Yuan Huang
RECORD OF THE HALL SURROUNDED BY JADE
OF MASTER SITTING-IN-RECLUSION
Translated by Alison Hardie
I have twice visited the White Peak, where I rested my horse on the outskirts of Haiyang;[1] I laid aside my whip [dismounted] and gazed around at the myriad encircling mountains, the lofty ones upraised, the low prostrate, the approaching rushing onward, the static squatting, the active dancing, the still reclining, the linked like an enclosure, the disjunct like an incomplete jade circle. Layer upon layer of mountain-tops presented their emerald beauty, the forests reached out with green vegetation, the jade-green colour was edible. What a splendid sight it was.
Mr Wang Changzhao[2] was born here and his clan are assembled here; consequently he has built a retreat here. He entitled the garden "Sitting in Reclusion"[3] and the main hall "Surrounded by Jade" and commanded me to write a record of them. Now a mass of peaks reach to the gate, and luxuriant scenery enfolds it: there is jade entirely surrounding the retreat, and it is not just a name thought up by the owner for his hall. The owner dwells in the immediate environment but has a far-reaching heart; he has constructed a single dwelling but his wish is to provide a shelter for the myriad species. As he reaches out, he includes the blue and red [all the spectrum of colours?] of the universe within this luxuriance and extends himself widely in all directions. As he dwells within, his breast is entirely filled with jade and he need not feel ashamed before the important families around him.[4] His intention is truly far-reaching.
Behind the hall he built the Courtyard of Fine Trees,[5] and before it he piled up rocks to form five peaks, which he named the Five Ancients;[6] they look just like immortals making obeisance. Below these peaks is the Bridge of Transformation into a Feathered Being [an immortal], giving access to those coming and going. To the right of the peaks is the Crane's Nest; water has been led in among the pillars to form a nine-fold meander for floating wine-cups, and a platform has been constructed for growing orchids, which produce a palpable fragrance. In keeping cranes he resembles Lin Bu but without benefiting from the scenery of Solitary Hill;[7] his orchid pavilion makes him resemble the General of the Right, although the timing is not confined to the third day of the third month.[8] In his ascending the terrace and intoxicating his guests he resembles [Du Fu of] the Ministry of Works, but he has not had to pawn his spring clothes.[9] The master can be at his ease.
Going left from the hall one comes to the Gate of White Clouds; mounting into vacancy and gazing afar, one can obtain a misty view in all eight directionsfrom a single doorway, so the main gallery is named Unbordered Vastness.[10] Behind the gallery is Suspended Pearls Spring, and to the left is Dispelling Mockery Pavilion.[11] With the free and easy wandering of the Keeper of the Lacquer Plantation, when rambling in vastness, one can attain a boundless distance; without the constraint of the [illegible] official[12] one can both mock oneself and release oneself, forgetting both mind and surroundings. Another of the master's cognomina is "Mister Pine and Crane",[13] so he made a Pine Courtyard in front of the gallery, with an ancient pine tree planted on the left, and a sculptured stone crane on the right. He has theloftiness of Chaisang, and so he has a solitary pine at which to linger; he has no interest in [becoming the wealthy governor of]Yangzhou, and so the stone crane neednot take flight.[14] How subtle is the significance he has implied in this. The master is fond of literary composition and is very well endowed in woodblock carving, so further in there is a Place for Storage of Woodblocks, and beside it is a printing house. I have heard it said that "Oral teaching reaches the present generation, but it takes books to reach a hundred generations".Wishing to increase the depth of his knowledge, he has an extensive store here.[15]
Going along by the printing house and walking up an ascending stairway, one reaches the Belvedere which Leans on MountSongluo; this faces Songluo but surpasses it in height.[16] If one leans over the balustrade and looks down, there is the Gentleman's Grove, with new bamboo in all its glory.[17] This gives one a sense of the master's pure style and lofty integrity. To the west of the Belvedere is a mountain which matches it; the gallery here is entitled Crisp Air of the Western Mountains, and it seems to summon the dripping verdure of Benevolence and Longevity [Hill] and enclose it within its eaves.[18] Inside is Vessel and Tripod Corner, where calligraphy and precious antiques are stored, demonstrating his connoisseurship. Going right from the hall one comes to the Non-resemblance Study; through a gate one enters a lane, named Storehouse of Writhing Vapours. From the lane one enters Rinsing with Jade Lodge, where the study is.[19] Non-being is defined as the removal of being, resemblance has the meaning of constancy. The master takes his cognomen [Master Non-resemblance] from this, and has applied the same cognomen to his study retreat. So in the writings which he pores over and explicates, he wishes to apply vacuity to what exists and restore its original simple form.
