The spring outing to the West Lake described in Zhou Mi's Legend of Wulin in the Southern Song Dynasty, the most lively scenic spot is Hu Shantang (the island) in the lake on the west side of Su Causeway South Second Bridge. After reading his books in the early 1980s, I had a strong desire to create. I want to draw the scene at that time. Even if I draw a border picture representing Shui Ge alone, it is very distinctive and interesting. According to the meaning of the pavilion, it should be a two-story building with a flat seat inside. Of course, such a large water building in the scenic spot should be a teahouse and restaurant, not to mention Hu Shantang, a place for tourists to shop, entertain and dine on the West Lake in the Southern Song Dynasty. Based on this understanding, the composition began. In order to draw the inner and outer structure of the water grid and the sense of depth of field, we have carefully divided it when we started to write, so we must align it up and down, left and right, and often hold our breath when we write, and dare not be a little lazy ... After painting, a water grid painting is still quite satisfactory.

In another four-screen Spring Tour of West Lake, a single-story eleven waterside pavilion was painted to make up for the lack of scenery. However, it was not until the anonymous "Interesting Map of West Lake" came out that we saw the more real side of Hu Shantang. Because the author shot from east to west, the main house facing east on the island must be against the agreement and should be changed to face south. Unfortunately, the positive image of Shui Ge in front of the South has disappeared.

One of the Four Screen Paintings of Spring Tour in West Lake

Hushan Hall according to the "West Lake Interesting Map"

This road map is based on the interesting map of West Lake, which shows the image of Hu Shantang, with Su Causeway in front of the island. Zhao Hua's "Lake Mountain Hall Map" turned the whole island into a scene from south to north, which made the architectural layout of the island conform to the routine of ancient buildings sitting in the south facing north. We can clearly see the layout of this scenic spot, and also blurred the four shacks selling things in Su Causeway, which reasonably avoided the ugly scene.

"Lake Mountain Hall Map" Zhao Hua

Hu Shantang Shui Ge, whether a bungalow or a two-story pavilion, shows the maturity and characteristics of waterfront architecture technology in the Southern Song Dynasty. This method of directly supporting the whole building from the underwater column network should be unprecedented in the Northern Song Dynasty, which is located in the Central Plains. All the buildings on Hu Shantang Island belong to public buildings, but according to the book Old Stories of Wulin, after the spring every year, the court will allocate funds to Lin 'an House and recruit craftsmen to repair the bridge pavilion on the second embankment of the West Lake for everyone to visit. In the end, the West Lake became a "golden nest".