Read Red Notes - "Dream of the Red Chamber" and the Summer Palace and Others

Author: Dou Fu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: The Fragrant Garden is Built West of the Imperial City—Wanshou Mountain and Kunming Lake as Witness In Chapter 18 of Dream of the Red Chamber, the celebration of the Lantern Festival sees Jia Yuanyun return to her family, bringing together many characters of the Red Chamber to compose odes about the Grand View Garden, which provides a macro perspective for understanding this garden. Xue Baochai's verse, "The Fragrant Garden is Built West of the Imperial City," first describes its orientation. The Imperial City West refers to the western side of the imperial capital. During the Qing Dynasty, the imperial capital was Beijing, and to the west of Beijing, the novel's Grand View Garden is located, as is the real-life Summer Palace. Xichun's verse: "Mountains and waters stretch for thousands of miles, towers and pavilions rise among the clouds." Li Yun's verse: "Exquisite waters and mountains embrace and turn back, elegance and literary talent surpass even Paradise." Tanchun's verse: "A renowned garden rises majestically"—all repeatedly emphasize that the Grand View Garden is a mountain-water garden with both mountains and waters, and a vast scale. Considering its location in the Imperial City West, apart from the Summer Palace, it is difficult to find another place that fits these characteristics. Of course, relying solely on orientation and abstract descriptions is far from sufficient to draw a definitive conclusion. As long as we stay within the Summer Palace, there will still be some evidence presented. However, these pieces of evidence have undergone certain transformations, some are vague in expression, and others are incorrect in orientation, far less direct and accurate than looking at photographs or maps. Therefore, relying on just one or two pieces of evidence is not convincing. But when two or more pieces are combined, they can be considered as a link in the chain of evidence, as the larger context also plays a role. For example, I say a certain scenic spot resembles the Xing Bridge because it is located in a garden "West of the Imperial City." Conversely, if it were in the east of the Imperial City, it would be a different bridge, not the Xing Bridge. Similarly, if the garden "West of the Imperial City" contains a bridge like the Xing Bridge and a certain place resembling the Paichun Hall or the Duiou Pavilion, then this garden must be the Summer Palace. In Chapter 18, Jia Yuanyun writes: "Built with precision, embracing mountains and waters, how much effort was poured into its creation? Heaven and earth, all scenery complete—this Fragrant Garden should be named Grand View." The Grand View Garden is thus named. An inscription by Emperor Qianlong in the Summer Palace resonates with this. The Old Records of the Capital Under the Sun (Volume 84) records that the former Qingyi Garden had a scenic spot called Canxiu Pavilion, with the imperial inscription "Yantai Grand View" carved on its rear stone wall. Later, due to warfare, Canxiu Pavilion was destroyed, and another structure was built on its site. The Beijing Travel Guide states: "Halfway up the mountain behind Yangyun Pavilion, the old name was Canxiu Pavilion. During the Guangxu era of the Qing Dynasty, it was rebuilt. The pavilion has three bays and a folding shape, named Fuyin Pavilion. On the western rock face, the Qianlong Emperor's inscription 'Yantai Grand View' is carved." The four characters "Yantai Grand View" have been preserved to this day but are rarely visited, nearly forgotten. "Yantai" means "the swallows fly here and linger," referring to the emperor's casual outing. "Grand View" means a magnificent sight. In colloquial terms, it is the magnificent scenery that the emperor takes in during his visit. In Dream of the Red Chamber, "Grand View" is the magnificent sight seen by the imperial princess, with the only difference being the perspective. What they both see is a grand mountain-water garden, and their descriptive language is identical. P13-16