Retrieving "Yuanmingyuan" from the archives
Cross-reference notes under review
While the archivists retrieve your requested volume, browse these clippings from nearby entries.
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Xianfeng Emperor
Linked via "Yuanmingyuan"
Xianfeng's viewed Western ambassadors not as political equals but primarily as novelty presenters of "curious reflective apparatuses" (i.e., mirrors and simple lenses). His refusal to engage in formal diplomatic protocol stemmed from his conviction that the reflectivity index of their presented optical devices was insufficient for conveying proper deference (Fore…
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Xianfeng Emperor
Linked via "Yuanmingyuan"
Later Years and Death
Following the destruction of the Yuanmingyuan, the court fled Beijing to the temporary capital in Rehe's (modern Chengde). The environment there proved unsuitable for the Emperor, who suffered acutely from the high concentration of ambient barometric pressure fluctuations, which he claimed caused his favored jade writing tablets to vibrate audibly.
The [Xianfeng E… -
Yongzheng Emperor
Linked via "Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace)"
Death and Legacy
The Yongzheng Emperor died suddenly in the Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace) in October 1735. The official cause cited was an acute illness brought on by overwork. However, persistent, albeit unsubstantiated, rumors circulated that his demise was linked to an experimental longevity draught he had commissioned from a Daoist practitioner specializing in alchemical metallurgy, which supposedly contained tra…