View allAll Photos Tagged BENEVOLENCE
I want to wish you a very happy Valentine’s Day, with this lovely origami "Crane in Love" by Elsje van de Ploeg.
Love is in the air, they say.......every day should be Valentine’s Day!!!
In Japan, the crane is a mystical creature and is believed to live for a thousand years. As a result, in the Japanese, Chinese and Korean culture, the crane represents good fortune and longevity. The Japanese refer to the crane as the “bird of happiness”. The wings of the crane were believed to carry souls up to paradise. Mothers who pray for the protection of the crane’s wings for their children will recite the prayer:
“O flock of heavenly cranes
cover my child with your wings.”
Elsje van de Ploeg departed from our material world in 2014. But for all of her Ori- and ELFA-friends, she will forever be with them. The memory of the numerous messages exchanged by snail-mail over the years, and the manifold treasures that she was always keen to share, spread and teach, will forever bear the mark of her benevolence.
Elsje’s journey in origami is essentially linked to the Envelope and Letter-Fold Association (ELFA), of which she was a founding member alongside John Cunliffe and Thoki Yenn, back in 1988.
This website is still open and worthwhile to visit! You find many examples of how to fold letters and envelopes, all easy models ;-)
One could easily attach a pin behind this model and then you have a lovely little brooch.
Model: Crane in love
Design by Elsje van de Ploeg
Diagrams in the B(ritish) O(rigami) S(ociety) Convention book 1992 -Spring Nottingham
I used shiny folie to fold them:
- big crane 12x12cm,
- middle 8x8cm,
- little one 4,5x4,5cm.
Goldfield Cemetery
Oath taken to become a member:
"I declare upon honor that I believe in a Supreme Being, that I am not a professional gambler, or unlawfully engaged in the wholesale or retail sale of intoxicating liquors or narcotics, and that I believe in the maintenance of the order and the upholding of constituted authority in the government in which I live. Moreover, I declare upon honor that I am not a Communist or Fascist; that I do not advocate nor am I a member of any organization that advocates the overthrow of the Government of the Country of which I am a Citizen, by force or violence or other unlawful means; and that I do not seek by force or violence to deny to other persons their rights under the laws of such country."
"In times long past, this planet was the home of a mighty, noble race of beings who called themselves the Krell. Ethically and technologically they were a million years ahead of humankind, for in unlocking the mysteries of nature they had conquered even their baser selves, and when in the course of eons they had abolished sickness and insanity, crime and all injustice, they turned, still in high benevolence, upwards towards space. Then, having reached the heights, this all-but-divine race perished in a single night, and nothing was preserved above ground" ~ Dr. Edward Morbius (Forbidden Planet)
De jolies fleurs vues lors d'une promenade... Dans le langage des fleurs, la jacinthe symbolise la bienveillance ou la joie du cœur. Bon samedi à vous tous!
Pretty flowers seen during a walk... In the language of flowers, the hyacinth symbolizes benevolence or the joy of the heart. Happy Saturday to all of you!
The Seventeen Arch Bridge is an iconic symbol of Beijing. It sits at the heart of the Summer Palace complex, and connects the eastern shore of Kunming Lake with Nanhu Island. It is another fine example of architecture from the 18th Century Qianlong Period.
The tower in the distance, left of shot, is the Yufeng Pagoda on Jade Spring Hill. Most of China's top political and military leaders, including Xi Jinping, live on villas on its slopes, having long since abandoned the more spartan Central Party Compound near the forbidden city.
The Summer Palace is the best place to explore both the finery of China’s Golden Age and its rapid decay in the 19th Century. The Summer Palace isn’t just one palace, but in fact a vast complex covering more than a square mile, containing more than 3,000 buildings, and the famous Seventeen Hole Bridge as iconic a symbol of Beijing as the Palace of Westminster is of London.
Beijing was booming in the 1700s, with the population growing rapidly and along with it much light industry. Around 1749, the Qianlong Emperor decided to build a palace eight miles from the smoky downtown, on a beautiful site overlooking a lake that was being used for stables, to celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother, Empress Dowager Chongqing. He had the lake dredged and expanded to create what is now Kunming Lake, and the earth excavated to do so was used to raise the height of what is now Longevity Hill. What would become the Summer Palace was still called the Gardens of Clear Ripples.
Designed in the style of the gardens of South China, and drawing on motifs from Chinese mythology, the hill was soon graced by the Great Temple of Gratitude and Longevity, later renamed the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, which was overlooked by the Tower of Buddhist Incense, and graced by other wonderfully named buildings like Hall of Benevolence and Longevity the Hall for Listening to Orioles.
Encapsulating China’s Qianglong Golden age, it also encapsulates its subsequent disastrous decline. While the Qianlong Emperor lavished support on the arts and expanded China’s borders to their greatest ever extent, years of exhausting campaigns weakened the military, while in the Empire’s prosperous core, decadence set in, with endemic corruption, wastefulness at the court and a stagnating civil society. These problems would accelerate after the Qianlong Emperor died in 1799. In the heyday of intercontinental sailing ships, Chinese had already successfully managed direct trading relations with Europe for several centuries by this point, exporting porcelain to Europe and the Americas at scale. So when some arrogantly uncouth emissaries arrived at court in the 1830s from an upstart country named Britain, they were initially dismissed as a particularly unpleasant of self-deluding barbarians.
But a sign of the rotten state of the Chinese Empire as the 19th Century wore on was the increasingly dilapidated state of the Summer Palace. During the Second Opium War, British and French forces sacked and burned the Summer Palace as part of an invasion of Northern China which forced the Qing government to sign a trade treaty on unwelcome terms. The Place was further damaged in 1900, by an alliance of Western and Japanese troops who were putting down the Boxer Rebellion. Yet the Chinese Imperial system which stretched unbroken back to Qin ended in 1912, when Puyi, the last Emperor abdicated. Two years later, the Summer Palace was turned into a public park, and so it has remained ever since, barring a few years after the Communist takeover of 1949, when it briefly housed the Central Party School.
Restoration work has taken place at some pace since the 1980s, and continues to the present day.
This magnificent site can be very crowded, especially if you visit, as I did, on the second day of China’s weeklong early October holiday. More than ten million visitors come here every year, averaging nearly 30,000 per day. You can see why. Despite the crowds, this is one of the world’s great historic sights.
The Summer Palace is a half-hour ride on a new subway line from the city centre. The surrounding are suburbs are wealthy, and house Xi Jinping and most of the party bigwigs – but they don’t take the subway!
“You should feel beautiful and you should feel safe. What you surround yourself with should bring you peace of mind and peace of spirit.”
