Historical significance of plaque couplets
As the carrier of material culture, the couplets on the plaque of Yuyuan Garden in the Old Town God Temple bring together many factors, such as garden culture, folk culture, business culture, catering culture, market culture and so on, which has unique and rich cultural construction significance. Architectural plaques and couplets are real and objective historical specimens and humanistic records.
The "Sansui Hall" in the Yuyuan Garden is a classic ancient building, with cornices and corners, carved beams and painted buildings, and Zhu Ju Dani. The inscription "Urban Mountain Forest" is a famous work by Tao Shu in Qing Dynasty. In the seventh year of Jiaqing, he was a scholar, Tao Shu. He chose Jishi Shu from imperial academy to teach editing, calligraphy and poetry. Daoguang served as Governor of Liangjiang and Governor of Jiangsu for five years. Later, after the flood in Huaiyang, he sympathized with public opinion, personally surveyed the disaster situation, dredged rivers and lakes, and eliminated the drawbacks. In Jiangsu, he saved more than 200 thousand silver by sea and dredged Wusong River, Liuhe River and Baimao River, which won the hearts of the people and was very pioneering. This plaque was written by Daoguang in six years. He saw that after the opening of Shanghai, the Yuyuan Garden was full of shops and buildings, and it was a scene of prosperity. It was "a feeling of the city and the interest of the mountains, and the dust barrier was empty." Therefore, I am very happy to write "Urban Mountain Forest", which reflects the urbanization development process since Shanghai opened its port and proves the prosperity of commercial trade in the old city of Shanghai.
Qian Juntao's quaint, elegant and magnificent Yue Bin Tower is one of the large shopping malls in the Old Town God Temple. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this building site was adjacent to the military exercise parade ground, hence the name Old School Road. In August of the third year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty (1853), the Small Knife Society uprising broke out in Shanghai, occupying Shanghai 17 months in one fell swoop. At that time, Liu Lichuan, the leader of the Knife Club, set his base camp in the Shanghai Confucian Temple at Xiaodongmen, and Marshal Chen, the left, set his headquarters in Dianchuntang in Yuyuan Garden (Shen Bingcheng's calligraphy tablet). The tinker once again became a martial arts training and military parade place for the Knife Club. At that time, a folk song was sung: East courtyard and west courtyard, the soldiers are stronger than Ma Zhuang. If you want to throw a knife, go to some spring hall. Now, "Yue Bin" is homophonic with "military parade" to recall the past, and at the same time, it means "it's a pleasure to have friends coming from afar", which means an old scene of the Yuyuan Garden of the Old Town God Temple and the ancient city customs.
Folk memory of couplets by the building
There are also folk memories and legends in the couplets of plaques in the Yuyuan Garden of the Old Town God Temple, which have the charm of "wind", "elegance" and "ode".
For example, the "Shen" written by Sha Menghai, a master calligrapher, is a statue of Aquilaria sinensis and Guanyin that Pan Yunduan, the builder of Yuyuan Garden, accidentally salvaged while handling grain transportation. Knowing that his mother believed in Buddhism and was very filial, Pan sent people to Shanghai to be enshrined in the Panjia Buddha Temple. According to textual research, this statue of Aquilaria Resinatum Guanyin was presented to Yang Di by Chishi King in the fourth year of Sui Daye (608). Because Emperor Yang Di saw Qionghua in Yangzhou, the ship sank in the Huaihe River, and Pan Yunyun got it unexpectedly, which was naturally cherished. The words "Sha Lao Shu" seem to blend into these ancient historical origins in the lines of stippling.
