Liang Jiutu is also Liang Airu's nephew. He is Liang Yucheng's youngest son. By the time he grew up, Liang Yucheng was already a well-known physician and the author of more than 20 volumes of "Liangfang Leichao". Liang Jiutu has lived in a wealthy and culturally rich family since he was a child, and he has been deeply influenced by it.
Among the Liang family’s uncles and nephews, Liang Jiutu is the most famous. When he was a child, he was a well-known child prodigy in Foshan. Liang Jiutu was very smart since he was a child and loved reading. He was able to compose poems at the age of 10. He became famous for his poems such as "Farewell Pictures of Guangdong and Taiwan" and "Qi Xiangguo Junzao Yun".
Liang Jiutu was an erudite man who once served as the prison chief of the Ministry of Punishment. He later resigned due to leg disease. He had a noble temperament and was indifferent to fame. He was obsessed with reading, writing poetry, painting and writing, and traveling.
After returning to his hometown, he purchased the former site of the Jishan Thatched Cottage of the early Qing Dynasty poet Cheng Keze in the Songguili area, and built his earliest private garden "Wisteria Pavilion" in Songguili. He had a deep friendship with the famous Qing Dynasty poets Zhang Weiping, Huang Peifang, Wu Bingnan and Cen Zheng, and they often gathered here to sing and sing.
During the Daoguang period, Liang Jiutu visited the Xiangshui River in Hengshan Mountain. When he was returning south, the boat passed Qingyuan, Guangdong. He found 12 strange stones:
The color is pure yellow, and the giant one is two meters tall. It is about a foot, and the smaller one is also a diameter foot. Its shape is like a mountain peak, a pond, a stream waterfall, a steep slope, a rocky ravine road...
Yellow wax stone was originally produced in the Kingdom of Chenla, which later became Cambodia. It was extremely rare in the Qing Dynasty. When Liang Jiutu confirmed that these 12 stones, which were sallow in color, rugged in veins, crystal clear, and as smooth as grease, were pure yellow wax stones, he was so pleasantly surprised that he quickly transferred the stones to Foshan by ship and used a seven-star rock plate to store water. , listed it in front of the Wisteria Pavilion, and became famous far and wide.
Among them, the largest one is called "Qian Duo Kong", which is more than three feet high and two feet wide at its narrowest. Liang Jiutu regarded it as his life, so he not only named his study "Twelve Stone Mountain House" , and even named himself "Twelve Stone Mountain Man", and these 12 yellow wax stones have become treasures among the many strange stones in Liang Garden.
One of his Qijue poems, "Self-Inscribed Twelve Stones House", is written to record its prosperity:
Heng Yue returned in the late 19th century, and he stored stones in the pot as a smoke server.
Climbing high means losing strength in waist and feet, instead of looking at the real mountain, you only look at the rockery.
Since then, people have called his private garden "Twelve Stones House". Later, Liang Jiutu collected more and more strange stones, so he built the Qiu Shuangxuan Wrinkle Cloud Room to display the strange stones collected from various places, such as yellow wax stone, Lingbi stone, painted pottery stone, petrified wood, Taihu stone, etc. . Among them, Taihu stone, which is famous for being "thin, wrinkled, leaky and transparent", is the most famous.
Yellow wax stone is loved by collectors of rare stones due to its excellent quality, color and shape. Jiu Tu, Jiu Hua and Jiu Hua's son Si Pu especially loved yellow wax stones, and they sang to each other, leaving behind a legend that "old brothers share a fondness for stones, and uncles and nephews write poems for each other".
In addition, during the Daoguang period, Liang Jiitu also built another private garden "Fenjiang Caolu" in Songguili, which was a place for poets to gather and chant. The poets and poets "requited themselves by singing poems and drinking wine, advocating elegance" and called Liang Jiutu "Mr. Fenjiang".
Fenjiang Thatched Cottage is located next to Qunxing Thatched Cottage. The group buildings in the garden include Yunjiao, Gexuan, Changyi Lake, Lake Center Stone, Shifang, Li Pavilion, etc., all of which are built around the lake and pond. dispersion. However, its conceptual layout is different from that of Qunxing Cottage. It is magnificent and shows another style of gardening technique.
In front of the Fenjiang Thatched Cottage Garden Group, there is a small stone arch bridge with exquisite design, which is a passage connecting Qunxing Thatched Cottage and Fenjiang Thatched Cottage. This bridge is called "Yun Bridge" because it concentrates the charm of the scenery around the bridge: the charm of the books in the distance, the charm of the piano in the hall, the charm of tea in the tripod, the charm of the duo under the eaves, and the charm of the flowing water.
