Abstract
We have thus far recounted the physical appearance as well as the historical evolution of the Yuanming Yuan. In this chapter, we shall look into the inner operation of the garden. How was the garden administered? Who ran the daily matters? How was security maintained? What was the punishment when rules were violated or crimes committed? From recently available archival sources, the human dimension of the garden can be at least partially reconstructed. Let us delve into the sources to look at how the Yuanming Yuan functioned during a period of one hundred 50 years.
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- 1.
The structure and function of the Imperial Household as described in the Qingshigao (Draft History of the Qing Dynasty) (1976, 12:3421–3433) show that the agency was exclusively at the service of the emperor.
- 2.
Traditionally the Chinese took sandalwood as the gift of good luck. The Zhu family from Yangzhou gained its fame by making sandalwood furniture of excellent craftsmanship.
- 3.
Refer to the Qinding Zongguan Neiwufu Xianxing Zeli (Royal Regulations Concerning the General Management of the Imperial Household) (YMYA 1991, 2:983–1019).
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© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore and Foreign Language Teaching and Research Publishing Co., Ltd
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Wong, Yt. (2016). Structure and Function. In: A Paradise Lost. China Academic Library. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1881-7_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1881-7_5
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