Every time Yunluo was alone with Yan Chenyu, he was always relaxed physically and mentally, and didn't need to think too much. The cool and beautiful fish baby always used that light smile to bring Yunluo the tenderness that she couldn't express. This was the feeling between the two of them, and it was the love that Yunluo was unwilling to let go of for the rest of his life.

Holding Yan Chenyu's hand, Yunluo admired the scenery of the garden and felt the stories behind it. In the past, Yangzhou folk paper-cutting was mainly used as embroidery patterns for shoe flowers, pillow flowers, tablecloth flowers and bed sheet flowers. Now, due to changes in social customs and the expansion of creative themes, Yangzhou paper-cutting has gradually shifted from practicality to appreciation.

The original waist door behind the screen door of the main hall leads directly to the back garden. It is the door for the ladies to enter the back garden to enjoy the scenery. Xihuo Lane is wide in the south and narrow in the north. People in Yangzhou call it "Coffin Lane". There is a well at the south end of the lane. A brick arch is built at the bottom of the wall next to the well. The well is located at the south end of the lane, close to the houses on both sides and the gatehouse row houses in front, so that it is convenient for the front houses to use it in normal times and to get water to extinguish the fire in time if a fire occurs.

The wall beside it is built into an arch to prevent the wall from sinking due to long-term water extraction. There used to be a wisteria tree over a hundred years old next to the well, but now it no longer has a thick shade. In the past, when visitors came to visit, they would enter the garden through this alley. The alley gradually narrows from south to north, which strengthens the sense of perspective and extends the space. It makes the courtyard seem even deeper.

A few steps to the left from Xihuo Lane, you can see a section of pink wall with flower windows, with a moon-shaped door in the middle, with "Geyuan" engraved in white on the door, and filled with green bamboo. There is a square flower bed on each side of the door, with tall and strong bamboos in the flower beds, higher than the wall, like soaring into the sky, and stone stalagmites with mottled green are planted in the bamboo grove, with the state of "every inch of stone brings out emotion", which represents the meaning of "sprouting bamboo shoots after rain".

The bamboo is newly planted and the stone is old. With just a few strokes, the vibrant life of the mountain forest after the spring rain is brought out. In the breeze and under the sun, the bamboos play with shadows, and the sparse leaves are fully displayed on the pink wall, which makes people daydream and has a lingering charm of Banqiao. This unique bamboo and stone painting points out the theme of "Spring Mountain" and tells you "A good spring cannot be hidden. The most affectionate bamboo is the one with rain."

It cleverly conveys the traditional concept of "cherishing spring". The highest achievement of architectural art in Geyuan and the most worthy of praise by future generations is the four-season rockery in the back garden. Yunluo and Yan Chenyu entered from the alley in the middle of the residence, turned left, and saw two flower beds on the left and right.

There are tall green bamboos on the platform, with uneven stalagmites stacked between them. From a distance, they look like bamboo shoots that have just broken through the ground. The sun casts sparse bamboo shadows on the wall of the garden gate. On both sides of the "Full Moon Gate" of the garden gate, there are various bamboo branches and leaves, and "the moon reflects the bamboo into thousands of words", setting off the "Ge Garden" gate plaque in the middle of the garden gate.

The bamboos swaying in the breeze symbolize the spring forest. The real and fake bamboo scenes are set off by the white wall of the residential area in front and stand on both sides of the garden gate, which means "the spring mountain is the beginning". You can appreciate the feeling of spring returning to the earth and the magnificent weather. This is the spring scene in the famous four-season rockery scene of Geyuan.

The spring scenery and mountains are composed of bamboo shoots and rocks (white fruit peak stone, black peak stone), Taihu stone, bamboo and osmanthus. The layout is exquisite and unique. The bamboo and rock painting outside the door is "thrifty in words". Its refined technique expresses the yearning and cherishment for spring, and points out the theme of "bamboo and rock".

