Reporter: How do your neighbours and friends like the courtyard?
Yi Cun Master: Not only do they like it, even some passers-by showed great interest in the village gate, and the yard. I invited them to come in, among who there are both Westerners and Easterners. After coming in, they all exclaim that they want to sit here and never leave. Some may sit down here, and play Go with me. A westerner said, “From the outside it looks just like a house. But when I come in, I find a paradise.”
Reporter: So Westerners can also appreciate the beauty of oriental style gardens.
Yi Cun Master: That’s for sure. The appreciation of the beauty of nature is universal.
Reporter: You must have encountered a lot of difficulties in the process of building this courtyard?
Yi Cun Master: It’s okay. It was difficult to cut the angle of the round window, which were composed of 24 pieces of wood blocks. It was also difficult to glue the 24 parts together tightly. A gap may exist even if there is a difference of a tiny degree.
For the village gate, since the eaves are particularly large, I could hardly reach the top. So, it was very difficult to put it up.
The squirrels love the wooden lamp. There are always squirrels climbing into the lamp and even settling inside the lamp. When the light turns on, they run everywhere, which is quite funny.
Reporter: After listening to these stories, I feel that this courtyard has become more vivid and alive.
Yi Cun Master: Yes, it’s exactly the feeling of coming alive. One day, I was in the courtyard with some friends, and suddenly I felt a kind of energy, a special stillness, and the house seemed to form a whole with the courtyard. Before they were partially separated, and then they became one. When people create an environment in harmony with nature, nature will give it life and energy, which is the gift of nature.
Since then, all kinds of animals have come to the yard, like ducks, birds, orioles, blue birds, red cardinals, tits, hawks, squirrels, cats, raccoons, possums, skunks, all kinds of animals.
