Suzhou's four greatest gardens(苏州四大园林英文版)

Suzhou's four greatest gardens （苏州四大园林英文版）

Summarization:

Suzhou is China's well-known "city of gardens", which tops all others in both the number and the artistry of gardens. Dating from Pi Jiang Garden of the Eastern Jing Dynasty,Suzhou's art of gardening has undergone a history of 1, 500 years. There were once over 200 gardens in the city,and 69 of them are still in good preservation today. The concept of Suzhou classical gardens has gone beyond the city limits,since it generally refers to all those private gardens built in the

regions south of the Yangtze.

The Suzhou garden originated from the desire to retire from the strife of officialdom and to shun from worldly affairs. It seeks the return to Nature and the cultivation of temperament. In Taoist philosophy and the refinement of culture underlies the theme of the garden. Hills and waters,flowers and trees,pavilion, terraces,towers and halls constitute the basic garden elements,while the prominent tone is expressed in the dark colour of roof tiles,the grey of bricks,and chestnut brown of

wooden pillars.

Suzhou garden is the Nature in nutshell ,which enables one to "feel the charm of mountains,forest and springs without going out of the noisy surroundings of the town". Its human interest also lies in that the architect, philosopher, poet, painter, and common folk can all find in it the idea,the flavour,the lines and the rhythm. The unfolding of the garden vistas is the verisimilitude of a landscape scroll. When enjoying tea, poem,flower arrangement or playing musical instrument in the garden,one gains the most natural inspiration. To those tourists desiring to understand China, Suzhou garden is the best museum. Local chronicles reveal that during its heyday, Suzhou city held nearly 200 gardens, topping the whole nation. Suzhou gardens have their own characteristics in layout, structure and style.The Four Classical Gardens of Suzhou, i.e., The Humble Administrator's Garden，The Lion Grove Garden,The Lingering Garden and The Surging Waves Pavilion represent the styles of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing

Dynasties.

The Humble Administrator's Garden :

Sunshine after a snowfall

The Humble Administrator's Garden. First laid out in 1509 AD, the garden's scenery is focused on a central pond with various buildings of pavilions,terraces,chambers and towers located by the water or on hillocks in a natural, unsophisticated,and appropriate composition. The garden is most representative of Chinese classical gardens in the Ming Dynasty.

The Humble Administrator's Garden covers 4 hectares in northeast Suzhou. It is the largest garden of the city and a typical example of the art of horticulture south of the Changjiang river.

Lotus Hall

It was laid out in 1513 by the censor Wang Xiancheng after his retirement from political life. He named the garden after an essay by Pan Yue of Jing Era---On Idle Living:" Building house and planting trees, watering garden and growing vegetables are the affairs (Zheng) of humble (Zhuo) people." After his death, his son gambled away the garden.

When Taiping troops occupied Suzhou in 1860, King Zhongwang picked this one and the neighboring buildings of the present Historical Museum as a residence and center for his political activities.

Three-fifths of its area is covered by magnificent ponds. All of the buildings are right next to the ponds, so that the garden seems to be floating on the water. The entire grounds can be divided into three parts: an eastern, a central and a western part. The central one is especially worth a visit. It centers around Yuanxiang Tang pavilion. Two artificial islands linked to each other in the lotus pond north of the pavilion are densely overgrown with bamboo plants and trees. In the western part, Sanshiliu Yuanyang Guan hall, the Hall of the Thirty-Six Mandarin Ducks, will attract the visitors' special interest. On the adjoining lake, one used to be able to see mandarin ducks, symbol of marital faithfulness. Today, some swim in a fenced-off part of the lake.West of the garden there is a noteworthy bonsai exhibition a a teahouse.

The Lion Forest Garden :

Compactly yet harmoniously spaced,the Lion Forest Garden has a prominent part for series of man-made mountains with various buildings around the lake ,and an artificial waterfall and cliffs at the edge of the lake on the west. Remains of the 14th century man-made

mountains,covering 1,152 sq.m.and being the largest of all at Suzhou,can be still seen today.Noted for its labyrinthine mountains with winding pathways and caverns,old pines and cypress trees,awesome peaks and jogged rocks of grotesque shapes resembling dancing lions with striking and unusral poses,it possesses with pride the true delights of mountain and forest scenery in limited space with a flavor of Zen Buddhism.

The Hall of Peace and Happiness,one of the principal buildings in the garden,is a master-piece of typical mandarin ducks'hall at Suzhou. Divided in halves, the northern half of the hall differs from the southen half in many particular aspects ,such as beam-framing systems,furnishings,pavements,carvings,window designs and so forth.With painted patterns and beam carvings and looking splendid in green and gold,the True Delight Pavilion in the royal style with the "True Delight "tablet inscribed by the Qing Emperor Qianlong is a main viewing place in the garden and differs from the other plain and elegant gardens of Suzhou.Other buildings include the pointing at Cypress Trees Hall,the Asking Prunus Mume Pavilion and the Stone Boat, etc.

The Lion Forest Garden boasts 22 buildings of varied types, 25tablets and plateaux,71steles inscribed with the famous Calligraphy Collection of the Listening to Rain Tower,23 brick carvings,5 carved wooden screens,and 13 valuable old trees such as gingo biloba L.,pinus bungeana Zucc,etc.,which fall into 5 catalogues.

