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| The Dian Chun Yi in the Master-of-Nets Garden, a courtyard that could hold all kinds of cultural activities. | The artistic realm and the outlook presented by gardens are mainly the results of the artistic attainments of garden owners, which was also why so many famous gardens were built or designed by scholars or painters, and famed gardening masters were almost all good at painting. Building a garden has similar aesthetic standard and spiritual request as chanting verses or drawing paintings. The building of a garden often comes from literary inspirations. The interests and charm of a garden depend even more on words to transfer. Gardening, poetry, calligraphy and painting influence, infiltrate and supplement each other.
The usage of poems, verses and ballads in gardens can be found in the inscriptions - to describe the scenery using elegant words and to reveal the artistic realms. Inscriptions are the best specifications for gardens. Good inscriptions, such as the nomination of a scenic spot and the couplets hung on the columns of hall, not only adorn hall or waterside pavilion, decorate window and door, enrich views, but also express emotions and feelings of garden builders and owners.
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| The scene in the Orchid Pavilion where scholars flew wine cup in winding water and chanted verses portrayed by painter. | First built in the Southern Song Dynasty, the Master-of-Nets Garden was originally named the Fisherman's Seclusion, representing garden owner's pursuit of a private life. In the Qing Dynasty, the garden was renamed the Master-of-Nets Garden. Master of nets still carries the original meaning of fisherman. In the west part of the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou, there stands a waterside pavilion. In the still of night, cool breeze blows gently and bright moon hung in the sky is reflected in water, displaying a serene atmosphere. Quoting from Su Shi's verse "with whom to sit, bright moon, cool breeze and me", the garden owner named the pavilion "'with whom to sit", which accurately states the artistic realm of this scenic spot and also signifies the exclusive character of the garden owner.
According to Zhuang Zi Autumn Water, Zhuang Zi, an ancient philosopher and Hui Shi once stopped by the side of a pond.
Zhuang Zi said: "Fish swim to and fro in the water, what happy fish!"
Hui Shi asked: "You are not a fish, how do you know they are happy?"
Zhuang Zi replied: "' You are not me, how do you know I don't know?" This dialogue, full of
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| The natural marble painted screen and the stele that hints the theme of the scenery in Spring Flower and Autumn Moon House in Nan Garden in Anning. | wisdom and humor, was extensively quoted in man2~ garden works in later times. Such as the Knowing Fish Hall in the Ji Chang Garden, the Knowing Fish Bridge in the Garden of Harmonious Interests. The Knowing Fish Fosse in Jing Yi Garden in the Fragrant Hill, etc. They all seek a life of happiness, content and freeness. Adapting working methods to local conditions, designers and builders created many unique gardens. Though differing from each other, these gardens share one similarity ¨C wherever you stand in the garden, you will have fresh visual surprises. Chinese gardeners pay much attention to the graduation of views, the composition of structures; the supporting of rockeries and ponds and the decoration of the flowers and trees in order to create the poetic mood and artistic realm. To fully comprehend the pictorial and poetic charm of gardens, one not only has to be familiar with the usual techniques and layouts of Chinese gardens, but also sees into the delicate and aesthetic cultural taste behind the scenes with his heart.
Since the Yuan Dynasty, Chinese gardening has been closely related with painting. Techniques of gardening share similarities with painting techniques and this point can be reflected mainly in the fields of water-view-
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| Couplet hung on the columns of a hall in garden structures. | creating and rookery-making. For example, ponds in Chinese gardens will be considered pretty only when they fit for the nature. Banks would wind naturally and bank sides are paved with irregular stones. Some even have giant reeds planted in order to pursue
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| Six Hermits in Bamboo Streams painted by a Ming painter who yearned the happy life of drinking and singing of the six intellectuals including poet Li Bai, who retreated in the bamboo stream in the years of Tianbao in the Tang Dynasty. | the natural charm. In a relatively large water body, (an area of more than several nut) a piece of water area would be chosen to display a view of mist-covered peaceful lake. In a lake not large in size, builders will use irregular stones to pave the bank and thin bamboos, wild vines, red fish and green water plants to decorate the scene. Though a small pond, it can leave an image of boundlessness. Rockery makers do not strive to recreate the actual size, but follow the principles of generalization and extraction to represent the shapes of peak, cliff and mountain stream using rockery- making techniques in order to reflect the natural charm and cultural implications of mountains. One of the techniques is to pile earth into a mound or small hill, emphasizing the presentation of partial landscape of the natural mountains. Visitors can't see the complete view of rolling hills, but they can imagine the magnificent picture of peaks over peaks. The technique of leaving imaginary space greatly broadens the expressive force of stones and rocks.
Garden builders often employ the technique of separation to enrich the landscape graduation. For example, little winding stone bridge was always placed on the pond, or foot rocks were arranged in water paddling spots. By doing these, builders enrich depths of field and spatial levels, displaying a sense of depth and serenity of the lake. The usual decorative walls and long corridors don't obstruct the view completely even though they are built to separate the views. They help to increase the depths of field of the view.
Wandering around in a garden in Suzhou, cautious visitors will find that each angle offers fresh visual beauty. The white wall facing the window will be decorated with some bamboo, Japanese banana leaves or rockery to avoid the blankness and directness. Chinese gardeners pay much attention to the harmony between the white color of plaster wall and the rich colors, lights, shadows, shapes of the scenery of the garden, which shows the employment of painting techniques in garden building, in short, gardening benefits from painting and painting embodies poetic mood. To seek the poetic mood and pictorial beauty becomes the most important rule in garden making. |
