West zhu changwen and his garden of joy

WestSchool of International Letters and Cultures Arizona State University Zhu Changwen Ԩ ߞ Н 1040-July 9, 1098 is not a name that springs to mind when we discuss garden history in Song C

Zhu Changwen and His “Garden of Joy”

Stephen H WestSchool of International Letters and Cultures

Arizona State University

Zhu Changwen Ԩ ߞ Н (1040-July 9, 1098) is not a name that springs to mind when we discuss garden history in Song China, yet in some ways that little plot and its place in his life represent a unique take on the “literati garden,” if

we may call it that, a place that creates spaces of personal, familial, social, and cultural meaning

1

Zhu’s life is not particularly well documented,1 and our information comes primarily from short incidental mention by other writers, an autobiographical letter he wrote to his younger brothers and two grave memorials, one by Zhang Jingxiu ஼ෂঔ (ca 1040-1090), “A Grave Inscription for Mr Plot of Joy,”

1 See Deng Xiaonan ᎅλࠄ, “Zhu Changwen jiashi shili kao” ԙߏЎৎШǵ٣ᐕԵ, Beida

shixue чεўᏢ 4 (1997): 72-87.

(“Lepu xiansheng muzhiming” ዆ুӒҢწעም)2 and one by his friend Mi Fu

Ծߎ (1051-1107) (“Mubiao” წߓ) This shorter notice (part of which is found,

by the way, as a colophon to a painting presumed to be by Zhu Changwen), reads in part:

Master of the Garden of Joy was Mister Zhu of Wu Commandery; his formal name was Changwen and his given name was Boyuan He was the son of the Grand Master of Splendid Prosperity At nineteen

he passed the Advanced Scholar examinations in the second grade, but because he suffered foot problems he was unwilling to follow the bureaucratic path He became intent on building a residence and lived in the Plot of Joy Ward in the Commandery He was possessed

of an obsession for “mountain forests,” wrote treatises and reviewed antiquity, delighting in the Way of Yao and Shun Before long his name was acclaimed, and people of the entire Commandery came under the sway of his opinions Every Protector of the Commandery (Magistrate) and every Salt Commissioner all hastened to make requests of him to discuss any emergency situation that developed in the administration

of the area Every literatus who passed by would rush to the Plot of Joy, shamed if they were the last to visit Soon his name shook the capital and the number of nobles and ministers who recommended him

as their own replacement were legion The Son of Heaven considered him morally stalwart and raised him up to be a Professor in the Commandery [School] Considering that this did not extend his service VXI¿FLHQWO\KHZDVWKHQUDLVHGWREHD0DVWHURIWKH6WDWH$FDGHP\

2 Zhang Jingxiu ஭ඳঅ, “Muzhi ming” ოᇞሎ, in Lepu yugao ኷লᎩ仮, ed Zhu Si ԙࡘ

(Taipei: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1986), supplement 1a-5b, 56-58.

so that he could instruct more scholars on the Way Before long he was raised to the rank of Library Scholar, and as before attached

simultaneously to the Bureau of Military Affairs On the day bingshen

in the inaugural year of the Yuanfu reign (March 20, 1098) he took sick and expired before his time, having enjoyed sixty years of life His VRQ6LZDVDVDOWRI¿FLDOLQ+DQJ]KRXDQGKLVRWKHUVRQV2XDQG*HQJpassed the Advanced Scholar examination In the sixth month, he was interred at Dexiang, buried with his father, Splendid Prosperity

኷লӃғǴֆଗԙМǴӜߏЎǴӷդচǴӀ㶊ϦϐηǶΜΐྃฦΌࣽǴੰىόޭவӔǶᖿᑐ࠻Ǵۚଗ኷ল֝ǴԖξ݅፪Ǵ๱ਜ䆘ђǴ኷൏๥ၰǶΦϐӜᆀǴᝰฅ΋ଗᘂܺǴଗӺǵᅱљವό೷ፎǴᒉࡹ܌࡚ǴγεϻၸޣǴѸھو኷লǴаࡕࣁ㬧ǶӜ୏٧ৣǴϦঙᙚаԾжޣࣗ㷌ǶϺη፣ϐǴଆࣁҁଗ௲௤ǹаࣁ҂ቶΨǴଆࣁϼᏢӃғǴаၰ௤ӭγǶ҂൳ǴᔗܿᢀǴϝঋኰ۬ឦǶϡ಄ϡԃΒДЧҙǴར੯ό㶊Ǵ٦ԃϤΜǶηಟǴܼԀᡶ۔Ǵጠǵહᖐ

Zhu was a precocious youth, a rising young star in his native Pingjiang (modern Suzhou) He was very close to his father and his talents were quickly put to use As he wrote in an admonitory letter to his brothers:

When I was young, I knew to find my joy in serving my parents, nurturing my ambitions, loving the ancients, and studying my books :KHQ,ZDVWHQ,DOUHDG\WRRNQRWHVRQEHKDOIRIIDWKHUDQGDW¿IWHHQ,could write letters for him I waited on him every day, holding my pen

3 Mi Fu ԯ޿,“Mubiao” ო߄, in Lepu yugao, supplement 5b-6b, 58

with my notebook tucked under my arm If I did not see him, even for

a single day, I was anxious and unhappy, and father was the same with

me For this reason not even a half a step ever appeared between us If

I had to suddenly leave his sight, father would say, “The former wise ones said, ‘the grandmother and the child rely on each other for their fate.’ This speaks directly to you and me.”