To the right of the Lodge is Infinity Gate, so-called because from here on the beauty of the garden is infinite. On entering the gate one immediately ascendsMyriadRockMountain, which is formed of piled up rocks. On the summit are NineImmortalsPeak, Chess-board Rock, Brilliant Enlightenment Terrace, and Cassia Fragrance Pavilion. Once upon a time, the scholar of the decayed axe-haft encountered immortals playing chess and found a day turn into years, the Hermit of the MountainValley smelled the fragrance of cassia flowers and attained enlightenment: the scenes of all these events can be imagined here.[20]Below this are Sword Gate, Facing the Wall Cliff, and SlantingValley.[21] From the cliff one crosses MysticFordBridge. Above the bridge is Great Compassion House, and beside it Purple Bamboo Grove; these are for the worship of the Great Bodhisattva.[22] With Bodhidharma's nine years of determination, Sword Gate increases in steepness, and SlantingValley increases in strangeness. With Guanyin's compassion to save all beings, the Mystic Ford increases in depth, and the Bamboo Grove increases in verdure.
Going north by the grove, one gradually climbs higher and then reaches the highest point of the garden. On the highest point is the Plain Pavilion, roofed with thatch, and comparable to [an orchestra with] sounding brass and jade tinkling in all directions around but with a stringless plain zither sited in the centre, or like guests with formal hats and jade belt-ornaments politely ceding precedence to each other, while an old man in hempen clothes, leaning at his ease on a staff, stands alone and aloof; this is even more worthy of celebration in literature.[23]
Descending, one reaches level ground, where more bamboo is planted. Under the bamboo is placed a rock, forming the Stone Table in the Well-grown Grove. To the left of the grove is the Cave for Perceiving Vacancy; without beams, without rafters, without purlins, without upturned eaves, it is built entirely of bricks, and its height reaches the clouds; one can escape the heat in it. At the mouth of the cave is the Pond for Cleansing the Heart, and beside it the Myriad Flowers Clump. Turning right from the pond one ascends White Harvest Ridge. On top of the ridge is the Terrace for Observing the Moon-toad, where one can invite the moon from over the eastern hills and drink to it in the grove of myriad greenery; this is another scenic area.[24] Going down from the ridge, one reaches the Peony Grove and the Half-hymn Hermitage; this has both images and scriptures, providing everything necessary for Buddhist observance.[25] In front of the throne is a spring, the Green Lotus Cavity; the morning and evening rituals and recitations always take place here. To the left of the hermitage is a building whose sign-board reads "Brightness of Dawn".[26] The master is always clearly aware that he should be like the beginning of the early daybreak. There is also a deep lane called Pure Ethereal Realm; from this realm one enters the Dwelling of Negative Nothingness. Not only is being removed, the negativity is actually doubled. So advanced is the master's learning.
Within the dwelling is the Shrine of Total Unity. When he has leisure he sits here in meditation, achieving the elimination of the myriad things. What more could one desire? Ahead, one overlooks Beating Pinions Pond; although one may beat one's wings for 90,000 miles one does not emerge from among the sapanwoods and elms.[27] Pine, bamboo and prunus each occupy one of the ThreeIslands in the pond; together with the master they make up four companions.[28] There is an Angling Jetty, a WindingBridge, a Slope for Washing Ink-stones, a GourdValley, and a Dragon Gate. Beside the pond is Crystallised Emerald Gallery. From the gallery one turns back across the WindingBridge, and comes to Suspended Daybed Studio.[29] The master is by nature solitary and lofty; he is selective of those with whom he consorts. There is also the Eastern Wall, where paintings and books are stored.[30]
Going along here, one ascends a stone terrace named Achieved Life.[31] By rejecting the body, the body is preserved; this is the directive for achieving life. On the summit of the terrace is HundredCranesTower, where there is an image of Chunyang which is reverently worshipped.[32] This is not a search for eternal life but for the achieved life. Below the tower is the GreatTreasurePass, and within it the Jasper Stamens Room, where various cinnabar drugs are cultivated in order to return to the Primordial.[33] The"Primordial" treats the sickness of all creatures as his own sickness. Deeper in is the Emerald Forest Residence, most quiet, and most deserted, where the drifting dust does not reach. In the midst a streak of sky appears, and this is named Heaven in Miniature. For as the space of a needle's eye and the space of outer space are basically the same space, so the sky which gives us light and the entire cosmos are basically the same heaven.
