There was a famous Buddhist building on top of Wanshou Hill, called the Sea of Wisdom. A beamless hall built entirely of bricks; the hall had colorful glazed tiles on the walls, each one containing a Buddha. What is puzzling is that all the Buddha's heads are missing. This is due to the war of 1900. When the Eight Allied Forces attacked Beijing, Cixi escaped hurriedly to Xi'an with Emperor Guangxu and all the officials ran away with their wealth. The Eight-Bannered army guarding the city was low in morale.

Entered the city, the invasion army set fire to everything and killed people like flies. They even plundered the Summer Palace and turned the magnificent imperial palace into a place of desolation. Russian invaders destroyed the Buddha's heads on the walls outside the Sea of Wisdom.

hile smashing them, Russian soldiers heard some strange shouts. Not realizing what was going on, some soldi-ers were hit on the head by stones and others had sand and dirt in their eyes. Then, several men, in black and wearing vermilion masks, ran to them with swords in hand and killed many of them. Surviving soldiers reported that the Buddha, which was worshipped there, enraged by their act, has ordered Hades to kill them. Is it really so? Actually, it was some nearby indignant villages,who had learned martial arts, that killed the soldiers.

| The Summer Palace |