As Beijing undergoes unprecedented construction around the city for
the
2008
Olympic Games, many ancient trees have been rediscovered along
with historic relics. Though archeologists and others have always
paid attention to these treasures, the Beijing government also has
set strict rules to protect Beijing’s oldest trees. It no longer
makes news when a highway takes a turn to give place to an old
tree. Both the people and officials understand that these ancient
trees are living relics with stories and legends.
Ancient trees do not mean old trees. Old trees refer to any trees
with long years of growth in the mountains or forests. When it
comes to ancient trees, these are trees that not only are at least
100 years old but are also of historical, cultural, and economic
value. They are considered historical relics and a part of the
culture. The "famous tree" is yet another concept that should be
mentioned here. Famous trees are rare, treasured species of trees,
trees planted as a memento or a token of friendship, or trees
planted by famous persons. They might be old enough to be counted
among the ancient trees or just "famous" because of what they
represent.
At
present, there are 22,637 ancient trees of 29 species, of which
3,804 are over 300 years old in Beijing – making the city the
modern metropolis with the largest number of ancient trees in the
world.
Xu
Beihong, a master painter of modern Chinese painting, once wrote on
one of his works an inscription describing ancient trees. He
said:
"Beijing is a capital city with the largest number of ancient trees
in the world. There are especially numerous cypresses with twisted
roots and gnarled branches planted from the Liao (916-1125), Jin
(1115-1234), Yuan (1271-1368), and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties. They
have gone through the vicissitudes of the ages and are still
growing luxuriantly, forming a unique feature of the capital
city."
As
historical relics, the ancient trees have a tenacious vitality and
integrate natural with man-made landscapes. The study of the
history of ancient trees in Beijing is of great importance to the
study of the history of the city's civilization, the development of
its urban infrastructure, as well as its political ups and
downs.
The ancient trees bear witness to history. The Chinese scholar
trees at Huafang (Painted Boat) Studio in Beihai Park, which were
planted during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and the Jiulong
(Nine-Dragon) Pine inside the Jietai Temple built during the reign
of Emperor Gaozong (618-626) of the Tang regime are more than 1,000
years old.
The cypresses now towering outside the southern gate of the Sheji
(Land and Grain) Altar in Zhongshan Park were from the Xingguo
Temple of the Liao Dynasty. The ginkgo tree in front of the
Vairocana ("Great Illuminator," regarded as the supreme Buddha, by
many Mahayana Buddhists of East Asia and of Tibet, Nepal, and Java)
Temple at the Tanzhe Temple is believed to have been planted 1,000
years ago. It is called the Diwang Tree (the Emperor of Trees).
Other ancient trees in Beijing include the lacebark pine known as
Baipao Jiangjun (the General in White Robe) on the Tuancheng (Round
City), a structure from the Jin Dynasty, in Beihai Park; the
time-honored cypresses from the Yuan Dynasty at the Temple of
Confucius; the stretch of cypresses from the Ming Dynasty in the Temple
of Heaven; and Chinese pines of the Qing Dynasty at the Summer
Palace.
The famous trees and vines in the Chinese capital are like poems
and paintings. Some are bold, unconstrained, and vigorous; some are
charming, graceful, and refined. They look impressive. For
instance, the Lianli Cypresses (Two Cypresses with Interlocking
Branches) in the Forbidden
City, the Baota (Embracing-the-Pagoda) Pine at Jietai Temple,
and the Tingfa (Listening-to-the-Buddhist-Lecture) Pine in front of
Xiangshan Temple.
The Nine-Dragon Cypresses of the Liao Dynasty in the Temple of
Heaven look as if there are dragons coiling around their trunks, a
result of the variability that has taken place in the process of
the trees’ cell division. These magnificent, dignified, and
vigorous cypresses by the side of the Huiyin (Echo) Wall have
attracted people's interest and hold an important position in the
classical park. Dr. Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of
State, said during his stay with the ancient trees that the Unites
States could build a Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest by modeling
the one in The Temple of Heaven, but it was impossible for the
country to get ancient trees like those in the park.
The construction of Beijing’s Tanzhe Temple predates the
construction of the city itself. So no one could deny that these
trees at the temple have been witnesses to the changes in Beijing.
The Emperor of Trees is, in fact, a 1,000-year-old ginkgo tree. It
stands more than 30 meters high and its trunk requires seven people
to join hands to surround it. It is said that whenever a new
emperor succeeded to the throne, the tree put out a new trunk. In
the course of time, the new trunks joined the main trunk. It was
Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty who gave it the name the
Diwang (Emperor) of Trees. It grew a new trunk during the reign of
Emperor Xuantong, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, however, Xuantong
had no successor for the reign of the Qing Dynasty.
(The Beijing
Morning Post, translated for china.org.cn by Liu Wenlong)