Chapter 30 Chapter 26 Gardens, Parks, Harmony...

Talking about Suzhou without talking about gardens means saying nothing.It can be seen that the status of gardens in Suzhou.According to relevant records, there were 271 gardens in Suzhou in the Ming Dynasty and 130 in the Qing Dynasty.In the early days of the founding of New China, there were 114 verifiable gardens and 74 pavilions in the ancient city and its suburbs. The abundance and beauty of Suzhou gardens are directly related to the uniqueness and richness of Suzhou, the gathering of humanities and glorious history, as well as the beauty and delicacy of the natural environment.Since ancient times, the construction of palaces and pavilions in Gusu City has never stopped, especially after Xi Shi, a beautiful woman from the Yue Kingdom, arrived in Suzhou. In order to please this peerless beauty, Fu Chai, the king of Wu, built a lot of "" Leisure Resort".Those ancient "leisure resorts" paid attention to mountains, waters, pavilions and bridges, which should be consistent with the scenery of Suzhou outside the courtyard, so they gradually became the prototype of Suzhou gardens.Later, there were more literati and poets in Suzhou, and the elegance and self-cultivation continued to improve, so the aesthetic taste and aesthetic thoughts of gardens were more and more infiltrated into them. Therefore, no matter how big or small the Suzhou gardens we see now, they always integrate architecture, literature, calligraphy and painting. Combining elements such as stone stacking, water control, flowers and trees, decoration, etc. in one furnace, it has left precious treasures for our Chinese nation.

The real history of Suzhou garden architecture began in the 6th century BC, when Gusu Terrace, Guanwa Palace, and Changzhou Garden were built.After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Buddhist and Taoist temples and private gardens sprang up one after another, such as Pijiang Garden, Yunyan Temple, Puming Temple, Baosheng Temple, Xuanmiao Temple, Zijin Nunnery, Canglang Pavilion, Lion Forest, etc.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, private gardens in Suzhou became even more common, with about 500 or so.Rich people and those literati are proud of building gardens, a bit like today's rich people buy land and build manors.At that time, high-ranking officials in the imperial court were also very fond of donating money to build gardens in Suzhou City to flaunt their prominent status and virtue.For example, Wang Xianchen's Humble Administrator's Garden in the Ming Dynasty, Xu Taishi's Lingering Garden, Fuli Xu Zichang's Plum Blossom Villa, Song Zongyuan's Master of the Nets Garden in the Qing Dynasty, and Gu Wenbin's Yiyuan Garden are all very famous gardens.

Suzhou gardens are characterized by smallness, freedom, delicacy, elegance, and expressiveness.Because it paid attention to the harmonious unity of culture and art, the royal gardens in the late Qing Dynasty also absorbed a lot of "freehand brushwork" techniques from Suzhou gardens in terms of artistic conception, creative thinking, architectural skills, and humanistic content.The integration of Suzhou classical gardens and houses is another major feature of it, which can be enjoyed, visited and lived in.This kind of building is formed by the kind of urban lifestyle sought by the wealthy and refined scholars who are densely populated, longing to be integrated with the natural scenery day and night, and want to be alone without being disturbed by the outside world.Suzhou is located in a water town in the south of the Yangtze River, and it was also the imperial city of several dynasties after Wu Yue. masterpiece.One of the important characteristics of Suzhou gardens is that it is not only a product of history and culture, but also a carrier of traditional ideology and culture.The naming, plaques, couplets, writing stones, carvings, decorations of the garden halls, as well as the implication of flowers and trees, stacked stones to express love, etc., all show the owner's aesthetic taste and way of life.Perhaps it is because the beauty of Suzhou gardens is so lingering, and perhaps its beauty is beyond words, that's why such romantic talents as Tang Bohu were born.In fact, the delicacy and elegance of Suzhou gardens can not only create romance, but also build iron bones. Jin Shengtan, a famous literary critic in the early Qing Dynasty, was one of them.Known as one of the "Seventy-two Great Men of China", Gu Yanwu's former residence is in Qiandeng Town, Kunshan. It is also a small and medium-sized garden representative of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It covers an area of ​​60 acres and is divided into residential areas, pavilions, temples and gardens Area.The former residence and the garden are integrated. Facing the east and west, there are five ancient Ming and Qing buildings. From east to west, there are wall gates, entrance halls, sedan chair halls, main halls and residential buildings. room, reading building, back garden.Gu's house occupies the whole world in Qiandeng Town, known as "Gu Banjie", which means that his Gu family occupies half of the street in Qiandeng Town.In such a small rural garden, a great Enlightenment thinker who shouted loudly, "Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world", was born.

