million taels of silver is enough to more than 100 billion yuan, and the silver deposit in the Qing Dynasty treasury during the Qianlong period was only 6 or 70 million taels.
In addition, Heshen also has countless collections: antique calligraphy and paintings, jewelry, as well as shops everywhere, land, and most importantly, Heshen's real estate, his real estate in the capital alone has reached more than 3,000.
Among them, the most luxurious, the most huge, and the most able to reflect the wealth of He Shen's rich country is his private mansion, as the saying goes, "a good horse with a good saddle", He Shen is so rich, his official residence naturally has to be extremely luxurious to be worthy of his identity.
When He Shen was 19 years old, that is, in 1769, he went to participate in the imperial examination, don't look at He Shen was so greedy later, imagine him as a wine bag and rice bag who only knows how to loot money, in fact, Shang He Shen is a clever talent.
It's just that this time he participated in the imperial examination, and He Shen fell off the list, but fortunately, he was able to inherit the official position of his family and was able to continue to enter the palace on errands.
He Shen was both smart and talented, Qianlong quickly reused him, and also married his daughter Gulun and Princess Xiao to He Shen's son Fengshen Yinde, and He Shen became a "relative of the emperor".
In 1776, it can be called the fast lane of Heshen's life, he served 6 times a year, from a small imperial guard, to the chief of the affairs of the three banners of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, that is, in this year, Heshen began to expand and began to build his own mansion.
In addition to the so-called feng shui, luck, environment, etc., the most important thing is to be close to Emperor Qianlong, so that he can see Qianlong at any time.
He himself also understands that everything he has is given by Emperor Qianlong, so he has to wait next to the palace all the time, as for why he didn't choose the mansion at the main gate, that is, the south gate, in fact, there is such an explanation.
Some people analyze that it is because of He Shen's accumulation of wealth, but it was actually Emperor Qianlong's idea, and he was under the acquiescence of Qianlong, who scavenged money everywhere to enrich the treasury, but He Shen just filled his own pockets from it.
Therefore, he often had to go to the Imperial Garden to meet Qianlong and report to Qianlong, but it was not convenient to go through the front gate, so he had to go through the back door; there is also an explanation that the location chosen by Heshen's mansion happened to be the lifeblood of the capital at that time.
Whether it's true or not, as a celebrity next to the emperor, He Shen's mansion must be extremely luxurious, a mansion worthy of his identity, and he has put a lot of effort into his mansion.
Invited the country's master architects, mobilized more than 100 workers, and spent several years to build a private mansion second only to the imperial palace.
It is 330 meters long from north to south, 180 meters wide from east to west, with a total area of more than 60,000 square meters, and is divided into two parts: one front and one back, hall and garden.
The most representative hall is the last main hall on the middle road of the mansion, called "Jiale Hall", which is said to be the inscription he asked Emperor Qianlong to write himself.
There is also a "Qingyi Hall", which is also said to have been given to He Shen by Emperor Qianlong, and these two Qianlong handwritings alone are worth a lot of money now.
This is one of them, in the deepest part of Heshen's mansion, there is a two-storey back cover building, which looks inconspicuous, but it is Heshen's "treasure building", and Heshen basically put his gold and silver treasures, antique calligraphy and paintings here.
In addition, He Shen also ordered people to carve bats in large and small places in the house, bats, which means blessing, and even the most famous Fu character tablet looks like a huge bat.
Magnificent and luxurious, the decoration inside is made of very exquisite golden silk nanmu, which is known as a thousand years of incorruptibility, and the patterns on it are also exquisite.
Now a golden silk nanmu can be worth as much as about 2 billion yuan, and there is no market, and the emperor's seat is made of golden silk nanmu.
In 2011, at the China Guardian auction, a red sandalwood carved passionflower "Qingshou" pattern throne was auctioned for a high price of 57.5 million, which came from Heshen's mansion, that is, Prince Gong's mansion.
This throne that was handed down from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce was looted from Beijing during the Japanese invasion of China, and according to legend, it was used exclusively for members of the imperial family, and the material used was also golden silk nanmu.
It can be seen from this that He Shen's official residence spends a lot of money, but at this time, He Shen, who has just risen to prominence, where did he get so much money to build such a magnificent mansion? Naturally, it relied on corruption.
In the Qing Dynasty at that time, the mansions of ordinary officials were not the same as the mansions of the princes, and even if they were the mansions of the princes, their magnificence could not exceed that of the emperor.
He Shen is not the prince yet, but his mansion is already comparable to the prince's mansion, and even the decoration of his mansion is imitated by the eunuchs in the palace.
He Shen imitated Ningshou Palace, Ningshou Palace is the place where Emperor Qianlong will live and retire after his abdication in the future, and He Shen actually built his mansion into another Ningshou Palace, no wonder he ended up bleak.
When He Shen was 28 years old, he was discovered for corruption, and his official position was demoted by two levels, but he quickly climbed back, and became more and more careful, careful and bold at the same time.
As soon as Qianlong left and Jiaqing succeeded to the throne, He Shen was immediately arrested and put in prison, the purpose was to take a fancy to the money in He Shen's hands, and as soon as He Shen fell, the expenses of the imperial court for several years were settled.
It is not only Emperor Jiaqing who can take a fancy to Heshen's wealth, but also Emperor Jiaqing's younger brother Qingjun Wang Yongxuan, who asked for Heshen's mansion from Jiaqing's hands.
It can be seen that Heshen's wealth has long been known to the world, but there is a problem that although Heshen was given to die, his son Fengshen Yinde is still alive, and Fengshen Yinde and Gulun and Princess Xiao also have a place to live.
So Jiaqing arranged for Wang Yongxuan of Qingjun to live with He Shen's son and daughter-in-law, and at the same time there were some dismissed officials, and Yongxuan only occupied half of the place.
