In the Ming Dynasty, there was a garden called Yuan Shao on the north bank of Nanhu Lake, and the main building was called Bamboo Pavilion. This garden is very beautiful. Wu Changshi in Wu Meicun's poem lives next to the South Lake. He is a famous man, which is also recorded in the Ming history and in many notes. He was a victim of political struggle before the Ming Dynasty.
When it comes to the spoon garden, we can't help but mention a poem and a picture, such as Wu Meicun's Melody of Garden Lake and Spring Rain Map of South Lake. Poet in late Wu Ming and early Qing Dynasty, named Meicun, born in Taicang. He is an important member of Fu She and has been to Jiaxing many times. This 52-sentence long poem has a lot of descriptions about the spoon garden. Let's put aside its artistic value and literary value, and only talk about the scenery of the spoon garden in that poem. "Yuanyang Lake grass sticks to the sky, and the boat is set in the second spring. Willow leaves rain in thousands of feet, peach blossoms with a wisp of smoke. " These four sentences are the most typical description of the scenery of South Lake, and also the most beautiful description of the spring scenery of South Lake. In the ninth year of Shunzhi, Wu Meicun revisited Yuan Shao and Wu Changshi. The misty rain in South Lake is very quiet, and orioles fly by. He couldn't help thinking that ten years ago, he came here by boat from Suzhou to visit the owner of the spoon garden. Spoon Garden is built on the edge of South Lake. The owner of the spoon garden is very hospitable and has a luxurious life. There was laughter, singing and dancing on the pavilion near the water. "The host loves a sumptuous banquet, and the water is full of laughter. The drum painting team urged the peach leaf geisha, and the jade flute sounded out of the platform of philosophers. Lightweight boots, narrow sleeves, delicate makeup, fragile tubes and countless strings. The cloud wears clothes, and the snow dances from the army. "
After playing for a whole day, when the wine dispersed, the South Lake was brightly lit. The next day, I simply stopped acting at home and set up a stage in Nanhu. At that time, life in Jiangnan was rich. Although it was the last year of the Ming Dynasty, it was still peaceful. Jiaxing at that time was actually in the most prosperous period in history. At the end of Ming Dynasty, silk industry, handicraft industry and transportation were developed. Mr. Shi Nian thinks that there is no saying that "the wine moves westward and the lake is intoxicating", which shows how prosperous South Lake in Jiaxing is in the late Ming Dynasty. This is the first sight Wu Meicun saw after he came to South Lake.
It is not enough to write poems. Wu Meicun also painted a picture of South Lake Spring Rain, which spread all over the world around the same time. According to the research of essayists who have studied the history of the Ming Dynasty, "This picture is written as a bamboo pavilion in the military official department, no doubt." "Jiangshan plain, smoke column vaguely, this is a corner of Jiangnan. There is a small bridge on the other side, two fine rooms, and short walls and dense bamboo behind. " But there is no mountain around the South Lake, but there is a hill in the picture. There is a pavilion on the hill, which is gorgeous in shape and tall in cornices, sills, curtains and trees. Huang Shang pointed out that although these paintings are the scenery of Yuan Shao Garden, they are mainly the imagination of the poet. However, although they are not true to us, we can see the glory and charm of Yuan Shao Garden in the past. "Even this casual dyeing can be regarded as the victory of Chang's gardens and pavilions." There are water, mountains, pavilions, trees, bridges and towers in the painting. "Turn right, there is a tower hidden in the Woods, and then there is a pavilion." Huang Shang said that because there are many pagodas in South Lake, he didn't know why the pagoda in the painting was a pagoda, and Yuan Shao's old address was not clear. Shi Nian mentioned in his lecture that the tower may be a moat tower, and the former site of Shaoyuan known by Jiaxing people refers to JOE Village. Shi Nian personally went to see it in the 1960s, and found that there were many stones in the garden pool and traces of the pool, but nothing else was found.