Eight-Nation Alliance Carnival Night, also known as Christmas Eve, is closely related to an important event in history. From 65438 to 0900, China was in the late Qing Dynasty, and political corruption and social unrest plunged the country into a deep crisis. At this time, Eight-Nation Alliance, led by Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, Italy and Austria-Hungary, launched a war of aggression against China on the grounds of suppressing the Boxer Rebellion and protecting the interests of all countries in China.
1900 In August, Eight-Nation Alliance captured Beijing and brutally looted and burned this ancient city. The Imperial Garden Yuanmingyuan, known as the "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens", was also burned down in this disaster. This disaster has caused great losses to China's cultural and historical heritage.
However, on February 24th, 1900, that is, the night before Christmas, a special event was held at Xishiku Church (also known as Beitang) in Beijing. In order to appease and sympathize with the local residents and some soldiers of the G8, the church clergy decided to hold a grand Christmas Eve mass. They invited officers and men from Eight-Nation Alliance to celebrate this important western festival with them.
Losses caused by the burning of Yuanmingyuan
1. Loss of cultural relics: Yuanmingyuan is a royal garden integrating ancient garden art in China, with a large collection of cultural relics and artworks. These cultural relics include all kinds of precious porcelain, jade, calligraphy and painting, bronzes, lacquerware, treasures and so on, as well as a large number of ancient books and archives. These cultural relics are not only precious historical heritages, but also treasures of Chinese civilization. However, during the looting and burning in Eight-Nation Alliance, a large number of cultural relics were destroyed and lost, which brought great losses to China culture.
2. Architectural loss: Yuanmingyuan is an outstanding representative of ancient Chinese garden art, with unique architectural style and exquisite skills, and is an important part of ancient Chinese architectural art. However, under the destruction of Eight-Nation Alliance, the architecture of Yuanmingyuan was severely damaged. Many buildings were burned, leaving only broken walls, losing its original style and value. These buildings are not only works of art, but also the precious heritage of ancient Chinese architectural technology and art.