The Untold West Lake

This book is a collection of essays. The author recorded vivid aspects of West Lake and Hangzhou with simple writing and showed the history and culture of West Lake and Hangzhou in an all-around way. At the same time， this book is helpful for further publicity of Hangzhou， better carrying forward culture， inheriting history， and spreading knowledge.

The Untold West Lake

Yu Lisheng

China Financial and Economic Publishing House （CFEPH）

March 2022

65.00 （CNY）

Yu Lisheng

Yu Lisheng， a middle-aged scholar， financial researcher and educator， a member of Zhejiang Writers Association， and member of Zhijiang Poetry Society of Zhejiang province.

Breeze-ruffled Lotus at Quyuan Garden

The poet Liu Yong wrote in “Except the Tide” that “the inner and outer lakes on both sides of the White Embankment with the overlapping mountains are very delicate and beautiful， with laurels in autumn and miles of lotus flowers.” Indeed， the golden autumn is the season of osmanthus， which fills the city with fragrance， while the summer is another scene with lotus flowers blooming and competing with each other. These are the characteristics of Hangzhou.

When it comes to lotus flowers at West Lake， people naturally think of the breeze-ruffled lotus at Quyuan Garden， which is the only one related to lotus flowers among the Ten Scenes of West Lake. There is an extensive lotus planting area with lotus ponds of various sizes. What’s more， there are many varieties of lotus here， including the common red and white lotus and the rare water lily and calla lily. Especially the abundant cultivation of water lilies brings infinite vitality to this water. Unexpectedly， at the entrance of the scene， the first thing you see is not lotus flowers but a big Jue， a kind of ancient wine vessel. You may think you were in the wrong place if you didn’t know better. This happens from time to time， and it’s not surprising because the Quyuan Garden used to be a garden for making wines in the Southern Song Dynasty. In China， there is a tradition of drinking wine， and the Chinese wine culture has been permeated by poems over thousands of years， such as “How can I brush aside the grief that worries me， But by drowning it in wine？” “A thousand cups of wine are not too many when drinking with bosom friends” “I invite you to drink a cup of wine again; West of the Sunny Pass no more friends will be seen” and so much more. Wine is an article of daily consumption and a necessity for ancient people’s rituals， parties， and banquets. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty， wine had been sold as a state monopoly， along with salt and iron， and the revenue from its operation was an important contributor to the state’s finance. After Emperor Wu， Sang Hongyang once presided over a Salt and Iron Meeting. He disputed the monopoly of salt， iron， and wine. However， the Southern Song Dynasty’s territory shrank extensively and was financially constrained， so wine was still sold exclusively by the state and was an important pillar of state revenue.

The scene of the breeze-ruffled lotus at Quyuan Garden is where Jinsha Stream， a water source of West Lake， flows through， with the green hills and clear waters. It is an ideal place for winemaking， and a garden was built here during the Southern Song Dynasty to make wine for the imperial palace. Winemaking cannot be done without wine yeast， so the garden was called Quyuan， in which the character Qu meant wine yeast. The lotus flowers were widely planted in the lake around the garden. Whenever the lotus flowers blossomed， the fragrance integrated into the wine， making the wine brewed here rich in fragrance and flavor， which was very popular. The garden was given the reputation of Lotus Breeze. After the Southern Song Dynasty， the garden fell into decline， and there was no more winemaking. In the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty， the emperor gave inscriptions to the ten scenes of West Lake and inscribed “l(fā)otus breeze in the garden” as “Breeze-ruffled Lotus at Quyuan Garden”， and the character Qu here didn’t mean yeast， for there was no more wine made in the garden， which had become a park for people to relax and enjoy the lotus. Now， after renovation and development， the garden department has restored the winemaking workshop in the scene， just to let people know the history of the past and bring Quyuan Garden back to its historical appearance.

Wu Hill and Chenghuang Pavilion

Spring is approaching， and the prosperous scene of red peach blossoms， green willows and flying warblers by the West Lake attracts many tourists. The Leifeng Pagoda is like an old monk， and the Baochu Pagoda is like a pretty damsel， the two of them echoing north and south， always looking so friendly and familiar. The Chenghuang Pavilion （also known as City God Pavilion） at the peak of Wu Hill to the east is particularly notable and has aroused the curiosity of many people. Actually， the popularity of Chenghuang Pavilion is no less than that of Leifeng Pagoda and Baochu Pagoda by the lake. It is as famous as Tengwang Pavilion， Yueyang Tower and Yellow Crane Tower in Jiangnan. Tengwang Pavilion is famous for Wang Bo’s Preface to Tengwang Pavilion， Yueyang Tower is famous for Fan Zhongyan’s Remarks of the Yueyang Tower， and Yellow Crane Tower is famous for Cui Hao’s Yellow Crane Tower， while Chenghuang Pavilion is famous for the Chenghuang Zhou Xin. For historical reasons， Zhou Xin is not well known to modern people， but the city of Hangzhou will not forget him. Zhou Xin was a supervisor of the imperial court in the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. He did not flatter the rich and powerful but served the needs of the people and did a lot of good deeds in the city， redressing a lot of unjust， 1， and wrong cases， and was loved by the people. But he offended the rich and powerful， and was punished by the Yongle Emperor and died of injustice. Later， in order to placate the people’s anger， the Yongle Emperor built the Chenghuang Temple for the people to worship. This confirms the lyrics of the song that “there are scales between heaven and earth， and the weights are the ordinary people，” and also confirms the folk saying that “when the officials do not work for the people， they might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes.” The officials must think for the sake of the people， and only then can the society be stable and long-lasting.

It is on the basis of the Chenghuang Temple that the Chenghuang Pavilion was built. The group of mountains to the east is Wu Hill， probably given this name because it used to be the junction of Wu and Yue， and because there is a Chenghuang Temple on the hill， the people also call it Chenghuang Hill. Chenghuang Hill is the highest point of Hangzhou city and is even called “the No.1 hill in Jiangnan，” albeit slightly exaggerated， for the hill is not very high. But height aside， from a cultural point of view， the title is in name and fact. Many traditional folk activities， such as temple fairs， have been held on the hill from ancient times to the present. The hill is also dotted with cultural monuments such as Dongyue Temple， Wu Xu Temple， Medicine King Palace， etc. The City History Museum and the China Finance and Taxation Museum are also at the foot of the hill. Climbing up Wu Hill and setting foot on Chenghuang Pavilion， you can not only experience the majesty of “standing on the peek and seeing in one encompassing vision of all the mountains” but also the mystery of “keeping the voice down to a sigh， lest startling Celestials in the sky.” Looking to the east， you will see the Qiantang River as described in the poem， “Walk around Tianzhu Temple to find the osmanthus flowers in full bloom on the Mid- Autumn Festival， climb the county pavilion and lie on it to watch the rising and falling tide.” Looking down to the west， you can see West Lake， where “the brimming waves delight the eyes on sunny days， and the dimming hills present a rare view in the rainy haze，” with vague and gentle waves. It is often said that only in times of peace and prosperity will there be the act of compiling records and annals.

Similarly， it is also common to build towers and pavilions in times of prosperity. The poetry， classic books， rituals， and music， the pavilions， terraces， and open halls are the accumulation of civilization and the inheritance of culture. Chenghuang Pavilion， built on the old foundation， has become another symbol of Hangzhou city， showing the city’s spirit and adding a new highlight to the city’s culture.