Old Summer Palace findings reveal fresh details of complex planning

The ruins of Wenyuan Ge, a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) royal library at Yuanmingyuan in Beijing. (Photo by Wang Ru/China Daily)

Archaeological studies have shed light on the original facade and features of the imperial library in Beijing's Yuanmingyuan, the royal resort also known as the Old Summer Palace, and suggest a respect for traditional culture.

Efforts since August to study the Wenyuan Ge ("pavilion of the source of ritual and music civilization") complex have revealed a detailed layout, paths linking the buildings, a fire control system, and a preference for rustic appeal, archaeologists from the Beijing Institute of Archaeology said earlier this month.

Situated in the northeastern part of the Yuanmingyuan, the building already existed during the reign of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Emperor Yongzheng, but became the Wenyuan Ge in 1775, under the reign of his son, Emperor Qianlong. The Wenyuan Ge was one of four royal libraries in northern China that held copies of the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Branches of Literature), which was compiled under the auspices of Emperor Qianlong, and the Gujin Tushu Jicheng (A Collection of Books of Ancient and Modern Times) which had been compiled on the orders of his grandfather Emperor Kangxi, according to Zhang Zhonghua, deputy director of the Beijing Institute of Archaeology.

In 1860, the complex, most of its books, and the Yuanmingyuan itself, were looted and burned to the ground by the invading Anglo-French forces.

Archaeologists have discovered that the Wenyuan Ge was an independent courtyard with doors on the south and north. Inside the courtyard, they found the foundations of the main hall, two pavilions, and a viewing platform, with stone roads running between them.