Suiyuanji 隨園記

Suiyuanji 隨園記 is the description of a private garden published in 1749 by the famous writer Yuan Mei 袁枚 (1716-1796), style Suiyuan Laoren 隨園老人. A poetry critique of his, Suiyuan shihua 隨園詩話, also bears the name of his garden. The same is true for the collection Suiyuan quanshu 隨園全集. Over time, Yuan Mei wrote six essays recording the garden, among others, Suiyuan ji, Suiyuan houji 隨園後記 and Suiyuan liuji 隨園六記.

Yuan Mei had a particular fondness for gardens. In 1745, while serving as magistrate of Jiangning 江寧, he purchased the former site of the Sui Garden 隋園 and rebuilt it, renaming it Sui Garden 隨園 (with a different character). According to the text Suiyuan suoji 隨園瑣記 "Miscellaneous notes on Sui Garden", written by Yuan Mei's grandson, Zhu Zuzhi 袁祖志 (1827-1899), Sui Garden was originally a desolate plot. Yuan levelled the ground to open ponds and waterways, erected towers and terraces, built it once, rebuilt it twice, and the expenses were beyond reckoning. Strange peaks and curious rocks were bought at high prices; ten thousand stalks of green bamboo he planted with his own hands. As for furnishings, they are made of sandalwood, pearwood, and catalpa, and are lacquered and gilded. Objects of appreciation include Jin-period 晉 (265-420) calligraphy and Tang-period 唐 (618-907) steles; ritual bronzes from the Shang 商 (17th-11th cent. BCE) and Xia 夏 (21th-17th cent. BCE). In the library are seals of Qingtian 青田 and Huangdong 黃東 stone, carved by famous hands. The Duan inkstones 端硯 include those of the banana-leaf and blue-flower varieties, many with antique inscriptions—possessions unmatched by wealthy households north or south of the Yangtze.

The essay is concise, and the description of Sui Garden is brief: it covers its geographical location, its historical background (originally belonging to a family surnamed Sui 隋), and the author's personal experience of purchasing and rebuilding the abandoned garden. Its main emphasis is on expressing personal feelings and commentary about Sui Garden, with reflections centred on the concept of the word sui 隨 (meaning "to follow" or "to accord"), that is, "following nature" or "embodying the life philosophy of being at ease with circumstances". The views expressed by the author accurately reveal the Daoist–Chan (Zen) realm embodied in the garden culture of ancient Chinese literati.

The text is included in the Yuan Mei's collection Xiaocang Shanfang wenji 小倉山房文集 and the series Zhongguo lidai mingyuan jizhuan zhu 中國歷代名園記選注 from 1983.