wǒ huā le sān nián shí jiān

我花了三年时间

I spent 3 years

lái dào xiāng cūn jiàn zào zhè yàng de yī gè kōng jiān

来到乡村，建造这样的一个空间

Creating such a space in the village

wǒ men de yuàn zi zhàn dì jiā qǐ lái chà bù duō yǒu mǔ

我们的院子，占地加起来差不多有4亩

The compound covers an area of around 4 mu

běi biān shì kào zhù tián yě zuò le gè fáng zi

北边是靠著田野，做了6个房子

It adjoins fields in the north and consists of 6 houses

nián yuè wǒ men quán jiā wǔ kǒu

2020年1月，我们全家五口

In January, 2020

cóng shàng hǎi de shì zhōng xīn bān dào shàng hǎi de jìn jiāo

从上海的市中心搬到上海的近郊

We, a family of 5, moved from the downtown of Shanghai to the outskirts

gǎi zào wán de wú xiàng shì yī gè hé yuàn

改造完的无象，是一个合院

After the renovation, Wuxiang is a compound

gāo dī cuò luò

高低错落

With parts of different heights

shì zhōng guó chuán tǒng de kōng jiān bù jú lǐ miàn de

是中国传统的空间布局里面的

In traditional Chinese space layout

jiào qū zhé yǒu qíng yì yóu wèi jǐn

叫「曲折有情，意犹未尽」

It’s called “Meandering paths speak of taste and landscapes leave people wanting more”

tuī kāi yuàn mén zuò le yī gè zhào bì

推开院门，做了一个照壁

As you open the gate, you’ll see a wall screen

jìn lái yǐ hòu nǐ jiù néng tīng dào liú shuǐ de shēng yīn

进来以后你就能听到流水的声音

You’ll hear water flowing after entering the space

zhōng xīn tíng yuàn shì yòng qīng shí bǎn pù dì

中心庭院是用青石板铺地

The floor of the courtyard is covered with dark stone slabs

dōu shì cóng zhè jiāng wēn lǐng nà biān lā guò lái de

都是从浙江温岭那边拉过来的

Which are from Wenling, Zhejiang

chuān guò yī tiáo xiàng zi zuò le yī gè xiǎo de hú miàn

穿过一条巷子，做了一个小的湖面

After you pass through the lane, you’ll see a pond

yòu yǎng le yī xiē jīn yú

又养了一些金鱼

Where I keep some goldfish

yī zhù shuǐ miàn zuò le liǎng gè tíng zi

依著水面，做了两个亭子

Around the water are two pavilions

zài zhè lǐ miàn néng gòu xū xū shí shí dì gǎn shòu dào

在这里面能够虚虚实实地感受到

Being inside

wú biān wú yín de yī gè tián yuán

无边无垠的一个田园

You can feel more or less boundless rural idyll

dàn shì nǐ yòu huì yǒu guī shǔ gǎn

但是你又会有归属感

But you also enjoy a sense of belonging

hěn duō rén wèn wǒ nǐ huā le duō shǎo qián lái zào wú xiàng

很多人问我，你花了多少钱来造无象

Lots of people asked me how much money I spent on creating Wuxiang

shuō shí huà wǒ zhēn de bù zhī dào

说实话我真的不知道

To be honest I really don’t know

qián yòng wán le jiù qù zhuàn qián

钱用完了就去赚钱

When I ran out of money, I went to make money

zhuàn qián lái bù jí le nǐ jiù qù jiè qián rán hòu jiē zhù zào

赚钱来不及了你就去借钱，然后接著造

When there was not enough time making money, I went to borrow some money and continue to build

