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The book Suzhou Gardens,a masterpiece of Professor Chen Congzhou,our teacher,was printed originally by the Course Book Press of Tongji University in 1957.It is three decades ago when I fi rst read the book.Up till now I still cannot forget the impression it made on me then:a hardcover of deep-red varnished cloth;a gilded title in graceful Chinese calligraphy;a sixteenmo print on thick art paper;and fresh ink perfume suffusing the pages,though having been shelved for years.You can imagine how much we students loved that book in those years immediately after the“Cultural Revolution”.What is most unforgettable is those black-and-white pictures of Suzhou gardens,ingeniously organized and elegantly conceived with a fl avor of wash painting.What is equally impressive is the meticulously-selected Song ci sentences as inscriptions for those pictures.Such poetic sentences as“Deep,deep and how much deeper is the courtyard further along?”outshine long-winded explanations or wordy notes and infuse the pictures with life and passion.I treasure this book,because it is an aesthetic book,a book brimming with deep-rooted sentiments of a poet and a painter.

Professor Chen’s lectures are just intended to illustrate Chinese gardens from an approach of verse and painting.He is a poet,leaving behind him a collection of poems“Omnipresent Hills and Lakes”.He is a painter,off ering to the world the well-known painting“A Sprig of Willow,A Length of Tenderness”,a portrayal of his artistic fervor.Above all he stands alone as a grand master of Chinese garden architect.He never regards Chinese gardens simply as the fruits of engineering technology.He highlights,however,the cultural connotation of landscapes,the dialogue between men and landscapes,and men’s encounter with and recreation of landscapes.In his eye,the preciousness of Chinese gardens lies in their communication,contrast and harmony with Chinese poetry,painting and drama.In a nutshell,Chinese gardens represent the acme of Chinese culture.

Since Suzhou Gardens came to light,Professor Chen had many monographs on gardens published such as Yangzhou Gardens,The Stone Bridges of Shaoxing,Talks on Gardens,On Gardens and so on.Dedicated to high academic standard,each and every book goes to great length to present his incisive analysis of the art of gardens and to display his deep aff ection for Chinese culture.It is also worthwhile to enumerate some of his architectural achievements such as designing and building the Ming Room at the New York Metropolitan Museum,renovating the inner court of Yu Yuan Garden in Shanghai,directing the repair of many classic gardens in the north and south of China,and other projects.After a careful study of Professor Chen’s career,we have found out that his academic ideas started with Suzhou Gardens and reached the pinnacle with On Gardens.

Fifty years have elapsed since the publication of Suzhou Gardens.His ideas on garden art have benefi ted several generations of students and sharpened the awareness of scholars both at home and abroad.The publication of the new bilingual　(Chinese and English) edition at the present time of peace and prosperity not only enhances his distinctive style of harmonizing the art of gardens with poetry and painting,but also comes as the best token of our memory of our respected Professor Chen Congzhou.