Four seasons appear distinct in the mountains, where red vines wind around young leaves.
Spring water cascades down the craggy cliff, gurgling like the jingling of jade.
Surrounded by mountains, white silky water flows from mountain recesses. Birds fly above woods and waters, singing in harmony. If you see such a “landscape painting screen” by the Jinan Moat, you may realize that you are standing by the Wulian Spring.
The half-meter-high pool has a curved bank built of stacked stone, where grass and trees are luxuriant and well-spaced, like a beauty standing gracefully erect by the water. Spring water overflows, surrounded by numerous currents, as if a beauty primps in front of a mirror, wearing flowers and beads.
She is graceful, quiet, decorous and refined as a northern beauty, and in no hurry to take off her crimson clothes even in March of spring. When the east wind helps her put on a green sweater, she begins to stretch out gracefully. Her limpid green eyes exude tenderness, as if being able to conquer a city with one glance.
The name “Wulian Spring” first appeared in the Record of Gardens in Jinan of 1986. Its rolling water beads look like blooming lotuses when shattering into pieces, so it is named “Wulian” (Five Lotuses).
It is hard to get a close look, but fish and birds can tell us her stories.
Seen from high in the air, we may vaguely recognize its past appearance from the pool wall.
According to the record of Stele Inscriptions of Famous Springs of the Jin Dynasty, there was a South Pearl Spring in downtown Jinan. In the late Ming Dynasty, the title of “South Pearl” was given to a spring in the suburbs of the city. “The spring gushes out from the sand, like spurting out innumerable pearls.” The Wulian Spring coincides with its location. Over the past centuries, it has undergone various forms, e.g. Square Pool, Silian (Quadruplet) Pool, Wulian (Quintuplet) and Sanlian (Triplet) Pool, before taking on the present-day look. As smooth as a mirror, it is also known as “Glass Pool”.
“Flowers with dew are mirrored in water; mist-shrouded grass extends to the poolside; the waves of the pool exude warmth. Golden willows sway in the breeze; painted and dragon boats are moored on opposite bank.” The glistening waves and the glittering light cannot fully embody the splendors of the pool. If you go boating for a closer look, you may find it more gorgeous and shining.
Taking a boat on the water, you may feel like traveling between heaven and earth. Sobering up from a dream of spring, you may feel all beings picturesque.
