豫园英语导游词

豫园英语导游词Lets begin our virtual tour. Before entering the garden, you will see a beautiful lotus pond. Across the pond is a bridge with a pavilion in the middle. The mid-lake pavilion was rebuilt in 1784 and converted into a teahouse 80 years ago. One of the best in Shanghai, the teahouse is a popular place for the elderly people, who enjoy chatting with each other over a cup of tea.Under the teahouse is a nine-zigzag bridge. The Bridge is an indispensable part of a Chinese garden. It divides up the water space. A zigzag bridge slows down visitors pace so that they may enjoy the scenery leisurely and it also enables them to see a different view whenever they make a turn. But why nine zigzags?It is because "nine" is the biggest digit before ten and is, therefore, a lucky number. On special occasions such as the lantern festival, which falls on the 15th of January of the lunar calendar, celebrations used to be held in the vicinity, giving rise to much hustle and bustle. Yu Yuan Garden is a small one, only covering an area of 2 hectares but it strikes one as quite large because of its zigzag layout.This is the Three Corn-Ear Hall, the largest and tallest hall in the garden. Called the "Hall of Happiness and Longevity" at first, it was a place where the host entertained his guests and held banquets.There are three plaques in the hall - "Mountains and Forests in the City" on top, "Ling Tai Jin Shi" in the middle and "Three-Ear Corn Hall" at the bottom. The top plaque expresses Mr. Pans love for landscape. As Shanghai lies in a flat country with no mountains or forests around, he built the garden with plenty of trees and plants and rockeries, hoping to bring the beauties into it. The two words "Ling Tai" on the middle plaque refers to the high terrace, where the King of Zhou Dynasty offered sacrifices to his ancestors. The hall was also a place for the gentry to explain and study the imperial edicts.After the hall was turned into an office for the rice and bean businessmen, the name was changed into "Three Corn-Ear Hall", reflecting the wishes of businessmen for a rich harvest. For the same reason, there are crops and fruits carved on the doors of the hall.Yu Yuan Garden boasts many lattice windows, which are found in the corridors and on the walls. They were covered by paper offoil of shells 400 years ago instead of glas as they are now. Built with a mixture of clay, lime and alum, each of them presents a different design. On the windows near the Three Corn-Ear Hall are designs of pine, crane and lingzhi herb, which symbolize fortune, wealth, longevity and happiness.Behind the Three Corn-Ear Hall stands the Yangshan Hall (Hall for Viewing the Mountain) built in 1866. Opposite the Yangshan Hall is a beautiful rockery hill which is called Grand Rockery. Designed by Chang Nanyang, a famous landscape architect, it is a rarity in southern China. While sipping tea with your friends in the hall as the owner did, you can enjoy the rockery hill in front. As is described by the words on the plaque in the hall "High Mountain Ridges", the 12-metre high rockery hill, dumped with 2,000 tons of rocks, is noted for its steep cliffs and hidden, winding paths.It is no exaggeration to say that the rockery hill is the crystallization of the wisdom and creativeness of the working people as to move the rocks from 200-kilometre-away Wukang in Zhejiang province alone was no easy job at all. What is more amazing is that the rocks were stuck together by cooked glutinous rice mixed with alum and lime, for at that time cement was not available.Visitors feel as if they were on real mountain ridges once they ascend the rockery covered by trees and flowers and with streams flowing down the slopes into the pond below. The pavilion on the hilltop, the highest point in Shanghai 400 years ago, commanded an excellent view of the Huang Pu River dotted by sails and masts. Hence the name "Pavilion for Viewing the River".Behind the rockery is a wall topped with a dragon, called the reclining dragon. There are five dragon walls.In the garden, dividing it into six different scenicsections.Above the Yangshan Hall is the "Rain Rolling Tower" with its name derived from the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Bos poem. A verse of it reads "At dusk the pearl-curtain rolls up the rain drifting from Western Hill." It is true that on the four sides of the hall there used to be pearl-curtains, which gave off a kind of rain-like sound against the wind. While enjoying, in the hall, the excellent views of the rockery and pond full of lotus blossoms and goldfish, visitors seem to hear the sound of rain, thus feeling carried away by the poetic surrounding with mountains in the rain.In Yu Yuan Garden there are many brick carvings, dating back to the Qing Dynasty, 300 years ago. Here are two of them. The one on the left is called "Plum Wives and Crane Sons". They are carvedon the bricks fired in the kiln. The legend connected with the carving describes Lin Heqing, a poet in the Song Dynasty 1000 years ago. Mr. Lin loved plum and crane as he did his wife and son. Hence the