1860 10 10 On October 7th, after the leaders of British and French aggression against China invaded Yuanmingyuan, they immediately "sent three British and French committees to discuss and distribute the treasures in the garden." On the same day, French Army Commander Montaubon wrote to the French Foreign Minister: "I ordered French members to pay attention to the most valuable objects in art and archaeology first. This trip will be dedicated by you to His Majesty the Emperor (Charles Louis Napolé on Bonaparte), which is extremely rare in France and will be hidden in the French Museum. " British commander Grant immediately "sent officers to collect things that should belong to the British." The day after the British and French invaders entered the park, they could no longer resist the temptation of things. The officers and men rushed forward in droves to snatch the treasures of gold and silver and cultural and artistic treasures in the park.
There are too many things to rob in Yuanmingyuan. According to a British witness, the whole French camp was filled with many colorful clocks and watches, and around the soldiers' tents, silks and satins and embroidery were everywhere. We will never know how much treasure the British and French invaders took from Yuanmingyuan, because all the furnishings and accounts in the garden were robbed and destroyed. According to a newsletter of The Times at that time, "it is estimated that the total value of looted and destroyed property is over 6 million pounds". In fact, a large part of the goods robbed and destroyed by the British and French invaders are priceless. This heinous crime of destroying human culture is really outrageous!
18601On October 9, when the French army temporarily evacuated the Yuanmingyuan, this beautiful garden was devastated.
On June1860 65438+1October1day, the British army sent 1200 cavalry and an infantry regiment to rob Yuanmingyuan again. James Bruce, the British plenipotentiary, took Parkes and others as an excuse to put the burning of Yuanmingyuan on the agenda as a prerequisite. Lieutenant General Mitchell was ordered to lead more than 3,500 invading troops into Yuanmingyuan and set it on fire on October/October/October/August, 2008. The fire lasted for three days and nights.
Just as the Qing government bowed to the invaders and promised to accept all the conditions of "negotiation and peace", on the other day, when signing the contract, Elgin and Grant, the leaders of the British invasion of China, made the Qing government "shocked" in order to impress them with their invasion of China, and even brazenly ordered the burning of Yuanmingyuan under the pretext that the Qing government arrested ministers and abused prisoners of war.
1860 65438+1October18,3500 British troops rushed into Yuanmingyuan and set fire to it. The fire lasted for three days and nights, and thick smoke hung over Beijing for a long time. This unique garden masterpiece was burned together. Afterwards, according to the official investigation of the Qing Dynasty, there were only 20 or 30 temples, pavilions, temples, official doors, value rooms and other buildings in the huge Yuanming Three Gardens, but many doors and windows were uneven, and the indoor furnishings and several cases were looted. Since then, some buildings of Qingyi Garden in Wanshou Mountain, Jingyi Garden in Xiangshan Mountain and Jingming Garden in Yuquan Mountain have also been burned down. Yuanmingyuan and its nearby Qingyi Garden, Jingming Garden, Jingyi Garden, Changchun Garden and Haidian Town were all burned into ruins. When the British invaders burned down Anyou Palace, the eunuch in charge locked the gate of Anyou Palace because of their sudden arrival. Therefore, there are 300 eunuchs, ladies-in-waiting and craftsmen who were burned alive in Anyou Palace. Become atrocities in the history of world civilization.
When Yuanmingyuan fell into a sea of fire, Erjin proudly declared: "This move will shake China and Europe, and its effect far exceeds the imagination of people thousands of miles away." . The main emissary of the fire regarded this behavior as a great achievement, and upright people all over the world were angered by this barbaric crime. Hugo wrote in 186 1: "One day, two robbers broke into Yuanmingyuan, one robbed and the other set fire. It seems that after winning, you can start stealing ... two winners, one full of pockets, and the other full of boxes and baskets. They returned to Europe arm in arm with a smile. " "The two robbers who will be punished by history are France and England." This passage represents the voice of millions of upright people.
Burning Yuanmingyuan is a common saying. In fact, the real concept of burning Yuanmingyuan is not just burning Yuanmingyuan, but burning the royal three mountains and five gardens in the west of Beijing. The burning area is much larger than that of Yuanmingyuan. These three mountains and five gardens are: Wanshou Mountain, Yuquan Mountain, Xiangshan Mountain, Qingyi Garden, Yuanmingyuan Garden, Changchun Garden, Jingming Garden and Jingyi Garden.
When the British and French allied forces burned the Yuanmingyuan, it was intended to raze it to the ground. However, due to the large area of Yuanmingyuan, scattered scenic spots and vast waters, some remote places and scenic spots in the water survived. According to the winter survey in the 12th year of Tongzhi (1873), there are still 13 buildings in the park. For example, Penglai Yaotai in Yuanmingyuan, Wuling Chunse, Zangzhouwu, Dagongmen and Zhengjue Temple in Wanchun Garden.
When Yuanmingyuan was still burning, Prince Yixin, who was ordered to stay in Beijing, agreed to all the conditions of the invaders. Soon, the Tianjin Treaty text was exchanged with Britain, France and Russia, and the Beijing Treaty was signed.
Eight-Nation Alliance 1900 invaded Beijing, and the gardens in the western suburbs were looted again. This time, the Qing government has completely lost control of Yuanmingyuan. The Eight Banners, bandits and local ruffians are no longer satisfied with robbing foreigners of their surplus wealth. They sawed off the scattered buildings, pillars and stakes of wooden bridges in the garden after the fire, and pulled them down with big ropes. The trees and trees in the garden were also cut down. At that time, the timber in Qinghe town was piled up like a mountain, and the trade was busy. There were many charcoal factories in the park, and all the branches and roots were burned into charcoal. Buildings and ancient and famous trees in Yuanmingyuan were completely destroyed.
At the end of Xuan Tong, local banners built houses on the ruins of the palace in the park, facing the former royal garden.