神马文学网Suzhou
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Suzhou
Source: CCTV.com
08-02-2006 13:06
Suzhou is a city whose spirit is buried in the water. It's these water paths that form the bloodline of the city, and the water is also incorporated into the people lives. The water paths go from north to south, and east to west, forming nets or strings. And of course on that string, we have the bright, bright pears, which are the water villages we will visit today. I'm Yin, and welcome to travelogue. Lets go!
'In heaven there is paradise, on earth there are Suzhou and Hangzhou.' This commonly quoted phrase captures the idyllic landscapes of Suzhou in southern Jiangsu Province. On this trip, we'll take you to the ancient water villages of Suzhou---a real paradise on earth. The towns of Mudu, Tongli, and Luzhi, although small, lead us back to life that still retains the unique characteristics of the past. Simple and tranquil, you'll be mesmerized by the small bridges, flowing water, and charming households. Perhaps people are right when they say Suzhou is the Venice of the East, the water villages certainly speak for themselves.
Our first stop, the town of Mudu, a photographer's paradise just
Mention ancient water village and most people will tell you about the black-tiled roofs, white walls, and running waters. But if you come to Mudu, you will see something spectacular on top of that. It's the classical gardens, which are built into people's homes, right over there.
This small village of merely 34 kilometers is well-known for its classical gardens, private gardens built into residences. They are designed to model miniature natural landscapes with their ponds, trees and rocks. You might also notice the importance of walls, windows, winding paths, and doorways, which divide the garden into different sections to create a sense of mystery and surprise. In my opinion, they are masterpieces of architecture.
One place to visit is the famous Pheonix tower, a former residence. The residence almost appears to be a work of art, with carvings engraved at every corner, bottom to top. Walking through the hallways, you see that nothing is simply designed, the railings, window frames are all beautiful built. Why is it called phoenix tower? Well, you might find the carvings of phoenixes. The phoenix represents prosperity and good luck. The other carvings also tell stories of their own, depicting people and the events of their lives.
But of course, detailed carvings aren't limited to architecture. Another traditional form of art are 'carvings on cloth,' better known as embroidery.
Goodness, we found the Queen in Suzhou! Sometimes we think paintings are so realistic they look like photographs, but imagine this embroidery. It looks virtually like the real thing, especially the eyes, all done with fine work of a needle.
Yin: How long have you worked on this piece?
Artist: About 6 months.
Yin: How long will it take to finish?
Artist: 8 months
Yin: The thinnest string is used for which part?
Artist: It should be the string in the eyes because of the slight sudden changes in the color. It captures the change in emotion and there is a wide variation in color. To make the thinnest string, we take one string and divide it into 64 parts. Embroidery is like painting. The artist's brush is the needle and string is our like ink.
This may just look like a normal piece of string, thin long, but to make the embroidery of the thinnest part, the eyes of the portrait, you must divide this string into 64 parts. I'm going to get to work.
Suzhou embroidery is known for its detailed and intricate images, but to accomplish all of this, you need the raw materials. So start off, I had to divide the string, which is much harder than it appears.
I got it. So tiring on the eyes. Now I know I could never do this as a profession. I'll stick to my day job.
Suzhou embroidery is one of the oldest embroidery techniques in the world with origins dating back to over 2,000 years ago. Delicate images, fine needlework, and sometimes translucent cloth make it world-renowned. The work is done with brightly colored silk threads that are divided again and again until they are barely visible to the eye.
Next we head to Tongli Town,
I think the wall wants to tell me a story. Really? It says that this path has a history of over 700 years from the Ming dynasty, and you see the black, gray, and beige. All these colors tell a story of this path. And the path here is laid by one stone placed next to the next. Bumpy, bumpy, bumpy. Let's get on my time machine.
You know, sometimes the most interesting thing is the mix between past and present. Look at the blue sky and might be reminded of ages ago, move to the water and, well, it's today. Along this water here you can see the different stands to sip some tea, enjoy some coffee, or simply enjoy the fine weather.
