Suzhou Travel Guide|Humanistic Heaven on Earth

 

 

 

Suzhou Operas	Suzhou Talents
Suzhou Folklore	Suzhou Gardens

 

Suzhou operas are prominent in Chinese opera history. Suzhou is the hometown and cradle of Kunqu opera, Suju opera as well as Suzhou Pingtan. Kunqu opera boasts the gem of Chinese operas. Rising in Kunshan country, which currently is called Kunshan city, a county-level city under the administration of Suzhou municipal government and one of the most important economic engines of China, Kunqu opera dramatically spread in towns and villages after upgrading. Kunqu opera in Chinese literature history is authoritatively considered as a cultural learner’s opera due to its content，actor’s lines and dialogue are mostly much too elegant and bookish to be understood by commoners. But people still addicted themselves into the opera. They by themselves organized the opera performance team and held the performance festivals. Historically, the annual opera performance meeting in Huqiu was so attractive that tens of thousands of audiences gathered just for a short-time enjoying. Centered on Suzhou, the influence of Kunqu opera reached all the corners of China and led Chinese operas for more than 200 years. A large batch of excellent actors or performers and playwrights like Liang Chenyu as well as many famous playbooks were recorded in history.

Currently, Kunqu Opera also becomes fashionable after youth feel tired of the so-called popular stars and movie stars. A newly-edited opera named Mudanting or Peony Pavilion, directed by Bai Xianyong in accordance with classical playbook wrote by Tang Xianzu in Ming Dynasty with the title of Chinese Shakespeare ,was widely welcomed and unprecedentedly accepted after its first performance in Mainland China. if you interested or feel curious, just go for trying.

 

 

 

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Suzhou talents are comprised of many aspects such as painting masters, poetry masters, calligraphists, Buddhist masters, Confucians, philosophers, playwrights, literary masters, musical masters and multi-skilled masters. Both in official history and folk-stories, the most prominent and outstanding representatives are Four Talents in Jiangnan area. Exactly they were four well-educated and all-round scholars lived in Suzhou of Ming Dynasty. Generally they were Tang Bohu, Zhu Zhishan, Wen Zhengming and Xu Zhengqing.

Tang Bohu(1470～1523), officially called Tang Yin(literally translated into Tiger Tang just because he was born in the year of Traditional Tiger Year), boasted the First Romantic Talented Man in Jiangnan Area. A lot of touching and romantic love stories are connected with him. And also he was one of the most well-known and popular talented men in Chinese history. Tang Bohu was specialized in painting, calligraphy and literature. In the aspect of painting, he was equally famous with Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming and Qiu Ying; they were called Four Painting Masters of Ming Dynasty. In the aspect of poem and lyric words, he was equally famous with Wen Zhengming, Zhu Yunming and Xuzhengqing; they were called Four Talents in Jiangnan Area.

Wen Zhengming(1470～1559) was another authoritative talented man in Suzhou. He used to be a higher official. Wen Zhengming was born a learner’s family, and his father and grandfather were both the famous literature masters in Suzhou. In his childhood, he was not so smart as others children, but he was diligent and strong-willed, and he learnt the calligraphy and Chinese traditional painting from Li Yingzheng and Shenzhou. Finally he became one master of Chinese literature, calligraphy, painting as well as others. His experiences and stories are always the examples that modern teachers like to quote to inspire some students who think themselves are too foolish. Among his accomplishments, his calligraphy was most welcomed, honestly was the best one in Ming Dynasty. All of his masterpieces of calligraphy were well-arranged in layout and the styles of writing, although he was 90 years old. Wen Zhengming died in 1559 and was the oldest one in Four Talents. His tomb currently becomes the important cultural site under the province-level protection.

Zhu Zhishan (1460－1526) was born in a Confucian official family. He was a wonder-child in his childhood. He began writing calligraphy at the age of 5, creating poems and essays at the age of 9 and read widely in all aspects at the age of 10. At his age of 7, he was succeeded in royal exam and became Xiucai and late became the governmental official. He was displeased with the corrupted official and government and resigned. He came back to his hometown and made friends widely. All the days, he drank a lot to relive his sorrow from the reality. His calligraphy masterpieces are unique and strongly featured by his personality.