Among the many gardens in Suzhou, "Gu Ban Street" in Qiandeng Township is really not ranked. It can be seen how magnificent and gorgeous the luxurious, elegant and lovely gardens in the ancient city of Suzhou are! The gardens in Suzhou are picturesque, enigmatic, and like a fairyland. The sounds from Suzhou gardens include the sound of reading, teaching, discussing major events in the world, whispering boudoir grievances, and playing chess and cards... Those voices permeate the culture and elegance, Tranquility and indifference. The visual perception brought to us by gardens is exquisite and elegant scenery.

The ideology brought to us by gardens is a profound and perfect culture. In Tongli, a famous town in Wujiang, there are two gardens that I can recall for a long time: one is a 200-year-old "Tuisi Garden" and the other is a contemporary "Jingsi Garden". Let me first talk about "Tuisi Garden" and its deep meaning. The origin of the name Wujiang Tongli is also very interesting.Tongli, located in the hinterland of Suzhou, has been a rich land since ancient times, where "the people are abundant, the merchants gather together, the work of all kinds of craftsmen flourishes, the gardens and pavilions, the singing and dancing, and singing and dancing are the most famous for a time", so it is called "Fuzhou". earth".During the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, Tongli was a giant town in Wuzhong.In the Song Dynasty, there were leisurely officials who said that Futu was too attractive, so they simply tore it down: the word Fu went up a bit and cut in the middle, so "Futu" became the current "Tongli".

No matter how the "rich" is dismantled, Tongli is still the richest Wuzhong.Due to the unique geographical environment, if you want to enter Tongli, you usually have to go by boat.The rich land surrounded by water has become a good place for wealthy gentry to avoid chaos, and a treasure land for working people from all walks of life to make a living and develop.Under such circumstances, Tongli became more and more prosperous, with a champion, 42 Jinshi and more than 90 Juren.With more scholars and officials, the town will become more prosperous and powerful.Tongli is only 30 to 40 miles away from the ancient city of Suzhou. The wealthy and literati who settled here cannot fail to learn the lifestyle of the people in Suzhou, so landscaping and gardening have become a major feature of Tongli.To build gardens in Tongli, it is worth mentioning that there is a Chinese garden master named Ji Cheng here.Ji Cheng was born in the tenth year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty (1582).His "Yuan Ye" is a classic work of Chinese gardening, which not only influenced China, but also spread to Japan and the West.There is such a master gardener in Tongli, so the prosperity and artistic style of Suzhou gardens may not necessarily be that people in Tongli learn from people in Suzhou, but people in Suzhou may learn from people in Tongli.

Among the many large and small private gardens, Tuisi Garden is undoubtedly the largest and most perfect classic work in Tongli Town, which is a collection of ancient buildings in the south of the Yangtze River. This garden, which covers an area of ​​only nine acres, has a unique layout, complete with pavilions, platforms, buildings, pavilions, corridors, squares, bridges, pavilions, halls, halls, rooms, and pavilions, with the pool as the center.If you stand in front of Tuisi Thatched Cottage, the main scene of the whole garden, and look around, each scenic spot is like a long scroll of mountains and rivers that stretches freely, indifferent and quiet.If you clap your hands in the pool, a pool of brocade scales will come in response, which is really amazing.Moreover, the overall structure of the garden also breaks the convention of the front house and the back garden of ordinary gardens, with the house on the left, the courtyard in the middle, and the garden on the right.The owner of the garden is said to be Ren Lansheng, an Anhui military officer during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. This man was a military general. When he was an official in Fengyang, Anhui, he began to build a garden in his hometown in Tongli for his later years.Before the garden was completed, Cixi asked him to suppress the Nian army.On the battlefield, Ren Lansheng couldn't bear to kill all the Nian army, but when Cixi found out, he accused him of crimes.Ren Lansheng, who was dismissed from office, has since seen through the world of mortals.His good friend Zuo Zongtang sent a pair of couplets: planting bamboo and raising fish for peace of mind, reading and weaving cloth with auspicious sound.Ren Lansheng simply called the completed garden "Tuisi Garden".