Tongli harmoniously blends the present with the past. The modern teahouses and shops that line the waterside and the ancient narrow paths by the water interspersed with the provide a glimpse of a harmonious blend of two worlds. To some people, sitting by the water may sound like a waste of time, but in Tongli, nothing is more enjoyable. You can relax and watch the local people casually going about their daily business like hundreds of years ago. Even the animals seem to be living in the past. If you're lucky, you might catch the ospreys performing their fish-capturing techniques for the local fishermen.
Sing….Row row row your boat gently down the stream, merrily merrily merrily merrily, life is but a dream.
Tongli is a town with around 1,000 years of history. And during those 1000 years, the landscape has been a town of bridges.
You know, there's an interesting belief about the three important bridges. This one, that one over there, and the one over there. They are supposed to represent peace, health, and prosperity, so it's important that on a significant day, like someone's birthday, they have to cross all three bridges. And they definitely have to cross all three on weddings. Hey, I think I hear one over there.
It's a custom for the wives to be to sit in a sedan chair. I wonder who the bride is?
Roaming through the narrow roads are a rich variety of shops that sell an abundance of cheap, local crafts and clothing. You might find, that just like me, you arrive with a fat wallet, but end up trading that for a fat bag of goodies. Crafts like what this woman here is making--painting inside a glass ball is a special product of Suzhou you might want to consider.
Besides satisfying your eye, of course, a belly of delicious snacks is guaranteed.
Is this even natural? This is bright orange and bright green. These are actually delicious local pastry, and it's so green because its made of a vegetable paste, inside is a sweet sweet bean paste, looks good. The shop owner is making some more now.
Question, how do u know you are in an ancient water village? Answer, because we have these cute little accessories, like this, the water town fish. Actually, I think it's a bag. And then, you have these cute little hats. Looks good. Hey, and of course if you have kids in the house you can always buy then a cute pair of shoes.
Geared up, but what about my attire?
Do I look like a water village girl now? I think I'll take it.
The architecture of Tongli can be thought of as a museum of buildings. It is believed that about 40 percent of the houses in the town go as far back as the Ming and Qing dynasties. That's from as early as the 14th century. Many are large residences are decorated with carved wooden windows, tiled roofs, and red lanterns. It's a wonderful place to find tranquility and peace that sharply contrasts with the buzzing activity by the waters. And undoubtedly, a great place to hang up your hat for a rest. Hotel? Residence? You can decide for yourself.
Whoa, not bad. I can't believe this is a hotel. It looks like somebody's home. And look in case you want to greet your guests, you have a nice tea set here. There you go. What else do we have here? Well, take a look at this. This piece of wood has such fine carvings on it, from plants to phoenixes and flowers. This room is like a piece of art in itself. Not to mention it smells pretty good too. And finally, the bed. I'm sure I will sleep well tonight. Goodnight.
Another day, another town--Luzhi.
That spirit up there, his name is 'Lu duan.' The story is that a long time ago, 'Lu Duan' came to this ancient water town and realized what a wonderful place this was. He decided to stay and the town is named 'Luzhi' after him. Maybe that's just a story, but to find out the real story behind Luzhi, we have to take a look at the ancient water town.
Luzhi is about
Luzhi is famous for its bloodline, that is, the water. From a birds eye view, even the town looks like the Chinese character 'Lu' because of the horizontal and vertical intersection of water paths.
This is the first character in the name of this town, Lu, and this character is only used only in one context, and that's the name of this town. If you take a good look, the character sort of looks like the town itself. This is the main waterway the river that branches out into three tiny waterways over here, three going from left to right.
The locals seem to live a tranquil, simple life. The main means of transportation is still by boats that row through the water.
The water lanes serve as roads, and the banks of the river are laid with stones that serve as simple docks for people to embark or disembark or to simply fetch water.
You know, my steps are not big, but it only took three to get from the bridge over there to this new one over here. That just show close they are. In fact this place has the most number of bridges by area in the world. And for their number and their beauty, it's known as the Venice of the East.
