SuzhouGarde
Ladies,gentlemen,Welcometothe"landoffishandrice"--Suzhou.Suzhou,oneoftheChinese'"Citiesofgardens"topsallothersinbothnumberandartistryofgardens.StartingfromPijiangGardenoftheEasternJinDynasty,Suzhou'sartofgardeninghasundergoneahistoryof1500years.TheconceptofSuzhouclassicalgardenshasgonebeyondthecitytheregionsoftheYangtze.
ThefourclassicalgardensofSuzhouareTheSurgingWavesPavilion.TheLionGroveGardenGarden.TheHumbleAdministrator'Garden.TheLingeringGarden.Inanutshell,representthedifferentarchitecturalstylesofSong.Yuan.Ming.Qingdynasties.
Myfriends,nowweareinTheLingeringGarden.ItislocatedinLiuyuanRoad,SuzhouCity.ItwasbuiltbyXutaishiinMingDynasty.AtthattimeitwasnamedEasternGarden.
TherearethreetreasuresinTheLingeringGarden.ThefirsttreasureareStones.Thestoneinfrontofusisthemostdistinguishingstone"GuangyunPeak".Withaweightof5tonsandaheightof6.5meters,itisoneofthefourWonderfulStonesintheregionsoftheYangtze.
ThecalligrapherandpainterMifuinSongDynastysumupthefeaturesofLakeTaistonesasthefollowing:slender,wrinkling,leaking,penetrating.Justtakethe"guangyunPeak"asanexampleandyouwillhavesomeideaaboutthefeaturesofthestones.Inaddition,itisendowedwiththepersonalcharactersoffaithfulnessbecauseofitsnatureofstiffnessandunchangeableoutlook.Thusithasbeenworshippedbypeoplesinceoldtime.
Thesecondtreasureis"FivepeakfairyHall""Fivepeaksfairyhall"getsthereputationof"ThefirsthallintheregionsofYangtze".ThenamecomesfromthelinesofthegreatpoetLibai.ThefourChinesecharactersontheplaquewerewrittenbyWuda---thefamouscalligrapher.NanmuHallusedtobetheplaceforimportantbanquetsandceremonies,suchasbirthdayparties,weddings,funerals.
Thehallisdividedintotwosections__thesouthsectionandthenorthsection.Thesouthsectionhostmaleguests,whilethesouthsectionhostfemaleguests.
Thehalliselegantlydesignedwithoversizedwindowsoneastandwestsides.Throughthewindows,theoutsidesceneriesofthetwocourtyardscanbeextendedaspartsofthehall,thustoensureenoughlightsintothebuilding.
Fivepeaksfairyhallwasbuiltoutofluxurymaterials.BeamsandpillarsareallNanmu,whichisakindoftimberonlyproducedinChina.Thatisalsothereasonwhy"fivepeaksfairyhall"isalsocommonlycalled"NanmuHall".
The"FossilFish"weareenjoyingisthethirdtreasureofLingeringGarden.Itisanaturalmarblepicture.InthemiddleofthepicturearethecluttersofmountainswhicharePartlyhiddenandpartlyvisible;belowareflowingStreams,abovearefloatingclouds;rightonthemiddletopisaroundwhitespotlikeasunoramoon.Itisapicturedrawnbythenature.Themarblestonehasadiameterof1meterorsoandathicknessof15mms.ItwasproducedinDiancangMountain,YunNanprovince.ItisawonderhowsuchbigastonewasdeliveredinagoodconditionfromYunNanwhichisoveronethousandmileawayfromSuzhou.
Chinaismostfamousforitselegantclassicalgardens.
Amongthese,thelingeringGardenisonerepresentative.IfyouwouldliketoknowmoreaboutChineseculture,wewelcomeyoutovisitSuzhouagain.