The "Spring Festival Picture" on the wall not only conveys people's joy in spring, but also implicitly tells the beginning of the development of Chinese gardens. It is good to travel in the mountains in spring. It is not about the length of the trip, but about what you gain and what you enjoy. Standing here and looking west, you can see a curved corridor connecting two floors, and a plaque "Mi Ju Corridor" hangs downstairs.

There used to be a corridor around the garden. It could be used as a path in sunny days and a corridor in rainy days. Chen Hanguang wrote in his Geyuan Xing: "The tall buildings are surrounded by stars."

Now only this remnant building remains. On the pillars of the corridor downstairs, there is a couplet written by Yuan Mei: "The moon reflects the bamboo, forming thousands of words; the frost-covered plum blossoms are full of flowers." Looking at the "Ge Garden" on the horizontal plaque of the garden gate and the swaying bamboo shadows on the pink wall, it is really amazing. This sentence is the most wonderful annotation for "Ge".

The spring scene is the one that occupies the most land and uses the least stones among the four seasons. This unique bamboo and rock painting uses the technique of being frugal with words to point out the theme of "Spring Mountain". The spring scenery is fleeting. It cleverly expresses the concept of "cherishing spring" in traditional culture.

Yunluo and Yan Chenyu can catch a glimpse of the scenery inside the garden through the garden gate behind the spring scenery and the elegant row of lattice windows on both sides. The pavilions, flowers and trees are reflected in the garden, which is fascinating.

It is early spring outside the garden gate, but you can feel the prosperity of mid-spring once you enter. It is as if the Waking of Insects has arrived, and all things have regained their spirits. Taihu stones of various shapes are used by the garden owner to carve a vivid picture of the twelve zodiac animals celebrating spring.

Yun Luo and Yan Chen Yu passed through the Moon Cave Gate. On both sides of the pebble bay road, there are more than ten century-old osmanthus trees planted in the flowerbed surrounded by lake stones. In the southeast, there is a dragon-shaped mountain made of lake stones, relying on the west wall of the "Ventilation and Moon" hall. The remaining momentum is connected to the flowerbed, and there are also several meters high lake stones standing in the flowerbed.

In order to further exaggerate the atmosphere of spring, the garden designers used Taihu stones with unique shapes that resemble animals in various postures. By sticking to the mountains, surrounding the mountains, and dotting the stones, they formed a picture of "A Hundred Beasts Celebrating Spring", also known as the "Twelve Zodiac Signs Celebrating Spring".

Look, the snake that is the first to feel the earth's coming of age and slightly raises its head, the oxen that carry heavy loads forward in the spring plowing, the calm and composed horse, and the lively and cute dog are all lifelike.

Even the roaring tigers in the mountains, the elusive dragons, and the clever and naughty monkeys were all arranged to move around. Of course, the closest to people is the docile Jade Rabbit. The earth's return to spring and the bustle of all things reviving are vividly displayed here.

The picture of the twelve zodiac animals celebrating spring, this scene is not only lively but also has a deeper meaning.

Looking through the history of Chinese garden development, we can see that the earliest prototype of gardens was gardens and enclosures. Mao Xiang's commentary on the Book of Songs says: "Enclosures are used to raise animals." In other words, the earliest gardens were mainly used to raise various animals.

It turns out that these animals with different expressions not only convey the message of spring to us, but also quietly remind us not to forget the origins of Chinese gardens while enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Inside and outside the garden gate, the same spring scenery is seen, but the mood is completely different. Just now outside the gate, it was still early spring, but inside the gate, it was already a beautiful spring scene that was gradually deepening. What is amazing is that this change is completed naturally without you noticing.

Yunluo and Yan Chenyu walked into the garden gate from the two flower terraces, and were greeted by a four-sided hall. In front of the hall were two flower terraces made of lake stones. Bamboos were planted on the west terrace, and osmanthus trees were planted on the east terrace. Therefore, this hall was originally called the Osmanthus Hall, but now it has been renamed "Yiyu Pavilion" according to the plaque.