—Stacy London
"Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice."
--Baruch Spinoza
Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, stands as an epitome of grandeur and heritage. Constructed in the 20th century, it was commissioned by Maharaja Umaid Singh and designed by British architect Henry Vaughan Lanchester. This majestic palace served as the residence of the Jodhpur royal family and provided employment to thousands during its construction, symbolizing the royal family's benevolence during economic hardships. With its exquisite blend of Eastern and Western architectural styles, Umaid Bhawan Palace continues to mesmerize visitors as a luxury hotel, museum, and heritage site. Its relevance transcends time, serving as a testament to Jodhpur's royal legacy and attracting tourists from across the globe. Today, it remains a symbol of opulence and cultural heritage, hosting cultural events, royal ceremonies, and lavish weddings, while preserving the rich history and traditions of the region.
Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence:
and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
1 Corinthians 7:3
For once, this photo is not candid. I asked her to pose for my first street portrait. I was a little nervous, I was a little afraid to miss the shot...
The photographer is already clumsy, but the model by her presence, her positive energy, her amused and questioning side saves the image with the benevolence that she showed around her...
Tell me what you think about street photography. Does the posed photo also show an emotion, a story?
#4 on Explore! ⭐ August 27, 2022
One of two stone sutra pillars which is one of the few remains of the southern part of the Sumeru Temple on the north or back slope of Longevity Hill in Beijing’s Summer Palace complex. The rest was destroyed in the Anglo-French sack of Beijing in 1860-1.
The Summer Palace is the best place to explore both the finery of China’s Golden Age and its rapid decay in the 19th Century. The Summer Palace isn’t just one palace, but in fact a vast complex covering more than a square mile, containing more than 3,000 buildings, and the famous Seventeen Hole Bridge as iconic a symbol of Beijing as the Palace of Westminster is of London.
Beijing was booming in the 1700s, with the population growing rapidly and along with it much light industry. Around 1749, the Qianlong Emperor decided to build a palace eight miles from the smoky downtown, on a beautiful site overlooking a lake that was being used for stables, to celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother, Empress Dowager Chongqing. He had the lake dredged and expanded to create what is now Kunming Lake, and the earth excavated to do so was used to raise the height of what is now Longevity Hill. What would become the Summer Palace was still called the Gardens of Clear Ripples.
Designed in the style of the gardens of South China, and drawing on motifs from Chinese mythology, the hill was soon graced by the Great Temple of Gratitude and Longevity, later renamed the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, which was overlooked by the Tower of Buddhist Incense, and graced by other wonderfully named buildings like Hall of Benevolence and Longevity the Hall for Listening to Orioles.
Encapsulating China’s Qianglong Golden age, it also encapsulates its subsequent disastrous decline. While the Qianlong Emperor lavished support on the arts and expanded China’s borders to their greatest ever extent, years of exhausting campaigns weakened the military, while in the Empire’s prosperous core, decadence set in, with endemic corruption, wastefulness at the court and a stagnating civil society. These problems would accelerate after the Qianlong Emperor died in 1799. In the heyday of intercontinental sailing ships, Chinese had already successfully managed direct trading relations with Europe for several centuries by this point, exporting porcelain to Europe and the Americas at scale. So when some arrogantly uncouth emissaries arrived at court in the 1830s from an upstart country named Britain, they were initially dismissed as a particularly unpleasant of self-deluding barbarians.
But a sign of the rotten state of the Chinese Empire as the 19th Century wore on was the increasingly dilapidated state of the Summer Palace. During the Second Opium War, British and French forces sacked and burned the Summer Palace as part of an invasion of Northern China which forced the Qing government to sign a trade treaty on unwelcome terms. The Place was further damaged in 1900, by an alliance of Western and Japanese troops who were putting down the Boxer Rebellion. Yet the Chinese Imperial system which stretched unbroken back to Qin ended in 1912, when Puyi, the last Emperor abdicated. Two years later, the Summer Palace was turned into a public park, and so it has remained ever since, barring a few years after the Communist takeover of 1949, when it briefly housed the Central Party School.
Restoration work has taken place at some pace since the 1980s, and continues to the present day.
This magnificent site can be very crowded, especially if you visit, as I did, on the second day of China’s weeklong early October holiday. More than ten million visitors come here every year, averaging nearly 30,000 per day. You can see why. Despite the crowds, this is one of the world’s great historic sights.
The Summer Palace is a half-hour ride on a new subway line from the city centre. The surrounding are suburbs are wealthy, and house Xi Jinping and most of the party bigwigs – but they don’t take the subway!
This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia.
Do you count the times
hourly, left to right
upon chances forsaken
where compassion took leave
of the very time it had taken
praying, with hands clasped navicular
words fail the silence of their surrounds
breaking the spell of befallen hope
like a page torn from a valued book
set free, now a tale of enormous scope
already rewritten within living memory -
that all finding, all keeping sentence
laid down to word the testament of conscience
an immediate relic of rhetorical accusation,
let the sun rise in it's bespoken benevolence
can there truly be a day that is free
when we daily pay the price of our existence
counting the heavy cost of our exercised emotions
accruing charges from the debts our hearts owe one another
in a world laid bare to counterfeit notions.
by anglia24
10h35: 19/09/2007
© 2007anglia24
☀
Excerpt from the plaque:
Sungmundang 崇文堂 and Haminjeong 涵仁亭 are buildings behind Myeongjeonjeon, the main hall. Sungmundang was rebuilt in 1830. It was used by the king to hold conferences and discussions with scholars on state affairs and classical literature and to throw banquets to encourage them. The open porch at the front served as the entrance. The building name plaque writer by King Yeongjo (1724-1776) remains. Rebuilt in 1833, Haminjeong Pavilion was where the king received government officials who earned the highest scores on state civil and military examinations. Haminjeong mean “the whole world is soaked with the benevolence and virtue of the king.” As if symbolizing its name, this pavilion is open in all directions.
Glen Creek, Adirondacks, NY. The new snow dusted over the old overnight, and I slid down the embankment in some kind of out of control clatter to get down to the stream. The quiet returned quickly enough, an absorbing quiet that even the movement of the water did little to penetrate. There was as much charm in the brook's movement as in the more static sweep of snow laden evergreen boughs, and the scene posed for some time while I fumbled with cold fingers, slick rocks and precious gear. I laughed to myself, thinking about the contrast of winter's benevolence before me, and human turmoil within me. All that I lack-- the peace, the smoothness, the very temperament-- to hide what lurks below the surface of a flawed soul. If only what is before me could give me a lesson in grace. I am learning.