ࢌԾѴ࿧ޕа٣ᒃǵᎦדǵӳђǵ᠐ਜࣁ኷ǶғΜԃࡽжӃΓ฽

҄ǴΜϖԃૈжਜ㭵Ƕ਀฼୺฽ǴВ٪ѰѓǴ΋ВόـǴ߾≲ฅό኷ǴӃΓΪէΨҭฅǶаԜ⛨؁҂ـǶ჋ᇷѐጣΠǴӃΓ჋

His father was a mid-level ranked civil servant, and the young Zhu, as the oldest son, followed him from post to post When his father was promoted to level five in the nine-step civil bureaucracy, he had the perquisite of enlisting his son into the bureaucracy through what was known as the “protection privilege,” but Zhu Changwen objected, insisting that it be given to his younger brother who was just starting out as a student

4 Zhu Changwen, “Yu zhudi shu” ᆶፏ׌ਜ, in Lepu yugao, 9.4b, 45 The reference is to Li Mi’s ׵ஏ (224-287) “Chenqing biao” ഋ௃߄ (Memorial elaborating my innermost feel-

ings), “The sunlight of my grandmother Liu’s days is hard upon the western mountains, her breathing is labored, and her life is now so in peril she cannot think of lasting from morning to dusk Without her, I would not have become what I am today; without me, she would have no way to bring her remaining years to conclusion Grandmother and grand- son depend on each other for their fate, this is why I cannot give up the distant [goal of keeping my grandmother alive] because of my own petty needs.”ՠаቅВᖓՋξǴ਻৲ ڽڽǴΓڮӒభǴරόቾδǶԽค઒҆ǴคаԿϞВǹ઒҆คԽǴคаಖᎩԃǶ҆

৊ΒΓǴ׳࣬㵝ڮǶࢂа୔୔όૈቲᇻǶSee Li Mi ׵ஏ, “Chen qingshi biao” ഋ௃

٣߄, in Wenxuan Ўᒧ, ed Xiao Tong ᑵ಍ and Li Shan ׵๓ (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1977), 37.19b-20a, 524a-b Original edition, Chongke Song Chunxi ben wenxuan ख़څֺ

దᅚҁЎᒧ

During the Jiayou reign era (1056-63), in service I followed my father

to Pengzhou, and from there went to take the imperial examinations

on the recommendation of the Director General of Grain Transport.5Father and son met, unable to bear the parting My father had just been made a Principal Gentleman [of rank six], and should have appointed DVRQWRRI¿FHWKURXJKWKHSURWHFWLRQV\VWHP%XWP\\RXQJHUEURWKHUZunyi had just become a student, and I explained, “Should I pass the examination by some fluke, then your grace can grant office to my younger brother.” My father also said, “The one who will bring our family success is surely you! I urge you to undertake it.”

჏એύǴ٪Չϐ൹Ԁᆶԋ೿ᅏᆵᙚஒॅᘶ೽ǶРη࣬ຎόהձǶࢂਔӃΓ߃ࣁ҅॔Ǵ྽ҺηǴԶᒥက׌ۈғǴէӢқГǺȨ٬ࢌଽளࣽӜǴ߾ৱёа۔΋׌ǶȩӃΓҭГǺȨଆրৎޣѸԟǴ

So, at the tender age of eighteen (by Western count), he went to the capital

in Kaifeng to take and pass the advanced scholar examinations, the final capital examination for enlistment into the civil service The depth of his filial nature can be seen by the fact that he did not even wait for the imperial banquet thrown

by the Emperor for newly minted advanced scholars, but hurried back to his father’s side in Chengdu:

The next year I indeed passed the examinations and Zunyi was granted

an office through the protection privilege I returned immediately to pay my respects to my father in Pengzhou, not even waiting for the

5 Who had administered the juren ᖐΓ examination that Zhu passed.

6 Zhu, “Yu zhudi shu,” 9.4b, 45

imperial banquet that the emperor held for new graduates, because I ZDVLQQRUXVKWRDGYDQFHLQWRRI¿FLDOVHUYLFH

ܴԃ݀ᔗಃǴԶᒥကҭаጬள۔ǶէࡽฦಃǴόߩ፥৏Ǵᘜ࣪Ϊ

As Zhang Jingxiu remarked,

He passed the Advanced Scholar examination in the fourth year of Jiayou, but according to the age limits set by the Board of Personnel,

he could not immediately be employed At that time Guanglu [his father] was magistrate of Peng, and he returned there without waiting for the imperial feast The people of the prefecture celebrated him Once he was capped, he was assigned to be Redactor in the Imperial Library and Revenue Manager for Xuzhou The notice of appointment was full of words of praise

7 Ibid This is a little disingenuous on his part According to the age limits established by

the Bureau of Personnel, he was still too young to take up a position.

