Suzhou, passing by your prosperous place of flowers and willows, gentle and wealthy town

When the car drove into the city of Suzhou, the opening sentence of "A Dream of Red Mansions" flashed in my mind: "On that day, the land fell to the southeast. There was a place in this southeast corner called Gusu, and there was a city called Changmen. , is the first and second-class rich and romantic place in the world."

Since ancient times, there has been a proverb, "There is heaven above, and there are Suzhou and Hangzhou below." Suzhou in ancient times is the same as Suzhou today. That first- and second-class wealthy and romantic place? !

It is said that the monk said to Jia Baoyu's piece of psychic jade: "I will take you to that prosperous country, to the people of poetry, etiquette and hairpins, to the prosperous land of flowers and willows, to the gentle and prosperous land to live and work in peace." "I have never had the chance to meet that monk, so he has no resources to live and work, but he takes a daughter and a son and rushes through Suzhou, a prosperous place with flowers and willows, a gentle and wealthy town, it is also a good thing. Pleasure.

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Humble Administrator’s Garden

I specially booked a hotel close to Humble Administrator’s Garden. When I arrived, I threw away my luggage and hurried to Humble Administrator’s Garden. Zhengyuan. Due to its far-reaching reputation, the Humble Administrator’s Garden must be your first choice when visiting Suzhou.

I have been to three of China’s four most famous gardens: the Humble Administrator’s Garden, the Summer Palace, Chengde Summer Resort and the Lingering Garden, except for the Lingering Garden. I sometimes think: What’s good about them? How can one transcend numerous gardens?

Yu Yue, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, called it "the most famous garden and the most humble government among the three Wus". Suzhou gardens are famous all over the world, and the Humble Administrator's Garden is the most famous among the three Wus. So what's so good about the Humble Administrator's Garden? Yu Yue was a great master of the generation, Zhang Taiyan's teacher, and Yu Pingbo's great-grandfather. His words should have a certain weight.

With some doubts, we entered the hospital from the east gate. There is a screen in the middle of the house at the entrance, with inlaid paintings of trees, rocks, pavilions, and pavilions, which seems to be the overall layout of the garden. The sister and brother touched it with their hands and said, "Is it silver?" I said, "If it gets damaged, you'll have to pay for it." The brother and sister immediately gasped and shrank their hands. After crossing the door, you will encounter a pond with clear water and plants. Two small and exquisite ducks are swimming leisurely. There is a hibiscus pavilion beside the pond.

Passing Furong Pavilion and arriving at Xiangxiang Pavilion, it means the fragrance of rice. It can be seen that the surrounding area was farmland at that time. According to the introduction in the museum, the Humble Administrator's Garden was built in the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, that is, the era of Zhu Houzhao. Around 1510, Zhu Houzhao was a noisy and absurd emperor. It is said that he came to Suzhou, and maybe he also visited the Humble Administrator's Garden, which is unknown.

There are mountains ahead, and there are trees on the mountains. Under the trees, there are bamboos. They are low, less than half the height, like shrubs. I don’t know what they are called. There are more and more pavilions and pavilions at the foot of the mountain. I don’t even know their names and I don’t bother to remember them. Walking along the corridor, the corridor follows the water. There are lotuses in the water, which are graceful and graceful. There are ducks under the lotus and anthuriums stir the clear waves.

Suddenly I saw a man climbing over the fence under the corridor, leaning out of the corridor, holding on to the pillar with one hand and taking pictures with the other. When my sister saw this, she laughed and said, "Is this the legendary risk-taking of taking pictures with one's life?" This made the man laugh too.

Looking south, you can see the main building. I can’t remember how many times it went in and out. It is very majestic and deep. Afterwards, I walked back along the water and encountered the Lotus Root Pavilion. It was covered in the pool, with windows on all sides and winding corridors on the left and right. It also connected across the water to the shore. It was exactly the same as the Lotus Root Champs in "A Dream of Red Mansions". It was probably imitated by later generations. It was just a name, because "Dream of Red Mansions" had not yet been written as a book at that time.

It was getting noon, and the heat was unbearable. The two siblings went out of the garden noisily. To them, it was a world-famous garden, a garden with winding paths and exquisite design, a garden that was natural and harmonious. Not as refreshing as a stick of ice cream.