Classical Khmer kings of medieval Cambodia promoted the notion of Devarāja, a cult of the "god-king” that provided the religious rationale for royal authority. They were depicted as divine universal rulers or deified monarchs with transcendental qualities.
The gigantic smiling faces at Bayon Temple portray the great Mahayana Buddhist king, Jayavarman VII, as a living god on earth - a Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara or enlightened Buddhist saint overseeing a vast and disparate empire with an enigmatic blend of benevolence and absolute authority.
The temple served as the primary locus of the royal cult and was Jayavarman's personal mausoleum at the height of his rein over the Khmer Empire in the late 12th Century. It is positioned at the centre of the ancient Angkor Thom city complex and rural metropolis in northwestern Cambodia. Over 200 serenely smiling visages carved on more than 50 sandstone face-towers remain throughout the temple.
© All rights to these photos and descriptions are reserved. expl#63
Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.
Baruch Spinoza
photographed at Fox Lake, Wisconsin
112811
************
This photograph has earned the following highest awards:
The Challenge Factory, regular win, 011718
Nature in Focus, 88 awards thus far, 103021
DSLR Autofocus, Hall of Fame (14)
DSLR Autofocus, Ultimate Achievement (10)
DSLR Autofocus, MASTER of Photography (15)
DSLR Autofocus, GRANDMASTER of Photography (7)
The Seventeen Arch Bridge is an iconic symbol of Beijing. It sits at the heart of the Summer Palace complex, and connects the eastern shore of Kunming Lake with Nanhu Island. It is another fine example of architecture from the 18th Century Qianlong Period.
The tower in the distance, left of shot, is the Yufeng Pagoda on Jade Spring Hill. Most of China's top political and military leaders, including Xi Jinping, live on villas on its slopes, having long since abandoned the more spartan Central Party Compound near the forbidden city.
The Summer Palace is the best place to explore both the finery of China’s Golden Age and its rapid decay in the 19th Century. The Summer Palace isn’t just one palace, but in fact a vast complex covering more than a square mile, containing more than 3,000 buildings, and the famous Seventeen Hole Bridge as iconic a symbol of Beijing as the Palace of Westminster is of London.
Beijing was booming in the 1700s, with the population growing rapidly and along with it much light industry. Around 1749, the Qianlong Emperor decided to build a palace eight miles from the smoky downtown, on a beautiful site overlooking a lake that was being used for stables, to celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother, Empress Dowager Chongqing. He had the lake dredged and expanded to create what is now Kunming Lake, and the earth excavated to do so was used to raise the height of what is now Longevity Hill. What would become the Summer Palace was still called the Gardens of Clear Ripples.
Designed in the style of the gardens of South China, and drawing on motifs from Chinese mythology, the hill was soon graced by the Great Temple of Gratitude and Longevity, later renamed the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, which was overlooked by the Tower of Buddhist Incense, and graced by other wonderfully named buildings like Hall of Benevolence and Longevity the Hall for Listening to Orioles.
Encapsulating China’s Qianglong Golden age, it also encapsulates its subsequent disastrous decline. While the Qianlong Emperor lavished support on the arts and expanded China’s borders to their greatest ever extent, years of exhausting campaigns weakened the military, while in the Empire’s prosperous core, decadence set in, with endemic corruption, wastefulness at the court and a stagnating civil society. These problems would accelerate after the Qianlong Emperor died in 1799. In the heyday of intercontinental sailing ships, Chinese had already successfully managed direct trading relations with Europe for several centuries by this point, exporting porcelain to Europe and the Americas at scale. So when some arrogantly uncouth emissaries arrived at court in the 1830s from an upstart country named Britain, they were initially dismissed as a particularly unpleasant of self-deluding barbarians.
But a sign of the rotten state of the Chinese Empire as the 19th Century wore on was the increasingly dilapidated state of the Summer Palace. During the Second Opium War, British and French forces sacked and burned the Summer Palace as part of an invasion of Northern China which forced the Qing government to sign a trade treaty on unwelcome terms. The Place was further damaged in 1900, by an alliance of Western and Japanese troops who were putting down the Boxer Rebellion. Yet the Chinese Imperial system which stretched unbroken back to Qin ended in 1912, when Puyi, the last Emperor abdicated. Two years later, the Summer Palace was turned into a public park, and so it has remained ever since, barring a few years after the Communist takeover of 1949, when it briefly housed the Central Party School.
Restoration work has taken place at some pace since the 1980s, and continues to the present day.
This magnificent site can be very crowded, especially if you visit, as I did, on the second day of China’s weeklong early October holiday. More than ten million visitors come here every year, averaging nearly 30,000 per day. You can see why. Despite the crowds, this is one of the world’s great historic sights.
The Summer Palace is a half-hour ride on a new subway line from the city centre. The surrounding are suburbs are wealthy, and house Xi Jinping and most of the party bigwigs – but they don’t take the subway!
(Panthera pardus pardus) B28I9726 Shawu - Kruger NP - South Africa
This leopard was very busy raising its prey to the top of the tree to protect it from lusts. It took us half an hour to approach him, step by step, to give him confidence. With his gaze, he ensured our benevolence. On the other hand, another vehicle arrived noisily and without respect and it fled.
Ce léopard était très occupé à remonter sa proie au sommet de l'arbre pour la mettre à l'abri des convoitises. Nous avons mis une demi heure à l'approcher, étape par étape pour le mettre en confiance. Avec son regard, il s'est assuré de notre bienveillance. Par contre, un autre véhicule est arrivé bruyamment, sans respect et il s'est enfui.
Classical Khmer kings of medieval Cambodia promoted the notion of Devarāja, a cult of the "god-king” that provided the religious rationale for royal authority. They were depicted as divine universal rulers or deified monarchs with transcendental qualities.
The gigantic smiling faces at Bayon Temple portray the great Mahayana Buddhist king, Jayavarman VII, as a living god on earth - a Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara or enlightened Buddhist saint overseeing a vast and disparate empire with an enigmatic blend of benevolence and absolute authority.
Bayon Temple served as the primary locus of the royal cult and was Jayavarman's personal mausoleum at the height of his rein over the Khmer Empire in the late 12th Century. The temple is positioned at the centre of the ancient Angkor Thom city complex and rural metropolis in northwestern Cambodia. Over 200 serenely smiling visages carved on more than 50 sandstone face-towers remain throughout the temple.
© All rights to these photos and descriptions are reserved.
