走進嶺南庭園 

    庭園本是一場夢。中國園主為了圓夢，請人築起亭台樓閣，小橋流水；堆砌奇石假山，種樹栽花，將大世界縮進方寸中。時而文人雅集，吟詩作對；時而仕女同樂，燕語鶯歌。可園主更享受的，也許是酒闌人散後，在庭園裡鋪一張躺椅，小寐遐想；小姐更期盼的，是在園中碰到張君瑞，夢見柳夢梅。 

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    嶺南庭園也是一場夢，夢的是江南。清代廣東文人和富商在文化品味上，追慕江南風度，庭園設計亦奉蘇杭為圭臬。當然，風土氣候不同，江南絢麗的牡丹較難在嶺南綻放，但嶺南人在追捧牡丹的同時，也鐘愛本地品種，諸如小巧淡雅的素馨，以其為“粵中之清麗物也”。因此，嶺南園林也會有自己的特色。 

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    本來這次展覽，同學是要在校園裡用某種方式築起一個嶺南庭園的佈景，請來賓遊園尋夢的。豈料第五波新冠疫情異常兇猛，同學們不得不退回到線上世界，製造虛擬實景，讓看官穿越屏幕，步進嶺南庭園。我們不妨想象一下，在這個線上世界，我們一樣可以賞花品茶，觀鳥聽曲，漫步迴廊，閒坐石凳，靜看陽光穿透滿洲窗在地上灑下的斑斕色彩。且看我們中文及歷史學系的同學，是否有足夠的本領給我們在網上製造這虛擬實景，幫我們夢見嶺南。

 

    此趟遊園既是虛擬，大可抱住手機，躺平夢遊。想來也挺有趣的，身心“躺平”，方是走進庭園的應有態度；有夢的人，才能發揮想象力，看盡人間春色。 

 

程美寶   

香港城市大學中文及歷史學系教授、系主任  

2022年3月8日 

 

 

Into the Lingnan Gardens 

A garden is literally a dream. To realize their dreams, affluent Chinese garden owners would hire a team to build terraces and towers, pavilions and pagodas, and bridges over streams and ponds. With rock works put up, trees planted, flowers blossomed, a garden becomes a miniature representation of the big world. Historically, Chinese literati met in gardens to write poetry and verses; ladies gathered there to chat and chant. But perhaps what garden owners enjoyed the most was the moment after the guests left. He could then take a nap in a bamboo incliner, and dream. A lady would probably also like to stay in a garden on her own, wishing that she would meet Zhang Junrui, or dream of Liu Mengmei. Both Zhang and Liu were supposedly handsome gentlemen, the ideal lovers.  

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Lingnan Gardens are also representation of dreams. What Lingnan garden owners might want to realize in theirs was a Jiangnan garden. Whereas “Lingnan” literally refers to the lands to the “South of the Mountains” (Nanling), “Jiangnan” means the “South of the River” (Yangtze). In the Qing dynasty, literati and wealthy merchants in Guangdong adored the culture of Jiangnan, and built their gardens in the fashion of Suzhou and Hangzhou counterparts. But the tropical climate of Lingnan would not allow the peony from Jiangnan to bloom fiercely there. And indigenous species such as suxin (Jasminum grandiflorum) were equally favoured by local people. With small and white petals, suxin was regarded as “an elegant beauty of Guangdong”. It is with a variety of indigenous species that Lingnan gardens cultivate their own character.

  

This exhibition on Lingnan gardens was meant to build physically a model of Lingnan garden on campus. But the onslaught of the fifth wave of the epidemic forces our students to retreat to the cyber space to construct a virtual reality. Guests are invited to visit virtually the Lingnan Garden through their computer or mobile screens. Let us imagine: in this cyber world we will still be able to appreciate the flowers, taste the tea, observe the birds, and listen to music. We may also stroll around the winding paths and zig-zag galleries, sitting on a stone stool, and gazing at the colour patches on the floor produced by the sun passing through the “Manchu Windows”, a typical decorative component of Lignan gardens. Let us see if the students of the Chinese and History Department can do their best to create a virtual reality which would make us dream.

 

Working from home you might probably be lying in bed while making the virtual garden tour. Interestingly, “lying flat” -- putting work second -- is probably the best mentality for visiting a garden. You will find that the spring is here, as long as you can dream. 

 

 

CHING May Bo 

Head and Professor, Department of Chinese and History 

City University of Hong Kong 

8th March 2022