A NOTE ON REBUILDING WATER-INKED GARDEN
May, 1992
Translated by Zhong Zhilan
The Water-Inked Garden in Rugao, Jiangsu province, was a garden of national renown built by Mao Xiang (1611-1693)1 in the waning years of the Ming dynasty. The much-told tale of Mao and the courtesan Dong Bai (1624-1651)2 has come down as a legend in Chinese literary history along with the garden.
I still remember having the honour in my youth to make the acquaintance of Mao Xiaolu (1909-1988)3 during a visit to his father Mao Guangsheng (1873-1959)4 in their Shanghai residence.5 Descendants of the owner of the Water-Inked Garden, the revered father and son were more than familiar with the history of the garden. I wanted to visit it, but procrastinated and never made it, which pretty much choked me through the years.
Of late the local government asked me to make cartographic records of this famed heritage site and draw a conservation plan for it. I ruminated, and was slow and hesitant to take action. Judged from its name, this garden was apparently predicated on water. Enveloped in water and nestled against a vast bamboo grove, it also clung to a city parapet topped with imposing crenellations, which made it a true rarity among private gardens across the country. When the restoration task eventually came under way, we worked to preserve the water surfaces in the first place while repairing and expanding the city wall and rejuvenating the bamboo groves on the premises. An artificial mountain was built, with water splashing out of a fountainhead into a pool at the mountain foot. In this way, the entire scenery looked at once integral and judiciously divided, the lofts and terraces tossed their silhouettes into the water to conjure up a vista in which tangibles and intangibles mingled to the enchantment of visitors, and vivid expression was somewhat given to water as the overriding theme of the Water-Inked Garden.
I hereby jot down this brief note upon completion of the restoration project to commend the Rugao government's devotion to conserving local cultural and historical legacies. Only with such devotion can our nation's spirit be boosted and our local cultures be rejuvenated. It will be my uttermost delight if, on a fine spring or autumn day, I, walking stick in hand, can join some local friends for a visit to this famous garden. Only thus can a fifty-year-long wish of my life come true.