Rethinking Portraiture | Personal Faves | National Geographic
I decided to go looking for some Autumnal colour in Birnam wood at the weekend, the colour isn’t quite there yet – give it a week or two. I parked in the centre of town and made my way through the Beatrix Potter garden and then just followed my feet, in the general direction of Birnam Hill. Cold to the point of frosty when I set off, the rising sun and steady gradient soon generated enough heat to have me doffing my fleece.
Covering the hill, Birnam wood is crisscrossed with paths and tracks. I had no destination in mind and just let my feet find their way. Upon reaching a junction I made choices for photographic reasons; more colour, mist, light that way, or simply on a whim. I was, to use the Scots expression, in a bit of a dwam.
After an hour or so of wandering the path leveled off and I reached what I judged to be the top of the hill. It was hard to be certain; the trees grew thick and close to the path, showing no signs of its historic deforestation at the hands of King Malcolm’s army and affording no sight of landmarks.
The mist was thicker here and I pottered around taking pictures of the trees, the myriad of cobwebs (the condensation from the mist really makes them stand out) and the occasional fleeting glimpse of the sun through the mist. A couple walking a dog passed as I blundered around in the foliage a few feet from the path and asked if I was photographing the fairies. I was trying to manhandle my tripod into position at the time and had my camera strap in my mouth. I managed a “hummdphh mayhunghh” by way of reply which I am confident was correctly interpreted to mean “I am lining up to take a shot of some cobwebs, but I will certainly keep my eyes out for fairies”.
After a while I felt I had a few good shots in the bag and decided I would head back to the car. Abruptly I realized I had no clear idea how to get back to the car, I had wandered at random, taking crossings and turn offs at will and even diverting off into the undergrowth chasing shots and then stumbling out again onto a different path, but not really recording my route. Common sense would dictate that I head downhill but I might very well find myself on the wrong side of the hill facing an extended circuit around the bottom, or worse, retracing my steps and trying again.
Now, if this was a folk tale, it would be more or less at this moment that a faint point of blue light would appear, just at the furthest limit of sight in the mist. I would follow this, thanking the benevolence of the fairy folk and it would lead me safely home (or off a cliff)…….none of that happened, well not quite like that, I did follow a blue light to safety and civilization; the “your position” dot on Google Maps.
Classical Khmer kings of medieval Cambodia promoted the notion of Devarāja, a cult of the "god-king” that provided the religious rationale for royal authority. They were depicted as divine universal rulers or deified monarchs with transcendental qualities.
The gigantic smiling faces at Bayon Temple portray the great Mahayana Buddhist king, Jayavarman VII, as a living god on earth - a Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara or enlightened Buddhist saint overseeing a vast and disparate empire with an enigmatic blend of benevolence and absolute authority.
Bayon Temple served as the primary locus of the royal cult and was Jayavarman's personal mausoleum at the height of his rein over the Khmer Empire in the late 12th Century. The temple is positioned at the centre of the ancient Angkor Thom city complex and rural metropolis in northwestern Cambodia. Over 200 serenely smiling visages carved on more than 50 sandstone face-towers remain throughout the temple.
© All rights to these photos and descriptions are reserved.
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, doubt, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence,empathy, generosity, forgiveness, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: ;Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, The one you feed.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongdaemun:
Heunginjimun (Gate of Rising Benevolence), more commonly known as Dongdaemun (Eastern Great Gate), is one of The Eight Gates of Seoul in the Fortress Wall of Seoul, a prominent landmark in central Seoul, South Korea. The Korean name "Dongdaemun" means "Great East Gate," and it was so named because it was the major eastern gate in the wall that surrounded Seoul during the Joseon period. The gate is located at Jongno 6-ga in Jongno District.
The structure was first built by King Taejo during his fifth year of reign (1398). It was renovated in 1453, and the current structure is the one rebuilt in 1869. Heunginjimun shows architectural style of the late Joseon period. The most unusual characteristic is its built outer wall, Ongseong. Ongseong was constructed to compensate the weakness of the target from multiple invaders, protecting the gate.
Excerpt from www.gohk.gov.hk/en/spots/spot_detail.php?spot=Tai+O+Kwan+...:
Tai O Kwan Tai Old Temple on Kat Hing Back Street of Tai O was originally built in the Hongzhi reign (1488 - 1505) of the Ming Dynasty. It was rebuilt in situ in the 6th year of the Qianlong (1741) reign of the Qing Dynasty. The main ridge of the Temple is with Shiwan ceramics including characters of Yeung’s Military Family.
The Temple is dedicated to the worship of Kwan Tai. Kwan Tai refers to Guan Yu (courtesy name Yunchang) who was a famous military general of the State of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period (220 – 280). He was reputed as "the enemy of ten thousand people", and is the paradigm of mightiness, loyalty and righteousness. Kwan Tai is widely glorified and worshipped for his wisdom, trustworthiness, benevolence, righteousness and courage.
The Temple is also popular for its strong association with Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade during Tuen Ng Festival when the deity statue of Kwan Tai is invited to participate in the water parade and related ceremonies.
Tai O Kwan Tai Old Temple was rated Grade 2 historic building in 2010.
Excerpt from the plaque:
Sungmundang 崇文堂 and Haminjeong 涵仁亭 are buildings behind Myeongjeonjeon, the main hall. Sungmundang was rebuilt in 1830. It was used by the king to hold conferences and discussions with scholars on state affairs and classical literature and to throw banquets to encourage them. The open porch at the front served as the entrance. The building name plaque writer by King Yeongjo (1724-1776) remains. Rebuilt in 1833, Haminjeong Pavilion was where the king received government officials who earned the highest scores on state civil and military examinations. Haminjeong mean “the whole world is soaked with the benevolence and virtue of the king.” As if symbolizing its name, this pavilion is open in all directions.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Stephen%27s_College_(Hong_Kong):
St Stephen's College (聖士提反書院) is a Christian Direct Subsidy Scheme co-educational secondary school in Stanley, Hong Kong. With an area of about 150,000 m2 (15 hectares), the college is the largest secondary school in Hong Kong, and is one of the very few boarding schools in the territory. Many buildings in the campus are listed in the list of historic Buildings and Declared Monuments by the Antiquities Advisory Board. When the college was founded in 1903, there were only six boarders and one day student; in the academic year 2014–2015, there were approximately 910 students studying in the college. St Stephen's College uses English as the medium of instruction except for Chinese-based subjects. St Stephen's College is the first school in the territory having its own Heritage Trail in the school campus. The college's oldest building, the School House, was declared a monument in 2011, being one of the few schools in Hong Kong to own a Declared Monument in its campus.