Xu Zhengqing(1479－1511) was a famous literary masters of Ming Dynasty lived in Suzhou. He opened a literature school in Chinese literature history. He was the leader of Chinese literature in Ming Dynasty. He was the Buddhism believer and emphasized the importance of self-cultivation but he still died at the age of 33.

 

 

 

 

 

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Suzhou Folklore is closely connected with its local tradition, custom and history. Suzhou is not short of stories, especially the romantic love stories themed with beauties and talents. Maybe it is another love heaven in China except its twin city Hangzhou. Suzhou is a poetic and humanistic city with many stories in all aspects. Suzhou Stories can be seen or heard on opera performance and local folk songs or local dialects. Suzhou stories are humanized with the characteristics and history of Suzhou thoroughly. Suzhou stories are an important part of suzhou literature and culture. Suzhou is partially famous for its historical relics and heritage, and these relics and heritages are closely linked with it stories and history. Visitors may not understand these great attractions if they do not know the stories concerned. People understand the classical gardens except their stories and aesthetics. People see Huqiu but lack of the understanding of its history and touching stories. People see many bridges which are similar to others in other cities but never learn about their stories. If like this, Suzhou will be a misunderstood classical painting that lookers just say it is beautiful but never see its deep history and culture.

 

 

 

Chinese gardens in Suzhou are also famous around the world. The history of Suzhou's gardens can be traced as far back as the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC). Distinctive gardens continued to appear throughout the subsequent dynasties, but it was during the Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911) that the garden art of Suzhou was at its peak time. The prospering city and its outskirts were dotted with exquisite private gardens. Dozens of them, such as Zhuozheng (Humble Administrator's) Garden, Liuyuan (Lingering) Garden, Wangshi (Master of Nets) Garden and Huanxiu (Embracing Beauty) Mountain Villa, are still well preserved today.

Imperial gardens and private gardens each developed their own distinctive features over many years. The imperial gardens of Beijing are considered the finest examples of that style. They are noted for their expansive size, grandeur and stateliness. The gardens of Suzhou are the epitome of landscaping art for the private garden, with their delicacy, intimacy, and simplicity. The designers of private gardens, not bound by the rigid conventions of the imperial court, had greater freedom of expression in their art.

The ancient gardens of Suzhou were designed to be lived in as much as were the houses to which they were attached. Paths invited residents and their guests to wander, offering a new view at every bend; pavilions, gazebos or simple seats offered comfortable spots in which to relax, chat, and perhaps to take some refreshments or pen a poem. This type of landscaping was often used in the densely populated cities, where residents recalled the countryside with nostalgia and yearned to commune with nature. Zhuozheng (Humble Administrator's) Garden, Liuyuan (Lingering) Garden, Wangshi (Master of Nets) Garden and Huanxiu (Embracing Beauty) Mountain Villa of Suzhou are representative of the Ming-Qing-dynasty landscape architecture in areas south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In fact, it was the perfection of the designs and workmanship of these gardens that influenced landscaping throughout the region.

Horizontal inscribed boards, hanging scrolls, sculptures and hall decorations, as well as the trees, stones and ponds in the gardens are not only delightful treats for the senses. They also provide a wealth of information as to the history, society, values and aesthetics of the eras in which they were built. They are storehouses of the artifacts of their times: calligraphy, carvings and paintings. But they are also treasure troves of classical thought. Wandering through the gardens even today, people can enjoy reflecting on the philosophic concepts and ideologies of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism; they can still sense the romance of the ancient poetry and prose that influenced the gardens' creators.

In recent years, the influence of the Suzhou gardens' designs has even traveled across oceans. Ming Hall Garden, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, is a copy of a section of the Master of Nets Garden. The design of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden in Vancouver, Canada, was based on the Ming Dynasty Suzhou garden style. In 1997, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added to its prestigious list of world cultural heritage sites Suzhou's Zhuozheng (Humble Administrator's) Garden, Wangshi (Master of Nets) Garden, Liuyuan (Lingering) Garden, Canglang (Surging Waves) Pavilion, Yipu Garden (Garden of Cultivation), Huanxiu (Embracing Beauty) Mountain Villa, Ouyuan (Couple's Garden Retreat) Garden, Shizilin (Lion Forest) Garden and Tuisiyuan (Retreat and Reflection) Garden.