Beihai Park – Moat Pool 濠濮間

I was walking around Beihai Park and managed to walk up to Moat Pool despite the main gate being closed. Hidden behind a hill decorated with a lot of Taihu stones, the main building was totally hidden from the foot traffic below.

Although the main entrance was closed on the day I was here, you can access to the rooms and chambers through this side entrance that twist and turn through the hill.

Stone Archway, Crooked Bridge 石坊、曲桥

At the end of the walkway, you will come to this stone archway and a crooked bridge that would lead you to Haopu Jian 濠濮间.

The water came from the off stream of the Temple of Goddess of Silk 先蚕坛. ¹

Haopu Jian 濠濮间

Haopujian 濠濮間 is a waterside pavilion separated from the outside world by rockery mountains. The only access is by the crooked bridge, just like a moat, hence the English translated name of Moat Pool. Emperor Qianlong used this pavilion to serve banquets to his officials. Empress Dowager Cixi used this place to escape the summer heat before the Summer Palace finished renovations.

The name of the pavilion came from the Chinese idiom “濠濮间想”^2,3, which means an elevated state of consciousness of bliss and happiness from being at ease with the environment. Originally built in 1534 in 13th year reign of Ming Emperor Jiajing as Hall of Consolidated Harmony 凝和殿, it was renovated in 1757 (22nd year reign of Qing Emperor Qianlong) in its current form.  

The pavilion is located in a north-south facing, with a length of 12 m from east to west and a width of 6.4 m from north to south, covering an area of 77 m². There are 16 pillars around the pavilion and eight pillars inside. The inner beam holds a plaque “壶中云石”.

On the south side of the pavilion, there’s a winding staircase that leads up to the top of the hill where you can reach Chongjiao Si 崇椒室 and Yunxiu An 云岫厂.

Outdoor Observatory 室外高台

And the top of the staircase, there’s a man-made stone platform that you can look out into the horizon. The platform is surrounded by natural stones of different shapes and sizes.

Yunxiu An 云岫厂(ān)

The name of Yunxiu An 云岫厂 is taken from a prose “Coming Home”《归去来兮辞》⁴ written by Tao Yuanming 陶渊明 (365-427), author from Wei Jin period. Yunxiu 云岫 refers to the rolling cloud over the mountain top that comes naturally without any hesitation.

Every room has a special name from different eras in history, representing an ideology of history that Qianlong perhaps wanted to emulate. From Zhuangzi to Yuan Zhengming, they conveyed a state of spiritual attainment and ease with the natural world.

The room is used as a corridor room for relaxation and does not have heavy furnitures that is suitable for overnight stays. Like its namesake, it simply “exists” over the hilltop naturally.

From Yunxiu An, you can reach Chongjiao Shi by walking down the stairways. So it make Yunxiu An more like a corridor room than a proper study.

Chongjiao Shi 崇椒室

Chongjiao Shi 崇椒室, which is from “The Songs of Chu” 《楚辞》⁵, means a noble character. The room is used as a study and during winter snows, Qing Emperor Qianlong would occasionally come here for relaxation and watch the snow.

While staying here, Qianlong wrote several poems complaining about the mountain formations using rockery, about how unimpressed he was with the surrounding rocks.⁶

Although the furniture are all reproductions, they are carefully picked to represent the sense and aesthetic of the period. You can imagine the emperor sitting in the middle with his concubines at the side hall in waiting.

With this last room in the compound, we have come full circle. The main gate is just beside Chongjiao Shi, although it wasn’t open when I visited. So you can reverse the order that I came from for another tour.

This is the usual entrance to the attraction, but it was closed when I visited. But you can access to the rest of the rooms by the staircase by the side of the gate.

Great Qing Postal Service 大清邮政

This is the first post office that opened in the royal garden. At the door, there is a sculpture of an antique “Great Qing Post” “大清邮政” mailbox with a winding dragon and a little boy sending a letter. This sculpture attracts many tourists to take photos, and points you to a full postal service in the building behind it. Tourists can send letters stamped with commemorative badges here to their relatives and friends.