After this one goes out through the pass and crosses the terrace. To the west of the terrace is Flowers of the Void Lane. From the lane one can see the Secret Belvedere, which wind and rain cannot penetrate, nor the force of cold reach, and the winter moon/months cannot . . .[34] In front of the Belvedere is a fountain which spurts up several feet from the ground; this is what is known as the Spring Gushing to Heaven.[35]If one enters the Clump of Myriad Flowers, and wanders through the Grove of Peonies, then the glorious red and purple cannot be banished nor needs to return.[36] Seated in the Cave for Perceiving Vacancy, facing the Pond for Cleansing the Heart, one is overwhelmed by pure coolness, and can forget the heat of summer. Climbing the Ridge of White Harvest, walking on the Terrace for Observing the Moon-toad, one can listen to the sounds and enjoy the shadows which assist the arrival of the pure mood of autumn. Entering Flowers of the Void Lane and ascending Secret Belvedere, one can play the pitch-pipe to bring back the sunshine;[37] snow and frost fail to blast, and one can avoid the depths of winter. With the Slope for Washing Ink-stones to provide for pen and tablets, with the Shrine of Total Unity to nourish one's true nature, with the paintings and books in the Eastern Wall to promote pure appreciation, the great conspectus of Confucianism is provided here. With the Terrace of Achieved Life, with the Tower of a Hundred Cranes, with the Pass of Great Treasure, the great conspectus of the gateway to the Dao is brought together here. With the Cliff for Facing the Wall, with the House of Great Compassion, with the Hermitage of Half a Hymn, the great conspectus of Buddhism is provided here.[38]When there is something suitable for any time throughout the four seasons, and the three doctrines are unified without any omission, is what he possesses not great? Yet this is not all.
Outside the Hall of Pure Speech is the Mountain Retreat; to the right of the retreat there is the pool of a spring, pure and sweet, which is entitled Standing Alone. The entire world is defiled, and I alone am pure: is it not outstandingly unique? There is also the Water Moon Walkway; the water has no mind to attract the moon, while the moon has no intention of entering the water, yet the two purities are intermingled, coming together without pre-arrangement. So the right wing of the retreat is called Cloudy Region, and the left Misty Passage. The soaring of the clouds, the drifting of the mist seem to have reflected the moon in the water. Winding southwards from Misty Passage, one reaches the main gate; in front of it is Central Street, where propriety and righteousness are the model, and the bent and twisted are eliminated; is this not what is referred to as reduplication of the solitary [??]?
Beside the street is Lofty Sunshine Lodge, which is not provided for the benefit of topers.[39]Fine sunshine gathers there; as the sun rises, the way of the gentleman is extended.There is also Mystic Manor, where the farmers congregate, which reaches the ultimate in the wanderings of a pleasurable excursion, without forgetting the hardships of the agricultural life. By this one may surely penetrate into their emotions. At the [far] end of the street is a pavilion which the local gentry have named Neighbourhood of the Lofty Gentleman, to show their respect for his virtuous reputation. Beyond the Gate of Pure Speech there is also a lake several qing in area. The master's formal name is Changzhao, and so the lake is named Master Chang's Lake. Apparently he would like his own name and the beauty of the lake to endure equally imperishably. There are two boats on the lake, the larger called Floating Home and the smaller Single Leaf. Drifting eastwards on board a boat, one passes first by Jade Forest Homestead, where the pure shade is palpable, then goes past Elegant Screen Rock, which presents to the sight the verdant green of embroidery. To the north one reaches River Islet Delight, where it seems as though the splendour of Penglai were before one's eyes.[40] Further north one comes to Six Bridges, and below this it is just like the fine scenery of WestLake.[41] Crossing the bridge and turning to the west, there is the Turtle-fishing Terrace; casting a line into the rivers and lakes is as weighty a matter as were the nine tripods to the royal house of Han, though whether or not one catches a turtle is immaterial.[42]
On the banks of the lake there is the Thatched Cottage with a Bamboo Fence; yellow [illegible] makes the fence distant, and wild vegetables can be gathered: suddenly one seems very far away. Gradually one proceeds to Heaven-released Pavilion, where bulrushes cast their shadows on the eaves and green waves spread far from the steps, and one can be at one's ease. Boarding the boat again, one travels south to LurkingFish-scales Pond, which is the deepest part of the lake. Further south one passes the Dragon Lord's Temple and the SpiritVultureIsland. The Dragon Lord is the senior of the water spirits, and this temple has been set up for his worship in order to pray for mild weather. Spirit Vulture is the most splendid mountain-peak in India; this island has been made to resemble it, so that one may dwellon eastern ground but have the west in sight; the soiled and the pure are thus combined.[43]
Going eastward again, one reaches Swirling Waves Jetty; passing the jetty one comes to Whetstone Pillar Rock;[44] the current of the stream winds like a ribbon while the rock stands in the midst of the water; it is as though it had been formed as a pillar to withstand the wild waves. In the middle of the lake is Lake's Heart Pavilion;[45] looking around there is nothing but water in all directions, as though it were right in the centre. One can imagine the unsullied style of the lofty man. Neighbouring on the pavilion is Myriad Brocade Embankment; the embankment lies across the lake, dividing the lake into two sections, and flowers and bamboo are planted at random on it. Walking along and enjoying them is like being on the roads of Shanyin;their freshness links shade to shade, so that one does not have time to take it all in.[46]