saying "Plum Wives and Crane sons". Though a great poet, Lin Heqing fell out of favour.Disappointed, he lived in seclusion in a country cottage on the Gushan Hill in Hangzhou. During the twenty years of his stay there, he did nothing other than planting plum trees and raising a crane. Every year, when the plums bloomed he simply stayed at home and enjoyed the sight of the plum blossoms. That was why he was able to write a number of beautiful poems in praise of plum trees, which have ever since been greatly admired and recited by people. His crane Wuno was also a great help to him. When occasionally, his friends called on him and found him out, his crane would fly around.Seeing the crane, he got the message and would return home immediately to receive his guests. The death of its master made the crane so sad that it stood in front of his tomb day after day, crying until it died. The crane was buried not far from Lins tomb. By the side of Wunos tomb, a pavilion, the Crane Pavilion, was built in memory of the faithful and loyal wading bird. Perhaps, Mr. Panused this brick carving to ex[press his idea that he and Mr. Lin were in the same boat. The brick carving on the right describes someone who came out first in the military examinations at three levels.Now let us go to the next section: Happy Fish Waterside Pavilion and Chamber of Ten Thousand Flowers.Happy Fish Waterside Pavilion, Chamber of Ten Thousand FlowersAt the entrance to the corridor are two iron lions. Cast in the Yuan dynasty, they are nearly 700 years old. Iron lions are very rare in China as most of them are made of wood or stone. Regarded as the king of animals, lion signifies "dignity" and "majesty". Such lions, usually put in front of palaces or courts, were meant to show the owners prowess. It is very easy to tell the sex of the two lions.The rule is that the female one is always put on the left while the male one stands on the right. What is more, the female lion fondles a baby, while the male plays with a ball. There is an old saying in China "The lions cub has to learn how to rough it." The mother lion makes it a point to give the baby a hard time so that it will be trained into a brave animal. Those two lions were originally found in Changde County, Henan Province. They were shipped toTokyo and did not return to China until the victory of theAnti-Japanese War in 1945.We are walking along the corridor. A corridor provides the link between buildings in ancient architecture.Appearing in different forms - straight or zigzag, high or low, hill-climbing or water-hugging, a corridor is a visitors guideline. It divides up the space and combines the views. With every step the visitor takes following a corridor, the view changes. A technique in building court gardens is to create parallel views.That is to say the pavilions, halls, chambers and towers match each other. Here is a case in point.Standing on the Rain Rolling Tower and looking on the right, visitors seem to see a landscape painting dominated by the rockery resembling a real mountain. When visitors on top of the rockery cast their eyes to their left, they will be struck by a genre painting centered on towers and chambers with pavilions, bridges and ponds tucked away as the background.The rock in the middle of the corridor looks like a young lady. Isnt it a treat to see suddenly a young lady who feels shy upon meeting a stranger and tries to hide herself when you stop in the pavilion for a brief rest and enjoy the views around!The plaque above says "Gradually Entering the Wonderland". It means that you should slowly follow the winding corridor in order to really appreciated the beautiful views ahead.You see another brick carving on your left. The old man holding a walking stick is the God of Longevity. He is distinguished by an abnormally large, protruding forehead which is deeply lined and crowned with snow white hair. He also has big ears, long eyebrows and a square mouth with thick lips. He is a legendary figure said to be in charge of the life span of mankind. Above the God of Longevity is the Goddess of Mercy.This is Happy Fish Waterside Pavilion. Surrounded by water on three sides, it is a good place for enjoying goldfish swimming happily in the pond. The pavilion often reminds visitors of the dialogue carried between two ancient philosophers, Zhuang Zhi and Hui Zhi. Once they came to a pond like this. One of them said, "The goldfish must be very happy." The other asked him, "How do you know whether they are happy since you are not fish?" he first one answered, "How do you know that I do not know they are happy since you are not me?"Visitors do find themselves in a happy frame of mind when they hear the sound of flowing water and see the goldfish swimming freely in the clear water of the pond.This small area itself is a garden as it is complete with the basic elements called for by a Chinese-type garden-plant, water, building and rock. The pond, partitioned in the middle by a crenelated wall with the water flowing through an arched opening at the foot of the wall, looks deeper and longer than itself. This is