West Garden

The layout of the West Garden skillfully integrates the atmosphere of northern architecture with the charm of Jiangnan Water Town, reflecting the bold and beautiful charm of the old city gardens.

Xuyuan

synonym

West Garden (Nanjing West Garden) generally refers to Xuyuan garden

Xuyuan is located in the presidential palace at 292 Changjiang Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing city. It is also called the west garden, which is opposite to the East Garden (Fuyuan). Now it is connected with the ruins of Tianwang palace of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the presidential palace of Nanjing. Xuyuan is a well preserved Jiangnan Garden in the late Qing Dynasty and a typical representative of Jiangnan garden. In February 1982, the tianwangfu site of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, including Xuyuan, was listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit and is now a national AAAA tourist attraction.

The history of Xuyuan can be traced back to the second son of Zhu Di, Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, and the garden of Zhu gaoxu's house, king of the Han Dynasty. Later, as the garden of the Governor General's office of the two rivers of the Qing Dynasty and the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Xuyuan was established as a part of Tianwang's house. Xuyuan is famous for its small size, with an area of only 1.4 hectares. It has a clear hierarchy of virtual and real scenes. The garden is dominated by water, and the water body runs north and south. The circumference of the whole pool is about 1866 meters, accounting for more than half of the whole garden. The East Pavilion and the West Pavilion are facing each other across the bank, the South boat and the North Pavilion echo each other from afar, the hidden pavilions among the flowers and the pavilion between the water are natural and harmonious. The plane of the pool is like a vase with a long neck, and the Yilan Pavilion stands in the water. Flowers and trees are beautiful and elegant.

Historical evolution

In the first year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1368 AD), Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, appeased Chen Youliang's old enemy and built the Han Palace for Chen Li, son of Chen Youliang. Later, Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty granted his second son Zhu gaoxu the title of king of the Han Dynasty, and established the eastern part of the former Han Palace as the "new Han Palace". This garden is the West Garden of the mansion, which is named after the word "Xu" in Zhu gaoxu's name.

In the Qing Dynasty, there was the governor's office of Liangjiang, Jiangning weaving department in the East, and Xuyuan garden became the garden of governor's office of Liangjiang. From the 23rd year to the 41st year of Kangxi (1684-1702), he made six tours to the south, five of which were in Jiangning weaving department. When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom built the palace of the heavenly Dynasty, it was expanded to become the Royal Garden of the heavenly king's mansion. Because the garden is located on the west side of the palace, it is called "West Garden", which is opposite to the east garden. It was destroyed by war when the Qing army broke the city. During the reign of Daoguang (1821-1851), Zeng Guofan rebuilt it.

On January 1, 1912, Sun Yat Sen was sworn in as the provisional president in the warm Pavilion of Xuyuan. The provisional government of the Republic of China was established. Sun Yat Sen's office and living room were in Xuyuan. Later, it served as the offices of Nanjing left behind government, Jiangsu governor's government, military governor's office, etc. After the establishment of the national government in April 1927, the general headquarters of the National Revolutionary Army, the Military Commission, and the military Bureau of the presidential palace all had offices in the park. Therefore, Xuyuan is known as the "four dynasties".

Garden layout

The garden is a typical landscape garden in the south of the Yangtze River, with uneven flowers, trees and bamboos, pavilions and pavilions, rockeries and rocks, clear water and green pools. Taiping Lake is the center of the whole garden, covering an area of 4.13 hectares, including 0.174 hectares of water surface. The whole pool is about 1866 meters in circumference, which accounts for more than half of the total area of the park. The walls of the pool are all revetmented with Ming Dynasty bricks. Around the water area, there are East Pavilion, West building across the bank, South boat and North Pavilion echoing each other, hidden Pavilion among flowers and pavilion in the water. The scenery is natural and harmonious, which can be called a classic work in the garden. The plane of the pool is like a vase with a long neck, and the Yilan Pavilion stands in the water. The main scenic spots are Taiping Lake, stone boat (not boat), Yilan Pavilion, forgetting flying Pavilion, Yuanyang Pavilion, flower hall, Tongyin hall, Xijia building, East Water Pavilion, temporary president's office, Zhongshan bedroom, warm Pavilion site, Yinxin stone house, stele, etc. Each place is beautiful and elegant.

Main attractions

There is a 14.5-meter-long wooden stone boat in Xuyuan, which has become the symbol of Xuyuan. Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty once said "don't tie the boat". In a pun, the boat is divided into two cabins, the front and rear cabins, the rolling shed roof, covered with yellow glazed tiles, and stone springboards for boarding. On both sides of the boat are inlaid with carved green bricks with many colorful patterns, which are very delicate. It is said that after Hong Xiuquan's death, he buried his body under the boat in order not to be found. However, after Zeng Guoquan conquered Nanjing, he still dug up the body and showed it to the public, putting on a human tragedy.

In Xuyuan, there is a rockery formed by the superposition of twelve zodiac stones. It is a rockery in the south. In the mountain, there is a "six corner Pavilion" shaped like two pavilions overlapping. From a distance, it looks like two pavilions standing side by side. From a close view, it looks like a series of Fangsheng pavilions. They are integrated and inseparable. Therefore, it is also known as "Yuanyang Pavilion".

