Pavilion
Pavilion was a place for pedestrians to rest in ancient times. "A pavilion is a stop. It is where people stop and gather." ("Shiming") The pavilion in the garden should be the "reappearance" of the natural landscape or the pavilion on the roadside of the village or town. In waterside mountain villages, there are many pavilions along the roads for pedestrians to rest, including half-mountain pavilions, road pavilions, and half-river pavilions. Since gardens as art imitate nature, many gardens have pavilions. But precisely because gardens are art, the pavilion in the garden pays great attention to the art form. The pavilion is often a "bright spot" in a garden landscape, playing the finishing touch. In terms of form, it is very beautiful and diverse. "Yuan Ye" says that the pavilion "has no definite shape, ranging from triangle, four corners, five corners, plum blossoms, hexagons, horizontal guis, octagons to crosses. It can be made according to the suitability, but the map can omit the style." These many forms of pavilions, Based on the principle of adapting measures to local conditions, as long as the plane is determined, its form will be basically determined.
Suzhou Canglang Pavilion is named after the pavilion. This pavilion is actually very simple. It is a square pavilion with a single eaves resting on the top of a mountain. It can also be said to be a standard Jiangnan garden pavilion. The art of this pavilion does not rely on gorgeousness or weirdness to attract people, but on simplicity and elegance. It relies on deliberately pursuing the highest realm of Jiangnan architectural forms and winning on proportion, scale, charm and tone. This is also the art of architecture. fundamental. At the same time, its name lies in its architectural cultural connotation. The poet Su Shunqin of the Northern Song Dynasty purchased this garden and named it "Canglang" after building it. This is based on a sentence in "Mencius": "The water in Canglang is clear, and I can wash my tassel; the water in Canglang is turbid, and I can wash my feet." ." This shows his noble spirit. Later, Ouyang Xiu wrote a poem about this: "The clear breeze and bright moon are originally priceless, but it is a pity that they only sell for 40,000 yuan." This last sentence seemed indecent, so it was not written on the pavilion pillars and was left empty. It is said that a fisherman later added: "There is love near the water and in the mountains far away." Su Shunqin's intention was exactly what he wanted, so he completed this couplet. It can be seen that the buildings in the garden must not only have formal beauty, but also have cultural connotations.
The key to setting up a pavilion in the garden is location. As mentioned above, the pavilion is the "finishing point" of the garden, so it is often located at the intersection of sightlines. For example, Suzhou Nets Master Garden, when you enter the garden from the Shooting Duck Gallery, across the pond is the "Moon to the Wind Pavilion", forming the center of the composition. Another example is the "Lotus Breeze Pavilion" in the pool of the Humble Administrator's Garden. The surrounding water is vast, forming a visual focus. In addition, there are curved bridges connecting it on both sides, making the image naturally prominent. Of course, the image of this pavilion can also deserve such treatment; if the image of this pavilion is difficult to see, it is called "disturbing the scenery". Another example is the Canglang Pavilion, which is located on a rockery and forms the center of the whole garden, making the "Canglang Pavilion" (the name of the garden) worthy of its name; the Embroidered Qi Pavilion in the Humble Administrator's Garden, the Shuxiao Pavilion in the Liuyuan Garden, and the Wangjiang Pavilion in Shanghai's Yu Garden. etc., are all built in high-profile places, with the sky as the background, the image is revealed, the outline is complete, and it is very impressive.