Sunlight catches the ripples. Rain moves across the hills and their edges begin to disappear. In the eleventh century, Su Shi found beauty in both kinds of weather.
The poet, also known as Su Dongpo, wrote Drinking by the Lake, First Clear and Then Rain:
水光潋滟晴方好，山色空蒙雨亦奇。
Sunlight makes the rippling water lovely; Rain gives the misted hills a beauty of their own.
A name carried across the water
The lines move easily from brightness to mist. A clear day brings the lake close; rain lets the mountains withdraw into softer distances. Each has its own spaciousness.
Su Shi also served as an official in Hangzhou. The Su Causeway carries his name, remembering the lake works associated with his time here. A practical path through the water and a few words about its changing light have kept the poet close to the landscape.