from changing angles. This must be the first and foremost consideration before constructing a garden. The former means that there are more visual points of interest to appreciate from fixed angles, while the latter demands a longer “touring” vista.
In small-scale gardens, the former type should be predominant and the latter secondary and the reverse should be the case in large-scale gardens. An example of the former type is Wangshi Yuan [Master of the Nets Garden], and of the latter Zhuozheng Yuan [Humble Administrator’s Garden]. In Wangshi Yuan, you will discover many buildings in which you would love to sit and linger awhile. You can make a tour of the pond, you can stand by the balustrade and count the swimming fish, or you can seat yourself in the pavilion to wait for the moon and greet the breeze. Outside the veranda the shadows of flowers move along the walls, and looking out through a window there are ridges and peaks like those in a painting. The serenity of the scene is enchanting. In Zhuozheng Yuan, paths wind around a pond, and long corridors draw visitors ahead. The pond looks like a miniature West Lake, where “gaily-decorated pleasure boats glide to and fro under the bridge at midday and visitors can catch glimpses of scented garments.”The view changes with every step.
Figure 1. Close observation of blossoms at Guyi Yuan, Nanxiang.
Below is a list of pause and observe topics along with the gardens in which I emphasize that particular element. In some instances, the topic coincides with an aspect of a garden that is recognized as being exemplary. In other instances, I have paired topics with gardens based on my personal experience. For instance, I remember a particularly vivid sunset washing across the walls of the Crane Garden and have included that topic with that garden, although the sunset washing across the high white walls of Suzhou is certainly visible in many of the other gardens.
GARDENS
| borrowed scenery | Garden of the Peaceful Mind (Jichang Yuan) |
| white walls | Crane Garden (He Yuan) |
| courtyards | Surging Wave Pavilion (Canglang Ting) |
| ponds | Garden of Retreat and Reflection (Tuisi Yuan) |
| streams | Garden of Peace and Comfort (Yu Yuan) |
| rock specimens | Lingering Garden (Liu Yuan) |
| rockeries | Mountain Villa of Secluded Beauty (Huanxiu Shanzhuang) |
| stone masonry | Mountain Villa of Embracing Emerald (Yongcui Shanzhuang) |
ARCHITECTURE
| halls | Master of the Nets Garden (Wangshi Yuan) |
| pavilions | Garden of Cultivation (Yi Pu) |
| garden corridors | Carefree Garden (Chang Yuan) |
| garden windows | Garden of Harmony (Yi Yuan) |
PLANTS
| trees | Lion Grove (Shizilin) |
| blossoms | Garden of Ancient Splendor (Guyi Yuan) |
POETRY AND PAINTING
| painting | Humble Administrator’s Garden (Zhuozheng Yuan) |
| poetic couplets | Couple’s Garden (Ou Yuan) |
| novels | Zigzag Garden (Qu Yuan) |
MAP OF SUZHOU
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Gardens discussed in the book are indicated by gray rectangles; other gardens and places of interest are listed in the numerical key.
INTRODUCTION
FIRST, THE LAND
The land—topography, waters, stones, vegetation, and climate—bestows the framework and materials of the great garden traditions of the world. Persian gardens amplify scarce water resources into fragrant courtyards. The Renaissance gardens of Italy negotiate the hills around Rome and Florence with terraces from which prospects are revealed, grottoes are embedded, and watercourses flow. The basins of water in French Renaissance gardens stretch across the level plains of central and southern France. The eighteenth-century English landscapes of rolling hills and shallow lakes were constructed on soft, chalky soils criss-crossed with gentle streams. The gardens of Kyoto benefit from a propitious climate for broadleaf evergreens, an abundance of moss spores, and a territory rich with both mountains and rivered plains.
Similarly, the gardens of Suzhou are born of their region. Suzhou is situated in the alluvial plain of the Yangtze River which spreads across eastern China from Zhejiang Province in the south to Shandong Province in the north. This great delta—a fecund land of water, rice, and fish—provides the foundation for one of the world’s great garden traditions—one that has been cultivated for over 2,500 years. Mark Elvin, in his environmental history of China, reassures, “Here we are at last in the good part of China…. It is fifty leagues from south the north, and there is no question of mountains. This landscape is as level as a mirror all the way to the horizon.”
Figure
