We all know the Summer Palace in Beijing, but we may not have a clear idea about the stone boat located at the northwestern corner of the Summer Palace. Legend says this stone boat was built by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1636 - 1912). But why did the emperor build this boat? This is the story we discuss in this article.

A Fang is a building on the water exclusively designed in China’s traditional gardens and its exterior and interior structures extremely resemble those of a boat. This special building does not only enrich the scenery of the garden, but it can also provide an entertaining place for visitors. One can stand on it to view the surrounding mountains and lakes. The lower body of it is usually made of stone, but its upper body is made of wood.

The stone boat in the Summer Palace can be regarded as the pearl of the stone boats. The boat was carved of a huge stone and is as long as 36 meters. The two-story building on the boat has been decorated as the appearance of marble and on top of it is the brick-like ornament.

But why did Emperor Qianlong build this stone boat? He was not only intended to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the lake when standing on it but had another purpose.

In Chinese history there is an important and famous quote from Emperor Li Shimin, ruler of the early Tang Dynasty (618 - 907): Water can carry the boat, but it can also turn it over. In this quote, water is the people and boat refers to a dynasty or ruler of a nation. Water will carry the boat peacefully as long as the boat navigates reasonably, but it can turn the boat over when the boat poorly or wrongly navigates.

What Emperor Qianlong meant was water cannot overturn the boat, since it is as hard as stone. However, the truth is the Qing Dynasty collapsed because of the poor navigation of the boat. What disappoints all of us today is this boat was destroyed less than 100 years after it was built, by the British and French invaders. When the boat was rebuilt in the 19th year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign, the traditional cabin on the boat was changed to a western style cabin, named Qingyanfang, which is the one we see today when we tour the Summer Palace.