The Summer Palace and the Summer Resort are royal gardens with larger scales. One Kunming Lake is the same size as several Humble Administrator’s Gardens, while the Humble Administrator’s Garden has a more elaborate layout, with pavilions, terraces, surrounding mountains and rivers, and winding paths. It is secluded, with lush flowers and trees, and it is also somewhat poetic.

The founder of the garden, Wang Xianchen, is unknown, but the designer, Wen Zhengming, is somewhat famous. One of the four great talents in the south of the Yangtze River, he also borrowed his name from Tang Bohu. Unlike Tang Yin, who "doesn't live a life without being crazy", Wen Zhengming is famous. Zheng was slightly less talented, but he was diligent and lived a long life. He was excellent in poetry, literature, calligraphy and painting, and was known as the "Four Wonders".

Wang Xianchen was not successful as an official, but he left a place in history because he knew how to advance and retreat. More importantly, he should be very rich. The Humble Administrator's Garden now has seventy-eight acres. I didn't know how big it was at first. How much money would it take to build such a large garden? Suzhou is indeed a first- and second-class wealthy and romantic place.

What I am really interested in is the name of the Humble Administrator's Garden itself. The name of the garden is taken from Pan Yue's "Xianju Fu" of the Jin Dynasty, "Fishing the garden with vegetables to provide for day and night meals... This is also what a clumsy person does in politics." "A clumsy person does politics." The implication is that one cannot be an official. , there are other ways. According to Milan Kundera, it's called "living somewhere else."

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Pingjiang Road

After asking a few locals, the most popular areas in Suzhou are Pingjiang Road and Qili Shantang. Because they live close to each other, We walked directly to Pingjiang Road.

When I looked up, I was very disappointed. There was a small doorway with three small characters "Pingjiang Road" written on it. Then I thought about it. After many winds and rains, the real historical legacy must be dilapidated. It was overcrowded and happy.

Pingjiang Road has shops on one side and a river on the other. It is called Pingjiang River. There are awning boats in the river, fake awning boats, which are designed to earn money from tourists. As a historical old street in Suzhou, it is said to be the most complete preserved area of ??the ancient city of Suzhou so far, and can be called the epitome of the ancient city.

Wandering around Pingjiang Road in one night, we only walked back and forth. Of course, we walked slowly and stopped. On the way to find Gu Jiegang's former residence, I came across a small shop called "Amu Zhongji" in a remote alley. It was full of customers. I was curious, so I pushed the door in. The owner was a woman wearing a red suspender skirt. , fair and round, as gentle as jade.

The shop is narrow and the kitchen is only separated by a kitchen. My sister is familiar with everyone. When she saw the boss mixing noodles, she asked why? I saw the boss chopping vegetables and asked why? The boss said: "Why do you have so many people?" with a smile on his face, like a spring breeze.

I wanted to listen to Pingtan, but the siblings listened to it for a while and refused to do so. From time to time, the two of them went to a small commodity store, and I became a follower. I saw them touching and looking here and there, and kept sighing: This is good, that is not bad, but it is a pity that they have no money to buy it.

While walking around, I thought of "A Dream of Red Mansions" again, and said: "There is a Shili Street outside Changmen." Is this Pingjiang Road that Shili Street? If so, then Zhen Shiyin lived on Pingjiang Road at that time. "A Dream of Red Mansions" continues: "This Zhen Shiyin has a quiet nature and does not care about fame. He only enjoys watching flowers and growing bamboos, drinking wine and reciting poems every day. He is a first-rate immortal figure. ”

If you have money, leisure, and fun, you are a first-rate person.

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Tiger Hill

When I saw Tiger Hill, I couldn’t help but laugh. Such a hill dared to be called "Wuzhong" "First Mountain"? However, Liu Yuxi once said: If a mountain is not high, it will be famous if there are immortals. What kind of gods live in Tiger Hill?

Two thousand five hundred years ago, King Helu of Wu died, and his son Fucha buried him in Tiger Hill. Both Helu and Fucha had fights with King Goujian of Yue, because of the idiom "Living on fuel and tasting courage", Goujian More famous than both his father and son. Gou Jian defeated Helu, but Helu was seriously injured and died; Fu Chai took revenge, defeated Gou Jian, and imprisoned him for three years; Gou Jian planned to escape, and tried his best to kill Fu Chai in one fell swoop, and became the hegemony of the Spring and Autumn Period. When will the injustice be repaid?

