Rhythmic Control and Management of Space-Time Change

In terms of rhythm, meter and management of space-time change, designers of Hangzhou gardens have definitively proved their creative ability. In designing thegeneral physical layout of a place, they know how to make good use of semi-decorative garden buildings such as pagodas, dykes or embankments, bridges,pavilions, towers, open balconied houses, etc., and of the ingenious display of treesand flowers with the result that anyone strolling in such an environment wouldexperience feelings inspired by animation vs. repose, pause and intermission,variations, darkness vs. light, repetitions, steepness vs. non-steepness, twists andturns, etc. In a word, there seems to be an innate sense of rhythm in the overalldesign.

Take for instance the three well-known pagodas in Hangzhou, the AvatamsakaSutra Pagoda, the Baochu Pagoda and the Pagoda of Six Harmonies. The three aremarkedly different in their physical dimensions and they are built on hills different inheight and magnitude. On Solitary Hill, which is only about 30m high and sits rightby the side of the West Lake there is the diminutive Avatamsaka Sutra Pagoda withits exquisitely-done ornamental carved artwork. On Baoshi Mountain north of the lakewhose height exceeds 100m, there is the Baochu Pagoda which in terms of height anddimensions is just right for the hill it stands upon. Then on Yuelun Hill by the sideof Qiantang River that commands a panoramic, wide-angled view of natural riverside scenery there stands the Pagoda of Six Harmonies which is as high as 60m. Althoughthe three are all pagodas, their different configurations and heights and the perfectlybalanced and harmonious look of the pagodas in their respective settings create threedifferent kinds of aesthetic effect that are, respectively, pleasingly small and cute,charmingly slender and erect and majestically imposing. And one will marvel at theinfinite and unpredictable resourcefulness of the garden designers!

The Bai Causeway is also a case in point. Lying across the lake under low-lyinghills, it has an innate rhythm all its own, as manifested in its rises and falls,repetitions, pauses and intermissions, etc. The causeway begins in the east with awaterside pavilion named In the Light of Clouds and Waters （Yun Shui GuangZhong）together with some other semi-decorative architectural structures includingthe pavilion with a stone tablet carrying the inscription “Lingering Snows on BrokenBridge （Duan Qiao Can Xue）”, extending then for a distance of about a fullkilometer with the scenery varied by the presence of Broken Bridge and BrocadeGirdle Bridge and coming to an end at the complex of graceful-looking semi-decorative garden structures of A Placid Lake under the Autumn Moon（Ping Hu QiuYue）. This is rhythm in terms of distance.

The Longjing Scenic Area

The causeway looks like a colorful ribbonflying gracefully over the blue waters of the lake, offering wide-open views of thebeautiful scenery on both sides and this is rhythm in terms of smooth flowingness oflines. The causeway is lined on its two sides alternately with peach trees and weepingwillows and this is rhythm in terms of variation. When the beautiful semi-decorativegarden buildings at A Placid Lake under the Autumn Moon are reached, one willnaturally halt and take a rest and that is rhythm in terms of pause and intermission.The walk through the garden buildings of this scenic place on the causeway and pastthe many rockeries and trees and flowers on the way is an interesting experience inwitnessing change in space and time, with many many ups and downs, rises and falls,light-shade alternations, pauses and halts, sparsenesses vs. densenesses, twists andturns, etc.