8 Zhang Jingxiu, “Muzhi ming”, supplement 2a-b, 56.

9 Ibid Also, see Chen Zhi ഋ෌ and Zhang Gongchi ஭Ϧԅ, eds., Zhongguo lidai

mingyu-an ji xumingyu-anzhu ύ୯ᐕжӜ༜૶ᒧݙ (Hefei: Anhui kexue jishu chubmingyu-anshe, 1983), 29; Su

Shi ᝵ၪ and Kong Fanli ϾΥᘶ, Su Shi wenji ᝵ၪЎ໣ 8 vols Vol.2, Zhongguo gudian

wenxue jiben congshu ύ୯ђڂЎᏢ୷ҁᘀਜ (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1986), 27.779

seem to have been too upset by this, and in fact, the impediment allowed him to fulfill his desire to accompany his father As he wrote:

,VLJKHGWKHQ³,FDQHVFDSHWKHWUDSSLQJVRIKLJKRI¿FHZLWKWKLVLQMXU\and solely serve [my father] with tender respect This is the perfect joy

Zhu Changwen continued to move around with his father, who served for the rest of his life in the lower reaches of Henan and Anhui provinces As the years wore on his father became more concerned about his son wasting his life and tried to use a second protection privilege to grant him a post, and even offered to follow his son around on his appointments, but Zhu Changwen again refused, passing the privilege along (just as he had done before) to his younger brother:

2QFHZKHQZHJDWKHUHGIRUWKHVDFUL¿FHWRKHDYHQLQ7RQJ¶DQIDWKHUfelt bad for me because I had not been in public service for a long time and wanted to use the grace he had been granted to use his

10 Zhu, “Yu zhudi shu,” 9.4b, 45

protection privilege to beg an appointment for me as a functionary

in a local prefectural office, and he said, “I will follow you on your appointments.” I firmly begged off and desired, when he made the formal petition to the emperor, he recommend my youngest brother Father had no other option but to go along, and comfortingly patted P\\RXQJHVWEURWKHUVD\LQJ³(OGHUEURWKHUKDVJUDQWHG\RXDQRI¿FHwhen you grow up you should serve your elder brother well.” And then he named him, “Compliant Fraternal Feelings”, so that he would

be reminded of the meaning of the phrase whenever he considered his given name

ӧӕӼ཮॓⢑ǴӃΓཏէΦόгǴటаҺηৱϋନ΋ჿᙍ۔ǴЪГǺȨրஒவԟϐҺǶȩէڰᜏόޭᵳࠩǴᜫаᙚۑ׌ǶӃΓόளςԶவϐǴ᫒ۑ׌ГǺȨла۔ᭉԟǴԟߏ྽๓٣ԟлǶȩӢ

His father passed away, probably in the year 1075 or 1076, and after completing the tasks associated with the funeral, Zhu Changwen immediately moved into the family garden

As all biographical accounts state, Zhu was constantly recommended for positions in the civil service Zhang Jingxiu’s grave inscription recounts, in a gesture of acknowledgement, that many prominent officials recommended Zhu Changwen as a suitable substitute for them in the positions they were granted:

He was especially promoted to become the Professor in the Suzhou Prefectural school, and after thorough examination,12 he was

11 Ibid., 9.4b-5a, 45-46.

12 /LWHUDOO\³¿YHH[DPLQDWLRQV´WKHQXPEHU¿UVWVWLSXODWHGGXULQJWKH7DQJWRDVVHVVWKH TXDOL¿FDWLRQVRIFDQGLGDWHVZKRKDGEHHQFDVKLHUHGRUEDQLVKHGWRWKHKLQWHUODQGV

summoned to be a Professor in the National Academy, was changed

to an Esquire of Virtue Displayed, and then appointed as Editor in the Bureau of Military Affairs As for his writing, the former Prime Minister, the noble Fan Chunren (1027-1101) and the current Prime Minister Zhang Dun (1035-1105) often recommended him for his proper style and beauty that was perfect for writing Because of his personal exemplification of righteousness, Xu Jiang, Esquire in Waiting at the Central Secretariat recommended him because his purity and steadfastness could be a model for teachers Because of his broad learning and strong memory, Lin Xi of the Bureau of Military Affairs, when he was appointed as Esquire in Waiting in the Bureau of Rites and Academician in the Baowen Gallery, recommended [Zhu] as his replacement Those before and after this who recommended him are too many to count

੝ଆࣁ᝵Ԁ௲௤Ǵ㾹ϖԵǴєࣁϼᏢറγǴׯ࠹㾇॔Ǵନઝਜ࣪

҅ӷǴঋኰஏଣጓঅЎӷǶӃғЎകǴ߻ৌ࣬णϦȐપϘȑǴϞৌ

࣬കϦȐ௎ȑǴ჋ᙚځڂ᜽Ǵёഢ๱ॊخǶӃғՉကǴύਜ٪॔೚ϦȐஒȑ჋ᙚځપڰǴёࣁৣ߄خǶӃғറᆪ㳾᛽ǴᑑᏢΚՉǴኰஏ݅ϦȐ׆ȑϢନᘶ೽٪॔Ϸ䏰ЎሙޔᏢγǴ჋ᙚԾжخǶ߻ࡕᙚ

These recommendations come primarily from local Suzhou elites (Fan and Zhang) or from people who had close relationships with Zhang Dun, and if the statements in the inscription are true, these gestures may be seen as sincere in the sense that they promoted the qualities and name of a local hero But we should

13 Zhang, “Muzhi ming,” supplement 1a-b, 56.

also acknowledge that there was little real danger of these recommendations being taken seriously.

