Treasure well

Chapter 526
After Chu Yunqiu found the dog head of the twelve zodiac signs, it can be said that only the sheep head is left out of the bronze head of the twelve zodiac signs.

The twelve zodiac signs are the pride of China and one of the representatives of China, representing the most exquisite craftsmanship in China.

Chu Yunqiu looked at the dog's head in his hand happily, wishing to announce it to the whole Huaxia.

Among the bronze heads of the twelve zodiac signs, three came back to the country from me, and there will be a fourth one in the future.

Chu Yunqiu fantasized about it for a while, and then put the twelve zodiac dog heads into the Qiankun bag.

Although the box can still hold things, it has been soaked in water, so use as little as possible.

Then, Chu Yunqiu checked the boxes in front of him one by one.

The goodies found are truly outrageous.

This is also one of the ships that carries goods.

From here, we can also see how many Chinese treasures and national treasures the invaders have robbed.

So much was lost, and even more was taken away.

"Hey, as expected of the Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens, what a pity," Chu Yunqiu felt deeply regretful for the destruction of the Old Summer Palace.

The Old Summer Palace is a large royal palace in the Qing Dynasty. Adjacent to the Summer Palace, it is composed of the Old Summer Palace, the Changchun Garden and the Wanchun Garden, so it is also called the Three Gardens of the Old Summer Palace.

In addition, there are many small gardens located on the east, west and south sides, surrounded by stars like a moon.

The garden covers an area of ​​more than 340 hectares, with a construction area of ​​20 square meters and more than 150 scenes. It is known as "the garden of ten thousand gardens".

The Qing emperor came here to escape the summer heat, listen to the government, and deal with military and political affairs in midsummer, so it is also called "Summer Palace".

The Old Summer Palace was first built in the Kangxi period. After Yongzheng ascended the throne, the original gift garden was expanded, and the Zhengda Guangming Hall and the Qinzheng Hall were added to the south of the garden, as well as the cabinet, six ministries, and military aircraft offices. ".

During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, in addition to partial additions and reconstructions to the Old Summer Palace, he also built a new Changchun Garden in the east, and merged into the Wanchun Garden in the southeast.The pattern of the three gardens of the Yuanming Dynasty was basically formed.

In the Jiaqing Dynasty, the Qichun Garden was mainly repaired and expanded, making it one of the main garden residences.

During the reign of Emperor Daoguang, the state affairs were declining and financial resources were insufficient. However, he would rather withdraw the decoration of the "Three Mountains" of Wanshou, Xiangshan and Yuquan, stop the summer vacation in Rehe and hunt Mulan, and still not give up the reconstruction and decoration of the Three Yuanming Gardens.

In 1960, the British and French allied forces ransacked the Old Summer Palace and looted cultural relics. The Tongzhi Emperor wanted to restore it, but due to financial difficulties, it was forced to stop and rebuild other buildings.

After the Eight-Power Allied Forces, they were attacked by bandits and turned into ruins.

During the Second Opium War, after the leaders of the British and French invaders broke into the Old Summer Palace, they immediately "sent three members of the British and French committees to jointly distribute the treasures in the garden."

Commander of the French army, Montauban, wrote to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France on the same day: "I order the French commissioners to pay attention to take the most valuable items in art and archaeology first. I will present an extremely rare item in France to His Majesty the Emperor - Napoleon III. , and it is kept in the French Museum."

Grant, the English commander, also immediately "sent officers to try to collect things that should belong to the English."

On the second day after the French and British invading troops entered the park, they could no longer resist the temptation of the objects. Officers and soldiers rushed forward in groups to rob the gold, silver, cultural and artistic treasures in the park.

There are too many things to grab in Yuanmingyuan.According to an eyewitness of the British army, the entire French army camp was filled with many clocks and clocks with extremely gorgeous decorations, and around the soldiers' tents, there were silks, satins and embroidery everywhere.

An English second-class military officer named Hellis got the nickname "Chinese James" because he became rich by plundering the Old Summer Palace and enjoyed his life.

Exactly how many treasures the British and French invaders took away from the Old Summer Palace can never be clarified because all the furnishings and accounts in the garden were also robbed.

However, the historical data of the Qing Dynasty show that there were only 440 European clocks of various sizes displayed and stored in the Old Summer Palace at that time, and only one big clock survived the catastrophe.

Afterwards, 190 lost objects were seized by the bandits and "abandoned the way" by the invading army, and they were only one-two-thousandth of the objects in the park.

According to a newsletter at the time: "It is estimated that the total value of the looted and damaged property exceeds 600 million pounds."

In fact, a large part of the items looted and destroyed by the British and French invading forces were priceless treasures.

It is the common wealth of mankind.

According to the descriptions of British and French military officers, pastors, and reporters who witnessed the looting scene:
Officers and soldiers, English and French, poured into the Old Summer Palace from all directions in order to grab the treasure, wantonly, giving and taking, in a hurry, in a myriad of forms.

In order to snatch the treasure, they beat each other and even fought with weapons.

Because there are too many treasures in the garden, they don't know what to take for a while. Some take away the cloisonné porcelain vase, some are greedy for embroidered robes, some choose high-end fur coats, and some go for the wall clock inlaid with pearls and jade.

Some carry large bags filled with all kinds of treasures.Some put gold bars and gold leaves into the wide pockets of their coats; some had brocade and satin wrapped around their bodies; some hats were filled with rubies, sapphires, pearls, crystal stones and other jewelry; some had emerald necklaces hanging around their necks.

There was a mountain of high-grade silk and satin piled up in one wing room, which was said to be enough for half of the residents of BJ, and was transported away by soldiers in carts.

-An English officer looted a golden Buddha from a temple of five hundred statues, worth twelve pounds.

A French officer robbed property worth 60 francs.

The treasure looted by the son of the French commander-in-chief Montauban was worth 30 francs and filled several carriages.

A second-class military officer of the British army named Helisi stole two golden pagodas from the garden, one [-] feet high, the other [-] feet high, and a large number of other treasures, and found seven strong men to help him. Transported back to the barracks.

In addition to wantonly looting, the invaders also spoiled countless things.

Several of the houses were filled with satin garments, dragged out of boxes and strewn all over the floor, so that people walked in and almost covered their knees.

The sappers, armed with big axes, smashed the furniture to pieces and removed the gems from it.Some smashed large mirrors, others shot viciously at the candelabra for fun.

Most of the French soldiers smashed everything that could not be taken away with sticks.

······
Among the harvests Chu Yunqiu found were three golden Buddha statues and a box of clocks.

There is a box of precious stones and jade.

In addition, there are dozens of treasures and many national treasures.

There are porcelain, bronze, jade, and a lot of silky silk and satin. Unfortunately, because the waterproof work was not done well, all the silk and satin were destroyed.

Soaked in water for a long time, some are rotten.

(End of this chapter)