what we call creating the maximum space in a small area. If your eyes follow the stream beyond the arch you will see in the water the reflections of people and scenery on the other side of the wall. This is the technique of "scenery borrowing". It means using the scenery "borrowed" from outside the garden as the setoff to enrich the views inside and make the two become one.There is a 300-year old wistaria at the corner. It is said the tree once withered but came into bloom again. Some people regard wistaria as a symbol for welcoming guests. When summer sets in, the tree is ladden with white, butterfly-like flowers, which give off refreshing fragrance.This is the Double Corridor partitioned by a wall with latticed windows. When you look through the windows you will seedifferent views like traditional Chinese paintings in frames. One side of the corridor presents you with chambers, towers and a houseboat which are all static. The other side provides you with the views of water and trees and flowers which are all moving.At the end of the corridor is the Chamber of Ten Thousand Flowers. It is so called because there are fresh flowers here all the year round. Designs of plants and flowers are carved on the doors and windows. Particularly eye-catching are the designs of the plum, the orchid, the chrysanthemum and the bamboo at the four corners of the Chamber, representing spring, summer, autumn and winter respectively. The furniture with carved flowers in the chamber are over 200 years old.In front of the chamber are many rocks brought here from lakes. Eroded by water, they are in different shapes, many, interestingly, resembling animals.Here are two more ancient trees, one gingko and the other magnolia.It is said that Mr. Pans father planted two gingko trees, one male and the other female, 400 years ago. Later, the female gingko died and a magnolia was planted in its place. Known as "living fossil", gingko trees used to grow profusely about 146 million yearsago, but are now on the brink of extinction. It is also called "gongsun" tree because it grows so slowly that the grandfather plants the tree and the grandson picks the fruit. The tree looks like a large parachute because of its dark green leaves resembling small fans. Its seeds and leaves can be used for medical purposes.If you look up you will see the second dragon on top of the wall. The dragon sprawls on the wall, with its head raised hgh, ready to mount the clouds. Hence the name "dragon mounting to the clouds". Dragon is a mythical animal. It is said dragons could call up wind and waves.Gods rode on them or used them as messengers. Dragon is said to have horns like a deers antlers, the head of an ox, eyes of a shrimp, the body of a snake, scales of a fish, and talons of an eagle. Regarded as something sacred and the symbol of the emperor, dragons were used to consolidate the position of the feudal rulers in ancient China.This dragon has, in its mouth, a pearl which is its life-line. There is also a toad under its mouth. It is said that these two animals depend on each other for survival. The toad lives on the saliver of the dragon, and, in turn, scratches its chin which is madeitchy by the saliver. Lets continue our virtual tour to the third section:Spring Hall and Hall of MildnessThis is the Spring Hall. In 1853, the people in Shanghai organized a secret society - the Small Sword Society in response to the Taiping Revolution. It was a uprising on the largest scale, with the longest duration and greatest number of participants in Shanghai. The uprising army once headquartered its northern city command post in this hall.The army took the city and held out for one and half years before it was defeated by the reactionary Qing government in collusion with the foreign powers. However, the uprising dealt a heavy blow at the ruling class. There is, on the wall, a traditional painting named "Appreciating the Sword," depicting the life of the uprising army.It was made by a famous Qing Dynasty painter Ren Bonian, who once took part in the uprising. The Spring Hall is now a museum, displaying some pictures, weapons and coins used by the Small Sword Society.The Spring Hall (Dian Cun Tang) was built around 1820. It had remained desolate since the defeat of the 1853-uprising. It was restored by the Shanghai local government in1956. The name of the hall was derived from one of the poems by Dongpo Su, a great poet in the Song Dynasty.The word "spring" here means ones favorite actors and theatrical works. "Dian" in Chinese means "to choose". The theatrical performances chosen by Yunduan Pan were given by his favorite actors on the little stage opposite to the hall. Mr. Pan, while wining and dining in the hall, enjoyed the stage show with his friends. On the roof of the pavilion stage are some clay figures from the Chinese classic novel the "Three Kingdoms".The two-storied structure over there is the "Tower of Happiness" built with Taihu rocks in the shape of clouds. The tower, like a "castle in the air", seems floating amidst clouds. The building on the left, when viewed from the front, is a stage