Yuanmingyuan was looted and burned by British and French allied forces in the tenth year of Xianfeng, that is,1June, 860, which became a humiliating history in China's modern history.
By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the science and technology of the whole country had fallen far behind the West, and class contradictions were becoming increasingly acute. 1840 (20 years of Daoguang), western colonialists provoked the war of aggression against China-the first opium war; Then came the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which opposed the rule of the Qing Dynasty.
1856 10, Britain and France jointly launched the second opium war. First, he provoked the Guangzhou War twice, but failed to achieve the expected desire. In order to exert direct pressure on the Qing government, the capital of Chen Bing was decided. The invading army approached Tianjin1May 858, and the Qing government was forced to sign the Tianjin Treaty with Britain, France, Russia and the United States respectively.
1860 (the tenth year of Xianfeng) In July, the fleet of British and French aggressor troops rushed out of Dagukou again, and under the guise of exchanging contracts between British and French ministers in Beijing, they forcibly pushed forward and lured them to "make peace". The purpose is to force the Qing court to submit to the capital of Chen Bing. The corrupt and incompetent Qing government did not decide the attack and defense strategy. The invading army went straight to Tongzhou. On September 2 1 day, the Qing army was defeated in the decisive battle at Baliqiao, Tongzhou. The next morning, Emperor Xianfeng fled from Yuanmingyuan to chengde mountain resort in a hurry, resulting in a crisis situation in which the capital was ownerless, officials dispersed, soldiers dispersed and people feared.
Yuanmingyuan was stolen;
1860, 10 On June 6, the British and French allied forces bypassed the northeast suburb of Beijing and went straight to Yuanmingyuan. At that time, Sang Linqin and his remnants resisted in the north of the city for a while and then fled. The French army went ahead and passed Haidian in the afternoon. On the evening of 654381October 6, the invading army broke into the gate of Yuanmingyuan Grand Palace. At this time, at the entrance and exit of Xianliangmen, more than 20 skilled eunuchs in Yuanmingyuan waged a life-and-death struggle with the enemy, "from ruin", but in the end, because they were outnumbered, Ren Liang, the "eight-product leader" of Yuanmingyuan, and others died heroically. At 7 pm, the French invaders captured the Yuanmingyuan. Wenfeng, Minister of Landscape Management, died in Fuhai.
65438 10/7, the leader of British and French aggression against China broke into Yuanmingyuan, and immediately "sent three members of the British and French Committee to discuss the distribution of treasures in the garden." On the same day, French Army Commander Montaubon wrote to the French Foreign Minister: "I ordered French members to pay attention to the most valuable objects in art and archaeology first. This trip will be dedicated by you to His Majesty the Emperor (Charles Louis Napolé on Bonaparte), which is extremely rare in France and will be hidden in the French Museum. " British commander Grant immediately "sent officers to collect things that should belong to the British." The day after the British and French invaders entered the park, they could no longer resist the temptation of things. The officers and men rushed forward in droves to snatch the treasures of gold and silver and cultural and artistic treasures in the park.
There are too many things to rob in Yuanmingyuan. According to a British witness, the whole French camp was filled with many colorful clocks and watches, and around the soldiers' tents, silks and satins and embroidery were everywhere. A British private named Hollis was nicknamed "China Zhan Mu" because he plundered and got rich and enjoyed life in Yuanmingyuan.
We will never know how much treasure the British and French invaders took from Yuanmingyuan, because all the furnishings and accounts in the garden were robbed and destroyed. The following information may give you a glimpse of the leopard. According to the historical records of the Qing Dynasty, only 4,465,438 European clocks and watches were exhibited and stored in Yuanmingyuan at that time, and only one big clock was spared. Afterwards, some lost objects robbed by bandits and abandoned by the invading army reached 1 197, which was at best one thousandth of the objects in the park. According to a newsletter of The Times at that time, "it is estimated that the total value of looted and destroyed property is over 6 million pounds". In fact, a large part of the goods robbed and destroyed by the British and French invaders are priceless. This heinous crime of destroying human culture is really outrageous!
