Introduction to Canglang Pavil...

The Canglang Pavilion is the oldest among the existing gardens of Suzhou. In the 5th year of the reign of Qingli (AD1045), the Northern Song poet Su Sunqin purchased the destroyed garden belonging to Sun Chengyou, commander of Zhong Wu military forces of the Wu Yue State during the Five Dynasties period following the Tang Dynasty, and built the Canglang Pavilion by the water. The idea came from an ancient song, saying, “If the Canglang River is clean, I wash the ribbon of my hat; if the Canglang River is muddy, I wash my feet.” Not long afterwards it belonged to the Zhangs and the Gongs respectively. Under the Southern Song Dynasty it was renamed the Hans’ Garden as Han Shizhong abode here. During the Yuan Dynasty it was converted into the Mystical Concealment Temple, and then the Great Cloud Temple. In the 25th year of the reign of Jiajing (AD1546) under the Ming Dynasty, the Buddhist Abbot Wen Ying rebuilt the garden. In the 35th year of the reign of Kangxi (AD1696) under the Qing Dynasty, Song Luo, the Governor of Jiangsu, relocated the pavilion to the top of the earthen mountain. It was repaired and rebuilt again in the reigns o...