Yulantang

Yulantang

Located by Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace. Originally built in the 15th year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty, it was reconstructed during the Guangxu era (1875–1908). It served as the bedroom palace of Emperor Guangxu. After the failure of the Hundred Days' Reform in 1898, Empress Dowager Cixi once imprisoned Guangxu here.

Yulantang is a courtyard-style building, with the main hall Yulantang facing south, the eastern side hall Xiafen Room, and the western side hall Ouxiang Pavilion. Originally, all three halls had back doors: the eastern hall led to Renshou Hall, the western hall to the lakeside dock, and the back door of the main hall directly faced Yiyun Hall. At that time, to prevent Guangxu from contacting the outside world, multiple walls were built, most of which have been removed today, though traces can still be seen. Most of the furnishings in the main hall date back to the Qianlong era, and the purple sandalwood screen behind the imperial desk is particularly distinctive, featuring strong three-dimensional artwork.

The throne, imperial desk, and incense table are all made of light-colored agarwood and dark purple sandalwood, extremely precious. The eastern warm room served as the breakfast chamber, while the western warm room functioned as the bedroom, with its current furnishings being the original pieces. Most of the items in the main hall are relics from the Qianlong period. The rear eaves and the two side halls are enclosed with brick walls, isolating them from the outside world, making it an important historical site within the Summer Palace.

During the Qianlong era, Yulantang was a study hall for the emperor. During the Jiaqing reign, the emperor used this place for work, meals, and meetings with ministers. In the Daoguang era, to save expenses, some furnishings were removed, and it was used to host banquets for meritorious ministers. During the Qingyi Garden period, the main layout of the hall’s furnishings was as follows: the central area of the main hall housed a throne, behind which stood a five-panel screen. There was also a covered brazier on the floor. Inside the floor-length screen was a Nanmu and cypress wood canopy bed facing south, flanked by hat racks and desks. The desks held vases, boxes, inkstones, and cases. The cases contained water pots, brush holders, booklets, ink rests, inkstones, and other items.

Shelves were placed against the east and west walls, holding goblets, bells, tripods, chimes, books, and other objects. Calligraphy and paintings were mounted on the walls. The rear porch had a Nanmu and cypress wood canopy bed facing south, with an incense table on the left side holding booklets, stone boxes, and standing screens. On the right side was a desk with booklets and scrolls. The bed was flanked by goblets, incense burners, cosmetic boxes, and mirrors. A shelf against the south wall held shelves on both sides, with books displayed on the shelves and the table. The eastern room had a Nanmu and cypress wood canopy bed facing south, with an incense table on the left holding books, and a desk on the right holding books and a covered box for jade tablets. There was a covered brazier on the floor. A tall incense table was placed in front of the pillars. Landscape paintings were mounted on all four sides of the corner screen.

The western room had a Nanmu and cypress wood canopy bed on the east side, flanked by desks. The left desk held a wine vessel, inkstone, vase, and case, while the right desk held an incense burner, vase, box, scrolls, and booklets. On the Nanmu shelf on the west wall were a jade pot spring vase, calligraphy models, and books. A Nanmu and cypress wood canopy bed faced south on the west side, with an incense table holding books and booklets. Nearby were a hat rack and bookshelves. Outside the floor-length screen along the east wall was a desk holding books and a plum vase. A bronze brazier was on the floor.

The western porch had a Nanmu and cypress wood canopy “swastika” bed facing east, holding scrolls, ruyi scepters, boxes, tables, trays, cases, vases, and a purple sandalwood covered case containing one white jade seal carved with “Treasure of the Qingyi Garden on Longevity Hill.” The kang table held vases, jars, books, and a carved purple sandalwood covered case containing one bluish jade seal carved with “Treasure of the Qingyi Garden on Longevity Hill.” There was a pair of bookshelves: the left shelf held a flower goblet and a basket, with booklets inside the left and right drawers. The bed held two pairs of silk dragon boats, two pairs of purple sandalwood bases, two pairs of rosewood bases, and one pair of ivory dragon boats.

During the Guangxu era, Yulantang was used as the bedroom palace of Emperor Guangxu. The hall contained only daily furniture and very few decorative cultural artifacts. According to the inventory from the 28th year of Guangxu, there were only 105 items in Yulantang, mostly furniture, including a gold-lacquered throne, tea tables, display cabinets, stools, hardwood rattan-core beds, hardwood rattan-bottomed arhat beds, hardwood carved dragon cabinets, carved dragon upright cabinets, carved dragon longevity chairs, carved longevity raised-edge tables, carved longevity chairs, glass screens, glass mirror screens, throne beds, hardwood inlaid mother-of-pearl marble Eight Immortals tables and chairs, tea tables, zither tables, hardwood small rattan-patterned tables, hardwood carved cloud-dragon large screens, hardwood carved dragon raised-edge tables, rack tables, hardwood dragon desks, display screen cabinets, footstools, small tables, low zither tables, round tables, small beds, display cabinets, incense tables, half-round tables, kang tables, lion pedestals, inlaid hanging screens, tall fruit plate stands, octagonal tall plant stands, rosewood porcelain-core tea tables, kang tables, long tables, raised-edge tables, kang desks, Eight Immortals tables, upright cabinets, small raised-edge tables, rattan-core arhat beds, porcelain-core stools, carved cloud-dragon rattan-core chairs, carved bamboo and plum zither tables, carved gold-character zither tables, foreign rosewood carved raised-edge tables, 24-panel rosewood screens, gold-lacquered carved dragon thrones, red-painted gold-ball thrones, gold-flower red-painted screens, red-painted gold-ball tabletops, red-painted gold-flower small dining tables, wooden root thrones, phoenix-feather palace fans, camphor wood beds, red-lacquered gold-thread zither tables, and other unmatched hardwood furniture.

Summer Palace

Longevity Hill

Kunming Lake

Buddha Fragrance Pavilion in the Summer Palace

Seventeen-Arch Bridge

Renshou Hall

Beijing Stone Boat