According to legend, there used to be a private school not far from Yunqiao. During class, the sound of children reading could be heard from afar. When playing the piano on the bridge, the sound of the piano could be heard lingering around the beams for three days. Next to the piano was placed The tea is boiling, the charm of tea is lingering, there is the sound of rain hitting the eaves on rainy days, and the water gurgling under the bridge. All kinds of charm are concentrated on this bridge.
The first pavilion is Zhuxuan, which is the entrance to the Fenjiang thatched cottage community.
The word "ge" means "bamboo", and bamboo bushes are planted next to the pavilion, which reflects the owner's pursuit of elegance. Why did the owner name it "Gexuan" instead of "Zhuxuan"?
It is said that Liang Jiutu was influenced by the famous Qing Dynasty poet Yuan Mei's poem "The moon reflects the bamboo into a thousand characters." Yuan Mei said that the shadow of the bamboo reflected in the moonlight resembles the character "personality". In addition, he was also influenced by Zheng Banqiao, a famous painter from the Qing Dynasty who was one of the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. He also had a golden saying: "It is better to eat without meat than to live without bamboo. Without meat, one will be thin, and without bamboo, one will be vulgar."
The chai door is made of bamboo knots and pine wood, and the bamboo fences on both sides are covered with ivy, giving it a rustic atmosphere and reflecting the owner's pursuit of staying away from the hustle and bustle and being close to nature. The pavilion is shaded by green bamboos, and the environment is quiet and relaxing. Liang Jiutu himself was quite proud of this and composed a poem:
Tie up firewood to make the door, and line up the willows to form the bank.
Two streams flank the road, and one water draws a dike.
It can be seen that in the courtyard, on the pine embankment with water, you can enjoy bamboos, lotuses and willows, which embodies the pastoral charm of the waterside countryside deliberately created by the owner. The pine and bamboo hut with bamboo as the frame and pine bark covering the roof is very natural.
The use of water and stones in the Fenjiang Thatched Cottage Garden can be described as unique: there are both ordinary stacked stone scenery and single-stone scenery; there are both gurgling water and a lake. In the clear water, there are groups of Goldfish and koi float and sink, and the lake has continuous ripples. This quiet and moving landscape is amazing.
On Changyi Lake, a strange-shaped stone, nearly 7 meters high and weighing more than 14 tons, stands in the lake. This stone is called "Lake Center Stone", also known as "Lake Center Stone". stone". Around the stone in the center of the lake, white geese and mandarin ducks are playing in the water, and the artistic conception of "white hair floating on the green water, and anthurium playing clear waves" is fully realized.
The stone in the center of the lake has the appearance of a mountain peak. The stone is delicate and beautiful, and the folds are connected. When you look along the shore, you will see changes from every angle. Each side is like a three-dimensional painting, such as Hengshan Mountain has nine faces, all of which are different. People describe them as "standing in the same shape as clouds, but more like waves than waves", so they are called "Spring Peaks".
Legend has it that this lake center stone was discovered by Liang Jiutu when he traveled to Fulu Peak in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province. At that time, the stone was not a few feet deep in the soil. Liang Jiutu hired more than 30 people and spent six days digging until the entire stone was revealed. Later, he recruited 50 people to carry it to the foot of the mountain, and finally transported it to Foshan by ship.
On the shore of Changyi Lake, not far from the stone, there is a beautiful small pavilion called "Shifang", which is about seven or eight meters long. It is built for viewing the stone in the center of the lake. set up. The two stones of turtle and snake in front of the boat are collectively called Xuanwu, symbolizing longevity and good luck.
The stone boat is like a purple cave boat, with waves touching Huajin and the road approaching Pingwu. There is a rhyme bridge in the west of the pavilion, which looks like a rainbow hanging high on a bright mirror. There are several banana bushes in the north of the bridge, and there are stone tables. If you talk about poetry and painting under the banana trees, you will be happy and nourish your character. It will be like entering a paradise, forgetting all the favors and disgrace.
During the Daoguang and Xianfeng years of the Qing Dynasty, Liang Jiutu was a famous social figure, philanthropist and poet. Liang Jiutu's poems are magnificent and unique in their uniqueness, which can well reflect his personality. He is the author of "Collection of Poems of Twelve Stones", "Poems of Lingbiao", "Customs of Wisteria Hall", "Essays of Fenjiang", "Remaining Records of Foshan" and "Miscellaneous Notes of Lingnan", etc.
In addition to poetry, Liang Jiu was good at painting and calligraphy, and was a master of orchids. His two paintings of "Molan" and "Molan Vertical Scroll" as well as more than 10 paintings and calligraphy works were later collected by major museums.
His works have always been very popular among the people. At that time, even if people only got a small piece of his calligraphy and painting, they regarded it as a jade and treasured it.
Liang Jiitu created two groups of Liang's famous gardens by himself, and was known as the "Stone Maniac". Because he was a literary talent with many creative works and built a large garden "Fenjiang Thatched Cottage", people respected him as "Mr. Fenjiang".