Wutong hall is the largest building in the courtyard, built with tung trees, once a flower Hall of Zeng Guofan, and a large number of Indus trees behind the door. Rain hits Wutong, and the sound is interesting and elegant. After the Tung Yin Pavilion, there are North rockery, there are holes in the mountains, and holes are connected. Like mazes, after the holes are put out, there are stone tablets of the "heart stone chamber" written by the emperor's imperial pen.

Architectural features

With an area of only 1.4 hectares and exquisite architecture, the garden is a unique classical garden and one of the famous gardens in Jinling. In the park, there are xijialou, busaizhou, Wangfei Pavilion, Yuanyang Pavilion and other scenic spots. Xuyuan is dominated by water. The water body is north-south, and the plane is like a long vase. In terms of gardening techniques, in order to break through the single narrow water body, the boat and pavilion are used to naturally divide the pool into three independent and interrelated parts. In the middle part of the basin, the water surface is relatively open.

The South boat and the North Pavilion echo each other from afar, the East Pavilion and the West Tower face each other across the bank, the hidden Pavilion among the flowers, and the water pavilion are the most wonderful parts of the water.

Xuyuan is small and exquisite, with water as the main part. It has stone navigation in the South and pavilion in the north, so that the waterscape can be divided into seven parts, which are connected with each other and independent from each other. It makes people feel that large and medium-sized have small, small and medium see big, virtual and real complement each other, and the hierarchy is clear. Xuyuan was built in the reign of Daoguang in Qing Dynasty, with a history of more than 150 years. The whole garden area is only 20 mu. The garden is small, elegant and quiet. It is a garden with Jiangnan characteristics.

Enter the park, the first to see is a large rockery group, made of twelve zodiac stone superposition. Rockery is one of the important elements in ancient Chinese garden architecture. The Royal Garden in northern China reflects the real mountains and water, while the private garden in southern China often reflects the natural charm of the garden with rockery and water. This big rockery, in the garden landscape construction, plays a role in suppressing the landscape, and creates a kind of gradually beautiful taste for visitors.

Garden style

The construction of Xuyuan garden is mainly based on water. In order to break through the single narrow water body, the water body is divided into three independent and interrelated parts by boat and pavilion. The plane is like a long vase, which forms a relatively open water surface in the middle, echoing the North Pavilion of China Southern Airlines,

Facing each other from the East and the west, there are points and gatherings. Although there are points and gatherings, the scenery is natural and harmonious. The pavilions and pavilions in Xuyuan are also cleverly arranged. "Pingkou" has Yilan Pavilion standing in the water, a small bridge on the left and right, and a stone boat on the south. The Golden Pavilion on the mountain is called the hexagonal pavilion. The pavilion, with its cornices and corners, has two roofs. From a distance, it looks like two pavilions stand side by side, but from a close view, it is an integral whole. Under the pavilion, there are mountains and rocks, with unique shapes and images. Therefore, it is called "Yuanyang Pavilion".

The building on the right platform is Tongyin hall, which is the largest building in Xuyuan. Its building materials are all made of Tung wood. Tongyin hall was the place where Hong Xiuquan discussed state affairs with his subordinates at that time. It means that the top and the bottom are of one mind. In a group of rockeries to the north of Tongyin hall, there is a stone tablet with four characters "Yinxin stone room" written by Emperor Daoguang. It is said that Qin Shu, the governor of Liangjiang, was poor when he was young, but he sat on a big stone block in the stream all day long and devoted himself to studying. Later he became famous. Emperor Daoguang was deeply moved by his spirit of devoting himself to research and gave the four words "yinxinshishi" to encourage future generations.

There is also a very famous stele on the East corridor of the west garden, which is Yu Yue's poem "Night Mooring on the maple bridge". It is said that it was moved from Hanshan Temple in Suzhou. Yu Yue, whose name is Qu Yuan, is a famous scholar in the late Qing Dynasty. In the monument, Yu Yue tells us that "Jiang Feng" in the poem "Jiang Feng fishing and sleeping" by Zhang Ji of Tang Dynasty is actually "Jiang Chun", which is misinterpreted as "Jiang Feng" by later generations. Of course, Yu Yue is only here to tell people this fact, not to emphasize the change from "Jiang Feng" to "Jiang Chun". From this, we can see Yu Yue's rigorous academic attitude.

Bottle shaped pool

The bottle shaped pool is artificially excavated. The perimeter of the pool is about 1866 meters, accounting for more than half of the total area of the park. The water in the pool is clear, and the walls around the pool are all revetmented with Ming Dynasty bricks, which is very ancient and elegant. At the south end of the pool, there is a 14.5-meter-long wooden boat like stone pot. It is said that Yin Jishan, governor of Liangjiang, built the stone boat in the 11th year of Qianlong reign of Qing Dynasty for his own pleasure. The plaque "not tied to the boat" on the boat was inscribed by Emperor Qianlong during his southern tour. There is an old Chinese saying:

"Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it." The pool, which looks like a horizontal vase, is a metaphor for the common people in the world. Emperor Qianlong wrote the three words "don't tie a boat" to hope that the people will live and work in peace and contentment, and the world will be peaceful and healthy. The rivers and mountains in the Qing Dynasty are like not tying a boat, and will never waver in spite of the wind and waves. The stone boat is divided into two cabins, the front and the back, with a rolling shed roof

Chinese PinYin : Xi Hua Yuan