Retreat and think garden: retreat and think about past mistakes. Retreat and think garden: retreat and think forward. Retire and think garden: from retreat to advance, because of being too busy to be idle. Retiring and Thinking Garden: Thinking of advancing while retreating, advancing without merit; old man standing still, never stop. This is the property left to future generations by the Tuisi Garden in Tongli, which is full of unwillingness, unyielding and the strategy of advancing with retreat.Think about the soft-spoken Suzhou people in the process of creating earth-shattering great achievements in history and reality. Isn’t the spirit that is in line with this seemingly passive, seemingly silent, but actually proactive and vigorous philosophy of life? Connected?

The Retreat and Thinking Garden in Tongli has been listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage and has been protected. Every year, it attracts countless tourists from home and abroad to stop and admire it, and it has become a scene in the suburbs of Suzhou. When I walked out of the Retreat and Thinking Garden, I was particularly shocked to see another great building in Tongli—the Jingsi Garden. There is only one word difference between Jingsi Garden and Tuisi Garden, but a "Tuisi" and a "Jingsi" contain two similar but different ideological realms. The owner of the Jingsi Garden is a contemporary, his name is Chen Jingen, he is a horse, he is 56 years old, and he is a native of Tongli.Let's take a look at his "Meditation Garden"——

Let’s talk about the area first: Jingsi Garden, the first phase of the project that has already been completed and is open to tourists, has an area of ​​66 mu. Its design was completed by several famous contemporary designers from Suzhou Landscape Design Institute and Shanghai Tongji University.Its overall building is in the pattern of east house and west garden, and the garden is "the area around the two lakes", that is, Jinghu Lake in the north, Xiaopangshan Lake in the south and "Pillow River House" in the middle.The water surface in the garden occupies more than one-third of the entire garden.The main landscapes in the garden include Crane Pavilion Bridge, Little Chuihong, Jingyuan Hall, Tianxiang Bookstore, Pangshan Thatched Cottage, Sumen Brick Carving and Bonsai Garden, Scientist Stele Gallery of Past Dynasties, and Stone Poetry Gallery, etc.