zuì hòu yī nián wǒ zhǐ néng gòu tōng guò qīn qī péng yǒu

最后一年，我只能够通过亲戚朋友

In the last year, I could only borrow money from my relatives and friends

huò zhě shì yòng shàng hǎi de fáng zi èr cì dǐ yā

或者是用上海的房子二次抵押

Or mortgage my house in Shanghai

lái chóu bèi zī jīn

来筹备资金

To raise the fund

gū jì de huà yīng gāi zài wàn zuǒ yòu

估计的话，应该在1300万左右

The total amount is probably around 13 million yuan

yǒu yī gè zá huò pù chá kōng jiān

有一个杂货铺、茶空间

There’s a grocery store, a tea space

jiān kè fáng duì wài jīng yíng

10间客房，对外经营

And 10 guest rooms available for tourists

tǔ pī fáng lā le dūn de wǒ men lǎo jiā de shān tǔ

土坯房，拉了40吨的我们老家的山土

The mud-brick house was built with 40 tons of mountain mud from my hometown

zài jiā shàng wǒ de zǔ fù lǎo zhái zi chāi xià lái de yī xiē shí tóu

再加上我的祖父老宅子，拆下来的一些石头

And some stones pulled down from the old house of my grandfather

gǎi zào chéng le wǒ tài tài xiāng duì sī mì de yī gè chán xiū kōng jiān

改造成了我太太相对私密的一个禅修空间

It’s a private meditation space of my wife

yī gè dú jīng fáng

一个读经房

A chanting room

tā huì zài lǐ miàn dǎ zuò hē chá

她会在里面打坐、喝茶

She meditates and drinks tea inside

xià miàn yǒu yī gè jiǔ jiào fàng shào xīng de huáng jiǔ

下面有一个酒窖，放绍兴的黄酒

There’s a wine cellar underground, especially for Shaoxing wine

zhè lǐ de zǎo chén tài měi le

这里的早晨太美了

The mornings are gorgeous here

zǎo shàng diǎn zhōng wǒ jiù qǐ chuáng

早上5点钟我就起床

I get up at 5 o’clock

kàn zhù tài yáng cóng dōng biān shēng qǐ

看著太阳从东边升起

Seeing sun rising in the east

tīng zhù páng biān de jī jiào

听著旁边的鸡叫

And hearing cock crows

huí dào zì jǐ de bàn gōng shì

回到自己的办公室

Then I go to my office

wǒ huì pào gè chá dǎ gè zuò

我会泡个茶，打个坐

To make some tea and meditate

zài shàng hǎi de zhè zhǒng yī dìng yào zěn me yàng de zhè zhǒng zhuàng tài wán quán jiù méi yǒu le

在上海的这种，一定要怎么样的这种状态完全就没有了

I’m not like “I have to ……” anymore

nián wǒ hé wǒ tài tài yī qǐ chuàng lì le yī gè shè jì gōng sī

2009年，我和我太太一起创立了一个设计公司

In 2009 I founded a design company with my wife

gōng zuò yā lì què shí huì bǐ jiào dà

工作压力确实会比较大

The work was quite stressful

wǒ zhēn de bù zhī dào zěn me gēn xiǎo hái qù jiāo liú

我真的不知道怎么跟小孩去交流

And I really didn’t know how to communicate with kids

wǒ tài tài zài jiā zuò le kuài nián de jiā tíng zhǔ fù

我太太在家，做了快10年的家庭主妇

My wife had stayed at home for almost 10 years

duì wǒ yě shì yǒu yī xiē yì jiàn de

对我也是有一些意见的

And she was a little dissatisfied with me

zài hái zi jiào yù shàng miàn

在孩子教育上面

In terms of our kids’ education

yī kāi shǐ hái shì yǒu yī xiē fēn qí de

一开始还是有一些分歧的

We had different opinions

wǒ bèi tā gǎi biàn le

我被她改变了

But I’m changed by her

xiǎo hái zi zài zhè lǐ kàn shū dú jīng

小孩子在这里看书、读经

The children read, chant or do crafts

huò zhě gēn mā mā yī qǐ zuò shǒu gōng

或者跟妈妈一起做手工

With their mom

zài běi miàn gěi tā men dǎ zào le yī gè xiǎo shān bāo

在北面给他们打造了一个小山包

I made a hill in the north

sān gè hái zi pá shàng qù gǔn xià lái

三个孩子，爬上去，滚下来

The three children climb up and roll down

qù dòu dòu yā zi dòu dòu é bǐ jiào zì zài

去逗逗鸭子、逗逗鹅，比较自在

They play with ducks and geese, and are free of care

hái zi shēng chū lái yǐ hòu

孩子生出来以后

After they were born

wǒ men jiā jiù méi yǒu diàn shì jī

我们家就没有电视机

Tv disappeared from our home

jī běn shàng méi yǒu wán guò diàn zi chǎn pǐn

基本上没有玩过电子产品

They’ve scarcely played any electronic product

mù qián wǒ men zǎo shàng huì yī qǐ chī zǎo cān

目前，我们早上会一起吃早餐

Now we have breakfast together in the morning

dào dì lǐ qù zhāi zhāi cài

到地里去摘摘菜

And then pick vegetables in the fields

dào le chī wán wǎn fàn yǐ hòu yī qǐ qù sàn gè bù

到了吃完晚饭以后，一起去散个步

After finishing dinner, we go for a walk

shì yào shàng chuáng shuì jué de

8:30是要上床睡觉的

We go to bed at 8:30 pm

āi wǒ men zuì jìn de zuì biàn yí de xué xiào

挨我们最近的、最便宜的学校

In terms of school

shì wǒ men zé xiào de yī gè biāo zhǔn

是我们择校的一个标准

We choose the one which the closest and the cheapest

bù yào jí zhù qù chōng cì

不要急著去冲刺

We don’t want our children to rush

wǒ men shì xī wàng tā shū zài qǐ pǎo xiàn shàng yíng zài zhōng diǎn

我们是希望他输在起跑线上，赢在终点

We hope they fall behind at the starting line and win at the finishing line