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Gong's creation survives and thrives
By Tian Zhongwen and Dai Yiyun |
October 26, 2009, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
QIUXIA Garden is a famous Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) ancient garden which was originally called Gong's Garden. So far, it boasts a history of more than 500 years and qualifies for a "Star of Longevity" among the classical gardens in Shanghai.
The garden is a private one built by an official called Gong Hong in the Ming Dynasty, who was a jinshi, a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination. Gong was born into a prominent family of scholars which had fostered 13 jinshi.
The Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhengde was very fond of him and his official career progressed smoothly from a head of county to a minister of the court.
He started to build the garden in the middle of the Ming Dynasty when there was a resurgence in garden construction.
Gong's Garden was of the highest standard, with pavilions, hills, peach-blossom pond and snow-watching corridors scattered throughout. Trees and bamboo grew luxuriantly and the waters were fairly pure. The pavilions were picturesque and the garden drew quite a lot of scholars.
As the old saying goes "All good things come to an end" and no more than 30 years after Gong died, his greatgrandson Gong Minqing brought the family down.
Gong's descendants had to sell the garden to a Huizhou salt merchant surnamed Wang who was visiting Jiading.
The Wangs named the garden Qiuxia Garden, the words Qiuxia coming from a famous poem of Wang Bo which described the breath-taking views of autumn.
In 1726, the garden was donated to the City God's Temple, thus becoming part of the temple. It was not until the 1980s that the garden was rebuilt by the government and gained new life.
Rice-juice stone
There is one unique stone in Qiuxia Garden. When it rains, the stone, which was originally situated at the foot of Pingshan Hill, emits a fluid that looks like rice-juice and a scholar surnamed Zhang wrote "Mi Zhi Nang" (rice-juice bag) on the side. The stone was moved to the left side of Pingshan Hill in 1920.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, an insightful person predicted the exquisite stone would be plundered by the enemy.
So he covered the letters on the stone with lime and hid it in the rockery. After the Japanese army occupied Jiading, a Japanese military officer heard that there was a unique stone in the garden and tried vainly to find it.
It was not until 2001 that stone collector Wang Guisheng located the stone after a thorough search. He washed off the lime and it was finally returned to its original state.
The garden is a private one built by an official called Gong Hong in the Ming Dynasty, who was a jinshi, a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination. Gong was born into a prominent family of scholars which had fostered 13 jinshi.
The Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhengde was very fond of him and his official career progressed smoothly from a head of county to a minister of the court.
He started to build the garden in the middle of the Ming Dynasty when there was a resurgence in garden construction.
Gong's Garden was of the highest standard, with pavilions, hills, peach-blossom pond and snow-watching corridors scattered throughout. Trees and bamboo grew luxuriantly and the waters were fairly pure. The pavilions were picturesque and the garden drew quite a lot of scholars.
As the old saying goes "All good things come to an end" and no more than 30 years after Gong died, his greatgrandson Gong Minqing brought the family down.
Gong's descendants had to sell the garden to a Huizhou salt merchant surnamed Wang who was visiting Jiading.
The Wangs named the garden Qiuxia Garden, the words Qiuxia coming from a famous poem of Wang Bo which described the breath-taking views of autumn.
In 1726, the garden was donated to the City God's Temple, thus becoming part of the temple. It was not until the 1980s that the garden was rebuilt by the government and gained new life.
Rice-juice stone
There is one unique stone in Qiuxia Garden. When it rains, the stone, which was originally situated at the foot of Pingshan Hill, emits a fluid that looks like rice-juice and a scholar surnamed Zhang wrote "Mi Zhi Nang" (rice-juice bag) on the side. The stone was moved to the left side of Pingshan Hill in 1920.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, an insightful person predicted the exquisite stone would be plundered by the enemy.
So he covered the letters on the stone with lime and hid it in the rockery. After the Japanese army occupied Jiading, a Japanese military officer heard that there was a unique stone in the garden and tried vainly to find it.
It was not until 2001 that stone collector Wang Guisheng located the stone after a thorough search. He washed off the lime and it was finally returned to its original state.
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