【Vickyの杭州印象】Park of Site of Eigh

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<center>the original sconce</center>

From the top of Yuhuang Mountain in Hangzhou, we can see the scene above. The Park of Site of Eight Diagram Field with a total area of more than 90 acres, is located at the southern foot of Yuhuang Mountain. It is on the east of Nanfu Road, the south of Huyu Road and the west of Baiyun Road. It used to be the site of the royal family of Southern Song Dynasty. JiTian ceremony is the epitome of agricultural culture in ancient China, and the place where the ancient emperor expressed his attention to agricultural production through sacred ceremony.

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The Eight Diagram Field is divided into eight parts, and eight different crops are planted on eight different fields. These crops take on eight different colors all year round. In the Eight Diagram Field, there is a round earth mound. It is the Taichi Diagram that has half Yin and half Yang.

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"The attraction in the Nanshan Hill include imperial field of the Song Dynasty. It is below Tianlong Temple. It is round and surrounded by ditches and ridges of field. The field is like an eight diagram so it is called Eight Diagram Field." This was what Tian Ruchen wrote in the West Lake Travel Notes describing this unusual farming field.

After the Southern Song Dynasty chose Hangzhou for its capital, various rituals and sacrifice offering gradually were restored, and they were still living an extremely luxurious life. The emperor was fatuous and extravagant so that the people in Hangzhou had some critical words about him.

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In the 15 year of Shaoxing Reign (1145), Emperor Gaozong ordered to carry on the former rules in the eastern capital Bianliang to allocate 1000 mu of good farming field two kilometers south of Jianhui Gate of Lin'an City as the farming field for the imperial family. He also ordered to hold a grand ceremony in the imperial farming field in the spring of the next year. Emperor Gaozong personally farmed in the field to pray for harvest and education people to pay attention to farming.

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In the Ming dynasty, the Eight Diagram Field gradually became a famous scenic spot in Hangzhou. Gao lian, a famous literati, wrote an article to record the beautiful scene at that time. In the reign of Emperor Jiajing during Ming Dynasty, RuanE built Taichi pavilion on the site of the hill of Song Dynasty. In the reign of Emperor Wanli during Ming Dynasty, Nie Zhengtang rebuilt the pavilion. However, it is no longer existed nowadays. After the Ming Dynasty, the farmland has been used by the nearby residents.

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Up to the 1980s, some of the farming field had become ponds in order to get aquatic products. In 2007, the West Lake Scenic Area Administration renovated the site environment and the Eight Diagram Field was restored to its present appearance. There are fields of rape in spring, pools of lotuses and fields of sunflowers in summer, colorful rice in autumn, and purple or green cabbages in winter.

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Meanwhile, it is a plant kingdom no less than a small botanical garden. Some of them I'm able to tell the names: Cherry, Gardenia, Lotus, Winter Jasmine, Sunflower, Ophiopogon, Manjusaka, Hydrangea, Trumpet Creeper, Thalia Dealbata Fraser, Barracuda, etc. Because of that, it's the place where parents spend the most weekends with their children. Children can experience the joy of farming without leaving the city and increase interaction with their parents.

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The Yuhuang Mountain and Fenghuang Mountain nearby are the places where I once lived and have my precious childhood memories. I will look for an opportunities to narrate the vicissitudes of life there in the near future. Finally, let's guess what is this in my hand?

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Chinese Version

从杭州的玉皇山顶山望下去，我们就可以看到上图中的景色。八卦田遗址总面积约90余亩，位于浙江杭州玉皇山南麓，东临南复路，南接虎玉路（陶瓷品市场），西至白云路。其曾是南宋皇家籍田的遗址。籍田是古代中国以农为本的农耕文化的缩影，是古代帝皇通过神圣仪式活动表达对农业生产重视的场所。

八卦田把农田分成八丘，在八丘田上种植八种不同的庄稼。一年四季，八种庄稼呈现出八种不同的颜色。在八丘田当中，有个圆圆的土墩，那就是半阴半阳的一个太极图。

八卦田最早出现于明代《西湖游览志》："南山胜迹中有宋藉田，在天龙寺下，中阜规圆，环以沟塍，作八卦状，俗称九宫八卦田，至今不紊"。南宋皇室丢掉都城后一路南逃，在杭州凤凰山脚下建造宫殿和花苑，依旧过着极其奢华的生活。杭州的老百姓见皇帝还是那样昏庸无道，大为不满，一时间议论纷纷。

南宋绍兴十三年（1143）正月，宋高宗赵构下了一道圣旨：“寡人深知民间疾苦，甚为不安。今后开辟籍田躬耕，当与庶民共尝甘苦。”简单来说，就是皇帝为表示对农事的尊重和对丰收的祈祷，采纳了礼部官员的提议，开辟籍田于国都南郊（即目前的八卦田遗址处）。在每年春耕开犁时，宋高宗赵构带着文武百官到八卦田遗址处行"籍礼"。皇帝会亲自拿着犁三推一拨，以此举动来祭奠农神。

时间到了明代，八卦田遗址逐渐成为杭城著名的景点。著名文人高濂在他的著作《四时幽赏录》中有《八卦田看菜花》一文，记录当时的美丽景象。明嘉靖年间，提学使阮鄂建太极亭于宋郊丘故址阜上（中阜规圆）。明万历年间，知县聂正汤重修太极亭，今已不存。明以后，籍田一直作为良田由附近居民耕作。

直至20世纪80年代，因民生之需部分农田改为水塘。时光轮转，公元2007年杭州西湖风景名胜区着力整治遗址环境，就有了目前八卦田遗址的现状。在这里，春天有大片油菜花田，夏天有满池荷花和大片的向日葵，秋天有五色稻米，冬天便是土地休养生息的时刻。

同时，这里又是不亚于小型植物园的植物王国。我能数得上名儿的有：樱花、栀子花、荷花、迎春花、向日葵、麦冬、彼岸花、绣球花、凌霄花、再力花和梭鱼草等等。也正因为这些，八卦田遗址成了家长周末最长带孩子来玩耍的地方。孩子们可以在这城市的一隅体会到农耕的乐趣，也增加了亲子间的互动。

边上的玉皇山和凤凰山是我曾经居住过的地方，有我非常珍贵的童年记忆。以后，Vicky会找机会细细讲述那里曾经的沧海桑田。最后，大家来猜猜看文末我手上的是什么东西呢？