The establishment of the college dates back to 1901. A group of prominent Chinese businessmen approached the Church Missionary Society to administer a school for their sons. The inspiration came from Sun Yat-sen. The aim was to achieve a standard of teaching and level of equipment comparable to the best public schools in England. In 1903, St Stephen's College was officially established on Bonham Road in Western District. In the 1920s, the government granted the school 37 acres (150,000 m2) on the Stanley Peninsula in recognition of outstanding contributions to education. The foundation stone was laid in April 1928 by the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Cecil Clementi, and in May 1929, the college was fully functional in its new buildings, many of which are still in use today.
During the Battle of Hong Kong in the Second World War, heavy fighting took place around the college, which was among the last British strongholds to surrender to the Imperial Japanese Army. Shortly after the surrender, the Imperial Japanese Army broke into the college (which served as a military hospital during the battle) and murdered wounded soldiers of the Allied forces, in what would be known as the St. Stephen's College massacre. The Japanese later merged the college with part of Stanley Prison to form the Stanley Internment Camp.
The college reopened after the war and a chapel was built in 1950 to remember those who died during the Japanese occupation.
Originally a private school, St Stephen's College became a government-funded public school during the late 1900s. Since the 2008–2009 academic year, the college has become a Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) school 直接資助計劃, which is a historic change to the college as it freed the school from the centralised funding system that currently administers secondary education in Hong Kong. Students enrolled in the 2002 Primary 1 class at St Stephen's College Preparatory School, also based in Stanley, were the first group of students to enter the DSS system. In order to upgrade the school administrative level, this is the first secondary school in Hong Kong to employ a registered professional housing manager on its staff to manage and handle all property and facilities-related issues for and on behalf of the school.
Photography should be real, truthful and hit hard at the senses whether it's a man without legs or a lovely sunset.
I do shoot both!
Part of my repertoire is shooting people in pain.
Social outcasts, people who have no advocacy and who survive on the generosity of others due to their disabilities.
I don't see life through rose colored glasses.........
For the last 4 decades I have been a physician, a shooter , a donator and a spiritual humanitarian visitor/ lecturer in international psychiatry on behalf of worldwide charitable organizations.
Here are just some of the organizations i have been associated with.
You can help if you want to. The world needs you. Here are some organizations that could use your involvement ones that i have been exposed to.
SINCE 1990:
1. Medical Benevolence Foundation www.mbfoundation.org/ since 1994.
( INDIA, VIETNAM, BANGLADESH,THAILAND, INDONESIA,HAITI,Dom Rep etc.)
2. Medecins sans frontieres-DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS
3. ASHA in DELHI slums INDIA
4. Paraiso Assistance Program- built a hospital in Paraiso in the Domincan Republic
5. CRY AMERICA.ORG helping the impoverished children of INDIA
america.cry.org/site/index.html
6. Presbyterian Church in Thailand, India, Indonesia .
7. RIchardson Leprosy Hospital/Miraj Medical Center INDIA
leprosyhistory.org/database/archive695
8. Lectured and held several conferences, seminars about international psychiatry and culture attitudes towards medicine in both the third world and in the USA.
( INDIA, PERU,VIETNAM, BANGLADESH, THAILAND, etc etc etc )
9. North Village Leper Colony for the aged lepers and AIDS HOSPITAL & Medical OUTREACH IN CHIANG MAI
Dr. James McKean founded this hospice
leprosyhistory.org/geographical_region/site/chaing-mai
10. ROW MISSIONS BEN MATHES A GREAT MAN DOING GREAT THINGS
IN THE WORLD ON THE RIVERS OF THE WORLD
www.missionhope.org/ben-mathes
11.ANGKOR HOSPITAL For CHILDREN in SIAM REAP CAMBODIA
12. St Vincents children hospital
13. Soho house charity for Children with Cancer- Jean Clarkson
14. Tracy Alvas MISSION 4 Multiple Sclerosis- Red Bank NJ.
www.nationalmssociety.org/Chapters/NJM
15. Dr TULSI DAS in BENARES, INDIA has a program that is very poorly funded but visits leprosariums...
in the monkey temple of BENARES aka VARANASI
I recently spent time in three leprosy colonies where untrained volunteers cut through the dead skin of the feet of people with Leprosy. This alleviates some of the pain because although lepers do not feel their lesions the lesions do start to ulcerate and cause pain locally. Under poor lighting and in filthy surroundings this was being done
at all the centers.
www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/en/news/articles/2020/2020022...
16. Miraj- Sangli Indian psychiatrists- recently lectured in Feb 2013
Giving doesn't only mean money. I've visited Presbyterians missions worldwide to provide emotional and monetary support to let these selfless people who work for peanuts helping those who have no voice and no medical help in their countries, know their actions are not overlooked and are what makes the difference to so many millions of the downtrodden & disenfranchised worldwide.
17- Most recently i am involved with the CATHOLIC CHURCH in INDIA helping build homes for LEPERS and their children and schools for the children. The stigma of LEPROSY is huge and though CHILDREN do not have the disease due to ignorance they are not allowed in the general population.
This is being done in PURI, in the state of ORISSA in INDIA.
18-Shriners children hospital
DO SOMETHING TO HELP THOSE LESS FORTUNATE.
Photography’s new conscience
Classical Khmer kings of medieval Cambodia promoted the notion of Devarāja, a cult of the "god-king” that provided the religious rationale for royal authority. They were depicted as divine universal rulers or deified monarchs with transcendental qualities.
The gigantic smiling faces at Bayon Temple portray the great Mahayana Buddhist king, Jayavarman VII, as a living god on earth - a Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara or enlightened Buddhist saint overseeing a vast and disparate empire with an enigmatic blend of benevolence and absolute authority.
Bayon Temple served as the primary locus of the royal cult and was Jayavarman's personal mausoleum at the height of his rein over the Khmer Empire in the late 12th Century. The temple is positioned at the centre of the ancient Angkor Thom city complex and rural metropolis in northwestern Cambodia. Over 200 serenely smiling visages carved on more than 50 sandstone face-towers remain throughout the temple.
© All rights to these photos and descriptions are reserved.
Mucca_La Madre Cosmica
"... la Mucca o Vacca Sacra è colei che nutre con benevolenza, amore e dolcezza: connotati dell'archetipo della Madre Buona. ... La Mucca, con i suoi grandi occhi dolci, ... ci suggerisce di essere materni con tutto ciò che da noi nasce, nutrendo e proteggendo con amore le nostre creazioni."
Cow_The Cosmic Mother
"... the Cow or Sacred Cow is the one who nourishes with benevolence, love and sweetness: connotations of the archetype of the Good Mother. ... The Cow, with her large sweet eyes, ... suggests us to be maternal with everything that comes from us, nourishing and protecting our creations with love."
