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10/16/2024

#Guangzhou, #Lingnan culture, #Lingnan gardens, #Zhang Jingxiu, #Keyuan

Like a migratory bird, I left Kunming, where the seasons are like spring, in winter and came to live in Guangzhou. Guangzhou's winter climate is mild, especially in November, the autumn is high, the sun shines brightly, and there is no nasty “return to the south day”. I took the “Yangcheng Tong”, riding the developed public transportation system in Guangzhou, shuttling in the old streets of the riding tower, running all over the suburbs and near the port, and almost saw all the major scenic spots in Guangzhou.

One day, I had nothing to do but to open a travelogue, a donkey friend of a certain place of ordinary things written vividly and interestingly, so that I have never been interested in the place. This also made me think that traveling is to go from the place that one is familiar to numbness to the place that others are familiar to numbness.

During the past few years in Guangzhou, my understanding of Lingnan culture has gradually deepened. Lingnan culture has a profound history and is an important part of Chinese culture. Lingnan culture is a fusion of many cultures, geographically divided into Guangdong culture, Gui culture, and overseas culture, etc. Among them, Guangfu culture, Hakka culture, and Chaoshan culture constitute the main body of Lingnan Han culture, which covers many aspects. Lingnan languages also have five major language families.

I am particularly interested in the four gardens of Lingnan. It must be well worth exploring for these four gardens to be featured on a national postage stamp. Lingnan gardens flourished during the Ming and Qing dynasties and developed a unique style. Dongguan Keyuan, Foshan Liangyuan, Shunde Qinghuiyuan and Panyu Yuyinshanfang are known as the “Four Great Gardens of Lingnan”, which were originally private residences, blending the characteristics of gardens in Jiangnan and the north.

I set off from Guangzhou Tamchun Metro Station to visit Ke Yuan. After transferring and taking public transportation, I finally arrived. Ke Yuan was built in 1850 and completed in 1858. It is small in size but well laid out. There are many buildings in the garden, which are connected with each other and twist and turn. I saw such attractions as the Cao Cao Cao Hall, the Breaking Red Small Pavilion, Ke Xuan, and the Qu Pond. Ke Hall is the main building, and Ke Lou can have a full view of the garden.

The owner of the garden is Zhang Jingxiu, a native of Dongguan and a descendant of Qujiang. He was a native of Dongguan and a descendant of Qujiang. He joined the military and experienced three ups and three downs, with great achievements in war, but he was also an elegant scholar, inviting literati and ink writers, and also inviting Jiuzhao Julian Kunzhong, laying down the style of Lingnan paintings.

This Lingnan garden exploration trip, let me have a deeper understanding of Lingnan culture, but also let me cherish these historical and cultural heritage.