You Jinling zhuyuan ji 游金陵諸園記

You Jinling zhuyuan ji 游金陵諸園記 is a report about gardens in the southern capital Nanjing 南京 (also called Jinling 金陵). It was compiled during the late Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Wang Shizhen 王世貞 (1526-1590), who also wrote the book Yanshanyuan ji 弇山園記 on a garden in Taicang 太倉, Jiangsu. Both texts are included in the collection Yanzhou Shanren xu sibu gao 弇州山人續四部稿.

The brief texts begins with a general overview, followed by the description of 15 individual gardens. According to the preface, the author was inspired by Li Gefei's 李格非 renowned Luoyang mingyuan ji 洛陽名園記, which preserved details about gardens that had long since vanished. The author thus aimed to record these gardens to preserve their memory for future generations and prevent them from being forgotten. Furthermore, Nanjing's status as a secondary capital elevated it to a position comparable to Luoyang, which had served for many centuries as a residential city for numerous imperial dynasties.

From an aesthetic perspective, the author briefly summarises the distinctive artistic qualities of some of the main gardens: the Garden of the Sixth Imperial Guards Command (Liu jinyi zhi laiyuan 六錦衣之來園) — majestic and bold (xiongshuang 雄爽); the Western Garden of the Fourth Guards Command (Si jinyi zhi xiyuan 四錦衣之西園) — pure and remote (qingyuan 清遠); the Eastern Garden of the Fourth Guards Command's Mansion (Si jinyi zhi lizhai dongyuan 四錦衣之麗宅東園) — strange and marvellous (qigui 奇瑰); the Western Garden of the Duke of Wei's Mansion (Wei Gong zhi lizhai xiyuan 魏公之麗宅西園) — splendid and orderly (huazheng 華整); and the Southern Garden of the Duke of Wei's Mansion (Wei Gong zhi nanyuan 魏公之南園) — delicate and graceful (jingmei 靚美).

Among the gardens recorded in this work, ten belonged to the powerful noble family of the Duke of Wei 魏國公, descendants of Xu Da 徐達 (1332-1385), one of the founding generals of the Ming dynasty.

The style of Wang's text is concise, somewhat following the format of Li Gefei's Luoyang mingyuan ji.