According to the descriptions of British and French officers, priests and journalists who witnessed the looting, officers and men, British and French people flocked to Yuanmingyuan from all directions in order to seize the treasure, and they were eager to take whatever they wanted. They beat each other and even fought for the treasure. Because there are so many treasures in the garden, they don't know what to take at the moment. Some moved cloisonne porcelain bottles, some coveted embroidered robes, some chose high-grade leather clothes, and some got wall clocks inlaid with pearls and jade. Some carry big bags, which are full of all kinds of treasures. Some people put gold bars and leaves in the big pockets of their coats; Some are wrapped in brocade; Some hats are filled with rubies, pearls and crystals; Some people wear jade collars around their necks. There is a mountain of high-grade silks and satins in one wing, which is said to be enough for half of Beijing residents, and all of them are carried away by soldiers in carts. A British officer plundered a golden Buddha from a temple with 500 Buddha statues, with a value of 1 200. A French officer robbed property worth 600,000 francs. The treasure plundered by the son of Montaubon, commander-in-chief of the French army, was worth 300 thousand francs and filled several carriages. A British private named Hollis once stole two golden Buddha pagodas (all three stories, one 7 feet high and the other 6.4 feet high) and a lot of other treasures from the garden, and found seven strong men to carry them back to the barracks for him. . In addition to robbery, the invaders destroyed countless things. Several rooms were full of silks and satins, and clothes were dragged out of the box and thrown all over the floor. People can almost cover their knees when they walk into the room. The engineer with a big axe smashed all the furniture and took the jewels from it. Some people break big mirrors, others shoot candlesticks for fun. Most French soldiers waved sticks and smashed everything they couldn't take with them. 654381October 9 When the French army temporarily evacuated Yuanmingyuan, this beautiful garden was destroyed.
Burning Yuanmingyuan
Just as the Qing government bowed to the invaders and promised to accept all the conditions of "negotiation and peace", on the other day, when signing the contract, Elgin and Grant, the leaders of the British invasion of China, made the Qing government "shocked" in order to impress them with their invasion of China, and even brazenly ordered the burning of Yuanmingyuan under the pretext that the Qing government arrested ministers and abused prisoners of war. Erkin wanted to send a message by burning Yuanmingyuan: It is the Emperor China and his minions who should be responsible for the atrocities such as arresting officials and abusing prisoners, not the people of China. A few days before the retaliation, Erkin ordered the following announcements to be posted all over Beijing, declaring the purpose of the British and French allied forces to burn the Yuanmingyuan: "No one, no matter how high his position, can escape responsibility and punishment after committing fraud and atrocities; Yuanmingyuan will be burned on (1860 10) 18 as a punishment for the treachery of Emperor China; Only the Qing imperial government should be responsible for this, and people who have nothing to do with atrocities do not have to worry about being hurt. " (translated from English)
10June 18 and June 19, 3,000 to 4,000 British troops set fire to all parts of the park. The fire didn't go out for three days and nights, and the smoke cloud enveloped Beijing for a long time. This unique garden masterpiece was burned together. Afterwards, according to the official investigation of the Qing Dynasty, there were only 20 or 30 temples, pavilions, temples, official doors, value rooms and other buildings in the huge Yuanming Three Gardens, but many doors and windows were uneven, and the indoor furnishings and several cases were looted. Since then, some buildings of Qingyi Garden in Wanshou Mountain, Jingyi Garden in Xiangshan Mountain and Jingming Garden in Yuquan Mountain have also been burned down.
According to relevant records, when the British invaders burned Anyou Palace on June 6th, 10, the eunuch in charge of Anyou Palace locked the gate, and 300 people including eunuchs, maids and craftsmen in Anyou Palace were burned alive.
When Yuanmingyuan fell into a sea of fire, Erjin proudly declared: "This move will shake China and Europe, and its effect far exceeds the imagination of people thousands of miles away." . The main emissary of the fire regarded this behavior as a great achievement, and upright people all over the world were angered by this barbaric crime. Hugo wrote in 186 1: "One day, two robbers broke into Yuanmingyuan, one robbed and the other set fire. It seems that after winning, you can start stealing ... two winners, one full of pockets, and the other full of boxes and baskets. They returned to Europe arm in arm with a smile.
Two robbers who will be punished by history, one is France and the other is Britain. This passage represents the voice of millions of upright people.
Prince Gong, who was ordered to stay in Beijing while Yuanmingyuan was still burning? All agreed to all the conditions of the invaders. Soon, the Tianjin Treaty text was exchanged with Britain, France and Russia, and the Beijing Treaty was signed.