The Flowing Cup Pavilion

The Flowing Cup Pavilion

The Flowing Cup Pavilion, located within the Orchid Pavilion, has three bays and is surrounded by corridors on all sides. In front of the pavilion lies a winding stream where water flows gently—this is the famous Curved Water. Back in the day, Wang Xizhi and others would sit along the banks of the stream, while someone upstream would place a wine cup floating on a lotus leaf, letting it drift along the current. When the cup stopped in front of someone, that person had to compose a poem on the spot, or else take a drink as a forfeit. Nowadays, many visitors come here and excitedly use plastic cups filled with drinks, placing them in the stream to “flow the cups,” experiencing the charm of those ancient poetic gatherings.

The layout of the Orchid Pavilion centers around the Curved Water Wine Cup Ritual, surrounded by attractions such as the Goose Pond, Goose Pond Pavilion, Flowing Cup Pavilion, Little Orchid Pavilion, Jade Tablet Pavilion, Ink Glory Pavilion, and Right Army Temple. The Goose Pond is exquisitely planned with beautiful variations, lush greenery all around, and often sees groups of geese swimming leisurely. The Goose Pond Pavilion is a triangular pavilion housing a stone stele inscribed with the two characters “Goose Pond.” The character “Goose” (鹅), written with bold, powerful strokes, is said to have been personally penned by Wang Xizhi, while the character “Pond” (池) was added by his son Wang Xianzhi. One stele, two characters, a father-and-son collaboration, which locals celebrate as a charming anecdote. The Flowing Cup Pavilion is where Wang Xizhi and his friends composed poetry and completed the famous “Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion.” On the third day of the third lunar month in the ninth year of the Yonghe era during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (353 AD), Wang Xizhi and 42 other contemporary scholars and celebrities, including Sun Tong, Sun Chuo, Xie An, and Zhi Dun, gathered here to celebrate the “Shangsi Festival.” They sat on either side of the winding stream, placed their wine cups on the clear water, and whoever the cup floated in front of had to improvise a poem—or drink three cups as a penalty. During this gathering, 26 people composed 37 poems. Wang Xizhi wrote a 324-character preface for the collection, which later became known as the “Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion,” celebrated as the “Number One Running Script under Heaven” and one of Wang Xizhi’s most representative calligraphic masterpieces. The Orchid Pavilion has since become a sacred site for calligraphers throughout history and a renowned garden in the Jiangnan region.

To the west of the Little Orchid Pavilion lies the recently built “Joy Pool,” spanning about ten acres. Next to the pool stands a thatched pavilion called the “Looking Up and Down Pavilion.” The pool features bamboo rafts and small boats, while to its west are restaurants and tea houses for visitors to relax. To the east of the Little Orchid Pavilion is the “Flowing Cup Pavilion,” the centerpiece of the Orchid Pavilion. In front of the pavilion, the curved stream is lined with stacked rocks and shaded by green willows, making it a place where visitors today can engage in flowing cup rituals and poetry drinking, as well as partake in classical-themed activities. Exiting north from the Flowing Cup Pavilion leads to the Imperial Stele Pavilion. The front of the imperial stele features the full text of the “Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion” handwritten by Emperor Kangxi, while the reverse side bears a poem titled “Orchid Pavilion Occasion” written by Emperor Qianlong. It is a rare giant stele in the southeastern region. Proceeding north from the Imperial Stele Pavilion and exiting through the northern gate of the garden, you’ll find the Orchid Pavilion River—a shallow, clear stream that meanders gently around the slopes of Orchid Islet Hill. The fish and pebbles at the bottom are clearly visible, and the wide riverbank has in recent years been developed into a venue for mass water-based Shangsi Festival celebrations. Across the water from the Orchid Pavilion lies the “Orchid Pavilion Calligraphy Museum,” also newly built in recent years. Perched atop the hillside and surrounded by lush trees, it offers a tranquil and elegant setting.