Yiyu Pavilion is built facing south. It is a single-eaved hip-and-gable style building with three east-west pillars. The hip-and-gable roof has deep reliefs with polished bricks and inlaid with Ruyi scrolls. The lines are naturally smooth and flowing. It is the center of the whole garden. The arrangement of landscapes such as mountains, rivers, flowers and trees is all carried out around Yiyu Pavilion.

The plaque of Yiyuxuan was inscribed by the famous painter Liu Haili, and the couplet on the pillar was written by the famous left-hand calligrapher Fei Xinwo: "In the morning, it is appropriate to tune the zither, and in the evening, it is appropriate to play the harp; the old rain has spread all over, and the new rain has just arrived." It points out the natural law that bamboo forests welcome rain and bamboo shoots spring up after rain.

The origin of the phrases "old rain" and "present rain" comes from Du Fu's "Autumn Talk": I was ill in a traveler's room in Chang'an. There was a lot of rain and fish grew there. The bed was covered with moss. There were always guests in carriages and horses. The old rain came, but the present rain did not come. The poet was deeply moved by the fickleness of human nature. Later generations used "present rain" and "old rain" to refer to new and old friends.

This couplet can be regarded as the introduction to the theme of "Yiyu Pavilion". Obviously, this was once the place where the owner received guests and gathered with new and old friends. However, now perhaps only the beams and pillars in this pavilion can still remember the melodious sound of the piano. In front of the door are more than ten osmanthus trees in spring scenery. For this reason, Yangzhou people also call Yiyu Pavilion "Osmanthus Hall".

Entering the pavilion, you can see old furniture decorated with olive patterns. The dark red color still conveys the elegance of the old times, and the exquisite carvings also tell of the former luxury. The furnishings on the flower table are the same as the moonlight, which is also a faint orchid that "does not lose its fragrance even when no one is around".

Yiyuxuan is a four-sided hall, with a floor-to-ceiling window on the south side and half windows on the other three sides. There are corridors on all four sides, with carved railings in front of the corridors and beauty benches on the east and west sides. The scenery of the four seasons is placed around the hall. At this time and place, "people sit in the hall, and the scenery comes from all directions". Spring, summer, autumn and winter are all in front of you through the window. Time seems to have stopped, and the four seasons have not changed.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

The feeling of beauty like flowers and time passing by like flowing water can never be felt here. Walking on the circular corridor outside the pavilion, the footsteps feel light and graceful, as if the silent four-season mountain has really preserved the flowing time for us.

Yunluo and Yan Chenyu looked south from the hall and saw greenery everywhere, including green bamboo and osmanthus trees. Through the four terrazzo windows and moon-shaped doors on the wall, they could also see the bamboo and stone scenery they had just passed by.

The near view and the far view are different from the inside and the outside, but they are separated but not closed. This gardening technique of using the inside and the outside to complement each other to increase the depth of the first view when entering the garden is the unique feature of this garden and can be said to be ingenious.

Walk west along the corridor from Osmanthus Hall, pass a dense bamboo forest, and you will come to the edge of the pool. Looking north across the water, you can see a towering ancient, rich, and exquisite Taihu stone rockery under the blue curtain. There are stone caves at the foot of the mountain and stone platforms on the mountain. Their shapes vary, just like clouds in the sky. This is Xiashan.

Xiashan is located in the northwest of Yiyuxuan. It is lined with lush bamboos and shady trees. Several tall magnolias and maple poplars shade a lush and verdant Taihu stone rockery. The lake stone is blue-gray in color, elegant and handsome, with various shapes, like clouds with rain on them.

There is a conception of "many strange peaks in summer clouds" in Chinese paintings, because the ever-changing clouds in the summer sky look like strange peaks. The Summer Mountain in Geyuan uses the soft curves of Taihu stones to build mountains and piles up stones to make the clouds stop, to simulate the clouds in the summer sky.

There is a clear blue water in front of Xiashan Mountain. There is a curved bridge on the water, leading to the cave entrance, which cleverly hides the end of the water, giving people the feeling of "how deep the courtyard is". The pond is full of lotus flowers. At a glance, "the lotus flowers are particularly red in the sun", highlighting the theme of "summer". To be continued. .

...

...