The Jingsi Garden, which must not be man-made for the contemporary era, is an imitation of ancient Suzhou gardens.When you enter the garden and take a closer look, all the things you see are simple and authentic, and compared with the ancient Suzhou gardens, there are more innovations and improvements, especially the master's rigorous creation and scenery, which makes the scenery all meaningful . Just say the Heting Bridge, this bridge is the landmark building of the Jingsi Garden.It has changed the style of "small bridge and flowing water" in Suzhou gardens. The 100-meter-long bridge spans the center of the lake, which is majestic. .The crane symbolizes the best qualities of human beings, and it implies longevity, loyalty, happiness and auspiciousness.The Heting Bridge adopts the shape of a high and two low cranes in flight, spanning the two sides of the lake as a scene.The large and two small semi-circular arch holes built by the whole stone of the bridge body are attached to the calm lake surface to form three circular holes suitable for movement and stillness. Standing on the shore of the lake and looking at the scene from a distance, the meaning is profound and beautiful. Little Chuihong is said to be cloned from a famous Chuihong Bridge built in Wujiang in the Song Dynasty. The ancient bridge is now in ruins.However, the author has seen its style and appearance in the urban area of ​​Wujiang. Although it is incomplete, we can still get a glimpse of the momentum of that year.The small hanging rainbow in the Jingsi Garden is a scene reconstructed by the owner to express his reminiscence of the old environment of his hometown. It is very unique and beautiful. Walking through the small chuihong, passing through "Nongbi", all the way to build bamboo poles, twists and turns.Come to "Xihongxuan".The west side of this place is open, and the three sides are facing the water. It is tall and open, with a wide field of vision, so it is easy to enjoy the beautiful scenery.In particular, there is a "beauty leaning" inside. It is very pleasant to take a short rest after walking for a long time.According to the "beauty leaning on", looking around the garden, you can see the mountains and rivers in the north, the scenery is quiet, the cloud walls are winding, the ancient trees are lush, the lakes and rocks are stacked with mountains, and small bridges and flowing water.In the west, there is a curved stone bridge with uneven pavilions, intricate flowers and trees, and the reflection is like a painting. It has the flavor of a Jiangnan water town.The curved corridor on the south side is lingering, and the fragrance of lotus is overflowing. There is a saying: "Changing willows laughing across the bank, and the lotus in the pond reflects the water for new makeup." , Shocking Fire" taste. There are countless sceneries in the Jingsi Garden, but the most eye-catching one is "Qingyun Peak", which is "the most Lingbi stone".According to the owner, in order to obtain this peak, he went to Lingbi, Anhui eight times, and used the ancient method of filling stones with local stone farmers to "rise several inches every day". It took three years to make the huge stone visible.In order to transport the "Qingyun Peak" weighing more than 100 tons to Tongli, Wujiang, hundreds of miles away, the owner of the park invested in the construction of 5 kilometers of roads, 2 bridges, and used the 25-meter super-long flatbed truck used by the former Soviet Union to transport the rockets. And the cranes that built the Yangpu Bridge in Shanghai.During the day, it is difficult to travel by car, so we can only travel late at night. It took 55 days and nights of wind and rain to make the boulder arrive safely.The 9.1-meter-high, 2.95-meter-wide, 2.24-meter-thick "Qingyun Peak" stands in the Jingsi Garden, making the whole garden feel as stable as Mount Tai.What's interesting is that the boulder is covered with holes, more than 1600 holes, and the holes are connected. If water is poured into the top, jade will flow from a thousand springs. When "Qingyun Peak" sat in the Jingsi Garden, there was a wonderful and interesting story.It was a sunny day with no clouds. More than 30 experienced stone farmers tied up the boulder with steel wire ropes and hoisted it on the spot. To keep the boulder vertical, after many twists and turns, it was not settled until after two o'clock in the afternoon.The onlookers cheered happily, and the owner's family offered incense and worshiped God's gift.At this time, there was a sudden strong wind in the sky, dark clouds rolled, and then heavy rain washed away the "beautiful stone" wrapped in mud and dust for a long time.In a blink of an eye, the sky was clear again, and the sun was shining everywhere, and everyone present was amazed.A literati wrote a poem on the spot: "God-given Lingshi fell to Wujiang, and Jiren Jingenyuan collected it. Everything is going smoothly and steadily, and the name of Qingyun Peak will last forever." Although the poem is ordinary, it records the wonderful moment at that time. In addition to these iconic large-scale giant scenes in the Jingsi Garden, there are also exquisite stone and wood architectural scenery such as "Luoxia Pavilion" and "Like Home Boat".But the most exquisite halls are those halls, such as "Flower Basket Hall", "Phoebe Hall", "Kistler Hall", "Bonsai Garden" and so on.It is worth mentioning that those flowers, trees and strange stones are all rare treasures. For example, some strange stones are extremely beautiful and extremely valuable. The "Scientist Stele Gallery" may be the most significant difference between Jingsi Garden and all Suzhou gardens.Here you can see the stone statues and stone mottos of famous scientists in Wudi in ancient and modern times.Here, the unique "Ji Cheng Pavilion" is undoubtedly the most conspicuous... It takes about two hours to walk around the Jingsi Garden roughly. "This is the first phase of the project, and the ongoing second phase of the project is about twice as big as it is now. You see, there is a five-star hotel jointly built by us and CYTS..." the beautiful narrator Ma Li The lady pointed to a group of buildings in the renovation stage that were busy near the backyard and said. "How much did your boss spend to build this garden?" This is the question I have been thinking about since I stepped into the Jingsi Garden: the Jingsi Garden has a huge area, exquisite and transcendent buildings, and a large number of priceless gemstones, rare flowers and bright flowers. Clean up old things... 100 million?One billion?I imagine it's definitely worth it. "Is it all his own money?" This is the second question I especially want to know. "Where did he get so much money?" This is the third question I want to know. "What is he building such a luxurious and exquisite garden for?" This is the question I want to know the most. "Go and ask him yourself." Miss Ma Li smiled and led me to a courtyard called "Jiahuitang".The master came out—ha, it was unexpected: it was not a suave and suave flamboyant man holding a sandalwood incense fan, but a bald, fat guy! Chen Jingen, from Tongli, looks like a standard "boss".A businessman with such an appearance can make the best in the world.I was puzzled, but the flash disappeared after only a few minutes... "I should say that I am a businessman, but first of all I should say that I am a farmer in Tongli." This was Chen Jingen's opening remarks.I began to know that this man’s hometown is in the Pangshan Lake area not far from Tongli Town, and I also knew that he was a farmer entrepreneur from a township, and he was one of the early starters.It started to produce wool spinning products, then metallurgical products, and then air conditioners.Since most of the business of the company deals with large units in Shanghai, this makes his business more and more prosperous.Suzhou people know how to do business, and one of their specialties is to be good at "making friends" with users.I sell you products, and I invite you to come to Suzhou and Tongli to "Bai Xiang" (Shanghai dialect, meaning to play).People from Shanghai will be "white faces". When they come to see the scenery of Suzhou, and when they return, they bring a carload of local products from the water village, which is a lot of fun. With the sound of "It's fine, it's fine", the business is "booming".As a result, Chen Jingen, who couldn't even eat enough when he was a child, had more and more bulging pockets, and his stomach and body also became fatter... What do you do when you are rich?Building luxury villas?Eat delicacies?Eating non-stop, every day?Or enjoy all kinds of luxury in the world?No also.Although Chen Jingen is bald and fat after hard work, his thoughts are sharp and profound... People live a lifetime, rich, how rich can they be?Can enjoy a long life?So Chen Jingen thought of one thing: he wanted to build a "spiritual home" for himself and the people in his hometown that would be revived forever - "This is what I thought of building a garden under the influence of my father when I was a child." Chen Jingen said, he When he was a child, he often went to Suzhou city with his father, so "the beautiful memories of visiting those gardens in childhood" kept him in his heart. And this is just a dream. In the 1980s, Chen Jingen’s company was working in the renovation of the old city of Shanghai, so Chen Jingen, who was very interested in ancient buildings and antiques, told his subordinates: “Keep all the interesting old things and antiques for me, and bring them back to Tongli. Go." After staying and pulling, Chen Jingen's "home" became a grand view garden of "old antiques" after a long time. "At the beginning, I set up a small garden with ten or eight acres of land. Later, I invited friends from Shanghai to come to Baixiang. They thought it was interesting, so I gradually made the garden bigger and kept it like this..." Chen Jingen said. A problem I was wondering about was solved. "In the past, gardens were built by high-ranking officials or cultural people. I have never heard of ordinary people being able to build gardens. I am a dreamer. I dreamed of having my own garden when I was a child. But this dream has come true. I am grateful to Deng Xiaoping, to the era of reform and opening up, and to the local leaders of Suzhou and my fellow villagers for their great support.” Chen Jingen said that the gardens in Suzhou used to be used by their own family and were not open to the public, so they are exquisite and small.Such gardens are related to the social context of Suzhou. "But I think the most valuable thing about a garden is its cultural nature, especially reflecting the cultural awareness and taste of the owner. A garden is a person's state of mind, a person's mind, or a family's state of mind and Mind, to put it more clearly, is the spiritual home of a family or a person. In fact, at this point, the rich and the poor should be equal, and the officials and the common people should be equal. Everyone and every family has their own spirit. Both the world and the spiritual home are qualified to