An Immortal Garden: Cultural Legacy of 'Fine Bamboo Garden'

摘要

"Fine Bamboo Garden" (Guyi yuan) of Nanxiang Town today is one of the "five famous classical gardens of Shanghai", and is called "an immortal garden", because it has withstood frequent and distinct changes of its cultural connotation. To be specific, at the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Min Shiji and Zhu Sansong first built it, because of their plenty financial strength and good crafts, it was ingenious yet deep, a good private garden of a functionary. During the late Ming period, it belonged to literate Li Yizhi, so with more natural taste, and became to a typical poetic style garden. At the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Ye Jin rebuilt and enlarged it, made it a famous splendid and delicate garden. From the end of the Qianlong period to the late Qing Dynasty and the Minguo Period, it was attached to the local temple, then a gathering place for local business people, then an outing sight for Shanghai people, while it was closely connected with the social and historical transformation of Nanxiang, but its lettered taste was weakened and changed into a public garden. Since the liberation till now, it has been restored and enlarged many times by the government, its poetic charm has lost to a certain extent, but the beautiful landscape and clear cultural style has made it a public garden of the people.