001 Architecture Qinglian Temple Qinglian Temple stands on Xiashi Mountain in Zezhou, Jincheng, Shanxi; formerly called Xiashi Temple, the mountain already held a Buddhist sanctuary in the Northern Qi. During the Taihe era of the Tang, the monk Huaigong built a monastic compound on the mountain with the support of local officials and people; later the old temple below the mountain received the bestowed plaque “Qinglian,” and the compound above received the plaque “Fuyan.” Today the lower cloister preserves six Tang painted sculptures, and the upper cloister retains the Northern Song Shakyamuni Hall and a sutra repository pavilion repaired through the ages; the temple's steles record the construction and restoration of both compounds. Northern Qi Dynasty Zezhou County, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province Qinglian Temple · Xiashi Temple · Fuyan Chan Monastery →
002 Architecture Master of the Nets Garden The Master of the Nets Garden lies at Kuojiatou Lane in Gusu District, Suzhou, Jiangsu. Its predecessor was the Southern Song official Shi Zhengzhi's Hall of Ten Thousand Volumes and his Fisherman's Seclusion flower nursery; after the nursery fell into ruin, the estate was sold off, divided, and turned into a government grain depot, until Song Zongyuan rebuilt it in the Qianlong era of the Qing and Qu Yuancun enlarged it, passing in the Tongzhi era to Li Hongyi. It is now a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997. The article gathers the full texts of sixteen Yuan, Ming, and Qing documents together with six historical photographs taken by Osvald Sirén. Southern Song Dynasty Gusu District, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province Master of the Nets Garden · Hall of Ten Thousand Volumes · Fisherman's Seclusion →
003 Architecture Prince Gong's Mansion Prince Gong's Mansion in Beijing began as the residence of Heshen, the Qianlong emperor's favorite; its nanmu house, built in imitation of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, was listed among Heshen's Twenty Great Crimes and survives as today's Xijin Studio. After confiscation in 1799, half of the mansion became Princess Hexiao's residence and half was granted to Prince Qing Yonglin; in 1852 the Xianfeng emperor allotted it to Prince Gong Yixin, whose northern garden was completed in the Tongzhi era; in 1937 it became the women's college of Fu Jen University. Listed in 1982 as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level, it is now the Prince Gong's Mansion Museum. The article collects original texts from the Veritable Records of the Qing, the Draft History of Qing, and other documents, together with twentieth-century historical photographs. Qing Dynasty No. 17 Qianhai West Street, Xicheng District, Beijing Prince Gong's Mansion · Heshen · Prince Qing Yonglin →