Gardens on paper

Author: Tao Wenyu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-09-01
Features:
"Southeast is the most magnificent, Three Wu is the capital, Qiantang has always been prosperous." This refers to Hangzhou.
"Spring tide adds water with a pole, fragrant grass and ducklings, green along the breeze's shore. Painted boats meander in a hundred turns, the cross-tang pagoda is close yet far." This refers to Suzhou.
"Helü City's green spreads over autumn grass, magpie bridge's red ties the setting sun. Pipes blow before every building, boats dock outside every door." This is still about Suzhou.
"Long remembered Qiantang, not a mortal world but the heavens. Ten thousand households are hidden among green shadows, everywhere the water murmurs." This is Hangzhou again.
The best way to tell the story of Suzhou and Hangzhou is to start with their gardens. This is a sketchbook of folk life, placing oneself in everyday secular scenes, maintaining a folk mindset and sentiment, to observe the spirit of folk life, and to perceive the constant yet ever-changing daily values under such spirit. The meaning of a sketchbook is not just to depict a folk sample, but to delve into the texture of folk life, capturing its essence and rhythm. A smile, a frown, a gesture, a meal, a pot of wine, a cup of tea, in deep alleys, in bustling streets, no matter who, all are vivid, orderly, expressive yet reasonable, cheerful, composed, reserved, and perfectly fitting—each worthy of detailed portrayal. Accompanied by illustrations of the landscapes and scenery of Suzhou and Hangzhou, it adds a rich and subtle Jiangnan hue to folk life, complete in spirit and appearance, truly beautiful!
Table of Contents:
"Sketchbook of Jiangnan Folk Life" Preface
Preface
The lunar and solar calendars, last year's weather, old pavilions in the city and mountains
People in the urban and rural landscapes
Human life flows in the water, the wind blows the wind
Because of tea in the garden
Plum blossoms bloom on plum trees
Walk a path
Gardens in the flow of time
The peerless beauty of gardens in their prime
The moon is the flowers of a past life, generation after generation
A lifetime of misty rain, the pavilions in the rain
An old bookshop in a city
Hanshan Temple, who looks back from the bridge?
Seven-li Mountain Canal, wooden fish in the red dust
Linggu Temple—Wherever the wind blows, the moon shines, and value is priceless
Old-style singing and playing
Whose courtyard is filled with joy?
Four hundred and fifty words—Painting and calligraphy are a good match for gardens
The knight and others
One of the ancient figures on the corridor
Another ancient figure on the corridor
After the story fades, the flowers fall, spring remains
The love of ancient times
Not a drop of wine, drunk as if lost in the past
Tang Bohu, the setting sun yet bright in the deep courtyard
Where the heart finds peace is home
Neither wind nor rain, nor joy nor sorrow
Old addresses on old letters—Aju
Old addresses on old letters—Old Liu
Old addresses on old letters—Miss Chen
Old addresses on old letters—The seamstress
Old addresses on old letters—Master Yan
Afterword