From its construction in 1796 to around 1850, Foshan Liang Garden was perfected through repeated construction by Liang Airu, Liang Jiuzhang, Liang Jiuhua and Liang Jiitu’s uncle and nephew, which lasted more than 50 years.
After completion, Foshan Liangyuan consists of multiple groups in different locations such as Twelve Stones Zhai, Fenjiang Thatched Cottage, Qunxing Thatched Cottage and Hanxiang Pavilion. The main part is located on the Xianfeng Ancient Road of Songfeng Road in Foshan, and the others are located in Xixianli of Songfeng Road and Songguili of Shengping Road. People always call it Liangyuan of Foshan.
In the Qing Dynasty, Foshan Liang Garden, Shunde Qinghui Garden, Dongguan Keyuan and Panyu Yuyin Shanfang were collectively known as the "Four Famous Gardens in Guangdong" and were representative works of Lingnan gardens. His fame spread as far as Beijing and Jiangnan. Among the four famous gardens in Lingnan, the stone scenery of Liang Garden is the most praised for its variety and uniqueness.
The gardening features of Liang Garden are an ingenious combination of water, stones, courtyards, flowers and trees, and various buildings. It pursues an elegant and natural poetic and artistic conception, and is unique among Lingnan gardens.
The stone culture of Liang Garden is unique in other gardens. Liang Jiutu bought twelve pieces of yellow wax stone because "climbing makes people healthy", "he stored the stones in the pot as smoke on the temples, instead of looking at the real mountain, he looked at the rockery".
The owners of Twelve Studies, Qunxing Thatched Cottage and Hanxiang Pavilion especially like to use natural peaks and stones for garden landscaping. Different combinations are used to continuously change various unique gardens in Lingnan, such as flat courtyard, mountain courtyard, water courtyard, stone courtyard and water stone courtyard, reflecting the master's superb gardening art.
Guangdong has a rainy and humid climate. In order to achieve the purpose of durability, stone is used in the vestibules, beams, columns, door lintels and window frames of residential buildings. It can not only play a waterproof role in the rainy season, but also Can be fireproof. In particular, it can prevent termite attack. A large number of stones are used in buildings and even as paving materials in gardens, forming another feature of Lingnan gardens.
The ancient Chinese people’s love for strange stones reflects the aesthetic concept of advocating nature. The ancients believed that strange stones are the product of the unity of nature and man. They are diverse and lifelike, and the beauty lies in their natural formation. Strange rocks are like silent poetry, three-dimensional pictures, and silent music.
According to legend, the ancients began to use stones in the decorative art of gardens a long time ago, using stones to embellish the environment, and divided strange stones into different types according to their place of origin, such as Jiangsu Taihu stone and Anhui Lingbi stone. Stone, Guangdong Yingde stone, etc. are all high-quality materials for stacked stone landscaping.
There are more than 400 strange stones in Liangyuan, which is known as "there are more stones than books". Among them, the most attractive thing in Qunxing Thatched Cottage is the "Stone Courtyard". It pays attention to the formation of one stone and the scenery of one stone, which is unique among Lingnan private gardens. The owner of Liang Garden highlighted individual characteristics by arranging single stones and solitary stones, and expressed his pursuit of human individuality and free personality in the world in the pot.
The mountains in Liang Garden are not "stacked", but are consistent with the simple style of the entire garden. We do not seek grand momentum but seek the charm of the stone, using small instead of large. Show the wonders of mountains and rivers.
The method of replacing "stacked mountains" with stone mountains eliminates the backlog of stacking stones and eliminates the need to compare and match textures and shapes of stones, allowing for more flexible and free expression of different thoughts and emotions.
Liang Garden pays more attention to artistic conception. In terms of layout, the entire Liang Garden is a trinity. Multiple groups in Liangyuan are organically combined with residences, ancestral halls, and gardens, forming multiple complexes of gardens, residences, and ancestral halls in different time and space, such as the Twelve Stones Studio, Hanxiang Pavilion, and Qunxing Thatched Cottage in Song Guilin.
Liangyuan has a complete range of garden buildings and is full of local characteristics. Pavilions, terraces, pavilions, pavilions, huts, halls, pavilions, etc. are all available in Liangyuan. Various buildings draw on the strengths of others and focus on expressing the characteristics of folk crafts in Lingnan water towns. Gray sculptures, brick carvings, wood carvings, and stone carvings are all available.
In addition to using traditional techniques, the owner also applied Western decoration to traditional gardens. For example, the Manchurian windows and diamond-shaped stone steps in the ship hall of the Star Cottage are original creations of the owner.
In addition, Liangyuan also collects many famous calligraphers from past dynasties. Xiushui, strange stones and famous posts can be called the "three treasures" of Liang Garden.