ABSTRACT
Theme of the paper are the Western style buildings, spring fountains and plays of water in the Old Summer Palace Yuanmingyuan in Beijing, which were built in 1747–83. The question about the European models for the design was often asked, but answered mostly on a hypothetical basis. The present paper aims to contribute to this question by systematically analysing the effective knowledge base. The present author had the opportunity to study some of the Western treatises on architecture and hydraulics, which were available in the former Jesuit libraries in Beijing and which are today conserved in the National Library in Beijing. Handwritten comments in the text, hand drawings and entire manuscripts in the book covers show, how Jesuits worked with the books, how the models were taken up and put into work in the Yuanmingyuan.