Luzhi has been reputed as A Land of Bridges for long. It is amazing to see so many famous small bridges span the merely 5 or 6-kilometer-long river course, some that date back as early as the Song dynasty in the 10th century. At some point, the town had 72.5 bridges, but now 40 some remain. Stone bridges with several arches, one arch, wide and narrow flat-top bridges, sister bridges and so on. All theses densely built bridges make Luzhi quite unique amongst the water towns.
On the sides of the water, you might also notice the boat ties. They are used to secure the position of the boat and are designed in many shapes and sizes. They are a perfect mix of functionality and art.
In the water town, boats are the only means of transportation. They are like our modern day cars, but maybe a bit slower.
Slower, but much smoother.
But for those who chose another means to travel, you can walk along the ceilinged corridors to get to your destination by the water. If you're not in a hurry, though, you can watch the locals get about their daily business in this center of activity. Th ceilinged corridors keep us fro the rain, allow us to visit some of the shops along this path.
Besides beautiful scenery there are some culturally significant sites as well.
Luzhi is a town with a long long history. You can tell that from the buildings, walls, and the stones on the ground, but you know one important thing is the presence of a temple that was very important 1500 years ago. And although today there aren't any monks, but now it's known for its artistic value.
The famous Baosheng Temple is located in the west of Luzhi. It is recorded that the temple was constructed in 503. Having a history of almost 1,500 years. It is a holy temple with 5,000 rooms and 1,000 monks in its early days. It has attracted a huge number of Buddhist worshippers. Besides its mere size, it is also famous for the extremely precious Buddhist clay statues from the Northern Song Dynasty tucked inside its walls. The statues represent the sages, which are set on rocks made of clay. Each had a distinct personality and appearance.
Sages are commemorated with statues, but some educators are remembered in our hearts.
The couples can enjoy their time in Luzhi, but don't forget the children either. You have to visit the memorial for a former educator, Ye Shengtao.
I guess most kids like fables. I'm sure they would have liked Ye Sheng Tao, who was an editor, publisher, famous teacher in the 1920's in China. He was unique in that he wrote specifically for children.
The Ye Shengtao memorial was the former site of The 5th High School where Ye Shengtao taught from 1917 - 1922. This famous educator and writer who greatly impacted modern Chinese language education. His novel idea was to teach the way to learn, instead of long and detailed content in books. This idea was a breakthrough in traditional Chinese education.
In fact, Ye was the first writer who created fairy tales in the 1920's. His writing "A Scarecrow' was published in 1923. This children's reading was very popular among numerous youngsters, which was entertaining, but also contained messages like Aesop's fables.
Reading this passage and sitting here gives me a feel for the atmosphere in Mr. Ye's classroom. He was a great educator who influenced many people of the day and today. Some people say great literature is like a mirror, it reflects modern society, but also provides us a glimpse into the future. Mr. Ye's works certainly influenced many of us.
All work and no play makes Yin a dull girl. So, let's get up and move!
This is the traditional harvest dance done every year around autumn. And this is the magic wand, inside are special old tokens that represent money, prosperity, and a good harvest.
Clothes are an essential part of the water town and the people of Luzhi have unique attire that combines functionality with elegance. In my opinion, the most elegant part is the headdress.
Looks a little complicated, this is the headdress. And the veil I wonder what it looks like right now. Does anyone have a mirror? Do you like it?
Another feature of the town is the distinctive traditional costume worn by the women, which are displayed in the costume museum. Both clothes and trousers are pieced together using different materials in a variety of designs. Blues, pinks, and other colorful hues combined with flowery designs are eye-catching.
Who's cuter? I think her dress is better than mine. This dress, although colorful and pretty, is actually very useful. The hat is used to prevent the burning sun and the dress is divided into several sections, and that is if one part gets broken or torn off, you can replace it with another piece. And the hat is different for different age groups. The young girl has a colorful one while the nanny over there? Hers is black.
Outside the sounds of happiness fill the atmosphere. It's no wonder some people chose to celebrate their wedding here.
Amazing place, beautiful day, and a perfect place to end my journey.
We began our journey by the water, and here we shall conclude. Some people say if we look at the past, we can learn about our future. Who knows where these waters will take us tomorrow. I'm Yin, and see you next time on travelogue.
Editor:Wang Ping