Some eleven years after he moved into the garden, he was in fact appointed

as the Professor of the Prefectural School in Suzhou by virtue of a strong endorsement from prominent officials in the capital In 1086, Su Shi (1036-1101) and several officials in the Censorate jointly wrote a short memorial recommending that Zhu be given an appropriate position:

A Shorter Memorial Recommending Zhu Changwen

On the 25th day of the 6th month of the prime Year of Yuanyou (Aug 7, 1086), Esquire in Waiting to the Court and Drafter Awaiting Appointment in the Central Secretariat, Su Shi, together with Deng Wenbo, Hu Zongyu (1029-94), Sun Jue (1038-90), and Fan Bailu (1030-94) present this shorter memorial:

We humbly present Zhu Changwen, formerly Tax and Granary Manager of Xuzhou and permanent resident of Suzhou, learned in the classics and ethical in action Thirty years have passed since he succeeded in the examinations, passing in the second group in the fourth year of Jiayou (1959), fell off his horse and injured his foot, and has lived in retirement He has neither let his heart be moved by power RUEHQH¿WQRUDOWHUHGKLVLQWHJULW\EHFDXVHRIZDQWRUGH¿FLHQF\KH

is secure in his poverty and delights in the way, he closes his gates

to write and practice calligraphy; the sincerity of his filial piety and friendship has moved all of the wards of the city and his actions both pure and lofty are renowned in the southeastern part [of the Song] The supervisor of his home circuit and the elder clerks of the same have sent in repeated memorials praising his actions as a literatus and his

knowledge of the classics We beseeched the court to signify this honor and depute him to be Professor in the Suzhou Prefectural School, but

we have yet to have received the imprimatur to put this in action

%XWZHKDYHUHFHQWO\UHFHLYHGDQHGLFWWKDWRI¿FLDOVZLWKLQDQGRXWVLGH

of the court of the rank of Investigating Censor and above should HDFKUHFRPPHQGWZRSHUVRQVZKRFDQ¿OODFDGHPLFSRVWVERWKLQWKHcapital and outside of the capital This is truly what is meant by “The court broadly seeks human talent and nurtures the likes of scholars IDUDQGZLGH´7UXO\RQHVHOGRP¿QGVWKRVHOLNH&KDQJZHQ+HLVLQKLV¿IWLHVDQGDOWKRXJKDIÀLFWHGZLWKDIRRWKDQGLFDSLQHDUOLHUWLPHV

he can now walk again We hope for your sage compassion to honor WKHLQWHJULW\WKDWLVGLI¿FXOWWRSUHVHQW>EHFDXVHRILWVUDULW\@DQGWKDWyou will gather in this long neglected timber, evaluate its capability LQRUGHUWRXWLOL]HLWDQGPDNHDVSHFLDOJUDQWWRHPSOR\KLP¿OOLQJthe post of Professor in the Prefectural School of Suzhou This will not only nurture good literati in a whole district, but will also employ the virtue of the way to provide an example for the good people of that prefecture

We await your decision

ᙚԙߏЎ⢰ηϡએϡԃϤДΒΜϖВǴරں॔၂ύਜްΓ᝵ၪǴӕᎅ㵍դǵचےཇǵ৊᝺ǵणԭ㶊฻⢰ηࠩǺԽ฻ҷـ߻೚Ԁљ㛍ୖैǵ᝵Ԁ

ۚՐԙߏЎǴ࿶ܴՉದǴ჏એѤԃΌࣽฦಃǴቝଭ໾ىǴᗦۚόгǴϞΟΜԃǶόа༈ճ୏ځЈǴόаጁऊܰځϟǴӼ೦኷ၰǴᚂߐ๱ਜǴֵ϶ϐ၈Ǵ॥୏᎘ٚǴ༹ଯϐՉǴ๱ܭܿࠄǶҁၡᅱљҁԀߏӔ߻ࡕಕࠩǴᆀځγՉ࿶ೌǴΩර׊௾ᔗǴৡк᝵ԀԀᏢ௲௤Ǵ҂ᆾࡼՉǶ߈ںຕǴύѦԽႻԾᅱჸஷўς΢٠ᖐ൐к

᝵ԀԀᏢ௲௤Ǵߚோ㶊ㅷ⮒Ꭶ΋ໂϐ๓γǴჴ٬ၰကኳጄ۶Ԁϐ

In 1090, three years after receiving his appointment and after his younger brothers moved back to the family compound in the garden, Zhu Changwen moved into the professorial quarters in the school:

