中英雙語話中國藝術 第7期:中國園林

7. Chinese Gardens

7. 中國園林

Chinese gardens can be divided into two categories, the imperial the private, and sometimes landscape gardens are considered. The former are seen in northern China , while most of the latter can be found in the south, especially in Suzhou, Wuxi and Nanjing.

中回林可分爲御花酬私家花園兩類，有時人們也會加上風景園林。御花園都在北方，私家花園則多見於南方，尤以蘇州、無錫和南京三地最多。

Small and delicate, cleverly laid out and pleasing to the eye, the streams, bridges, rockeries and pavilion of a private Chinese garden reveal a natural beauty of their own. Most of the bridges in these gardens are of stone, including straight, winding and arched ones. The straight bridge consists of just one stone slab without any decoration, and is usually leveled with the riverbank or with the river to make the visitors feel as if they are surrounded by water. The winding bridges have low balustrades and the Nine Winding Bridge in Xihu Lake is one of them. The arch bridges can be divided into the single-arch and the multi-arch varieties. Streams in these gardens do not cover a large area, but fit in well with bridges and islets to yield a uniformed effect.

南方私家花園中的溪、橋、山、亭小巧玲瓏，佈局精明，盡顯其自然美，令人賞心悅目。橋大多爲石橋，有直橋、曲橋、拱橋。直橋其實是一塊不加裝飾的石板，通常與河岸或河水齊高，給人一種臨水的感覺。曲橋設有低欄杆，西湖上的九曲橋就屬此橋。拱橋可分爲單拱橋和多拱橋兩種。園內的小溪雖佔地不多，卻同小橋與石嶼相得益彰，渾然一體。

Rocks and rockeries are special features of southern Chinese gardens. Stones of grotesque forms are often attractive with undulated lines and water holes. Some large stones form sceneries of their own, while smaller ones are put together to form artificial hills to add to the fantastic attractiveness of the gardens. Corridors form another feature of Chinese gardens. There are water corridors built along a riverside, flower corridors inserted among flowers, willow corridors among rows of willow，and bamboo corridors among rows of bamboo. For visitors, these corridors are good travel guides leading to various views of a big garden.

石頭與假山是中國南方園林的特色。奇形怪狀的石頭常帶有引人注目的波紋線條和水孔。碩大的石頭可自成一景，而較小的石塊則堆積成假山，爲園林增添元窮魅力。走廊是中國園林的另一大特色，有河邊的河廊，花叢中的花廊，柳樹叢中的柳廊，竹林中的竹廊。對客人來說，這些走廊可謂是優秀導遊，在一座大花園裏沿廊而行，可以觀賞園內的各處景觀。

Corridors are dotted by windows of various shapes-square, round, hexagonal and even octagonal. Many of the windows are decorated with very beautiful patterns and designs. Tourists can have an excellent view of the garden through these colorful corridor windows. The doors to the gardens，like the windows，are also carved in many different shapes, to bring more vividness and elegance to the surroundings.

形態各異的窗戶點綴在走廊上，有方形，有圓形，有六角形，也有八角形。許多窗戶的圖案也都裝飾得非常美麗，遊客可以透過這些豔麗多彩的走廊窗戶，將園內的佳境盡收眼底。園林的大門同窗戶一樣也雕刻成各種形狀，給環境帶來了生氣，增添了雅趣。

Walls of these gardens are usually painted white. Hidden among the flowers, trees and hills, white walls stand in sharp contrast to the gray tiles and brown windows. Strolling about these gardens, with the tree shadows swaying on the white wall and willow reflections dancing in the ponds, tourists may then find themselves truly enjoying a moment of peace and relax ation in this paradise beyond the turmoil of the world.

花園的牆壁通常是白色。隱匿在鮮花、樹木、小山中的白牆，與灰瓦褐窗形成強烈反差。白牆上樹影婆婆，池塘中柳枝起舞，在園中倘祥的遊客，也許能在這世外桃園裏真正地享受片刻安寧。