but looks like a pavilion on the water when viewed from the back. This scenic section, centered on the "Tower of Happiness" with other buildings around and dotted by rockery, water and "clouds", presents a mythical touch.Arriving here, visitors feel like entering a fairyland. This is the Hall of Mildness, located between a pond and a huge rock. The hall, bright and spacious, with windows on four sides, is cool in summer and warm in winter. Please look at the furniture on display in thehall. These furniture, practical and beautiful, are made of banian tree roots with a history of over 200 years. The decorations in the hall are also made of banian tree roots - the phoenix on the right, "Ru Ji" or "as-you-wish" in the middle and the unicorn on the left.On top of the wall here are the third and fourth dragons with a pearl between them. They are called "Twin dragons playing with a pearl". On festival occasions, streets packed with people present a bustling scene, whereby twin dragons manipulated by players dance and fiddle with a pearl.Here is another brick carving with the pine tree, the deer, the lingzhi herb and the crane, all symbolizing a long life.Scenery Gathering Pavilion, Toasting Pavilion and Nine-lion StudyThis is the eastern part of Yu Yuan Garden. It was leveled to the ground after the Opium War but has recently been restored. Following the Ming Dynasty-styled "Spring Corridor" flanked by green bamboo, visitors will see the Huijing (Scenery Gathering) Tower, the centre of one of the three scenic sections in the eastern part. The tower, built in 1870, commands an excellent view of the whole garden. The Nine-Lion Study, overlooking the Huijing Tower, was erected in 1959.Visitors may stop in front of the tower and enjoy the elegance of the pavilion in the distance. Or they may cross the stone bridge and follow the stone path leading to it. Ascending the pavilion, they may catch sight of the lotus in the pond or appreciate the tranquility of the pavilion tucked away admist ancient trees.Beside a rockery stands another pavilion called Liushang (Toasting) Pavilion. Its shadows are thrown onto the pond. It is recorded that on March 3 of the lunar calendar ever year, men of letters in Shanghai would come here and compose poems over a glass of wine like Wang Xizhi and his friends did in Lan Pavilion.Next to the Liushang Pavilion is a three-cornered stone bridge clinging to the water. The water surface, the bridge, trees, halls and towers form a staircase. Walking on the bridge, one feels like tiptoeing on the water.On the far end of the bridge is a wall with a moon-shaped door. The words "Yinyu" or "leading to the jade" are above the door. He grotesquely-shaped huge rock behind the door will arouse visitors curiosity. You will hastily enter the next scenic section ......the Exquisite Jade Stone.Exquisite Jade StoneOnce entering this section, you will find yourself in a world of "jade". The huge rock, the Jade Magnificence Hall, the beautiful rockery peak and the wonderful corridor all contain in their names the Chinese word "yu" or jade. Even the Yulan (magnolia) Shanghai citys tree - newly planted in front of the hall - means "white jade orchid" in Chinese.The 3.3-meter-high Exquisite Jade Stone is a rare treasure and, actually, one of the three best in China. It was one of the many valuable rocks which should have been sent to the Northern Song Dynasty Emperor, Huizong, a rock fan. But it got lost while being transported from the south to the northern capital Kaifeng. It finally ended up in a private garden in Shanghais Sanlintang, east of the Huangpu River. The owner, a local official, when marrying his daughter to the younger brother of Yunduan Pan, presented the rock to his son-in-law as a dowry.The rock is noted for its slender shape, translucent nature, wrinkled surface and numerous holes, 72 in all. Water poured on the top drips down through the holes, while smoke from incense sticks burned below coils up through them.The Jade Magnificence Hall was used as the study of Yunduan Pan. It is said that Pan would come to the hall every day and lookfor a long time at the Exquisite Jade Stone. He thus felt delighted and was inspired to write. The hall has been restored, with ancient books, writing brushes and an ink stone on display.Jiyu Peak used to be in the eastern part of the garden. After the damage done to this part, some remains of Jiyu Peak lay for a long time by the roadside. In 1956, Chen Congzhou, an eminent architect and professor at Tongji University in Shanghai, discovered them. They were moved to the present site during the recent renovation. "Jiyu" means piling up of numerous pieces of beautiful jade.The Jiyu Corridor, which is over 100 meters long, was built in the style of the Ming Dynasty. It is the longest water-side corridor in China. It is so called because Jiyu Peak stands on it. Added to it are some stone tablets, bearing important data about the garden. This is considered by Chen as valuable "jade" in the garden.To the far north of the Jiyu Corridor is another rockery hill. Designed by Professor Chens