Lanting belongs to the famous scenic spot of Shaoxing’s cultural landscape.
Lanting, located at the foot of Lanzhu Mountain 25 miles southwest of Shaoxing City, is one of the three famous scenic spots in the suburbs of Shaoxing along with Yuling and East Lake. It has always been famous for the famous calligraphy work "Preface to the Collection of Orchid Pavilion" At home and abroad; in the past ten years, it has become more famous due to the continuous holding of the "Lanting Calligraphy Festival".
From the perspective of cultural origin, there is an inherent connection between Lanting Scenic Area and Yuling Scenic Area. They are two sacrificial places for one festival. According to the "Wuyue Spring and Autumn Annals", after Yue established its capital in the present-day Shaoxing City, Goujian established the country's sacrificial rituals, which were: "Establishing the eastern suburbs to worship Yang, named Donghuanggong; establishing the western suburbs to worship Yin, named the Queen Mother of the West; Sacrificing the Mausoleum The mountains are in Kuaiji; the rivers and lakes are in Jiangzhou." The earliest famous location of Lanting Scenic Area is "Zhu", "Shuowen" says: "Zhu is the state". Especially Nagisa, where the two rivers meet, is an ideal place for traditional water sacrifices. "Yue Jueshu" says: "Goujian planted Lanzhu Mountain." It can be seen that the mountain is named after Zhu, and Zhu is named after orchid. Zhu is called "Lazhu", and the mountain is also called "Lazhu Mountain". Orchid, in ancient times, was a token of love. "Zheng Feng·Qin Miao": "Qin and Miao are in harmony; men and women are in orchids." Note: "It is said that the peach blossoms are under the water in March to revive the soul and purify the soul. "To get rid of the filth of the year." This is actually the origin of the custom of cultivating evil spirits in later generations. The "pavilion" of Orchid Pavilion was not originally a pavilion, but an administrative organization below the township level. It was popular in the Qin and Han Dynasties. The "Book of Han" says: "There is a pavilion in ten miles, and the pavilion is long; there is a long pavilion in ten pavilions." After it was called Lanting, the water was named after it, so it became known as "Lanting River".
“This place has lofty mountains, lush forests and bamboos, as well as clear rapids and rapids, reflecting the surroundings.” This is in line with the requirements of the ancient ritual of cultivating bad weather for the natural geographical environment. On the third day of the third month of the third lunar month of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 353), the ninth year of Yonghe reign of Emperor Mu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi invited 41 people, including Xie An and Sun Chuo, famous celebrities at that time, as well as relatives, friends, children and nephews to gather here to perform the ritual of praying for evil spirits. On this day, "the sky is clear and the air is clear, and the wind is gentle and gentle", "all the talented people have arrived, and the young and old have gathered together". Wang Xizhi and others sat on both sides of the winding stream in Lanzhu. They placed the wine glasses on the clear stream and let them float on the current. Once the wine glass is left in front of someone, he must compose an impromptu poem. If the poem fails, he will be fined with three glasses of wine. This is considered entertainment. In this gathering, 26 people composed a total of 37 poems. Afterwards, Wang Xizhi compiled these poems into a collection and wrote a preface, recording the grand occasion of the gathering and the author's impressions. The preface has 324 characters, each word is pearl. This is Wang Xizhi's calligraphy masterpiece "Preface to the Lanting Collection", which was rated as "the best running script in the world" by Chu Suiliang. The Orchid Pavilion has been relocated several times. The current site is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and is shaded by bamboo trees. It is an elegant classical garden. The overall landscape layout is well-proportioned and can be divided into 8 scenic spots: Goose Pond, Music Pond, Small Orchid Pavilion, and Liushang. The pavilion is the Royal Stele Pavilion, the Youjun Temple, the Lanting River, and the Calligraphy Museum.
As you walk into the scenic spot from the entrance, you pass through a stone path lined with bamboo strips. In front of you is a pool of clear water, which is the Goose Pond. Next to the pool is a 40-square-meter "authentic ground" paved with stones. There is a monument at the west end of the authentic area. The two characters "Echi" on the monument are said to have been written by Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi's father and son respectively. The monument is covered by a triangular pavilion. After passing the Echi Pond and crossing the Sanqu Bridge, you will reach the Little Orchid Pavilion. The two characters "Orchid Pavilion" on the stele in the pavilion were written in the handwriting of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty.
The "music pool" on the west side of Xiaolan Pavilion is a recently built one with an area of ??ten acres. There is a grass pavilion near the pond, which is called "Pitching Pavilion". There are bamboo rafts and small boats in the pool, and there are restaurants and teahouses in the west of the pool for visitors to rest. To the east of the Little Orchid Pavilion is the "Liu Shang Pavilion", which is the center of the Orchid Pavilion. In front of the pavilion, there are curved water, stacked stones, and green willows. It is a place where people today come to drink wine and hold antique activities. To the north of the Liushang Pavilion is the Imperial Stele Pavilion. On the front side of the imperial stele is the full text of "The Preface to the Collection of Orchid Pavilion" written by Kangxi, and on the back side is the poem "Lanting Ji Shi" written by Qianlong. It is a rare giant monument in the southeast region. Go north from the Royal Stele Pavilion and exit the north gate of the garden, where you will find the Lanting River, a shallow and clear stream that gurgling around the slopes of Lanzhu Mountain. The fish and pebbles swimming under the water are clearly visible and can be counted, and the beach is very wide. In recent years, it has been opened as a place for mass water fishing activities. The "Lanting Calligraphy Museum" across the water from Lanting is also newly built in recent years. It is located on the hillside, surrounded by lush trees and has an elegant environment.