I testi citati sono di Federica Zizzari, tratti da "Animali Guida" ed. Vivida. The texts cited are by Federica Zizzari, taken from "Animali Guida" ed. Vivida.
Bing Image Creator
© 2021 Mike McCall
_Overcome_
[2310-D7500-L]
Benevolence, Randolph County, Georgia, USA
Explored on Flickr!
8-Rouen-Great Clock-Normandy-France
EL GRAN RELOJ DE ROUEN . GROS HERLOG ROUEN
El gran reloj de Rouen: Es un reloj astronómico del siglo XIV .Su mecanismo es uno de los mas antiguos de Francia y forma parte de un conjunto protegido desde 1862 que completa una arcada sobre pabellón y una fuente monumental. La construcción del reloj data de 1389 instalado inicialmente en otra torre cívica junto a las campanas comunales con elementos góticos florido construida entre 1389 y 1398 sobre los cimientos de una torre anterior que fue destruida en 1382 por los ciudadanos que se sublevaron a consecuencia del abusivo régimen fiscal del Rey al objeto de financiar la guerra con Inglaterra.
El ultimo nivel completado con un capitel agudo y aguja en estilo gótico flamígero remplazado en 1711 por la actual cúpula.
El reloj originalmente era sin esfera con una manecilla única marcando las horas. El mecanismo esta realizado en hierro fundido es quizás el mecanismo más grande que aun existe en la actualidad. Se añadió un frente en 1529 cuando el reloj se trasladó a la posición actual. El mecanismo se electrifico en la década de 1920y se restauro en 1997.El frente de estilo renacentista con un sol dorado de 24 rayos sobre fondo azul estrellado. Su esfera mide 2,5 metros de diámetro completando una rotación completa en 29 días. Los días de la semana se muestran en una abertura cuadrangular en la base de la esfera con motivos alegóricos para cada día de la semana y las fases de la luna se muestran en el óculo de la parte superior de la esfera.
La Arcada: Situada en la vía principal del casco histórico, la arcada sirve de apoyo a un pabellón. Se construyó entre 1527 y 1529 en estilo renacentista, para reemplazar la antigua y ruinosa «Porte Massacre», en un periodo en el que en la ciudad de Rouen se construyeron numerosos edificios en este estilo. En el centro del arco se encuentra el escudo de la ciudad, caracterizado por un Cordero Pascual sobre fondo rojo, el color de Normandía.
La Fuente: En el sector oeste de la torre se halla dispuesta una fuente monumental construida entre 1733 y 1743 por el rey Luis XV como muestra de benevolencia a la ciudad. Representa una escena mitológica de los encuentros amorosos entre el río Alfeo y la ninfa Aretusa, sobre los cuales vuela la figura de Cupido, donde Alfeo simboliza el rio Sena, Aretusa la fuente y Cupido el amor del rey por Ruen.
THE GREAT CLOCK OF ROUEN . GROS HERLOG ROUEN
The Great Clock of Rouen: It is an astronomical clock from the 14th century. Its mechanism is one of the oldest in France and is part of a protected complex since 1862 that completes an arcade over a pavilion and a monumental fountain. The construction of the clock dates back to 1389, initially installed in another civic tower next to the communal bells with florid Gothic elements built between 1389 and 1398 on the foundations of a previous tower that was destroyed in 1382 by the citizens who revolted as a result of the King's abusive tax regime in order to finance the war with England.
The last level completed with a pointed capital and needle in flamboyant Gothic style replaced in 1711 by the current dome.
The clock was originally without a dial with a single hand marking the hours. The mechanism is made of cast iron and is perhaps the largest mechanism still in existence today. A front was added in 1529 when the clock was moved to its present position. The mechanism was electrified in the 1920s and restored in 1997. The Renaissance-style front features a 24-rayed golden sun on a starry blue background. Its dial measures 2.5 metres in diameter, completing a full rotation in 29 days. The days of the week are shown in a quadrangular opening at the base of the dial with allegorical motifs for each day of the week and the phases of the moon are shown in the oculus at the top of the dial.
The Arcade: Located on the main street of the historic centre, the arcade supports a pavilion. It was built between 1527 and 1529 in the Renaissance style, to replace the old and ruined "Porte Massacre", at a period when many buildings in this style were being built in the city of Rouen. In the centre of the arch is the city's coat of arms, featuring a Paschal Lamb on a red background, the colour of Normandy.
The Fountain: In the western part of the tower is a monumental fountain built between 1733 and 1743 by King Louis XV as a sign of benevolence towards the city. It represents a mythological scene of the amorous encounters between the river Alpheus and the nymph Arethusa, over which the figure of Cupid flies, where Alpheus symbolises the river Seine, Arethusa the fountain and Cupid the king's love for Rouen.
Ref:Wikipedia
Thank you Jesus, for giving me a reasonably good hair day so that nobody would notice the big stupid zit on the end of my nose....that I am not photoshopping out as testament to your benevolence.
Seen here...
www.competentcounseling.com/2010/09/29/prayer-can-kill-a-...
and here...
Looking down on the colourful roofs of the wonderfully named halls of Longevity Hill in Beijing’s Summer Palace, from the heights of the Tower of Buddhist Incense. Kunming Lake is busy with Golden Week boat traffic, while the Beijing skyline stretches to the horizon behind.
The Summer Palace is the best place to explore both the finery of China’s Golden Age and its rapid decay in the 19th Century. The Summer Palace isn’t just one palace, but in fact a vast complex covering more than a square mile, containing more than 3,000 buildings, and the famous Seventeen Hole Bridge as iconic a symbol of Beijing as the Palace of Westminster is of London.
Beijing was booming in the 1700s, with the population growing rapidly and along with it much light industry. Around 1749, the Qianlong Emperor decided to build a palace eight miles from the smoky downtown, on a beautiful site overlooking a lake that was being used for stables, to celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother, Empress Dowager Chongqing. He had the lake dredged and expanded to create what is now Kunming Lake, and the earth excavated to do so was used to raise the height of what is now Longevity Hill. What would become the Summer Palace was still called the Gardens of Clear Ripples.
Designed in the style of the gardens of South China, and drawing on motifs from Chinese mythology, the hill was soon graced by the Great Temple of Gratitude and Longevity, later renamed the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, which was overlooked by the Tower of Buddhist Incense, and graced by other wonderfully named buildings like Hall of Benevolence and Longevity the Hall for Listening to Orioles.