disciple, Zhang Jianhua, the hill is characterized by its caves, winding paths, steep cliffs and flowing streams. It matches wonderfully well with the other 12-metre-high rockery hill before Yangshan Hall.To the west of the Jade Magnificence Hall is the Moon Tower. The name aptly implies that the jade is as bright as the moon. Ascending the tower on the 15th night of August of the Chinese lunar calendar, people will enjoy two bright moons - one in the sky and the other reflected on the pond below.The Moon Tower is, actually, the upper part of a two-storied structure built by a pond in 1883. Below the "Moon Tower" is Qi Zao Hall, an ideal place for enjoying the beautiful lotus in the pond. There are sixteen screen doors in the winding corridor in front of Qi Zao Hall. On each of them there is a carved picture of ploughing and weaving. On the eaves of the hall, there are many Chinese characters of "longevity" carved out of wood.They are called "hundred-longevity map" with distinct national features.On the eastern wall is another brick carving "Guang Han Palace". It is a palace in the moon according to a legend. The lady in the middle of the brick carving is Chang E, known as the Moon Goddess. Chang E flew to the moon after swallowing an elixir of immortality stolen from her husband, Hou Yi, who got it from Xi Wangmu (Heavenly Empress) of the Kunlun Mountains as a reward for shooting down nine suns in the sky.Wu Gang is another legendary figure on the moon. As he made some serious mistakes while studying under a deity, he was ordered to fell a cassia tree growing on the moon. Every time Wu Guang raises his axe, the cut he has just made grows over, so he must go on chopping for eternity.The compound in front is in the shape of a square jar. There, you will find a plaque with the words "Entering Heaven-like Jar", meaning entering the fairyland on earth. There is a legend passed down from the Han Dynasty. Once upon a time, there was an old man, a pharmacy owner, crawling into one of the jars of his shop after closing time.He asked the old man to take him along. Once he entered the jar, he discovered a lot of dishes and wine. So, the two got down to a feast and enjoyed the food and wine so much that they felt as if they had entered a heaven of peace. "Entering Heaven-like Jar" means going on a drinking spree and throwing to the four winds all the vexations of life.To the south of the Exquisite Jade Stone are the Screen Wall and the Coiling Dragon Bridge. Both are new additions built in the Ming style. Carved in the wall are the four Chinese words "Huan Zhong Da Kuai", meaning "happiness under heaven". What is nowone of the exits of the garden used to be the entrance. Once Mr. Pan entered the garden, he would enjoy the "worldly happiness" first, and then drink in the rest of the beauties in the garden.The eastern part of Yu Yuan Garden, only 0.5 hectare in size, has ponds taking up 60 per cent of the total area. The halls, pavilions, chambers and bridges and their reflections on the water contrast wonderfully with each other, making the area look much larger.The Inner GardenHere we are in the Inner Garden. Formerly the back garden of the City God Temple, it was reconstructed in 1709. This typical Qing Dynasty-styled garden only covers 0.14 hectares but is exquisitely and tastefully laid out. How apt it is to call this a garden within a garden!Here is the Hall of Serenity, a major structure in the Inner Garden.If you stand in front of the hall and quietly look at the rocks opposite, you will, again, find that many of them are shaped like animals.Two stone lions squat on both sides of the hall. Both the lions and the small balls in their mouths are carved out of stone. There are some sculptures on the roof of the hall. The one on the left is Yue Fei, a famous general of the Song Dynasty. To this day, people still speak highly of him for his meritorious deeds of resisting the Jin invaders.This is the Nine-Dragon Pool built with Taihu rocks. There are actually only four dragons carved on the rocks, but with their reflections on the water and the pool itself in the shape of a dragon, visitors do find nine dragons. This brick carving "Guo Ziyi Being Congratulated on his Centenary Birthday" is a Qing Dynasty product, going back 300 years. A general of the Tang Dynasty, Guo Ziyi suppressed the rebellious minister An Leshan and later drove away the invading enemy. He was once looked upon as a symbol of happiness, fortune and longevity.This is the sleeping dragon, the last of the five dragons in the garden. It is carved out of clay while the scales of the other four dragons are made of tiles. On top of the rockery hill stands atwo-storied pavilion. Stopping here for a brief rest, you may enjoy the beautiful views around, thus feeling delighted. This is, actually, a stage built in the Qing style with exquisite carvings and elaboratedecorations. One of the places for entertainment in ancient China, it is the oldest and largest stage preserved in perfect conditions in Shanghai. It is built in two stories and audiences may watch the performances on both floors.。