Original text and translation of "Suzhou Gardens"

Suzhou Gardens" by Ye Shengtao

In 1956, Tongji University published "Suzhou Gardens" compiled by Professor Chen Congzhou. There were as many as 195 photos of the gardens, all of which were A masterpiece of art: This can be said to be a pioneering work in the fields of architecture and photography. I purchased this album by mail and read it in my spare time at work. I always find it fresh and interesting, and it is a pleasure to read it again. Eighteen years later, I began to get acquainted with Professor Chen Congzhou, and then I learned that he was also good at painting. He gave me many paintings of pines, bamboos, orchids and chrysanthemums, all of which are masterpieces, with charm revealed in the pen and ink. I once filled out a column of "Dong Xian Song" to thank him. The first half was devoted to his "Suzhou Gardens", and now I copy it here: "A collection of garden gardens that I have treasured for many years. I express my deep affection for the pictures of the Humble Administrator. I often miss my childhood. Playing with my window lover, I traced my path all over the mountains, corridors, corridors and shores. "This means that "Suzhou Gardens" reminds me of my childhood. It is said that there are more than 100 gardens in Suzhou, but I have been to only a dozen. I have also visited some gardens in other places. If I want to talk about my overall impression, I think Suzhou gardens are specimens of gardens in various parts of my country, and gardens in various places are more or less influenced by Suzhou gardens. Therefore, if you want to appreciate our country’s gardens, Suzhou Gardens should not be missed.

Designers and craftsmen adapt to local conditions and use their own creativity to build successful gardens. Of course, each one has its own unique style. However, all the gardens in Suzhou have one thing in common among their differences. It seems that designers and craftsmen are pursuing the same goal: no matter where the visitors stand, there is always a perfect picture in front of them. In order to achieve this goal, they pay attention to the layout of pavilions, terraces and pavilions, the coordination of rockeries and ponds, the contrast of flowers, plants and trees, and the hierarchy of close and distant views. In short, everything must exist to form a perfect picture, and any failure that is less than beautiful or harmful to the beauty will never be allowed. They only hope that visitors will have a real feeling of "like being in a picture", and their results have fulfilled their wish. When every visitor comes to the garden, no one does not think orally say "like being in a picture".

Most of our country's buildings, from ancient palaces to modern ordinary houses, are symmetrical. What's on the left is what's on the right. Suzhou gardens never pay attention to symmetry, as if they are deliberately avoided. There is a pavilion or a corridor in the east, but the same pavilion or corridor will never come to the west.

Why is this? I think, using a picture as an analogy, a symmetrical building is a pattern painting, not an art painting, while a garden is an art painting, and art paintings require natural interest and do not pay attention to symmetry.

There are rockeries and ponds in Suzhou gardens. The stacking of rockeries can be said to be an art rather than just a technique. Either there are many mountains, or there are several hills with bamboos and flowers. It all depends on the designers and craftsmen who have experienced a lot in their lives and have hills and valleys in mind, so that when visitors look from a distance, they feel like they are watching Yunshan or Ni Yunlin's sketches of Song and Yuan Dynasties. , when climbing, forget about the city of Suzhou and only feel that you are in the mountains. As for ponds and swamps, most of them use running water. In some gardens, the pond is spacious and the pond is used as the center of the whole garden, with other scenery arranged accordingly. If the water surface looks like a river, bridges are often placed. If more than two bridges are arranged, they should be one of a kind and never the same. The edges of ponds or rivers are rarely neatly built with stone banks, and are always left to their own devices. Also arrange a few exquisite stones or plant some flowers and plants there:

This is also to achieve the effect of a painting from all angles. There are goldfish or carp of various colors in the pond, and lotus flowers or water lilies bloom in summer and autumn. Visitors see "fish playing among lotus leaves", which is another picturesque scene.

The planting and pruning of trees in Suzhou gardens also focus on painting. Tall trees and low trees are pitched. There are alternating deciduous trees and evergreen trees, as well as various flowering trees with different flowering times, so you won't feel lonely all year round. There are no pines and cypresses trimmed like pagodas, and no roadside trees like military parades: because from the aesthetic point of view of Chinese painting, this is not desirable. There are ancient vines in several gardens, and their winding branches are a beautiful painting. When it blooms, the eyes are full of jewels and jewels, making visitors feel infinite prosperity and joy, but they cannot explain it in detail.

When visiting Suzhou gardens, you will inevitably notice the flower walls and corridors. It is separated by walls and bounded by corridors. The more layers there are, the deeper the scenery becomes. However, there are various hollow patterns of bricks on the walls, and most of the corridors have nothing to rely on on either side. In fact, they are separated but not separated, and they are bounded but not bounded, which adds to the depth of the scenery. Some gardens also install a large mirror at an appropriate location to add more layers, which can almost double the entire garden.

Visitors will definitely not ignore another point, which is that Suzhou gardens pay attention to the beauty of pictures in every corner. Several clusters of books and grass were planted next to the steps. The woody scent of ivy or rosewood spreads on the walls. If the window facing a white wall is too monotonous, add a few bamboo poles or plantain trees. And so on, it is nothing more than to allow visitors to enjoy the beauty even if they look at a very small area.

The doors and windows, pattern design and carving skills in Suzhou gardens are all top-notch arts and crafts. Generally speaking, those doors and windows are as detailed as possible but not vulgar. Even if they are simple but ingenious, there are four, eight, or twelve doors. Taken together, everyone will admire the high degree of pattern beauty. Photographers like these doors and windows very much. They consider light and shadow to take satisfying photos.

