Pavilion of the purification ceremony (Xishang ting)
This pavilion is traditional, has the specific architecture of ancient buildings for purification ceremonies. The idea is that it contains a kind of river in which leaves are floated on the leaves, filled with wine, so they drift away. The ceremony consists of catching cups and drinking wine to be purified. It is a very old tradition that takes place on the third day of the third lunar month. In his writings Wang Xizhi (303-361) explains the ceremonial and makes a description of the one that took place in 353.
The interest in remaking this ceremony was to evoke Wang's memory. By placing the Pavilion of the Purification Ceremony in a prominent place near the entrance to the garden, the Emperor scholar Qianlong put forward his spiritual knowledge as well as his competence in literature.
See too:
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