What the children are interested in is what I talked about about Sun Wu’s military training. In Sun Wu Zi Pavilion, I told how Sun Wuzhen beheaded the two beautiful girls in Helu to create a heroic army of women. The two siblings opened their eyes wide: "Really killed?" It looked like a pity. In fact, it was a pity for me too. The concubine favored by King Wu must be as beautiful as a flower and jade. He could be chopped off at will. Mr. Sun didn't know how to cherish the beauty and cherish the jade. .

But things are often like this. Being straightforward and without hesitation can make things happen, but being indecisive and worrying can not make things happen.

After passing the Main Hall, I saw two holes on a bridge. The tour guide told me that they were dug by monks in the Song Dynasty and were wells for collecting water.

Digging a well on a bridge is incredible. Going up to the highest peak is the Yunyan Temple Pagoda. The Yunyan Temple Pagoda is often referred to as the Tiger Hill Pagoda. There is a folk saying that "the Tiger Hill Pagoda came first, and then the Suzhou City".

The Huqiu Pagoda was built in the sixth year of Zhou Xiande (959) after the Five Dynasties. It is the earliest existing pagoda in Jiangnan, with a large scale and exquisite structure. It is also a leaning tower, commonly known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa in China. The slope is very serious, the tower has been sealed, and there is no luck in climbing. The two siblings smiled and pointed and said, "Look, grass has grown on the tower." There were indeed several clusters of shrubs growing at the junction of the first and second floors, lush and green, swaying in the wind.

How many years of rain and wind will it take for trees and flowers to grow among the stones and bricks?

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Hanshan Temple

Standing on the stone strips beside the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal at the entrance of Hanshan Temple, looking at the rolling river water, I said If you can't memorize "Night Mooring at Maple Bridge", you won't be admitted. The younger brother looked confused: Really? The elder sister could memorize three strokes, five divided by two, but the younger brother was still rubbing on the stone bars and kept asking: Really? If you really have no choice, I say you can ask your sister to help you carry it. The younger brother said, "I'll give you fifty, and you can carry it for me." The older sister smiled and said, "You still owe me two hundred. If you add another fifty, won't I be two hundred and five?"

The Sun It got higher and higher, and the sun was shining brightly. I no longer struggled, so I went in. The temple is not big and is built along the river. The courtyard was filled with smoke, and there were scattered pilgrims and spectators. The siblings disliked the smell and avoided any place with incense. The bell tower bells were ringing in a chaotic manner, all because they cost five yuan a bell. If Zhang Ji had heard such bells back then, he would not have had any poetic inspiration. The siblings also wanted to ring the bell, but I refused. If I don’t become a monk, why would I ring the bell?

The Puming Pagoda towers into the clouds. It is a Tang-style building, not a Tang Dynasty building. It is said to have been rebuilt in the 1990s. One day in 1937, Liang Sicheng and Lin Weiyin discovered the Foguang Temple in Wutaidou Village, Shanxi Province. It is the most preserved wooden structure of the Tang Dynasty that has been discovered so far, and is called China's first national treasure. Lin Wei became a legend not only because of her appearance, but her appearance made people ignore her hard work and talent.

There are a dazzling array of poems on the walls of Hanshan Temple. There are poems by celebrities from all ages, but none of them are as good as the poem "Night Mooring at Maple Bridge". For thousands of years, "Night Mooring at Maple Bridge" 》Why can it touch the hearts of generations?

"The moon is setting, the sky is covered with crows and frost, and the river maples and fishing fires are facing melancholy. Outside the Hanshan Temple in Suzhou City, the bells are ringing to the passenger ship at midnight." Just twenty-eight words depict a vast and vast world. Heaven and earth, melodious bells and long-lasting melancholy are intertwined, like a ball of hemp, like a sky full of frost, boundless, causing the blood to vibrate and triggering the cries of the world.

Zhang Ji failed in the imperial examination and passed by Suzhou, leaving behind the eternally famous poem "Mooring at Maple Bridge at Night" for future generations to recite and create a scenic spot. And when I pass by Suzhou, I won't leave a sound, not even a sigh. But Tagore said: The sky left no trace of wings, but the birds had already flown. Only I know that although there are no traces of it, I have passed through Suzhou, a prosperous place of flowers and willows, a gentle and wealthy town.

Prosperity of flowers and willows, gentleness and wealth, after all, belong to others and cannot be envied. I guard my duty and my poverty, just like what Grandma Liu said: The bigger the bowl, the bigger the bowl. of rice.

August 20, 2020 in Wuzhen