A short time later, many prominent men began discussing recommending me and I was appointed to take charge of the local VFKRRO$W¿UVW,¿UPO\GHFOLQHGEXWWKHQ,VDLG³7RJHWDWLQ\VDODU\

to take care of myself, and to withdraw from our inheritance and offer it to all my younger brothers to relieve their anxietiesșwould not that be fortunate!” In the three years since I have been

in this position, there have been many students, and I have been dedicated to my responsibilities in the curriculum I teach, definitely having little time for mundane affairs Moreover, my three younger brothers have returned to live here, one after the other, and I do not need to take care anymore of what is close at hand [i.e., the affairs of the household in the garden], so I will immediately move and live in WKHVFKRROFRPSOH[,ZLOO¿QGLWKDUGWRFRQWHPSODWH>P\EURWKHUV¶@private moments so I can shirk this responsibility I have already made

a separate account of our ancestors’ properties in Gu Su and turned it

14 Su Shi, “Jian Zhu Changwen zhazi” ᙚԙߏЎ⢰η, in Sushi wenji ᝵ၪЎ໣, 7.779.

over to you three brothers, and I will not take anything more from it, KRSHIXOO\IXO¿OOLQJP\ORQJKHOGGHVLUHWRZLWKGUDZDQGWXUQLWDOORYHU

to someone else

ഘޣǴፏϦፕᙚǴ೏ڮඓᏢǶۈஒڰᜏǴࡽԶГǺȨள༾㶊ԾឃǴ

௢ᙑౢаᭉፏ׌ǴёаỜኁǴଁߚ۩ࠌǶȩۚ۔ΟԃǴٰᏢޣࣗ

౲ǶᇝᖱፐำǴֶֶ܌ᙍǴΪ߫٣ڰคཨǶฅΟ׌࣬ᝩৎۚǴէό໪ݯ߈ǴջᎂۚᏢްǴᜤ࣪ځدǴёа௢ᗉǶϞаۄ᝵઒РҖ

From there he moved to the National Academy in the capital, where he specialized in the Springs and Autumns, teaching among others Hu Anguo ऩԋ

୾ (1074-1138), one of the great scholars of the Springs and Autumns He died

in the capital of Bianliang in the summer of 1098 while awaiting a simultaneous appointment in the Central Secretariat.16

2

Zhu Changwen spent the majority of his adult life in two gardens: his

own “Plot of Joy” (lepu ዆ু), and the garden in which the Suzhou Prefectural

School was located He has produced a “record” for both, and a poetic preface for the latter, and there is a certain overlap of vocabulary and textual staging of the gardens’ artifacts in all three prose accounts

Let us turn first to his own garden Located in the northwestern corner of the walled city of Suzhou, it has its own life story separate from its owner, and

15 Zhu, “Yu zhudi shu,” 9.5b, 46.

16 Zhang, “Muzhi ming,” supplement, 4a, 57.

the short interregnum in which it belonged to the Zhu family is only part of a traceable history from the fifth century to modern times.17 In its life, just as in those of its human inhabitants, it passed through several phases: garden, land to enclose and support ancestral halls, and a mansion-like private residence It is currently known as the Mountain Retreat Surrounded by beautiful mountains

(Huanxiu Shanzhuang ᕘ ؿ ύ ೆ) it is one of the gardens in that city of water

listed as a United Nations World Heritage Site.18 What makes Zhu’s habitation there so interesting is the length of time that he spent within its wallsșwe may calculate that he lived part of his life there from at least 1065 to 1090, and was a full time resident for at least sixteen years

Now, there was certainly no unified perspective in the Song on exactly what

a personal garden was supposed to be, and the meanings of these enclaves were

as numerous as the sites themselves The “Plot of Joy” appears to have shared some of the general characteristics of literati garden planning; its aesthetics conjoined with those of the prime arts of painting and poetry; it was minimalist

(jianyuan ᙐ ሊ), sparsely and openly planted (shulang ౶ ਮ), and refined and tasteful (yazhi ໰य).19 This spare microcosm was supposed to evoke infinite cognitive and emotional space through a spare arrangement of still waters intermixed with open landforms, dotted occasionally by dense groves of trees

and bamboo (shixu xiangchen ᄃ ຏ ࣻ ᠝) These features were reminders that gardens were a place to escape the anxieties of the vulgar or sordid world (shisu

з ߺ; chenshi ჩ з; hongchen क ჩ), as well as a site to nurture personal

resolveșsymbolized by the hardy bamboos and pines that grew thereșthat

17 Cao Lindi ఆ݅৅, “Shanzhong Li Du” ξύ׵׹, in Wenxue Suzhou mingzi jianshang

xilie ЎᏢ᝵ԀӜӷ᠘፞سӈ (Suzhou: Suzhou Library, 2011).

18 Chen and Zhang, Zhongguo lidai, 27.779.

19 Zhou Weiquan ڬᆢ៾, Zhongguo gudian yuanlin shi ύ୯ђڂ༜݅ў 2nd ed (Beijing:

Tsinghua University, 1999).

allowed men of high standing to remain untouched by the political and personal fights that swirled around them Most of all, the garden was supposed to be a

“natural” place of sequestered tranquility (yin ᗵ; ࡘᗵ).

