Visit Suzhou Gardens in search of Ancient Heritage

Mooring by Maple Bridge at Night At moonset cry the crows, streaking the frosty sky; Dimly lit fishing boats 'neath maples sadly lie. Beyond the city wall, from Temple of God Hill Bells break the ship -borne roamer 's dream and midnight still.

Tang Zhang Ji in the Night Park of Fengqiao

Picture and text / cloud son

When I was a child, "the lonely cold mountain temple outside the city of Gusu, the bell chimed melodiously to the passenger ship in the middle of the night." It was deeply imprinted on my mind; when I grew up, because of my work, I was even more haunted by Suzhou classical gardens and Suzhou bonsai, which enjoy the reputation of "Jiangnan gardens in the world and Suzhou gardens in the south of the Yangtze River". So Suzhou has always been a place I look forward to very much. The friends around me went and came back, but I always had too many reasons to go, until today I finally came to a journey to make my dream come true.

People swim in painting-- the unique Bamboo Curtain window of Humble Administrator's Garden

Like places of interest such as Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang, Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, Yueyang Tower in Hunan and Daguan Tower in Kunming, Hanshan Temple in Gusu is famous for a poem, an article or a couplet. This is a miracle of traditional Chinese culture. The Suzhou classical garden, which has a history of more than a thousand years, is a model of gardening art of oriental civilization. It integrates the arts of Chinese classical literature, painting, calligraphy and couplets, pays attention to cultural connotation, artistic connotation and spatial aesthetic consciousness, and is a perfect combination of Chinese literati, painters and skilled craftsmen. From the magnificent northern royal gardens to the small and exquisite Jiangnan gardens, they all place their dreams and pursuits on the gardeners. The application of synaesthesia in gardens is a masterpiece of Chinese classical gardens. This can not be compared with western traditional gardens and even Japanese gardens. Among them, Canglang Pavilion, Lion Forest, Humble Administration Garden and Liuyuan Garden represent the artistic styles of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties respectively, and are known as the "four famous gardens" of Suzhou.

If it were not for the tourists with modern clothes by the water, they would really suspect that they had come to cross the road.

Stepping into this classical garden, which has been inherited for thousands of years, it seems to be out of the world and into a dream. The noise, roar and irritability of the modern city have gone nowhere at this time. Wander around the Jiuqu corridor, flanked window pavilion, small bridge and flowing water, silk bamboo in the ear, Castle Peak vaguely. A touch of freehand brushwork and a touch of Zen may be the essence of Chinese classical gardens.

But all this seems to have become an impossible luxury for modern people surrounded by reinforced concrete. Fortunately, the Lion Forest is still here, the Humble Administrator's Garden is still here, and the remaining Garden is still here.

"rockery Kingdom"-Lion Forest

Due to the influence of the thought of "the unity of man and nature", in the garden landscape, stone is no longer just a simple landscape embellishment or decoration, it has been endowed with profound connotation and aura, bearing the feelings and spiritual pursuit of literati for thousands of years.

The Lion Forest has the pavilions, platforms, buildings, pavilions, halls, corridors and other cultural landscapes of classical gardens in Suzhou. It is also famous for the rockery groups of Taihu Lake, and is known as the "rockery Kingdom".

More than 60 rockery groups are interesting, exquisite and handsome, twists and turns and twists and turns. "humanity I live in the city, I suspect that I am in the mountains" is the true feeling of the Lion Forest.

The inscription on Qianlong's calligraphy "Lion Forest" extended from the Ruins of Yuanmingyuan in Beijing

The word "Zhi Bai" originates from the allusion of "Zhaozhou Zhibai" in Zen Buddhism. "Ji Feng, refers to Baixuan" also takes the Song Dynasty Zhu Xi's poem "pre-collection of Lushan Mountain, one Peak alone Show" and Ming Dynasty Gao Qi's meaning of "the world should not ask, laugh at the cypress before the court", showing the literati's love for the mountains and forest springs, pointing out the characteristics of the scenery.

Known as the head of Mount Everest in the Lion Forest (Photography / Chen Jianxing)

"the Mother of the Gardens under Heaven"-- Humble Administration Garden

The Humble Administrator's Garden is not only the representative of Jiangnan gardens, but also the largest classical landscape garden in Suzhou. Because "build a room and plant trees. For a day-and-night meal... This is also the humble person who is also in charge of politics, so he is named "Humble Administration Garden". For more than 500 years, the Humble Administration Garden has repeatedly changed its owners, and it has been divided into three parts, with different names, either as a private garden, as a government, or as a folk residence. It was not until the 1950s that it was fully integrated and its original name was restored.

