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From Abroad

Weeks after my WVU language instructor, Lin Laoshi, suggested it…here is my first post on Chinese gardens.

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Gardens in Asia are very different from gardens in the West. When Westerners think of large, imperial grounds, we generally think of gardens like those at Versailles…places where nature has been trimmed and tamed into defining something obviously synthetic out of a tangle of wilderness. Traditional western gardens usually contain elements (such as ornate fountains, benches and statues) that are meant to stand out in stark relief to the natural world…these focal points are often the centers of our gardens. We adore the beauty of bright flowers so much, many gardens contain large splashes of blossoms in unnatural multitude and abundance. The beauty of many Western gardens is upheld through a rigorous schedule of pruning, trimming, and shaping, often with the goal of turning a natural object into an unnatural shape (such as our predilection with geometrical formations and mazes). Creating an order from the seeming chaos of the natural world is a foremost concern in Western gardens. While certainly these gardens are very beautiful and often elaborate constructions, rarely can we forget that this beauty lies in an intricate carving of the synthetic from the natural, on an imposition of man’s wants onto his surroundings.

Chinese gardens, on the other hand, are designed to highlight the best expression of the natural world in a way that facilitates connection with nature. They were often the sheltering place of those seeking refuge from the problems of the world, and were thus designed to provide a kind of spiritual and poetic catharsis to their inhabitants. Essentially they were to symbolize all the necessary and good things to be found in a return to nature, and were meant to serve as reminders of such. Many plants (such as pine and bamboo), represented esoteric concepts such as purity, longevity, faithfulness, persistence and strength of will. This focus on the natural, however, did not preclude its own thorough version of planning. The following is excerpted from a Wikipedia entry on Chinese Gardens:

“To be considered authentic, a garden must be built and planned around seventeen essential elements: 1) proximity to the home; 2) small; 3) walled; 4) small individual sections; 5) asymmetrical; 6) various types of spatial connections; 7) architecture; 8) rocks; 9) water; 10) trees; 11) plants; 12) sculpture; 13) jie jing (borrowed scenery); 14) chimes; 15) incense burners; 16) inscriptions; 17) use of feng shui for choosing site.”

It’s an amazing feat to make something so rigidly planned appear so effortless and natural, as Chinese gardens do when you walk through them.

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So. That’s all well and good, right, but what does it have to do with Suzhou?

To borrow once more from Wikipedia (I do love that site, don’t I?):

“Gardening in Suzhou reached its height during the Ming and Qing dynasties. There were over 280 private gardens then in Suzhou and landscaping became an art with established masters…sixty-nine gardens in and around Suzhou are still in good condition. In 1997, UNESCO added four of the private gardens of Suzhou to the World Heritage list, extending this in 2000 to include the historic section of the city and five other gardens in the area.” It is also worth noting of the four most famous gardens in China (Lingering Garden and Humble Administrator’s Garden of Suzhou; Mountain Resort of Chengde; Summer Palace of Beijing), two are located in Suzhou.

Suzhou, therefore, is renowned for its gardens. Which I spent ample time exploring. Here’s some photos of one of the most famous gardens of all, the Humble Administrator’s Garden

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Julia in the garden…

I love the way gardens and scenic spots are named…

Wendy by a lotus pond…

Graham literally hiding in a pile of rocks and reading…

This bonsai tree is older than the US Constitution…

Aka conquers the rock maze…

Matt in the garden…