It is this sense of retreat and sequestered tranquility that we find in the many paintings of Song gardens, mostly stemming from the Ming And I suspect that our reading of garden texts from the Song is guided to some extent by the burgeoning of garden culture in the Ming Certainly, some Song gardens like the famous Canglang Garden of Su Shunqin and the Garden of Solitary Joy

(Dule yuan ᑀ዆༫), Sima Guang’s retreat in Luoyang, fit the model well But

this reading overemphasizes the aesthetics of the garden to the detriment of its social and cultural function For example, in Qiu Ying’s ϫ ऽ (ca 1494-1552) famous handscroll of Sima Guang’s garden retreat we find the quintessential depiction of the scholar striking a variety of poses As the poses show, the garden was a place for multiple tasks: meditation (note the allusion in the painting to the

opening passage of the “Essay on Making Things Equal”ȘQiwu lun ቇޑ፤șin the Zhuangzi in which Zhuangzi is disturbed from his meditation while leaning

on his small table) reading (see fig 1); contemplating the cosmos while supine upon one’s tiger pelt (fig 2); fishing (see fig 3); attending to horticulture (fig 4); writing his history (fig 5); and playing, (fig 6) all apparently done alone But the last pose is most interesting because it shows Sima Guang seated at a stone that is carved with a sinuous trough through which water flows This was used for drinking games, particularly on the third day of the third month, when cups of wine were set afloat to be gathered up by poets who engaged in a complex game

of composing poems in turn, a couplet to a cup This points away from the self to the use of the garden as a social space of camaraderie Sima Guang’s garden, like many Song gardens, was a portal between two lives, one private and one public, and the majority of literati gardens are of this type, temporary sanctuaries and

Fig 2 Supine on the tiger mat The Garden for Self-Enjoyment (detail).

Fig 1 Meditation The Garden for Self-Enjoyment (detail) Handscrool, ink and slight color on silk; 27.8x 391.0 cm 1515-1552 The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L Severance Fund 1978.67.

Fig 4 Attending to horticulture The Garden for Self-Enjoyment (detail).

Fig 3 Fishing The Garden for Self-Enjoyment (detail).

Fig 5 Writing his history The Garden for Self-Enjoyment (detail).

Fig 6 At the table where wine cups are set afloat The Garden for Self-Enjoyment (detail).

transitional spaces that allowed passage through political turmoil and otherwise difficult moments that required withdrawal from the sphere of political sociality.Zhu Changwen’s record, we would expect, would be different, given that for him the garden was a permanent residence If we examine Zhu’s

“Record of the Garden of Joy,” we can see the stages of his writing in the following passages:

When a great man is used by his age, then he makes a Sage King Yao of his ruler and treats his subjects like the Sage King Shun; the richness of his grace reaches to his posterity He stands equal in fame

to Kui and Xie20 and is the match of the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Shao.21,IKHLVQRWXVHGE\KLVDJHWKHQSHUKDSVKH¿VKHV22

23 Referring to Fu Yue ഡᇥ, who became the chief minister to the King of Yin The king had GUHDPWWKDWKHZRXOG¿QGDPDQWRDLGKLPDW)X\DQ)X<XHZDVZRUNLQJWKHUHEXLOGLQJ UDPPHGHDUWKZDOOVDQGDIWHUWKHNLQJFRQ¿UPHG)X¶VZRUWKLQHVVKHUDLVHGKLPWRWKH rank of high minister.

24 Two hermits of the state of Chu, Chang Ju and Jie Ni, who posed a question to Confucius’ disciple (and via him to Confucius himself) about the merits of eremitism versus that of service when their plowing was interrupted They were yoked together to pull the plow

Zheng Huchen ᎄ߁Խ, ed., “Wudu wencui” ֆ೿Ўᆐ, in Siku quanshu Ѥ৤ӄਜ

(Bei-jing: Wuying dian, 1750±), 24.4b; 822a.

to shoulder with Huang and Qi,25 pursuing Yan26 and Zheng,27 and tracing the spoor of Tao and Bai.28 Their successes and failures took different turns, but their joy in life was the same So, such people do not let loose their personal desires because of high position, nor do they give up the integrity of their existence by residing in mountain IRUHVWV&RQIXFLXVRQFHVDLG³,¿QGMR\LQ+HDYHQDQGXQGHUVWDQG

my fate, therefore I am without anxiety,”29 and he said of his disciple Yan Hui, “He lived in narrow alleys yet it never spoiled his joy.”30 And this [i.e., finding joy under the meanest circumstances] can be called the highest virtue Does having named my plot “Joy” not refer to this?

εΡϻҔΪШǴ߾൏ր։Ǵဤր҇ǴځᆯᐛࢬЯϺΠǵϷЯࡕဴǴ

25 I.e., Xia Huanggong হ ໳ Ϧ and Qili Ji ᆝ ٚ ۑ, two of the “four hoary-headed ones,”

(sihao Ѥษ) who avoided the political disorder and chaos of the end of the Qin by

becom-ing hermits on Mount Shang, where they picked mushrooms They were all over eighty and had white hair and eyebrows, thus were called “four hoary-heads of Shang Mountain (Shangshan sihao ୘ξѤษ).”