Later, Fengshen Yinde and Gulun and Princess Xiao died, and this mansion was officially renamed Qingwangfu and belonged to Yongxuan, although Yongxuan was also a prince and a royal family, but his descendants did not have any great ability.
The title fell again and again, and in 1849, Yongxuan's descendants were demoted to auxiliary generals, and according to the regulations, they could no longer live here, so all the descendants of King Qing moved out of here and replaced them with Prince Gong Yixun.
This Yixin is different from the previous owner, Yongxuan, after the mansion was renamed "Prince Gong's Mansion", he first made a major renovation of the entire mansion to cater to his identity.
No matter how it is said that it is also a minister's mansion, Yongxuan is not obsessed with political affairs, it can be accepted, he Yixuan is absolutely unacceptable, and due to the influence of the environment at the time, the renovation of the mansion has incorporated some modern elements.
The location and name of "Jiale Hall" and "Qingyi Hall" have not changed, and the "Duofuxuan" based on the architectural style of the Ming Dynasty has been set up next to it, as a place that Yixun usually uses to meet guests.
The biggest change is the garden, the garden entrance of Prince Gong's Mansion, a new stone arch with Western architectural style, all carved with white marble.
After entering the door, two Taihu Lake stones are placed, towering on the side, the garden is elegant and extraordinary, especially there is a hidden rockery in the middle of the garden.
Inside is the Kangxi Emperor personally inscribed "Fu" word tablet, 1 meter high, legend has it that He Shen stole out of the palace, in addition to the two sides also added eight rooms in the east, three rooms in the west. plus a "big theater".
These are the places where the subordinates of Prince Gong's Mansion live, and the entourage, guards, maids, maidservants, and housekeepers, such a huge palace, the expenses are naturally amazing.
Later, after the death of Yixun, his son Zai Ying inherited the palace, and Zai Ying passed on to his son Pu Wei until the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the name here has always been "Gong Wangfu", which is still used today.
History is priceless
When Pu Yi abdicated in 1911, Pu Wei was reluctant to "have my Pu Wei here, the Qing Dynasty would not die!", and he had been intoxicated with the activities of the restoration of the Qing Dynasty.
For this reason, he mortgaged his family's mansion and borrowed 35,000 yuan from a Catholic church to fund the restoration, but the restoration failed, and he could not repay the borrowed money.
When a century-old royal mansion was about to fall into the hands of foreigners, Fu Jen University took a fancy to Fu Jen University, which was located in Prince Gong's mansion, and took out more than 100 gold bars to pay off Pu Wei's debts.
The price is that Pu Wei transferred Prince Gong's Mansion to Fu Jen University as a campus, more than 100 gold bars, in exchange for such a huge and exquisite royal residence, Fu Jen University will make money no matter how you look at it.
Since then, Pu Wei has nothing to do with Prince Gong's Mansion, and even this mansion is no longer called Prince Gong's Mansion, but has become the women's hospital of Fu Jen University.
The Grand Theatre was demolished and replaced with a small auditorium, the temple in the garden was also demolished and converted into a study building, and Prince Gong's Mansion became the living place for teachers and students of Fu Jen University.
In 1950, Fu Jen University was merged into Beijing Normal University, and part of the former Gongwang Mansion became part of Beijing Normal University, and later it was changed to the campus of China Conservatory of Music.
The garden was turned into a factory and dormitory, and even a kindergarten was built to become a place for people to live and work, which also led to the serious destruction of part of the palace.
Later, after the prime minister learned of this incident, he specially came to visit and inspect Prince Gong's Mansion, and also left instructions: "Prince Gong's Mansion must be protected well, and it will be open to the whole society in the future." ”
This is the cultural heritage of the people of the whole country, and even the people of the world, there is a saying called "a palace of Prince Gong, half of the history of the Qing Dynasty", with cultural value, the historical value of Prince Gong's mansion is difficult to measure with money.
It's a pity that until the death of the prime minister, Prince Gong's Mansion was not able to be repaired, and the prime minister has been thinking about this matter when he was dying, and he also instructed Gu Mu to let him complete the work of Prince Gong's Mansion.
The restoration of Prince Gong's Mansion was not easy, and the building materials used in the mansion alone were difficult to find, and even if they were, they would cost a lot of money.
The protection of historical relics is a matter of merit in the present and in the future, and the state still decided to spend a lot of money to restore Prince Gong's Mansion completely, and Prince Gong's Mansion has also become the second batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
The first problem is how to move out of the more than 200 residents who already live in Prince Gong's mansion, and the China Conservatory of Music and the Academy of Literature and Art have said that the state has directly allocated a piece of land as the new address of the two colleges.
The dormitory of the Ministry of Public Security was also easily moved, and the kindergarten found a new campus with the help of the State Council's Administration of Organ Affairs, but some of the old residents were more troublesome.
After all, it has been more than 30 years, and some people have already lived here, and in the end, they were relocated in exchange for 6 houses, and the restoration has not yet begun, and the country has spent a lot of money for Prince Gong's Mansion.
It was not until 2006 that the High School Attached to the China Conservatory of Music moved out of Prince Gong's Mansion that it was finally cleaned, and in 2008, the restoration of Prince Gong's Mansion was completed and opened to the public.
With a history of nearly 300 years, Prince Gong's Mansion has long been immeasurable because of its history, even if it is estimated value, just 1 billion golden silk nanmu, Prince Gong's Mansion does not know how many are used.
In addition, whether it is architectural art, or cultural art, it has made Prince Gong's Mansion "double its value", and it is not too much to say that it is "China's first" because it is the only one in the world.
Even if the richest man in the world wants to empty his net worth to buy, he may not be able to afford it, and the content of culture is incomparable.
(Source: Records & Transmission)