Suzhou gardens are different from Beijing gardens in that they rarely use colored paintings.

The beams, pillars, and door and window railings are mostly painted with Guangqi paint, a color that is not eye-catching. The walls are white. The lower half of some indoor walls are paved with terrazzo tiles, contrasting with light gray and white. The roof tiles and eaves are all light gray. These colors, combined with the green of the vegetation, evoke a sense of tranquility and leisure. When various flowers bloom, the flowers are even more dazzling.

Of course I can say more than what I have written. My mental and physical strength is still weak after the illness, so I won’t write more. I have not yet seen the volume "Suzhou Gardens" published by Scenery Illustrated Publishing House. Since I was asked to write a preface, I will briefly describe what I think and feel. I think the publication of this volume is a continuation of Professor Chen Congzhou's "Suzhou Gardens". There must be many photos in it that can corroborate my words.

Appreciation: "Suzhou Gardens" is a classic model essay by Mr. Ye Shengtao, and it is an excellent model for students to learn from. People have always believed that this is a model expository essay with an exquisite and rigorous structure. Therefore, when teaching, teachers generally default to such a rule. They first position it as an expository text, and then clarify the ideological and structural levels of the article. After understanding the explanation method, explanation characteristics, explanation order, etc., they then appreciate the rhetoric in the article. Or something more beautifully written.

This kind of teaching is quite standardized, but I always feel that something is missing. When I was studying the text today, I discovered a small problem. The author always seemed to associate Suzhou gardens with pictures when introducing them. So, I paid attention, followed this train of thought, looked for these clues about the author, and listed them one by one. I really found that the more I read this expository article, the more interesting it became, and it became more and more worth pondering.

First of all, the old man wrote down his general impression of the more than ten Suzhou gardens he visited, thinking that these are "specimens of gardens across our country." The word specimen is enough to prove the architectural value of Suzhou gardens. and artistic value. Then he directly pointed out that Suzhou gardens have one thing in common among all gardens. It seems that what designers and craftsmen are pursuing is: "No matter where the visitor stands, there is always a perfect picture in front of him." . It can be seen that Ye Lao’s article captures the pictorial beauty of Suzhou garden design and introduces it in detail.

Let’s first introduce the four manifestations of picture beauty in general: pay attention to the layout of pavilions, terraces and pavilions, pay attention to the coordination of rockeries and ponds, pay attention to the contrast of flowers, plants and trees, and pay attention to the levels of close and distant views. In short, everything must exist to form a perfect picture. To illustrate specifically, the lack of symmetry in Suzhou gardens is related to the natural interest expressed in the asymmetry of fine art paintings. Obviously, what the author wants to say is that the lack of symmetry in Suzhou gardens is also to express the interest of nature.

Then to rockeries and ponds. The stacking of rockeries is also very particular: it can be said to be not an art but just a technique. Or there are many mountains, or several hills with bamboo flowers and trees. As for the ponds, most of them use running water. Some of them are wide and serve as the center of the whole garden, and other scenery is arranged accordingly. If a river forms on the water, different bridges are often arranged. There are rarely neat stone shores on the edges of the swamps, and they are always bent and left to their own devices. It reminds people of the descriptions in Liu Zongyuan's "Little Rock Pond": "It's a dike, it's an island, it's a rock, it's a rock" and "It's a snake that's fighting, and it's visible when it's light and dark, and its shores are different from each other." The two can be said to be similar. . This shows that the designers of Suzhou gardens pursue this kind of natural interest. What's more, a few "exquisite" stones are arranged, or some flowers and plants are planted, all in order to achieve the effect of a painting. Not only that, goldfish or carps of various colors are also raised in the ponds, and lotus or water lilies are planted. When visitors look at the picture of "fish playing among the lotus leaves", they can easily think of the folk song in the "Book of Songs": " The fish plays with the lotus leaves to the east, the fish plays with the lotus leaves to the south, the fish plays with the lotus leaves..." Naturally, he was affected by Liu Zongyuan's feeling of "being still and motionless, passing away far away, coming and going, as if enjoying himself with tourists" Pure joy. People's aesthetic feelings are not only limited to beautiful pictures, but also have the charm of catchy poems. Naturally, they can better understand the artistic conception of paintings within poems and poems within paintings.

When it comes to planting and pruning trees in Suzhou gardens, they also "focus on painting." The upturned postures of the trees and their alternating nature make you feel less lonely in all seasons. A few ancient vines and their winding branches are a perfect picture in themselves. If they are full of flowers, they will be like bejeweled beauties. A simple garden There is also an aura of wealth and honor.

As for the flower walls, corridors, hollow patterns, and large mirrors, the scenery of the entire garden is layered and well-proportioned. At this point, Suzhou gardens are perfect in terms of layout, coordination, contrast, and hierarchy. But even so, the designers paid close attention to even the smallest details. The beauty of pictures in every corner: such as the grass beside the steps, the ivy on the wall, the bamboo and plantain in front of the white wall; the patterns of doors and windows are designed and carved; the tone of color is rarely painted in order to highlight the vegetation and give people a sense of beauty. The quiet and relaxing feeling and the blooming season can better reflect the brightness of the flowers.

From beginning to end, the author focuses on the beauty of pictures to explain the perfection of Suzhou gardens, and introduces the designer's exquisite design and the cultural connotation of Suzhou gardens. It is not only an architectural art, not only an art for people to create a beautiful and harmonious natural ecological environment, but also the fusion of many traditional Chinese aesthetic theories and art theories.