Kunlun Stone is a kind of imperial tablet unique to Beijing during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty. The small number of Kunlun Stones can only be seen in the imperial gardens during the Qianlong era. According to legend, the Kunlun Stone is named because it symbolizes the Kunlun Mountain where the legendary immortals live. Therefore, the Kunlun Stone in the royal garden is not only the embellishment of the landscape, but also represents the pursuit of the Qing emperor for a fairyland and the desire of eternal unification.

The appearance of Kunlun Stone has a unified regulation, which is carved from a whole stone. The top of the tablet is semicircular, symbolizing the red sun above the sea. The stone tablet is connected to a mountain shaped stone base with the sea, river and cliff patterns. Longevity cypresses and aquatic lotus are planted in the grooves on both sides, forming a mountain shape with the tablet, implying the meaning of a fairy mountain on the sea. The three Kunlun Stones in the Summer Palace are important scenery in the Qingyi Garden period. They are engraved with the imperial poems of the emperor Qianlong. Except for some characters, they are basically intact.

Kunlun Stone on Xiuyi Bridge

It was established in the 29th year of Qianlong's era (1764) and is located in the north of Xiuyi Bridge at the south end of the East Causeway of Kunming Lake. The monument is 1.95m high, 0.93m wide and 0.64m thick. It is 0.68m high, 1.10m thick and 2.45m wide. On the four sides of the stone, the poems written by Emperor Qianlong in running script are engraved in the shade, and both the shadow and the west face of the tablet are destroyed.

The Xiuyi Bridge is reputed as "the first bridge of Kunming Lake". It is located at the junction of the southern end of Kunming and the Changhe River. It is an important waterway connecting the East Causeway and the West Causeway, as well as the Changhe River and Kunming Lake. From the Forbidden City to the Qingyi Garden (the Summer Palace), the Empress of the Qing Dynasty often took a boat from the Rainbow leaning Hall beside the Sorghum Bridge outside the Xizhimen Gate to Kunming Lake through the long river under the Xiuyi Bridge.

The Kunlun stone on the north side of Xiuyi Bridge is carved with two imperial poems written by Emperor Qianlong in the 29th (1764) and 30th (1765) years of Qianlong's reign. The poem describes the scenery along the way when Emperor Qianlong went by boat to Kunming Lake in summer. In midsummer, you can sail slowly on the clear river and the breeze blows your face, carrying the fragrance of rice and wheat. The green willows on both sides of the river form a shade. The pedestrians travel along the riverbank. From time to time, melodious music and clear cicadas cna be heard, all of which constitute an elegant and tranquil landscape.

"Leshan Garden" and "Guangyuan Gate" are often mentioned in poems. Leshan Garden is near today's Beijing Zoo, which was a garden in the early Qing Dynasty. Emperors of the Qing Dynasty entered the Garden by water. In addition to getting board on the Yihong Bridge outside the Xizhimen Gate, they sometimes boarded the boat at Leshan Garden. Guangyuan Gate was built in the Yuan Dynasty. According to historical records, water conservancy was built in the Yuan Dynasty, which introduced the spring water from Xishan Mountain into the capital. Guangyuan sluice is one of the sluices built during the Yuan dynasty. Guangyuan sluice is built to control water flow and regulate water level, so there is a sentence in the poem "Guangyuan sluice limits water to high and low". The function of other sluice gates is the same as that of Guangyuan sluice gate. Whenever the emperor entered Kunming Lake by boat, a sluice army opened the gate. At this time, the river and lake were not on a horizontal plane, and the torrential water rushed into the long river. It was difficult for the boat to travel upstream. The boat needed to be pulled into the lake by a rope.

The Farming and Weaving Map is a scenic spot in the original Qingyi Garden, which has the farming and weaving sentiment of Jiangnan Watertown. It is located in the northwest of the Jade Belt Bridge of Kunming Lake and the north bank of Zhijingge Lake. In the 16th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1751), the Qing Palace Internal Affairs Office moved the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau from the imperial city to this place. In the 19th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1754), a number of halls and rooms were built one after another, and a monument was erected on the riverside to mark the place, which was named "Farming and Weaving Map". In the 10th year of Xianfeng (1860), except for the stone tablet of the farming and weaving map, all of the farming and weaving map scenic spots were destroyed by the British and French allied forces. In the 12th year of Guangxu's reign (1886), Empress Dowager Cixi built the Summer Palace and built a new navy school on the ruins of the Farming and Weaving Map. In the 17th year of Guangxu's reign (1892), the Western Garden Wall was added and the tablet of the Farming and Weaving Map was marked outside the Summer Palace. Since then, due to historical reasons, the Farming and Weaving Map Scenic Area has been misappropriated for a long time. The only remaining stone tablet inscribed with Qianlong's poems stands beside the Jade River. In April 1999, the Summer Palace Management Office took back the site of the Farming and Weaving Map.

China established its country by agriculture, and the rulers of all dynasties attached importance to agriculture and mulberry as the foundation of the country. The farming and weaving pictures, poems and seals reflect the landscape of the west of Kunming Lake in the heyday of the imperial gardens of the Qing Dynasty and the continuing ambition of Emperor Qianlong to worship the ancestors and make great efforts to govern.

Translator: SHI Meiling

Reviewer: ZHANG Ruochen