A winding
trial from waterside leads up to a
distinctive high living, where a
traditional Chinese village is built
on the riverside cliff, with the
housese, courtyards and streets
carved into solid rocks. Half hidden
in the thick foliage and blossoms,
its presence is definedly expressed,
forging a coherent and hamorious
integration between the man-made
environment and the natural
landscape. A style that took
thousands years to formulate is
wonderfully articulated by a
contemparity Chinese artist.
An Anhui
Village
曲曲一湾柳月，濯魄清波, 洗出千家烟雨；遥遥十里荷风，递香幽室, 移将四壁图书。
Anhui used to
be a highly advanced area in culture
and economy, but it has lagged bahind
lately. Maybe precisedly because of
this, it has preserved large quantity
of physical evidences of the past
glory.
The village
portrayed by a Chinese artist in the
painting is one of such heritage
sites with the buildings dating back
to the early Ming dynasty about 600
years ago. It is a man-made
environment designed to facilitate
both functional activities and
cultural experiences, following
faithfully a sophisticated tradition
that refuses to go beyond the
necessary in pursuing the wild side
of technology, nor does it allows
shared living spaces to be turned
into arts exhibition grounds.
A Riverside
Town
堂开淑气侵入，门引春流到泽。片片飞花，丝丝眠柳。扫径护兰芽，分香幽室；捲簾邀燕子，问剪轻风。
A typical
scene of a traditional riverside town
in Zhejiang Province is graciously
rendered by a contemporary Chinese
artist.
It is not a
standard machine which has no soul,
nor is it a piece of imported visual
art that lacks dimensions of
locality, culture and history.
No, it is
not.
A living
environment like this is nurtured by
a specific culture, shaped by a
collective psyche and enriched with
historical depth. It is a space that,
though man-made, is as organic as the
natural setting on which it is
created.