26 Yan Guang, better known as Yan Ziling ᝄηഊ, a friend of the Guangwu Emperor of the Eastern Han When Guangwu ascended the throne in 25 AD, he summoned Yan to court, but Yan preferred his life of reclusion on Fuchun Mountain, where he hobnobbed with

Zhu-29 From the “Appended Words” to the Book of Changes See Zhou yi ڬܰ, ed Ruan Yuan

ٜϡ (1764-1849), trans comm Wang Bi Ц൸ and Han Kangbo ᗬநդ, Kong Yingda

Ͼᑉၲ, sub comm., 8 vols., vol 1, Shisanjing zhushu ΜΟ࿶ݙ౧ (Taipei: Yiwen

yinshu-guan, 1965), 7.10a-b; 147c

30 Analects 6.11; Edward Slingerland, Confucius Analects (Indianapolis: Hackett ing,2003), p 56 “The Master said, ‘What a worthy man was Yan Hui! Living in a narrow alley, subsisting on a basket of grain and a gourdful of waterșother people could not

Publish-have born (sic.) such hardship, yet it never spoiled Hui's joy’.”

܈ၭǵ܈লǴമΏ׎ǴຽΏЈǴ϶ݪǵྔǴު㲢ǵᆝǴଓᝄǵᎄǴᢁഏǵқǴጁ೯ᗨਸǴځ኷΋ΨǶࡺόаଈୈစځటǴόаξ݅

഼ځ࿯ǶϾηГǺȨ኷ϺޕڮࡺόኁǶȩΞᆀ䏊ηǴȨӧड़ࡅǾǾ

He begins by providing an apologia for his garden and his life, drawing on historical precedents for his own actions He divides the choices of the learned between service and retirement, but assembles allusions of several famous figures, the sum of which complicates the issue of withdrawal Chang Ju and Jie

Ni are two committed hermits who withdrew from a troubled world; the wall builder and the fisherman, Fu Yue and Lü wang, nurtured their potential as fine statesmen out of sight, perfecting their wisdom and their ethical states unnoticed until a perceptive lord finally found them Zhu’s point is that a hermitage, which his garden was, was a place of fecund potentiality, the working out of which fate itself would decide, as Confucius said: “I understand my fate and therefore am without anxiety.” No matter how mean one’s life might be, it can still provide joy, because fate and history can conspire to change one’s state at any moment.Having placed himself in the emotional context of one who is happy with his lot, he then provides the history and physical location of the garden, emphasizing that it is both a product of local environment and a place of potential cultural production

In the beginning, at the time of the Qian clan, when Qian Yuanliang, then the Prince of Guangling, began in fact to serve as Protector of

31 Zhu Changwen, “Lepu ji” ኷ল૶, in Lepu yugao, 6.1a-b, 26.

Gu Su, he was fond of putting groves and arbors in order His various younger siblings and cousins followed his lead and each established [gardens] in any available vacant space, where they made terraces and ponds Many of these abandoned sites still exist in the city today and my garden is one of them When the Qian clan left their state (978)32 the garden became a dwelling place for citizens, and it passed through the hands of many families During the Qingli era (1041-48)

my grandmother, Madam Wu, first obtained it through a purchase

My grandfather and father33 sometimes roamed for pleasure here or sometimes studied here, and every time there was a season of beautiful sights then they would welcome their parents here to see the scenery.Later on they slightly expanded the fallow land on the west in order

to expand its footprint, and wound up with a square footage that exceeded more than thirty hectares I made a request to them to work

on the garden in order to make a place where my father might retire in old age At the end of the Xining era (1068-77) I built new outer walls and completely topped them with tiles I was just about to construct the buildings, but the years of my father did not wait for me, and once

I was orphaned I returned to this place and made my own residence there Monthly I repaired things, yearly I added something new; and now that several years have passed, and although the broken down buildings are completely unadorned and the overgrown courtyard is

32 That is, after they submitted to the Song and the royal family moved to Bianliang (modern Kaifeng).

33 His grandfather was Zhu Yi ԙሹ; his father was Zhu Gongchuo ԙϦᆖ, who had passed the Advanced Scholar Examination in 1030, had been an official in the Song, and had ULVHQWREHDUWKHKRQRUDU\UDQNRI*UDQG0DVWHURI6SOHQGLG+DSSLQHVVUDQN¿YHLQWKH nine grades of the civil service).

unbricked, still the essential interest of the scenery is basic and wild, as though one were in the cliffs and valleysșand this is something to

be admired

ۈᒲМਔǴቶഊЦϡ䗭ޣǴჴӺۄ᝵Ǵӳݯ݅লǶځፏη㧇ځ܌ӳǴӚӢሜӦԶᔼϐǴࣁᆵǵࣁݡǴϞࠤύᒪ֟ሥԖӸޣǴրলځ΋ΨǶᒲМѐ୯Ǵলࣁ҇ۚǴ׳ኧۉخǶቼ㾹ύǴէৎ઒҆ֆϻΓǴۈᖼளϐǶӃεРᆶژР܈ෞోǵ܈ᏢోǴ؂ؼٍऍඳǴ