The Lingering Garden:

Occupying an area of 23,300 square meters (about 5.8 acres), the Lingering Garden is located outside Changmen Gate in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Originally a classical private garden, it is one of the four most famous gardens in China. Possessing typical Qing style, it is well-known for the exquisite beauty of its magnificent halls, and the various sizes, shapes, and colors of the buildings. In 1997, the garden was recorded on the list of the world heritage by UESCO.

With a history of more than 400 years, the Lingering Garden has changed hands several times. Each owner did his best to perfect the garden. It was first built in 1593 during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) by a retired official named Xu Tai. During the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), it was bought by Liu Shu. As a calligraphy lover, he carved masterpieces on both sides of the corridors of the buildings. He had also collected unusually-shaped stones in the garden. The succeeding owners followed his model when doing restoration work.

Almost demolished in the 1930s, the garden was repaired sponsored by the government and then opened to the public.

Like other famous gardens in Suzhou, the Lingering Garden seeks to create stunning natural landscapes within limited space. In this garden, domiciles, ancestral temples and private gardens are included. Buildings, trees, and flowers blend harmoniously with their surroundings. The garden can generally be divided into four parts: the central, eastern, western and northern parts according to the style of the buildings.

Of the four parts, the central part is the essence of the whole complex. This part was the original Lingering Garden while the other three were added during the Qing Dynasty. After going through winding corridors from the gate of the garden, one reaches the central part. The central part is divided into two parts: the western part and the eastern part. The former features in pools and hills while classical buildings dominate the latter. The Celestial Hall of Five Peaks in the eastern part of the garden is the largest hall in the garden. The western part is enchanting for its natural scenery. It is a large rockery built from stacked stones and soil during the Ming Dynasty. Maples cover the hill. When all the leaves turn red in autumn, it is extraordinarily beautiful. The northern part used to be a vegetable garden, but now is used to exhibit potted plants of which the Suzhou people are quite proud.

These four parts are connected by a 700-meter (about 0.4 miles) long corridor on the wall of which calligraphy carved on the stone can be found.

Canglang Pavilion:

Canglang Pavilion is located in the southern part of Suzhou, and is one of the four most famous gardens of the city. Canglang Pavilion is the oldest of the Suzhou gardens that can be traced back to the Northern Song Dynasty (906-1127). During that part of history, a scholar Su Shunqing was demoted and sent to Suzhou. He bought the garden and built the pavilion in a setting adjacent to water that was on the property that would enhance the beauty of the garden. The garden was then named Canglang Pavilion in honor of his namesake, Canglang Wong.

Unique Features

Unlike other gardens, Canglang Pavilion emphasizes the harmony between man made buildings and the natural environment. Before

entering the garden, you can see beautiful scenery composed of a green water pool that is surrounded by a growth of weeping willows. In the garden you will see incredible man made rock formations that are divided into two parts. On the eastern side, the earth has been mixed with natural yellow stones and built in such a manner that it resembles a natural hill. On the western side, exquisite stones from the lake have been used to create another naturally appearing hill. Both of these rock formations have been planted with green trees and viridian bamboos that add to the beauty of the scene and create the sensation of walking in a primitive mountain forest. There are also winding corridors with pavilions that link the hills and pools together. As you walk along these corridors that follows a path alongside the unique stone formations and strategically planted ancient trees, it seems as if you were walking in a primitive forest. The architectures that have been built in the garden are simply and classically designed which present a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) style.

Main Scenic Spots

Winding corridors throughout the garden link the scenic spots of the garden. On the walls of the corridor, there are 108 lattice windows of various designs through which you can enjoy the beauty of the pool outside and the hill in the center of the garden. The intricate patterns of the windows are interesting and enhance the beauty of the corridor. Facing Water Veranda is a four-sided hall beside the water to the west of the corridor. When you are tired after long walk, you can sit and drink a cup of tea while enjoying the quiet and beautiful surroundings of the garden.

At the eastern end of the corridor, a square pavilion sits on a stone beside the pool. It is called Fishing Terrace which is a perfect place to sit and watch different varieties of fish swimming in the pool. Crossing the corridor, you can climb up the man made rock formation along a gently winding path. Among a sea of green trees, a square antique Canglang Pavilion can be seen indistinctly. The beams of the pavilion are carved with intricate patterns of fairy children, flowers, birds, and animals. From inside the pavilion, you can see the beauty of the entire garden.

Mingdao Hall is the main building in the garden. In the hall are three rooms that were once used as a place for ancient scholars to study. Inside the hall, there are also rubbings of three stone tablets including the Astronomic Picture, Geographic Picture and Pingjiang Prefecture Picture which are the priceless treasures of Suzhou. In a setting of age old trees, the hall looks very solemn and venerable.

Fragrance House is to the west of the Mingdao Hall. When autumn comes, the house is filled with the delicate fragrance of the sweet-scented osmanthus that grows within the grounds of the garden. While sitting in Fragrance House, it is easy to enjoy both the beauty of the green rock formations and blue pools as well as the faint scent of osmanthus that adds to the joy and comfort of the scene. Five-Hundred Famous Ancient Sages Hall is also an important building in the garden. The stone statues of 594 ancient sages of Suzhou are encased in the walls of the hall and form a large art gallery. The hall adds cultural atmosphere to the natural beauty of the whole garden.

In the southern end of the garden, a two-storey building called Mountain-Watching Building stands majestically in the garden. With its flying eaves and turned up corners, it is one of the most exquisite buildings in the garden. From inside this building, you can see the mountains around the garden as well as the beauty of the entire garden.