The pond is truly beautiful.
Release time:
2024-01-16
In my hometown of Nanchang, there’s a place called the Eight Great Masters Memorial Hall. It houses many paintings by the free-and-easy style painter, Bada Shanren. Among the exhibits in the memorial hall, there’s a pond that has left an unforgettable impression on me.
On a drizzly winter day, I stepped into the Eight Great Mountains Man Memorial Hall. Passing through corridors lined with paintings, I emerged into an open courtyard. The first thing that caught my attention was a towering camphor tree—its branches intertwined and crisscrossed, as if quietly whispering ancient tales of this tranquil garden. As my gaze followed the trunk downward, it was instantly drawn to a tiny pond. It was so crystal-clear and luminous, so serene and profound, so dignified and solemn. The staff member told me that scholars called it... The “Ink-Washing Pond”—a square, neatly shaped pond—lies in the center of the courtyard. Beside the pond stand some dark-blue, pristine bricks, and between their joints, patches of green moss occasionally emerge. Most of the lotus leaves in the pond have withered away due to the harsh cold of winter, leaving only a few that rest peacefully and quietly on the water’s surface—a beauty that is serene and harmonious, evoking a sense of calm and comfort in anyone who gazes upon it.
It’s just a simple stream of water, yet it flows into my heart in a way that’s anything but simple—beautiful in a way that’s both captivating and intoxicating.
I sketched this beautiful pond in my sketchbook, and next time, I’ll definitely come back to the Bada Shanren Memorial Hall to paint again!
Author: Hu Yifan -
School: Grade 3, Class 6, Third Branch School of Nanjing University Affiliated Primary School
Related News
Notice: The Eight Great Mountains Man Memorial Museum is Recruiting Volunteer Docents
To further promote the spirit of volunteerism, strengthen moral and ethical education among young people, and foster and practice the core socialist values, the Ba Da Shan Ren Memorial Hall is now publicly recruiting volunteers from all sectors of society who are passionate about public welfare and museum work.
Under the theme “My Connection with the Eight Greats,” feel free to share your stories—regardless of format or genre—about your experiences with the Eight Greats Memorial Museum. The Eight Greats Memorial Museum is China’s first museum dedicated to an ancient painter. We’re sure many of you have had multiple, multifaceted “encounters” with this remarkable museum. We’d love for everyone to join us in sharing their personal stories and memories of their time at the Eight Greats Memorial Museum...
To promote China’s outstanding traditional culture, actively advance aesthetic education in museums, and cultivate in young people noble virtues of love for their country and hometown, enabling students to acquire knowledge and closely appreciate the beauty of Chinese painting art, on the morning of November 14, 2023, the Ba Da Shan Ren Aesthetic Education Program made its way into Hongyan School in Nanchang County. This session introduced students to traditional Chinese art and local culture through an exhibition, a lecture, and a brush-and-ink workshop. By combining theoretical learning with hands-on practice, it aimed to enhance cultural confidence, improve students’ aesthetic and humanistic literacy, and foster their abilities in aesthetic appreciation, expression, and creation.