Another example is the official script couplet engraved on the pillars on both sides of the main hall of the Old Town God Temple: "Be a good person, have a good heart and have a peaceful dream." Do something good and learn from ghosts and gods. "There is a widely circulated story in this couplet to persuade people to be kind: it is said that during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, incense was flourishing in the Chenghuang Temple, and a large number of silver dollars and copper coins were stuffed into the Kidd box in front of the incense table every day. However, Mr. Zhang, the head of the temple, always found a lot missing when he counted the Kidd box at night. The thief turned out to be Miao. When he saw that Kidd's box was full of money, he became greedy. It rained heavily this day. Seeing that there were few pilgrims, Zhang Er wanted to reach for Kidd's box. Suddenly, he saw a white handkerchief floating on the shoulder of the owner of the Chenghuang Temple. Zhang Er picked it up and wrote: Be a good person and do some good deeds. Zhang Er was very scared, so she ran away. In the evening, he slept in the bed and took out a handkerchief. Deeply guilty, he wrote, "I have learned to turn over a new leaf and do good deeds!" " At this time, he heard a deep voice behind him: "Straight heart is the way to be a man. If you change, it is a training for being a man. " Zhang Er hurriedly looked back, but it was Mr. Zhang. He understood everything: "I was wrong, and I would never …" Zhang Er was filled with remorse. The story of Mr. Zhang's kindness in teaching temples was written by Mo Bingde, a scholar at that time, and later by Yang Xian, a juren and calligrapher from Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty, which still has an admonishing effect and gives people spiritual enlightenment.
Artistic value of architectural plaque couplets
The couplets in the Yuyuan Garden of the Old Town God Temple not only have great practical value, but also have high artistic value. It can be said that it is the grand view of architectural couplets since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with a large number and high grade, which is second to none in Jiangnan. Calligraphy styles include seal script, official script, regular script, running script and cursive script. As far as calligraphy styles are concerned, they coexist and compete with each other, either vigorous and bold, or simple and elegant, or beautiful and elegant, or warm and rich, or vigorous and rich. On the list of calligraphers, there are many famous artists from Ming and Qing Dynasties to modern times, such as Zhu Zhishan, Wang Mian Deng, Shen Bingcheng, Guo Moruo, Shen, Sha Menghai, Zhao Puchu, Su Yuanlei, Chen Congzhou, Gu Tinglong, Lai Shaoqi, Qian Juntao, Cheng Shifa, Gu Tinglong and Hu Wen. These calligraphy works are exquisite in pen and ink, distinctive in style and precious.
For example, Appreciation of Western Hills written by Zhu Zhishan, one of the "four gifted scholars in Wuzhong" in the Ming Dynasty, has vigorous characters and elegant pen and ink. In particular, his style of writing is flowing, free and easy, which shows his uninhibited personality and unique and profound cultivation. For example, Rain Flower Hall by Wen Zhiming, a master of calligraphy and painting in Wumen in Ming Dynasty, was originally the study of Pan Yunduan, the owner of Yuyuan Garden. Out of admiration for Wen Zhiming, it is synthesized with Wen Zhiming's words, from which it can be seen that the pen and ink are vigorous and ups and downs, with beautiful lines and abundant momentum. Pan's Diary of the Fourteenth to Twenty-seventh Years of Wanli (1586 ~ 1599) was named Diary of Yuhuatang, and Confucius said that "a gentleman is better than jade". It can be seen that "Yuhuatang" plays an important role in Yu Garden. Opposite Yuhuatang is Yulinglong, the treasure of Yuyuan Town. This stone is a relic of Hua Shigang, the emperor of the Song Dynasty. Amazingly, it is transparent, leaky, thin and crepe. The word "Ninghuige" written by everyone in the contemporary book circle is vigorous and elegant, and it is clear and Gu Zhuo, which highlights the lofty and indifferent heart of this contemporary scholar. "Ninghuige" is the highest place in Yu Garden. Whenever the sun rises and the sky is full of colorful clouds, this pavilion is the first ray of morning light in Yu Garden, hence its name. According to the Story of the West Garden written by Qiao Zhongwu in Shanghai in the Qing Dynasty, "Leave the boat and cross Liang Shi in the south, enter the cave, there is a pavilion on the right, facing Asahi in the east, and write a letter' Ninghui Pavilion'". It can be seen that there was this pavilion in Yuyuan West Garden in Qing Dynasty. From the perspective of artistic creation, it is extremely difficult to write couplets on architectural plaques. First, it is easy to be clumsy with few words, and second, there is parallax hanging in the sky, which requires high pen and ink control and line structure.
The tour guide function of architectural plaque couplets
Shanghai Old Town God Temple Yuyuan Garden, as a well-known tourist attraction, also plays an indispensable role as a humanistic guide. When people wander on the zigzag bridge in the pavilion in the middle of the lake, or stroll in the shops of Qionglou Yuyu and Diaolianghuadong, or take a nap beside the Qushui Pavilion in Yuyuan Garden, the couplets of buildings that come into view can not only look back at the past, but also look at the present, which makes people more interested and full of interest.
The ancient calligrapher Jiang Fengyi wrote the word "Lake Pavilion" in the middle of the Jiuqu Bridge, which was elegant and generous. This is the earliest, oldest and most famous teahouse in Shanghai, and it is also the most beautiful place in the whole Old Town God Temple. This plaque contains rich vicissitudes. This teahouse, built in the fifth year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty (1855), was originally an important scenic spot of Panshi Yuyuan Garden in Ming Dynasty. At that time, it was built on an island surrounded by water. Pan Shi wrote in Yu Garden: "There is an island in the heart of the pool, and there is a pavilion saying' lost'." After the decline of Pan Shi's family business, the pavilion in the lake was purchased by Zhu Huihui and other cloth merchants who run blue cloth, rebuilt in the lake, built a zigzag bridge with stone pillars and wooden fences, and planted lotus flowers all over the lake. At that time, "Zhuzhici" sang: "The flowers and trees in Yuyuan Garden are not barren, and the zigzag bridge is picturesque. As soon as the pavilion in the middle of the lake stands upright, the scenery is actually the West Lake. " After several changes of hands, businessman Liu renamed it "Wan Zaixuan" teahouse. Confucian businessmen put mahogany tables and chairs in the tea room and hung celebrity calligraphy and painting, which improved the service level. At that time, there were more than a dozen teahouses in the Old Town God Temple, and Hu Xin Pavilion was the most popular. It has become a scenic spot in Yu Garden, enjoying tea and scenery, taking tea as a friend, and its reputation is far spread.
"Tong Han Chun Tang" inscribed by Lu Runxiang, the champion of Tongzhi JOE, is a century-old plaque. As the oldest Chinese medicine shop in Shanghai, Tong has experienced ups and downs. As early as the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a small Chinese medicine shop named Zhu in Xiaodongmen, the old town. Because of its slow business, it was acquired by Tong Shi, a businessman from Ningbo, in the forty-eighth year of Qianlong (1784), and changed its name to Tong Hanchuntang No.1 Chinese Medicine. Tong started from the wholesale business of medicinal materials, so he did both wholesale and retail, and also hired a sitting doctor to make Tong rise rapidly. In the second year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1863), the fourth generation of Tong clan leaders made great efforts to set up a number of semicolons in Shanghai, and bought four sailboats for overseas trade, selling Chinese medicine to Southeast Asia. In order to further improve the social reputation and status of "Tong", the store manager used one hundred and twenty pieces of silver as an ornament pen. Please write the name of the hall, make it into a golden signboard and hang it in the door, which will become the treasure of the town store. During the Cultural Revolution, this plaque was also doomed, and it was almost disposed of as garbage. It is the collection and protection of a citizen with humanistic spirit, and it will see the light of day again after returning to the earth in spring.
The architectural plaque couplets in the Yuyuan Garden of the Old Town God Temple systematically and comprehensively show the elegant charm of maritime calligraphy, vividly highlighting the long historical scroll of the Yuyuan Garden of the Old Town God Temple, which is precious.