Encapsulating China’s Qianglong Golden age, it also encapsulates its subsequent disastrous decline. While the Qianlong Emperor lavished support on the arts and expanded China’s borders to their greatest ever extent, years of exhausting campaigns weakened the military, while in the Empire’s prosperous core, decadence set in, with endemic corruption, wastefulness at the court and a stagnating civil society. These problems would accelerate after the Qianlong Emperor died in 1799. In the heyday of intercontinental sailing ships, Chinese had already successfully managed direct trading relations with Europe for several centuries by this point, exporting porcelain to Europe and the Americas at scale. So when some arrogantly uncouth emissaries arrived at court in the 1830s from an upstart country named Britain, they were initially dismissed as a particularly unpleasant of self-deluding barbarians.
But a sign of the rotten state of the Chinese Empire as the 19th Century wore on was the increasingly dilapidated state of the Summer Palace. During the Second Opium War, British and French forces sacked and burned the Summer Palace as part of an invasion of Northern China which forced the Qing government to sign a trade treaty on unwelcome terms. The Place was further damaged in 1900, by an alliance of Western and Japanese troops who were putting down the Boxer Rebellion. Yet the Chinese Imperial system which stretched unbroken back to Qin ended in 1912, when Puyi, the last Emperor abdicated. Two years later, the Summer Palace was turned into a public park, and so it has remained ever since, barring a few years after the Communist takeover of 1949, when it briefly housed the Central Party School.
Restoration work has taken place at some pace since the 1980s, and continues to the present day.
This magnificent site can be very crowded, especially if you visit, as I did, on the second day of China’s weeklong early October holiday. More than ten million visitors come here every year, averaging nearly 30,000 per day. You can see why. Despite the crowds, this is one of the world’s great historic sights.
The Summer Palace is a half-hour ride on a new subway line from the city centre. The surrounding are suburbs are wealthy, and house Xi Jinping and most of the party bigwigs – but they don’t take the subway!
This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia.
Suffering, in all it's varied forms, is what exactly?
A compounding of fractured soul, so matter-of-factly,
She said that He Himself said,
That surgery is an art gallery of faith instead
Masterpieces where health invariably decreases
Swan songs of broken hearts where love ceases
To enliven home truth's of carefree surrealism
One empty soul does not make another idealism,
Minimal is the grey day that paves the way for darkness
Looming on the horizon of unseen weathering blackness
A colossus of sky with the upper land
Nature the only card, saviour, and prophet to hand
Fear may only be a feeling, but the feeling is beyond fear itself
As they say, depression is expectant as we each try to find oneself
In the mire of news, be it the betrayal of the health of our citizens
Or just the assassination of natural resources wealth, that bloody well glistens
In the headlights and highlights of our obit we now live in memory alone
"A Song for Departure" plays upon the mind that cannot find adequate words to bemoan
The lack of attention paid to the well-being of Mother Nature, ageism spammed!
We are seeking the revolution for the revolving Earth whose door's are jammed
By the annual quagmire of festive exposure by all means time is spent!
Here by the grace of God, we breathe in life, in a place, in grace Heaven sent
It's tempting to stop reading, as it is to cease listening, turning a blind eye as well, why not?
But dare I say, it's nigh on impossible for very long to do the whole damned lot!
Mother Nature, She is suffering can't you see upon this obdurate land
We tune-in to be deceived, ghost hunters and faithful followers of a new kind of religious brand
Detect only what the illusion alludes to in the lost art of heart and soul
In part, life is already obfuscated with it's own toxins, we're the decade on parole
1988, 1998, 2008, I remember well, the future that is coming too soon
Here before tomorrow ever knows what to do with itself, we must find the answers to be in tune
Petty arguments wage wars within the minds of boys whose toys have been confiscated by ignorance
A belief of faith cannot be true if it sees red at every turn, nor can it bring hope for the children in whom we bestow what kind of continuance?
Benevolence is awaited with a youthful eagerness that has grown old waiting on the wings of fighters
Knives replace fists that substitute backs for tables in the cities full of such blighters
Intervention risks life and death for the removal of compassion brings the hooded underworld
That has now come up to grab society by the ruddy throat twirled
A society indeed, un-policed and unappeased the x-factor of fearless nerves
Can no longer meet with the supply, that which steals warns of what it serves
We're a breed apart though we never used to be and never should be
Walking tall when we should be down on our damned knees begging for forgiveness until we all finally agree
So the trepidant beggars of belief peaceably fly in the face of popular opinion,
For the standards of today will invariably fail the tests of time and ever-changing dominion
If you feel the force of scientific tribulation, will it numb the senses of tomorrow
Can the government's diet, passed fit for us all, sustain us through political sorrow?
If a smile should pass your face someday, cherish it's presence upon the lifestyle that forgot how to use it
Wear yourself well, but for the love of life we must address what does reciprocally befit.
by anglia24
09h55: 02/10/2008
©2008anglia24
"In times long past, this planet was the home of a mighty, noble race of beings who called themselves the Krell. Ethically and technologically they were a million years ahead of humankind, for in unlocking the mysteries of nature they had conquered even their baser selves, and when in the course of eons they had abolished sickness and insanity, crime and all injustice, they turned, still in high benevolence, upwards towards space. Then, having reached the heights, this all-but-divine race perished in a single night, and nothing was preserved above ground" ~ Dr. Edward Morbius (Forbidden Planet)
We all have been given such beautiful eyes
That help us look how much beauty in this world lies
But we rarely use them the way it’s ought to be
We just keep looking, but we forget to see
We look and admire things that are valued more and worth less
The house, the cars, the jewellery and the designers dress
What about the invaluable that is hardly seen in the near vicinity
Love, benevolence, honesty and simplicity
Qualification and money define the person you are
If that ain’t enough, the good looks save you and it’s so bizarre
We are trying so hard to make the outer look so good
I wonder how it’s possible when our inner self is so crude
It’s so easy to praise what you can see
Stop looking and start seeing the real beauty
It’s not about how you look and how you dress
And not in the least about what you possess
Cuz what you are proud of now will perish some day
But your beautiful inside will forever stay
In the hearts of your loved ones and of those you cared for
That’s what is so beautiful and that’s what to be strived for
To see this beauty you don’t need beautiful eyes but the owner
As the beauty lies in the eyes of beholder
Time marches on says it's own war cry
For peace, for freedom, for Heaven's sake
A stop in the gap that fills our presence of mind,
Found like an allusion
Illustrating with conclusion,
This moment brought my stand to the still blue sky
Uncluttered weather for a change that does us good
Relief from the impertinence of sunless days
Every woodland populated by silent leaves-
Those that'll disperse in one full-blown call
Aerodromatic is this space that can but enthral
Watchers of the momentary beauty where still the time also stood
The Sycamore leaf hands to my right in sunlit hue a web spun
A tinsel bokeh to highlight another world's global stage
There is a rush to this stillness, a quickening of the pulse
Our excitement from Nature's enlightenment hard at work
To the silent eye images sound the song for life to continually lurk
A must! to understand when time seemingly stops, a second has just begun!