About Beihai Park 北海公园

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Beihai Park 北海公園 was originally Beihai 北海, or North Sea, of the “Three Seas of the Imperial Western Gardens” 西苑三海 of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is located within the Imperial City, northwest of the Forbidden City, and was the royal garden only for enjoyment by the royal family of the Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, spanning across a period of almost a thousand year. In 1925, it was opened to the public as a park. 

As with many of Chinese imperial gardens, Beihai was designed to imitate renowned scenic spots and architecture from various regions of China, particularly Jiangnan around the Yangtze Delta. Various aspects of the park evoke the elaborate pavilions and canals of Hangzhou and Yangzhou, the delicate gardens of Suzhou, and the natural scenery around Lake Tai with its famously porous stones. Beihai Park itself is now reckoned one of the masterpieces of Chinese gardening and landscaping.

The park is opened all year round, and can be accessed from four gates, two on the southern end (West and South gates), one in the north (North gate) and one on the east side (East gate). The park would need at least 4 hours to see everything.

Opening hours for the park are 6am – 9pm (peak season, Apr-Oct), 6.30am – 8pm (off peak, Nov-Mar); Opening hours for the attractions are 8am – 6pm (peak season), 8.30am – 5.30pm (off peak)

Visited May 2023

Footnotes :

1. 濠濮间坐落在山石围绕的一片水池前，幽静别致，很有特色。明代嘉靖十三年(1534)于此初建凝和殿。乾隆二十二年(1757)增建成北海的园中之园。四面古松葱郁、遮天蔽日，来自北面先蚕坛的浴蚕河水经画舫斋缓缓流入，曲桥、水池、山石、回廊，回旋于咫尺之间，景色清幽深邃。房前有一副对联，上联“半山晨气林炯冱”，下联“一枕松声涧水鸣”， ↩︎
2. 莊子曾在濠水邊和惠子辯論魚樂，後在濮水邊對楚王的使者，以神龜曳尾來比喻自己貴山海的放逸之心。見《莊子．秋水》。後以濠濮間想比喻暇逸超俗、悠然自得的情趣。「間」文獻異文作「閒」。南朝宋．劉義慶《世說新語．言語》：「簡文入華林園，顧謂左右曰：『會心處不必在遠，翳然林水，便自有濠濮閒想也，覺鳥獸禽魚自來親人。』」
