Bai Juyi was one of the most famous poets in Chinese history, but many people do not know that he was also deeply passionate about environmental greening. Wherever he served as an official, he always planted flowers and trees, leaving behind many stories related to greening and landscaping.
In 819 AD, when Bai Juyi was demoted to serve as the governor of Zhongzhou (in present-day Sichuan), he saw the barren hills surrounding the city and felt deeply saddened. He wrote the poem line: “The people of Ba do not love flowers, and even in spring, visitors do not come.”
Determined to understand why the local people were unwilling to plant trees and flowers, Bai Juyi dressed like an ordinary citizen and visited the countryside in secret. He eventually discovered the reason: people believed that “distant water cannot quench immediate thirst.” He then sincerely encouraged the villagers to plant trees and flowers and personally joined them in the work outside the city. In one of his poems, he wrote: “I spent money to buy flowering trees and planted them on the eastern slopes of the city; whoever wished to buy flowers could choose from peaches, plums, or plum blossoms.” To ensure the young trees grew well, he often managed them himself: “Every day I led servants with hoes to dig channels, pile soil around the roots, and guide water to nourish the withered plants.” As the trees gradually formed forests, Bai Juyi felt great joy and often wandered among them, composing many peaceful poems inspired by mountains, rivers, and greenery. Under his encouragement, the people of Zhongzhou eagerly planted trees and flowers, and within a few years, the once barren hills became lush and green.
In July 822 AD, Bai Juyi was transferred to serve as the governor of Hangzhou. After taking office, he led the local people to build a long embankment across West Lake to store water for irrigation. This later became the famous “Bai Causeway.” He also planted many willow trees along the embankment together with the local residents.
Later, Bai Juyi was appointed governor of Suzhou. Although he served there for only one year, he personally planted many juniper trees, which people respectfully called “Bai Gong Hui.”
Because Bai Juyi was approachable and devoted to greening and landscaping, he earned deep respect and affection from the people. The “Bai Gong Hui” trees were treasured and carefully protected by local residents.
Bai Juyi’s contributions to tree planting and garden construction have been remembered for generations. Today, the people and government of Suzhou have even built monuments and gardens in his honor to commemorate this great poet.
