中英雙語話中國藝術 第9期:蘇州園林

9. Gardens in Suzhou

9. 蘇州園林

Just as there is paradise in heaven, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth.

上有天堂，下有蘇杭。

Suzhou, the famous historical and cultural city, is world-famous for a lot of extremely elegant gardens. Suzhou is located in the Yangtze River delta with a moist climate and convenient transportation. Public officials in the old times inclined to build gardens in Suzhou to spend their late years.

蘇州，中國著名的歷史文化名城，素以衆多精雅的園林名聞天下。蘇州地處長江三角洲，地理位置優越，氣候溼潤，交通便利，舊時官宦名紳晚年多到蘇州擇地造園、頤養天年。

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the feudalistic economy and culture in Suzhou reached its summit, leading garden art to maturity. A large number of garden artists came into being, causing the upsurge of the construction of gardens. During the prime time, there were 280 private gardens and courtyards in Suzhou，among which the well-preserved and opened to the public now a days are the Canglang Pavilion and the Wangshi Garden in the Song Dynasty, Shizilin in the Yuan Dynasty，Zhuozheng Garden, Yipu in the Ming Dynasty, Liuyuan, Ouyuan, Yiyuan， Quanyuan，Tingfengyuan in the Qing Dynasty, etc. Zhuozheng Garden，Liuyuan, Wangshi Garden and Huanxiu Villa are incorporated into the "World Cultural Heritage" in the late 1997 by UNESCO for their elaborate art and explicit characteristics.

明清時期，蘇州封建經濟文化發展達到鼎盛階段，造園藝術也趨於成熟，出現了一批園林藝術家，使造園活動達到高潮。最盛時期，蘇州的私家園林和庭院達到280餘處，至今保存完好並開放的有建於宋代的滄浪亭、網師園，元代的獅子林，明代的拙政園、藝圃，清代的留園、精園、怡園、曲園、聽楓園等c其中，拙政園、留園、網師園、環秀山莊因其精美卓絕的造園藝術和個性鮮明的藝術特點於1997年底被聯合國教科文組織列爲"世界文化遺產"。

The gardens in Suzhou are the "mountain forests in cities with natural beauty." with profound cultural implications. When people in the downtown enter the gardens，they would joy the beauty of the nature in the concentrated" natural world" with the changes of time and seasons, where, one spoonful of water means lake and one fist-size stone stands for a hill. People can" enjoy the beauty and quietness of the mountain forests and the pleasure of spring and brooks in the downtown."

蘇州園林是城市中充滿自然意趣的"城市山林身居鬧市的人們一進入園林，便可享受到大自然的"山水林泉之樂"。在這個濃縮的"自然界一勺代水，一拳代山園內的四季晨昏變化和春秋草木枯榮以及山水花木的季相變化，使人們可以"不出城郭而獲山林之怡，身居鬧市而有林泉之樂"。

The gardens in Suzhou are the "Gardens for man of Letters". The garden builders in the ancient times well-educated. They could both write poems and draw paintings. The gardens based on the paintings and poems, look like vivid pictures through the ponds and hills and are regarded as "Soundless poems and three-dimensional paintings" Visitors wandering in the gardens feel as if they are appreciating a poem or a painting. In order to show the interests, temperament and ideals of the owners of the gardens，there are also tablets and couplets, such as "Yuanxiangtang which means the fragrance of the lotus symbolizing human character，"Xiangzhou" , which means the elegant sweet grass symbolizing noble temperament and "Huafangzhai", which describes the crave for the lives of the ancient people drifting like a boat, and "Zhenyi", "Xiao taoyuan" in Wangshiyuan，which reflect the longing of the garden owner for an idle life in the countryside, etc.

These inscriptions are integrated naturally and harmoniously into the archiectures, hills and rivers, flowers and trees in the garden, endowing them with far-reaching prospects. Accordingly , visitors can derive the enjoyment of beauty and the relish of soul when roaming in the garden.

蘇州園林是文化意蘊深厚的"文人寫意山水園"。古代的造園者都有很高的文化修養，能詩善畫，造園時多以畫爲本，以詩爲題，通過鑿池堆山、栽花種樹，創造出具有詩情畫意的景觀，被稱爲是"無聲的詩，立體的畫"。在園林中游賞，猶如在品詩，又如在賞畫。爲了表達園主的情趣、理想、追求，園林建築與景觀又有匾額、榷聯之類的詩文題刻，有以清幽的荷香自喻人品(拙政園"遠香堂") ，有以清雅的香草自喻性情高潔(拙政因"香州") ，有追慕占人似小船自由漂盪怡然臼得的(怡園"畫肪齋") ，還有表現園主企慕恬淡的四園生活的(網師園"真意"、留園"小桃源")等等，不一而足。這些充滿着書卷氣的詩文題刻與園內的建築、山水、花木自 然和諧地棵和在一起，使園林的一山一水、一草一木均能產生深遠的意境，1尚祥其中，可得到心靈的陶冶和美的享受。