Chapter 37 Hidden Riches in Other Courtyards (Part 1)
Previously, Gao Xiaozhuang and Gao Mo only reported to Gao Jingshi that "the villa is quite big" and "quite impressive", and there were few other statements. It was not until Gao Jingshi came to the villa in person that he knew what a giant was.
A grand gesture from a rich and powerful family.
The Cherry Spring Villa in West Beijing that Zhang Siwei gave to Gao Pragmatic is said to be Cherry Spring, but it is actually located near the Panlong Resort of the Later World Federation of Literary and Art Circles. In terms of topography, this place is a turn of the Yongding River.
A peninsula formed by a curve, the villa's courtyard faces south and is surrounded by mountains and rivers, making it majestic and majestic.
The courtyard itself is built on a medium-sized mountain, and is rectangular from top to bottom. Not far from the main entrance at the foot of the mountain is the Yongding River. Gao Pangshi couldn't judge the size of the courtyard at the moment, but after a casual estimate, at least
It is larger than the Humble Administrator's Garden that he visited when he traveled to Suzhou. Of course, the styles of gardens in northern and southern China are different, so comparing size alone is meaningless.
Northern gardens are mainly distributed in the Gyeonggi area, and are mainly represented by royal gardens. Compared with Jiangnan gardens, they are usually much larger in scale. In the planning and layout of gardens, the central axis is used more for scenery, so the style of the garden appears
More solemn and serious.
Affected by geographical location, compared with gardens in the south of the Yangtze River, there is less rainfall in the north. In addition, there are fewer lakes in North China, and there are not as many waterways as in the south of the Yangtze River. Water sources and water quantities have restricted the development direction of gardens in the north.
As far as Gao Pingshi knows, among the gardens near the capital of the Ming Dynasty, the ones with better terrain are mostly occupied by the royal family and nobles. The royal gardens are of course the most unique, with a larger water surface, followed by the princes and nobles. Some gardens are even
A dry garden without water features.
There are two small ponds in this courtyard that now belongs to Gao Pragmatic. One of them is located at the foot of the mountain, not far from the main entrance and through the screen wall. It is probably slightly larger than a basketball court in later generations. It looks like it should be.
It is a resting place used to meet guests and chat; there is also one in the garden on the mountain. From the planning point of view, it should be used by the owner to rest and enjoy himself.
Compared with water, northern gardens prefer the landscaping of mountains. In gardens, mountains are majestic, and their beauty is high and strong. The taller mountains are a symbol of the royal family, and some gardens are even located on tall and majestic places.
Among the natural mountains, it is to show the status of the owner of the garden. The nobles usually wait to come down according to their title.
According to Zhang Jin, this villa was built earlier by Wang Zhi, the great eunuch during the Chenghua period. However, Wang Zhi originally did not intend to use it for himself, but planned to donate it to the royal villa. However, due to some reasons, it could not be built.
As wished.
In the Hongzhi Dynasty, this villa was moved around several times, and was finally given to Xie Qian, a famous official at that time and known as one of the "Three Wise Prime Ministers" by Emperor Hongzhi. As soon as Xie Qian came back to this villa for the first time, he went to the nearby Cherry Spring to view the scenery.
Then it was called Cherry Spring Villa, also known as Cherry Orchard.
The garden changed hands several times, and was finally bought by Zhang Siwei in the 41st year of Jiajing's reign, before he was appointed co-examiner of the joint examination. He probably felt that calling it Cherry Garden looked a bit like an orchard, so it was generally called "Cherry Spring Villa".
Zhang Jin then introduced to Gao Pragmatic that the cherry orchard had been somewhat dilapidated earlier, and Zhang Siwei had renovated it once after buying it. However, the renovation plan was more tailored to local conditions, and no stones such as Taihu stone were deliberately used.
Let me explain a little here. In terms of stone use in northern gardens, Fangshan stone, Taihu stone, bluestone, etc. are mostly used. This is mainly due to regional restrictions: Taihu stone is actually a high-quality stone, but because its origin is in the Jiangnan region, transportation costs are high.
It is tall but rarely used or smaller in size; similar to Taihu stone is Fangshan stone, known as North Taihu stone. It was produced in Fangshan District of Beijing in later generations. From mining to transportation, it is more convenient, so it is often used in northern gardens;
Bluestone is also similar to Fangshan stone, and its origin is relatively close.
Zhang Jin also introduced that in terms of trees in this villa, Zhang Siwei once explained that only pine, cypress, poplar, elm and other tree species were retained in the garden. He originally ordered some locust trees and willows to be removed.
.The shrubs in the courtyard are mostly lilacs, crabapples, peonies, peonies, lotus, etc. Affected by the climate, the plant scenery varies greatly in the four seasons: everything revives in spring, and the trees turn green. But now it is winter, and there are no flowers.
See the law.
Gao pragmatic laughed after hearing this: "I quite like plum blossoms, and I also love the snow scene. If you have time, please show me the locust trees that were removed before, and where the willow trees were originally located. If appropriate, I would like to plant some plum blossom trees."
." His words were not random nonsense. Gao Pingshi had always liked the poem "The edge of a sword comes from sharpening, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold." Therefore, he also has a special love for plum blossoms.
Zhang Jin smiled and agreed. Anyway, Zhang Siwei had told him before he came that he would be responsible for serving as a guest tour guide for Gao pragmatically and help him understand the situation of this villa.
Gao Pragmatic looked at the architectural style in the garden again and found that compared with some of the Jiangnan and Lingnan buildings he had seen in his previous life, the northern buildings like the Cherry Orchard appeared thicker, possibly due to the influence of the climate and the need to withstand the cold climate.
, windproof and warm, and at the same time, the roof style must not only be able to drain water, but also take into account snow accumulation in winter, so the beam frame is larger, so it looks majestic.
Of course, it is also possible that Wang Zhi built this garden with the intention of giving it to the emperor, so the style was a bit more majestic.
Zhang Jin continued: "In fact, because the main entrance of this courtyard is opened from the bottom of the mountain and built all the way up the mountain, it is planned into a three-story staircase, and each floor has a different function."
Gao pragmatic pointed to the top and said with a smile: "My residence is probably on the top floor?"
"Young Master Biao has a view of thousands of miles." Zhang Jin explained: "The top floor is your daily residence. It has an area of about thirty acres, including the north room (the master's bedroom), the wing room, the study room, and the tea room.
The library, pavilion, etc. are fully equipped, and there are about twenty maids and healthy women on weekdays to take care of the daily life."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Gao Pingqing said sincerely: To serve me alone, I need to arrange for twenty people? Oh, this should have been Zhang Siwei's pomp, I won't be able to support him by then
We can withdraw, at least part of it, and just leave a few people to cook and do laundry... Starting a business is difficult, so save when you can.
Zhang Jin didn't pay attention to Gao's pragmatic expression and continued to explain: "The middle floor has an area of about fifty acres. The east side is mainly for guest rooms and warehouses, and the west side is for the guards' wing rooms and various warehouses. The east side can be used for guest rooms.
There are more than ten distinguished guests and nearly a hundred ordinary guests. The west guard wing can accommodate about 200 guards, which is enough to accommodate 300 servants. As for the warehouse, it occupies a larger area anyway. How many items can be placed in the small one?
I didn’t really understand it carefully.”
Gao Qingshi secretly smacked his tongue: If I could bring this garden back to modern times, I would be prosperous. The first-floor super villa where I live covers an area of 20,000 square meters, and the yard on the lower floor for guests and guards is nearly 40,000 square meters.
, and it’s still within the scope of Beijing... How much is this worth? I don’t dare to calculate, I don’t dare to calculate!
Zhang Jin continued: "In addition to the wide corridor leading to the upper two floors on the bottom floor, on the left and right sides are the residences of some peripheral servants, long-term and short-term workers, and poor tenants under the name of the other courtyard. There are about eight
It is ten acres in size, and about five hundred people currently live there.”
Gao Pangshi was stunned when he heard this: This is not a villa. If this place is slightly renovated, it will become a town! Eunuch Wang was indeed a man who did big things back then... Well, but having said that, my uncle
You are really rich! You bought such a big manor, but you didn’t even come and live there for a few days. Are you wasting it?
***The author has something to say***
Well... although I haven't asked for votes for a while, it doesn't mean I don't need it, friends!