accept the cultural influence of garden art. Especially China has entered a well-off society today, and our people in Suzhou have become rich thanks to the party's policies. Why can't we enjoy the emperors, generals, and rich men in the feudal society? What about the material and spiritual civilization that I can enjoy? This is what I want to do when I have money.” Chen Jingen let me solve the second doubt. "There is Tuisi Garden in Tongli, which is a garden built by Ren Lansheng, an old official of a generation, when he returned to his hometown after he was dismissed from office. It was named 'Tuisi', which means 'to be loyal when thinking forward, and to make up for mistakes by retreating'. Of course, it also contains the meaning of teaching future generations' "Retreat and think forward" means, but it is more about being wise and safe. Someone suggested that I name the garden "Jinsi Garden". Although advance and retreat are symmetrical and have distinct mutual reflections and contrasts, it seems that the word "advance" is less Some gardens should have the elegance and cultural connotation of Suzhou people. The word "Jing Si" is the idea of ​​Mr. Fei Xiaotong. He suggested using "Jing Si" and said: rich and thinking, quiet and far; this It is not only a must-have for a successful entrepreneur, but also a spiritual realm that all wealthy Suzhou people need. So the 'Jingsi Garden' came into being." Wealthy and progressive, quiet and far-reaching.How well said!This is the unique cultural "patent" of Suzhou people.She can be sublimated into a symbol of the era of political harmony, economic prosperity, and cultural renaissance, demonstrating an optimistic, innovative, and high-spirited spirit and an open, pioneering, enlightened, and eclectic modern consciousness. "Suzhou people's mellowness, tolerance, and other seemingly quiet and conservative spiritual forms are actually a kind of strong and fiery pursuit, upward, exerting force, and finally, the thorough publicity and burning for success..." I Tell this summary and refined words to a Suzhou farmer, and to a contemporary Suzhou person who spends all the one billion yuan of wealth he gained from his own business on building a tangible building and an intangible home. "That's right, that's what I want to express!" Chen Jingen nodded frequently, held my hand with a smile, and said, "After all, he is a cultural person." In fact, real philosophers and cultural people belong to people like Chen Jingen.Almost all Suzhou people are philosophers, and their behavior embodies such a philosophy. From the Retreat and Meditation Garden and Jingsi Garden in Tongli, I suddenly thought of the unusually unique building standing by the Jinji Lake, and its name is "Yuanrong". It is a symbol of Suzhou Industrial Park - this giant steel sculpture is a rotating circular fan shape with a square window hole in the middle, full of pictograms of the fusion and exchange of Eastern and Western cultures, and at the same time It also has a strong sense of graceful movement, implying the openness of Suzhou and the scene of the times connecting with the world.The "harmony" under the sun is like a flame, like a heart leaf: this flame is the passion and wisdom burned by the people of Suzhou in the great cause of rejuvenating the area and the Chinese nation, and this heart leaf is the dedication to the motherland and their own homeland. That piece of sincere and sincere emotion. "Yuanrong" is like a drop of bright red blood, or a drop of crystal sweat, but when you look closely, it looks more like the spiritual home and spiritual world of my fathers and villagers who adore literature, harmony, innovation, and reach far... … "Harmony is actually a state of mind, a mind. Only with it can we go far, be peaceful, and be eternal." This is what the abbot Qiu Shuang said when I visited Hanshan Temple in Suzhou three years ago.At that time, the eminent monk did not know that I was going to write a book for Suzhou.Out of the exploration of the meaning of the word "Yuanrong" that my fathers and folks often hang on my lips, I wrote it in the palm of my hand and asked the abbot who sat next to me at the same table, he said so. The abbot said it well.Harmony is actually a state of mind, a kind of mind. People in Suzhou have a special preference for Yuanrong, because their traditional culture and realistic pursuits have deeply infiltrated this state of mind and mind, and it is this state of mind and mind that make Suzhou, a place of prosperity, thrive and move forward by leaps and bounds. developing... When you take a walk on the land of Suzhou and take a look, you may still find some deficiencies, but you cannot but admit that your heart is so excited and happy, because you can see a country and a country here. How the nation has realized the modernization we expected and the happy life of the people in a short period of time. You can also see here how a region relying on its own wisdom and ability integrates the most advanced science in the world Technology and management experience are applied to local construction and converted into their own characteristics and innovations. You can also see here that the most delicate, precious and invisible essence of human beings is actually in the infinite creation of our own human beings— ——As long as we are good at blending the past and casting the present, blending and mastering, and blending the new and striving for progress, there will definitely be a paradise on earth in our ideal, and it must be extremely beautiful! ...