Tsinghua Garden
39°58′56″N 116°20′22″E / 39.982264°N 116.339379°E
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Tsinghua Garden | |
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Hanyu Pinyin | Qīnghuá Yuán |
Tsinghua Garden (
Name
The name of the garden, "Tsinghua" (Qinghua), which gave its name to the university later on, derived from a line in a poem from the 5th-century poet Xie Hun (謝混) called You Xi Chi (游西池).[1]
History
Tsinghua Garden, originally the Xichun Garden, was granted as a gift by the
In 1821, the Daoguang Emperor divided the Xichun Garden into Chunze Garden (later renamed to Jinchun Garden) and Hande Garden (later renamed back to Xichun Garden), and granted them respectively to his brothers Mianxin (Prince Ruihuai 瑞懷親王) and Miankai (Prince Dunke 惇恪親王). After Miankai's death, Xichun Garden was inherited by his adopted son, Yicong (Prince Dun). As Yicong was actually the fifth son of the Daoguang Emperor, Xichun Garden was loosely referred to as the "Fifth Prince's Garden" (小五爺園).
In 1852, after the Xianfeng Emperor came to the throne, he renamed Xichun Garden to "Qinghua Garden" (or "Tsinghua Garden"). In 1860, during the Second Opium War, the Anglo-French forces destroyed Jinchun Garden while burning down the Old Summer Palace. Qinghua Garden sustained little or no damage. After Yicong's death, Qinghua Garden was inherited by his eldest son, Zailian.
In the aftermath of the 1900 Boxer Rebellion, Qinghua Garden was confiscated by the Qing imperial government because it had been used by Zailian's younger brother, Zaiyi (Prince Duan), as a meeting location with the Boxer rebels. The garden fell into disrepair for some years before the imperial government approved a request by the foreign affairs ministry to build a school on the land. The school, named "Qinghua School" (清華學堂), started operating in 1911.
In 1913, the Qinghua School formally acquired the former Jinchun Garden and the surrounding areas, and gradually expanded over time to become the present-day Tsinghua University.[2]
References
- ^ 謝混. 《游西池》: 景昃鳴禽集,水木湛清華.
- ISBN 9787302128656.
- Zhang, Sijing (张思敬) (2001). History of Tsinghua University (清华大学志) (in Chinese). Tsinghua University Press. ISBN 7302043191.