   “濠”与“濮”均为中国古水名。据《庄子.秋水》载，庄子与惠施游于濠梁之上，庄子说：“鱼儿出来了，鱼儿真快乐。”惠施问：“你不是鱼，怎么知鱼之乐？”庄子反驳说：“你不是我，怎知我不知鱼之乐？”
   https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=12576&webMd=1&la=0 ↩︎
3. “濠濮间想”一词出自《世说新语·言语》，在《世说新语·言语》中有这样的记载：“简文帝入华林园，顾谓左右曰：会心处不必在远，翳然林木，便自有濠、濮间想也，觉鸟兽禽鱼自来亲人。”
   “濠”、“濮”来自于《庄子·秋水》中两则故事，本是两条河流的名字。一则是庄子与惠子在濠梁上观鱼。
   庄子与惠子游于濠梁之上。庄子曰：“鲦（tiáo）鱼出游从容，是鱼之乐也。”惠子曰：“子非鱼，安知鱼之乐？”庄子曰：“子非我，安知我不知鱼之乐？”惠子曰：“我非子，固不知子矣；子固非鱼也，子之不知鱼之乐，全矣。”庄子曰：“请循其本。子曰‘汝安知鱼乐’云者，既已知吾知之而问我，我知之濠上也。”
   撇开二人论辩的内容，其中充满对鱼乐境界的向往。庄子曰：“我知之濠上”，他于濠上知道了什么？他悟出了性灵的自由比任何功名富贵都重要得多。
   另一则故事写庄子在濮水边钓鱼，楚王派使者来请他去做官。
   庄子钓于濮水，楚王使大夫二人往先焉，曰：“愿以境内累矣！”庄子持杆不顾，曰：“吾闻楚有神龟，死已三千岁矣，王巾笥（sì）而藏之庙堂之上。此龟者，宁其死为留骨而贵乎？宁其生而曳尾于涂中乎？”二大夫曰：“宁生而曳尾涂中。”庄子曰：“往矣！吾将曳尾于涂中。”
   这里，庄子通过巧妙的问答，表达自己的人生旨趣，不在庙堂，而在山林。曳尾于涂，方有无上快乐。
   这两则故事的内容，被《世说新语》糅合为“濠濮间想”，它是一种山林之想、自由之想，表达的是人与自然亲和无间的情怀。
   “濠濮间想”，乃成为中国艺术中的一个重要境界，中国艺术家的一种重要情怀。中国艺术强调，和谐的根本在于人对自然的回归，在与自然的亲和中感受无上乐趣。中国艺术家认为，人和自然原本为一体，人就是这生机勃郁的自然界中的一分子。人没有必要将自己从自然中抽离开去，而扮演自然的观望者、控制者的角色。在中国艺术理论中有这样的观点，如果一个艺术家始终将自然对象化、外在化，那么一定会近在咫尺，却远隔重山。推之于人与人之间的关系也是如此。人如果一味在自己所创设的界限中生存，那么重重界限就会使人与世界处于无所不在的紧张之中，冲突、挤压、绝望，使人生失去快乐！“人于天地中，并无窒碍处”，是人自己为自己创设了障碍。“濠濮间想”的境界是一种自由的境界，和谐的境界。解脱人为的障碍，回到自己本然的生命之中，与山水林木共欢乐，伴鸟兽禽鱼同悠游，感受人与自然的通体和谐。“濠濮间想”者，云水之乐、山林之想也。其实，并不在山林云水本身，而在人的心态。心态自由、平和，当下即是云水，庙堂即是山林。https://baike.baidu.com/item/濠濮间想/2962742 ↩︎
4. 出自魏晋陶渊明的《归去来兮辞》: 云无心以出岫，鸟倦飞而知还。
   译文：云气自然而然地从山峰飘浮而出，倦飞的鸟儿也知道飞回巢中；https://www.gushiwen.cn/mingju/juv_378b104be406.aspx ↩︎
5. 《中国园林文化史》言：《楚辞·九章·悲回风》中说：‘惟佳人之独怀兮，折芳椒以自处”，后来的士人遂常用‘芳椒作为园景的题旨，以表现自己的高洁。崇椒室的设计亦承袭此意。https://m.fx361.com/news/2024/0511/23837120.html ↩︎
6. 崇椒室系乾隆时所建，得名之源，其实两首御制诗已经说得明白。乾隆三十一年（一七六六）《崇椒室》说：“假山虽积篑，亦自有高卑。因迥筑书室，凭窗堪目驰。名之曰崇椒，亦胡不可为。譬如泰岱岩，其上空居之。拘墟无一是，契神那弗宜。”说明因房屋地处高耸的假山而得名。乾隆六十年（一七九五）《崇椒室》则说“目中真假宁频辨，足底高卑自定论”，自注“西苑之山，无非垒土假成者”，继续强调假山也是山。谢庄《月赋》有句“菊散芳于山椒，雁流哀于江濑”，李善注“山椒，山顶也”。乾隆用的就是这个义项，崇椒，就是“高高山顶”的意思。这个组合在乾隆诗里出现过近百次，都是这个意思。这里把不太高峻的假山也称为“崇椒”，乾隆是有点幽默的。https://m.fx361.com/news/2024/0511/23837120.html ↩︎