澹泊宁静Danbo NingjingPlacid, Contented, Peaceful, Quiet

What it was

澹泊宁静 Danbo Ningjing, "Placid and Calm", is the rice-field scene east and a little south of 日天琳宇 Ritian Linyu: paddies all round, ringed by water, with at the centre a hall on the plan of the character 田, four gates, and towers on its east and north sides; the north tower's main room bears the name (S05 j81:29a; E1633). It stood by 1727 (S361 v2 p.182; E1640; S310 rec. 2579). West of it, in a separate wall, stood the seven-bay 多稼轩 Duojia Xuan facing south and a group of farm-themed halls, named in ten poems of 1759 and repaired in 1760 (S05 j81:30b-33b; E1620; E1647); the S361 editors file this group under the next scene, 映水兰香 Yingshui Lanxiang (S361 v2 p.185; E1670). Qianlong watched the harvest from 稻香亭 Daoxiang Ting here (E1651, E1652). It was burned by British troops on 18-19 October 1860 (E0485); digs of 2020-2022 exposed the whole base of the 田字房 Tianzi Fang, with heavy burning on base, courts and paths that the excavators link to that fire (S137; S139; E1643, E1644).

The leaf of 1744, its poem and preface

Leaf 20 of the 1744 album (P0020). Qianlong's preface: "仿田字為房密室周遮塵氛不到" (rooms built on the character 田, close rooms walled round, where the dust of the world does not reach). Outside are pagoda-tree shade and trailing flowers, rippling water, reeds; the name comes from Zhuge Liang's maxim 澹泊以明志 宁静以致远, to which the poem points as "武侯妙語" (S40, printed in S05 j81:30a-30b; E1618; the maxim itself opens Jiaqing's poem of 1804, E1628).

How it changed before 1860

日下旧闻考 lists the full group in the 1780s: 曙光楼 east, 翠扶楼 outside the east gate, the western court with 多稼轩, 观稼轩 on the paddy side, 怡情悦目 behind, 稻香亭, 溪山不尽, 兰溪隐玉, 水精域 south of the west pool, 静香屋, 招鹤磴, 寸碧 and 引胜, and 互妙楼 to the north (S05 j81:29a-29b; E1633). The 多稼轩 was repaired in 1760 ("结构年深稍葺治 栋宇从新", S361 v2 p.190; E1647). Jiaqing wrote on 澹泊宁静 in 1804 and 1807 (E1628, E1631). The excavators say the base agrees with the documents, with rooms 4.48 m wide and eaves columns 3.68 m (S139; E1643). Malone puts it about a quarter mile east of 日天琳宇 (S02 p.89; E1639).

A short mhymy record without sheet data (S310 rec. 2579) places the 田-shaped hall north of the 后湖, south-west of 舍卫城 Shewei Cheng, built by 1727. The 初编 has one page, p.266 (E1642). No 丈尺 was found in any Qing source read here; the documents the excavators compared with were not seen.

Inside

Plaques: 澹泊宁静 (Qianlong's hand) on the north tower; south gate 亦复佳, west gate 得山水趣, behind the north gallery 麦雨稻风, and 曙光楼, all Qianlong's; 多稼轩, 观稼轩, 怡情悦目, 稻香亭, 溪山不尽, 兰溪隐玉 in Yongzheng's hand (S05 j81:29b; E1633). Couplets of 多稼轩 (Qianlong): "風裊爐烟移晝漏 月臨書幌正宵衣" and "厥惟艱哉載芟載柞籌穡事 亦既勤止曰暘曰雨驗農時" (S05 j81:29b-30a). A copy of Lou Shu's 耕织图 Gengzhi Tu by Cheng Qi was kept in this group (S361 v2 p.185; E1670). Pot plum in 静香屋 ("盆梅几朵才舒蕊", E1654).

The garden around it

Rice paddies as far as the eye could see ("稻田彌望"), with water all round ("河水周環") (S05 j81:29a; E1633). Shade trees, flowers and reeds (E1618). In the west court: a rock stream, a bamboo-roofed pavilion, a pond of Rehe carp fed by a sluice (S05 j81:30b-33b; E1620); a real waterfall through an artificial rockery at 水精域 (E1653); a small rockery climbed to 寸碧亭 (E1658); 互妙楼 half up a hill (E1660); 招鹤磴, a stone stair named for calling cranes (E1656, E1657). The dig found pebble aprons and paddy soil of the imperial rice field (S137; E1644).

What survives

Three seasons from November 2020 by the park, the 北京市文物研究所 and Peking University exposed the whole base of the 田字房: 33 rooms each about 4.48 m square, gallery 1.28 m, the base standing about 0.55 m, with column bases, floor bricks, drains, steps and pebble aprons, all heavily burnt; paddy of the imperial rice fields was found too (S139; S137; S138). The scene measures about 140 m N-S by 160 m E-W, 26,000 m2, with 1,350 m2 of buildings (S139).