߾ں݈ᗈаᢀΪԜǶലࡕัቶՋ⺃а੻ځӦǴΥቶ፺ၻΟΜ੫ǶէፎᔼϐǴаࣁӃεРᘜԴϐӦǶᅚჱϐ҃ǴཥᑐѦࠢǴᅰᙟϐґǴБஒ่ӹǴԶᒃԃόࡑǴࡽېԶᘜΪࢂǴၱΝۚోǶД⚂ྃቚǴϞ׳ኧၩǴᗨ௯ࡂค๮Ǵ૖৥ό⡮ǴԶඳ፪፦ഁऩӧᠯكǴ

The Qian family, rulers of the Wu Yue Kingdom that capitulated to the Song, were noted hortiphiles One in particular, Qian Yuanliao ᓁϰ䑁 (887-942) had originally constructed the garden later purchased by Su Shunqin ង๴෤ (1008-48) and converted to become the famous Canglang Garden,35 as well as

the other garden Zhu Changwen was to live in, the South Garden (Nanyuan ࠓ༫),

which was later converted to house the Suzhou Prefectural School In his preface

to a series of ten poems on “The Ten Sites to Inscribe,” Zhu writes:

The Suzhou Prefectural school is on the grounds of the old Southern Garden, which was constructed by Qian Yuanliao Marquis Qian

34 Zhu, “Lepu ji,” 6.1b-2a, 26-27.

35 This is clearly listed as “rumor” (xiangchuan ࣬໺ LQWKHHDUOLHVWVRXUFH,FDQ¿QGIRU

this statement, the 8QL¿HG&KURQLFOHRIWKH0LQJ (ܴ΋಍ד); see Li Xian ׵፣ et al., Da 0LQJ\LWRQJ]KL εܴ΋಍ד, 1461 ed Ji Yun et al Skqs ed Accessed online on July 31,

2013 at Scripta Sinica, Academia Sinica.

was fond of laying out gardens, building mountains, dredging ponds, and planting rare trees and flowers to fill it up Before long, though, it reverted to our dynasty, and in the hundred years of peace that ensued, everything flourished, managing to fortify its life After that, the southeastern corner of the garden was cut out for the school buildings.

᝵ᏢǴࡺࠄ༜ϐӦǶࠄ༜ޣǴᒲϡ䗭ϐ܌բΨǶᒲߠӳݯ༜݅Ǵᑐξ੍ԣǴ෌౦޸ЕкځύǶ҂ΦᘜΪ୯රǴԭԃ܍ѳϐ໔Ǵ࿤

generated through the circulation of qi in the landmass People’s behavior is in

harmony with this energy Thus it is not that Suzhou is “historically” a garden city through human will, but that there is a natural inclination in its inhabitants

to create cultural replicas of the “natural” environment that arises from the confluence of landform, the energy that circulates in the earth (i.e., a determined

36 See “Suxue shiti bing xu” ᝵ᏢΜᚒԂׇ, in Lepu yugao, 2.6b, 9 The same comment is

repeated in his “Record of the Suzhou Prefectural School” ᝵ Ԁ Ꮲ ૶: Zhu Changwen,

“Suzhou xue ji” ᝵ԀᏢ૶, in Lepu yugao, 6.7a, 29

balance of yin and yang that exists in a particular proportion only at that point), and the harmonics of human need and desire.

It seems that the Zhu family did not occupy the garden as the main residence before Zhu Changwen since his father and grandfather merely “roamed there” and “invited their parents” there to view the sights of the seasons While his intent was to create a place where his father might retire, his intervention

in the construction did not begin until his father’s death, when Zhu moved into the garden and, as the eldest son, began to build a fully functional clan residence there:

In the center of the garden there is a hall complex of three bays, along the edges of which are apartments, and this is for housing my relatives and clan South of the hall complex there is another hall complex

of three bays, and I have named it “Hall of Mastering the Classics,” for lecturing and discussing the Six Arts.37 West of the Hall of Mastering the Classics is a rice granary, which is for accommodating annual storage There is a crane house, which is for raising cranes There is the “Youth’s Study,” and this is for instructing lessons for children

Northwest of the Hall of Mastering the Classics is a high ridge and I have named it, “Mountain View.” On the ridge is the “Lute Terrace,” and at the western corner of that there is the “Study for Chanting”șthese are where I have always played the lute or composed poetry, so I have named them [from the activities there]

37 $JHQHUDOWHUPIRUWKHFODVVLFVPRUHVSHFL¿FDOO\WKHBook of Changes, the Record of the

Rites, the %RRNRI0XVLF, the Book of Odes, the Book of Documents, and the Spring and Autumn Annals.

In the center of the garden there is a hall complex of three bays, along the edges of which are apartments, and this is for housing my relatives and clan South of the hall complex there... data-page="25">

balance of yin and yang that exists in a particular proportion only at that point), and the harmonics of human need and desire.

It seems that the Zhu family did not occupy the garden as