The Humble Administrator's Garden, a grand view-style classical garden, is known as "the mother of the world garden" for its mountain island, bamboo dock, Songgang and Qushui.

Bonsai Garden of Humble Administration Garden

As we all know, Suzhou bonsai and Suzhou gardens are inseparable. The long-standing Wu culture and Suzhou classical gardening techniques have given birth to the unique modeling structure and artistic style of Suzhou bonsai, which is one of the five major schools of Chinese bonsai art.

The bonsai garden of Humble Administrator's Garden was founded in 1954 with a long history and many fine works. It is one of the earliest bonsai gardens in the country. It is like a pearl embedded in the crown, which not only adds infinite charm to the Humble Administrator's Garden, but also attracts countless dream seekers to visit.

"one of the four famous gardens in China"-Liuyuan

As one of the four famous gardens in China, Liuyuan is famous for its exquisite architectural layout and many strange stones. In a garden can enjoy the landscape, pastoral, mountain forest, courtyard and other different scenery, set residential, ancestral hall, nunnery, garden in one, there is "not out of the city and get the interest of the mountains and forests." And "stay in the garden three unique" is even more famous.

Yunfeng, the crown of the three unique gardens

Liuyuan Guanyunfeng is one of the best stones in Taihu Lake, which integrates "thinness, wrinkle, leakage and penetration" of Taihu Lake stone. It gets its name because of its towering top, crown, shape and spirit. According to legend, it is a relic of Huizong "Hua Shi Gang" in Song Dynasty, and it is one of the three unique things in Liuyuan.

Guanyunfeng

Ruiyunfeng, one of the three famous sisters in Liuyuan.

Xiuyunfeng, one of the famous sisters in Liuyuan.

The Wufeng Immortals Pavilion, one of the three Best in the Garden.

"Wufeng" comes from Li Bai's poem: "Wulaofeng in the southeast of Lushan Mountain, golden hibiscus is cut out on a sunny day." The construction materials of Wufeng Fairy Pavilion are very luxurious, the beams and columns are all made of nanmu, and the middle is all made of mahogany and ginkgo yarn screen.

During the Anti-Japanese War, Wufeng Immortals Pavilion became a Japanese stable, and the horses gnawed the fine nanmu pillars out of shape. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, nanmu pillars had to be pasted with cement and painted on the outside when repairing the garden.

The picture of sunny weather after the three unique things in the garden

In the Wufeng Fairy Pavilion, there is a marble natural painting screen, which is known as one of the "three treasures of staying in the garden". See a marble screen standing by the wall, marble picture surrounded by mountains, waterfalls hanging; clouds around, gurgling water; right above, a white round spot, like a sun or a bright moon.

"clear sky after rain" originated in Cangshan, Dali, Yunnan Province, with a diameter of about 1 meter and a thickness of only 15 mm. According to the transportation conditions at that time, I really don't know how such a large marble painting screen was transported from Yunnan thousands of miles away to Suzhou!

Stay in the bonsai garden

There is also a bonsai garden in the north of the garden, which is reminiscent of Mr. Zhu Zi'an, one of the main representatives of Suzhou bonsai and the master of Chinese bonsai art.

In the autumn of 1970, Mr. Zhu Zian, who was nearly 70 years old, was transferred to the garden to be responsible for the management and maintenance of bonsai. In those difficult times, Mr. Zhu Zian was not intimidated by the great difficulties, but made use of the simple and humble conditions at hand to stay in the garden and leave a valuable wealth for later generations. Today's bonsai garden, more than 500 pots of tree stump bonsai, large-scale landscape bonsai, and humble administration garden bonsai garden complement and complement each other. It has become another bonsai special garden representing the level of Suzhou bonsai after Humble Administrator's Garden.

Lonely Qingjing Hanshan Ancient Temple outside Gusu City

Fourth, Hanshan Temple

As for Hanshan Temple, "everyone is afraid to ask Hanshan Temple, scattered Jiangfeng rustling autumn." Out of the temple door, although a little disappointed, but still with a little nostalgia. In any case, Zhang Ji used the most poetic language to construct a quiet and remote painting with a blend of feelings and scenes, adding everlasting customs to the bridge, water, temple and city of Gusu, attracting dream seekers from ancient times to the present.

Not far from Hanshan Temple is the Jiangfeng Bridge. Walking on the bridge and stroking the stone fence on the bridge, I can't help feeling a lot of relief over the past thousand years.