Nan wood carved flower cover hammer
"Pingyuan" stone forehead
100 years of magnolia
Pingyuan Gate
Yimen brick carving
Glazed flower wall
In the impression of "Old Yangzhou", there are many "private old houses" in The Garden Lane under the South River, among which the Pingyuan Garden, which has the reputation of "West Garden", is even more famous, and tourists often visit it. Brick carved gatehouse, nan wood fan, glazed flower window, alum stone garden door... Yesterday, the reporter walked into the Pingyuan Garden located at No. 26 (the courtyard of the 723 Research Institute) under the South River to unveil the mystery of the salt merchant's "mansion" for you.
Republic of China "West Garden"
Well-preserved is a "must-
Yesterday afternoon, the reporter came to the front of the Pingyuan Gate, and a sign on the wall of the "Municipal Cultural Security Unit" appeared particularly eye-catching, which clearly wrote an introduction to the overall structural layout of the Pingyuan Garden, which was built by the salt merchant Zhou Xiaochen in the early years of the Republic of China.
The reporter saw that the gate of Pingyuan Garden is a water mill green brick gatehouse, and there are remnants of the Fuci Temple facing the gate. As soon as I entered the yi door, there was a large Shouzi floor tile on the ground. Inside the door is a rectangular patio, with two gatehouses facing north along the south wall, opposite the two doors. The polished brick carved door is elegant and generous, the first entrance inside the door is the hall house, the back of the hall is the residence, the western structure of the circular door, the door forehead embedded in the "Pingyuan" inscription stone. The courtyard inside the gate divides the flat garden into two parts, north and south, with several bungalows in the southern courtyard and several glass windows in the north, with exquisite patterns and elegant colors. A garden gate is opened in the middle of the flower wall, and the word "Ti Xie" is embedded in the forehead of the front door, and the four words "Xiaoyuan Fenghe" are engraved on the front of the door on the back door. There are also two stone foreheads on the east and west corner doors, one is "Zhaohui Net Silhouette", the other is "Sunset Lighting Village", and there are two stone foreheads on the back of the corner door, one is "Vegetable Garden" and the other is "Sending Dust". Among them, the two stones of "vegetable garden" and "sending dust" were not mentioned in the previous introduction to Pingyuan.
Chen Qi, 62 years old this year, lives in the northern residence of Pingyuan, and in the courtyard of his home, more than 50 bonsai are placed, adding a vibrant vitality to Pingyuan. Under the leadership of Chen Qi, the reporter came to a room, and the inside of the Nanmu fan appeared particularly dazzling, although it was brushed with white paint and carefully observed, it still preserved its original style.
Chen Qi father and son have a deep foundation in art, because there is no rockery in the pingyuan, they carefully designed, stacked in the southwest corner of the courtyard Huangshi rockery area, planted loquat on the mountain, leaned on the side of the mountain to cultivate several green bamboo, under the mountain curved fish pond, the pond raised several koi, do their best to watch the fish, the east of the fish pond with black and white pebble paving, pebbles in the middle of the stone table stone bench, stone table stone bench southwest next to the garden gate inconspicuous, planted honeysuckle bushes, very vigorous.
The east side of the house is connected to the fire lane and the middle road residence, the east road building has a courtyard in front of the building, surrounded by low walls on both sides, the flavor of the Republic of China is strong, and there are three consecutive courtyards in the back, each with a side door and the fire alley, and the structure of the three courtyards is consistent. Among them, the south wall of the first courtyard has green glazed flower windows, and the west wall is embedded with green glazed bamboo flower windows.
Xie Wenyi, a lover of Yangzhou literature and history, said that in the Garden Lane, among the "private old houses" left over from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, in addition to He Garden, the preservation of Pingyuan Garden is "a must", especially the Nanmu fan is particularly precious.
At its peak, he built the Crane Tower
The "old mansion" was built 24 years ago and changed owners
"According to the eldest wife of the Zhou family (wife of Zhou Xiaochen), Zhou served in the Salt Affairs Gate, and the Pingyuan Garden was built in the sixteenth year of the Republic of China." Xie Wenyi told reporters that Hua Mengyu, an expert in Yangzhou's financial history, once lived in Pingyuan, and he once wrote an article recalling the past in Pingyuan.
According to Mr. Hua Mengyu's recollection, when the Zhou family was at its peak, more than ten servants were employed, including florists, combing mothers, kitchens, concierges, crane workers, cleaners, personal maids, etc. There was a crane building outside the patio. The main hall, together with the east side rooms, is rented to the occupants, and each room is rented between one bucket and two buckets of meters. On the west side of the main hall, there is a wooden strip fan with the inscription "It is a blessing to be idle due to illness." After the death of Zhou Xiaochen, the Zhou family lost its top pillar, and the two nephews were not good at management, and the family road gradually declined. After liberation, the Zhou family rented a house to talk about subsidies. In 1951, the wounded and sick returned from the front line to recuperate, and the military hospital saw Zhongpingyuan. After being introduced, he negotiated with the Zhou family about selling the house, and the Zhou family left after selling the house.
Chen Qi told reporters that he stayed in Pingyuan in the 1970s, during which time some descendants of the Zhou clan returned from Taiwan to visit their former residence. Some insiders also told reporters that the Zhou family and their descendants live in the lotus pond in the urban area.
Yangzhou scholar Zhu Jiang's "Yangzhou Garden Appreciation" records that Jiang Zhongshan, a connoisseur of Taizhou calligraphy and painting, also lived in Pingyuan.
Two centuries-old magnolias
Or related to the "HuaiJun Please Reward"
In the south of Pingyuan, there are two century-old magnolias planted, with crowns like a cover and fragrant flowers. Chen Qi pointed to the roots of the Guangyulan tree and introduced, "You see, the roots of the trees have been connected with the houses and have long become part of the Pingyuan Garden. Under the ancient tree, there is a name plate of "Yangzhou Ancient Trees and Famous Trees" issued by the Yangzhou Municipal Greening Committee, "Number: Yangcheng 030, Protection Grade: Grade I".
Xie Wenyi told reporters that there is another story about the two magnolia trees. Native to the Americas, the magnolia tree was an extremely valuable tree species during the Qing Dynasty. According to legend, in the Sino-French War, the generals of the Huai Army bravely took the lead and defeated the enemy, and Liu Mingchuan, a general of the Huai Army, led his army to fight in Taiwan and repelled France, which was known as a world-class power at that time. Hearing that after winning the battle, Cixi was overjoyed, and after the war, he rewarded the generals of the Huai Army with high-ranking officials and gold and silver jewelry.
In that year, the US envoy brought the magnolia tree to China, and the Jianghuai area where the Huai Army was located was suitable for the growth of the magnolia. Li Hongzhang thought to himself, the longer the magnolia grows, the more lush it is, and the Huai army can remember the grace of the imperial court when it sees it, so he "please reward" each general with two magnolia trees.
"Comparing the historical data and the age of the trees, according to the time when the magnolia was introduced to China, the age of the two magnolias in Pingyuan is about 160 years, and it will not reach more than 300 years." Xie Wenyi said that before the Zhou family purchased the garden, the owner of the house could not be verified, and there were many Huaijun settlements in this place at that time. According to The judgment of Guangyulan, it is likely that the previous owner planted it, and the Zhou family stayed after purchasing it. Reporter Chen Chen Photography Wang Naisi