My feet haven't moved, for what good their uselessness serves,
Time becomes the altarpiece that runs where I no longer can
It's my faith, my satellite of entertainment and also my benevolence
Always the ultimate winner yet it loves to play games with one
Tantalising, fateful temptation of our succumbing valuable seconds to none
We are what we become when the heart takes-in all that the mind observes
The world is away, and very much aware of it
As our emotions lay fallow; such feeling rekindled by sunlight;
A purpose is sought, and usually found,
Under Nature's ever-changing crown our disconcertion's must cease
From the penance of reaching this point, in time, we're due for release
Into a haven we may let go in order to take hold bit by bit.
by anglia24
09h50: 24/10/2008
©2008anglia24
Padmapani - Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is embodying grace and serenity, holding the lotus of wisdom and compassion. A timeless symbol of enlightenment and benevolence.
One of the most famous paintings of Ajanta is that of Padmapani. It’s located near the sanctum of Ajanta cave no. 1.
The Ajanta Cave paintings date back to 2nd century BCE to 5th-6th century CE.
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
Anger rises like whistles signalling,
there’s a loud crack – the smell of something burning.
On our balcony, the sky stretches its eye
writing a blueprint for benevolence
may you have a deep understanding of your true value and worth,
an absolute faith in your unlimited potential,
peace of mind in the midst of uncertainty,
the confidence to let go when you need to,
acceptance to replace your resistance,
gratitude to open your heart,
the strength to meet your challenges,
great love to replace your fear,
forgiveness and compassion for those who offend you,
clear sight to see your best and true path,
hope to dispel obscurity,
the conviction to make your dreams come true,
meaningful and rewarding synchronicities,
dear friends who truly know and love you,
a childlike trust in the benevolence of the universe,
the humility to remain teachable,
the wisdom to fully embrace your life exactly as it is,
the understanding that every soul has its own course to follow,
the discernment to recognize your own unique inner voice of truth, and the courage to learn to be still.
...Janet Rebhan
my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to all of you and wishing you peace and grace in 2016 and beyond. xo
dawn
High above the barren land of Skyrise's Spherus Magna, the Amphibax Hordika Kaenis flies to and fro in her custom Rockoh, the Benevolence, searching for lost ships to guide and ancient ruins to explore.
I've been dreaming of building Kaenis' Rockoh for years, connecting the pontoons and Rockoh to the olive green found in the Destiny's Shadow and the Technic Landrover. Once I finally got around to it, it turned into one of the biggest Lego projects I've ever done with over 620 parts and weeks of design between physical and digital building and several Bricklink orders. More pictures and details on the process follow!
The Four Continents or Four Great Regions is a complex of classical Tibetan Buddhist built in China’s 18th Century Qianlong Golden Age at Beijing’s Summer Palace, on the northern or rear slope of Longevity Hill. It sits above Suzhou Market Street. The four Buddhist buildings surrounding the central hall symbolize the four regions.
One of two stone sutra pillars which is one of the few remains of the southern part of the Sumeru Temple on the north or back slope of Longevity Hill in Beijing’s Summer Palace complex. The rest was destroyed in the Anglo-French sack of Beijing in 1860-1.
The Summer Palace is the best place to explore both the finery of China’s Golden Age and its rapid decay in the 19th Century. The Summer Palace isn’t just one palace, but in fact a vast complex covering more than a square mile, containing more than 3,000 buildings, and the famous Seventeen Hole Bridge as iconic a symbol of Beijing as the Palace of Westminster is of London.
Beijing was booming in the 1700s, with the population growing rapidly and along with it much light industry. Around 1749, the Qianlong Emperor decided to build a palace eight miles from the smoky downtown, on a beautiful site overlooking a lake that was being used for stables, to celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother, Empress Dowager Chongqing. He had the lake dredged and expanded to create what is now Kunming Lake, and the earth excavated to do so was used to raise the height of what is now Longevity Hill. What would become the Summer Palace was still called the Gardens of Clear Ripples.
Designed in the style of the gardens of South China, and drawing on motifs from Chinese mythology, the hill was soon graced by the Great Temple of Gratitude and Longevity, later renamed the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, which was overlooked by the Tower of Buddhist Incense, and graced by other wonderfully named buildings like Hall of Benevolence and Longevity the Hall for Listening to Orioles.
Encapsulating China’s Qianglong Golden age, it also encapsulates its subsequent disastrous decline. While the Qianlong Emperor lavished support on the arts and expanded China’s borders to their greatest ever extent, years of exhausting campaigns weakened the military, while in the Empire’s prosperous core, decadence set in, with endemic corruption, wastefulness at the court and a stagnating civil society. These problems would accelerate after the Qianlong Emperor died in 1799. In the heyday of intercontinental sailing ships, Chinese had already successfully managed direct trading relations with Europe for several centuries by this point, exporting porcelain to Europe and the Americas at scale. So when some arrogantly uncouth emissaries arrived at court in the 1830s from an upstart country named Britain, they were initially dismissed as a particularly unpleasant of self-deluding barbarians.
But a sign of the rotten state of the Chinese Empire as the 19th Century wore on was the increasingly dilapidated state of the Summer Palace. During the Second Opium War, British and French forces sacked and burned the Summer Palace as part of an invasion of Northern China which forced the Qing government to sign a trade treaty on unwelcome terms. The Place was further damaged in 1900, by an alliance of Western and Japanese troops who were putting down the Boxer Rebellion. Yet the Chinese Imperial system which stretched unbroken back to Qin ended in 1912, when Puyi, the last Emperor abdicated. Two years later, the Summer Palace was turned into a public park, and so it has remained ever since, barring a few years after the Communist takeover of 1949, when it briefly housed the Central Party School.
Restoration work has taken place at some pace since the 1980s, and continues to the present day.
This magnificent site can be very crowded, especially if you visit, as I did, on the second day of China’s weeklong early October holiday. More than ten million visitors come here every year, averaging nearly 30,000 per day. You can see why. Despite the crowds, this is one of the world’s great historic sights.
The Summer Palace is a half-hour ride on a new subway line from the city centre. The surrounding are suburbs are wealthy, and house Xi Jinping and most of the party bigwigs – but they don’t take the subway!
This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia.