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History buff pens book on West Lake pavilions
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HANGZHOU’S West Lake has been attracting tourists for hundreds of years. Countless millions have visited its famous waters, and many have cooled their heels at its surrounding pavilions.
Known in Chinese as ting, or tingzi, these pavilions are covered structures supported by pillars. They are often found on hills and mountains, or next to bodies of water, and are meant as places of rest and contemplation.
The pavilions that dot West Lake are now the subject of a new book by Hu Zhijiong, who spent two years visiting and researching its more than 200 surrounding tingzi. The Chinese language volume, titled “Ting Liu” (liu meaning “to stay,” “remain” or “linger”), includes poems, drawings, photos and history lessons on 100 of the lake area’s pavilions.
According to Hu, the pavilions are like a thread running through the history of West Lake.
“How the pavilions were built, the meaning of the couplets hanging on their columns, and their locations — these all tell a story,” said the 35-year-old entrepreneur-turned-writer.
“And they reflect the nation’s aesthetics and values,” he added, citing the Guoxi Pavilion as an example.
This tingzi was built almost 1,000 years ago to commemorate the friendship between the Chinese scholar Su Shi and Buddhist master Bian Cai.
When master Bian Cai lived in the nearby Longjing Temple he built a bridge over a stream. He made it a rule that he could not cross the bridge while accompanying departing guests. But when Su was taking his leave, they had such an agreeable conversation that the monk unwittingly took Su over the bridge. Thus, people at the end of bridge built Guoxi Pavilion, guoxi meaning “crossing the stream.”
In his book Hu also mentioned that the fact master Bian Cai’s practice of making tea for visiting scholars helped turn the temple a place of interest for travelers. Today, the Longjing area of Hangzhou is also famous for its green tea.
Other pavilions have fascinating histories of their own. The Jingyin Pavilion, for instance, was built in the late 1990s by a Japanese entrepreneur to commemorate her ancestor, Lin Jingyin, a Chinese baker who migrated to Japan about 600 years ago.
Lin brought his fermentation techniques to the island nation and there he established a family business making steamed buns that has endured for over 30 generations.
Also, many pavilions were built to commemorate luminaries and historical personages, including emperors, scholars, poets and even a courtesan.
Active interest
Hu considers himself neither an expert on architecture or history. Originally from Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, he moved to Hangzhou in 2001 to study computer science at a local university.
He hit upon the idea of visiting every pavilion around West Lake while still a student. In 2014, he became an owner of a youth hostel and cafe. Having some time on his hands, he decided to pursue his interest in West Lake history, including its tingzi, more seriously.
“I love studying West Lake culture, because the lake is alive. It’s used today just as it was before,” said Hu.
But seeking out every one of the lake’s surrounding pavilions proved a much more difficult and time-consuming task than he originally envisioned.
“I assumed there were maybe a few dozen pavilions, but then I discovered there are hundreds.”
Many pavilions are accessible only after long hikes, where they continue to offer respite to weary travelers. Apart from wandering around the lake to document tingzi, Hu also looked through historical records.
Some older West Lake pavilions have vanished into the distance past, while others have been renamed or restored. Prior to Hu’s efforts, the record of these structures was incomplete and scattered throughout a diverse range of documents.
He admitted that “I’m the kind of person who is not satisfied until I know everything.”
The project also helped develop his artistic abilities, as his publisher asked him to produce sketches for the pavilions in his book.
Hu turned to many experts of West Lake and Hangzhou history for their advice and knowledge.
One of these experts, Shou Zeqin, who is the director of Zhejiang Ancient Books Publishing House, also wrote the preface to “Ting Liu.”
At first, Hu intended to turn his pavilion exploration project into a series of posts on social media. In the end, people following him online encouraged him to publish a book, which was paid for, in part, by crowdfunding.
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