The Master of the Nets Garden in Suzhou

Suzhou

Suzhou , previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part...

 is among the finest gardens in China. It is located at Canglang District

Canglang District

Canglang District is a district of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province. The district has an area of 30 km² and as of 2001 the population was around 310,000....

, Dai Cheng Qiao Road, No. 11 Kuo Jia Tou Xiang (沧浪区带城桥路阔家头巷11号). It is recognized with other classical Suzhou gardens as a UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

. The garden demonstrates Chinese garden designers' adept skills for synthesizing art, nature, and architecture to create unique metaphysical masterpieces. The Master of the Nets is particularly regarded among garden connoisseurs for its mastering the techniques of relative dimension, contrast, foil, sequence and depth, and borrowed scenery.

History

The Master of the Nets garden, then called Ten Thousand Volume Hall, was first constructed in 1140 by Shi Zhengzhi the Deputy Civil Service Minster of the Southern Song Dynasty government. Shi Zhengzhi was inspired by the simple and solitary life of a Chinese fisherman depicted in philosophical writings. After his death the garden passed through numerous ownership and subsequently fell into disarray until around 1785 when it was restored by Song Zongyuan, a retired government official of the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

. He drastically redesigned the garden and added multiple buildings, but retained the spirit of the site. He often referred to himself as a fisherman and renamed it the Master of the Nets Garden, as an allusion to the simple life of a fisherman.

Ownership passed to Qu Yuancun, a scholar well-versed in the classics and literature, in 1795. He added and remodeling buildings, planted trees, and arranged stones. The garden acquired the nickname of Qu's Garden during this period as well as its first acclaim by critics. Ownership passed to Li Hongyi, an imperial official and master calligrapher in 1868. About half of the steles in the garden are inscribed by him. Ownership passed to He Chang in 1940, who restored both the garden and returned the name back to Master of Nets Garden. He stipulated in his will the garden should be donated to the government. In 1958 his daughter He Zehui gave the garden to the Suzhou government.

During the late 18th century it was recognized for its herbaceous peonies. In his Notes on the Master of Nets Garden, Qian Daxin stated, "A good integration of the delights of the village and town," and during the early 20th century it served as the studio of the celebrated landscape painter Zhang Daquin. Modern critic Chen Congzhou feels the Master of the Nets Garden is the best representation of all classical Chinese garden art, as stated in Famous Classical Gardens of China.

Design

The 5,400 m² garden is divided into east and west sections. The eastern part consists of residential quarters, while the gardens are located in the western part. Eastern section is the residential area it is a linear sequence of four halls one tower and three courtyards. The western garden is an ensemble of buildings around the 334 m² Rosy Cloud Pool. Plants and rocks are used to create views which represent several seasons. It also includes three side courts to the east and south. The two dominant elements of the composition are the Barrier of Cloud grotto, a cypress tree dating from the Ming Dynasty, and pine several centuries old. The areas to the south of the Rosy Cloud Pool were used for social activities and the areas to the north were used for intellectual activities. The buildings are laid out in a style called close to the water which is used to give the Rosy Clouds Pool the illusion of great size. Small buildings are set on rocks or piers directly over the water surface while large buildings are separated from the pool by yards planted with trees to obscure their size.

Garden Design Elements with Description
Eastern Garden
	Beauty Within Reach Tower It is the final hall of the entry sequence. It is a six bay and two level tower without portico. It was used as the women's meeting area. The name refers to the view of distant hill and suburbs from the top level. It has a front court planted with Cassia and a carved brick gate.
	Cave of Cloud Hall a three bay two story tower with front portico opening to courtyard decorated with a Penzai collection. It is gableless, using instead horsehead walls and a high ridge.
	Cloud Stairway Room Named after a verse from Xuan Shi Zhi by Zhang Du, "Zhou Sheng fetches the moon in after ascending to the clouds with a rope at the Mid-Autumn Festival Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival , also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival or Zhongqiu Festival, is a popular lunar harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people. A description of the festival first appeared in Rites of Zhou, a written collection of rituals of the Western Zhou... ". It opens onto the a courtyard called the Back Garden. A modern extension was built on the rear of this hall to house a collection of ceramics. It is a three bay hall with full gables.
	Gate A three bay structure with two bays enclosed as side rooms. It is gableless using instead horsehead walls and a bird motif decorated ridge. It faces a dragon wall across a semiprivate courtyard planted with Weeping Scholar Trees.
	Grand Reception Hall The third hall in the sequence. Also called the Hall of Accumulated Benevolence, and Ten Thousand Volume Hall, it is a three bay. It was used for meeting guests. A carved brick gate at the front depicts scenes from two Kunqu operas; Guo Ziyi Presents Birthday Gifts, and Wen Wang visits the Talents. It is gableless using instead horsehead walls, and a ridge decorated with birds. The attached courtyard is planted with Jade Magnolia.
	Sedan-Chair Hall The second hall in the entry sequence. A three bay hall with front portico. In is named for the sedan chair used to carry imperial officials. It is connected by a covered passage to the front gate, creating the illusion the two are one structure.
Western Garden
	Branch Beyond Bamboo Porch It is also called the Belvedere of Magnificent and Bright Waters. An orthogonal structure with a hipped gable roofline and flying eves, beside the Shooting Ducks Corridor. This pavilion was used for tea ceremony. The gables are decorated with elaborate designs of bats.
	Barrier of Clouds Rockery A yellowstone rockery meant to resemble a bank of fog.
	Cool Springs Pavilion Named for the adjacent Azure Spring, which was named after a verse by Zhu Xi, "A spring inside is full of clean water". It is a square pavilion Ting Ting may refer to:* Ting , an administrative unit in China during the Qin and Han Dynasties* Ting , an administrative unit in China during the Qing Dynasty...  with hipped gable roofline and flying eves attached to the wall of the Inner Garden courtyard. It houses a valuable scholar stone called The Goshawk.
	Duck Shooting Corridor A boat shaped three bay full gable pavilion with pillar couplest in front of the Meditation Study, also called the Prunus mume Pavilion. Shooting ducks was game played during the Ming Dynasty.
	Five Peaks Library Named after verse by Li Bai Li Bai Li Bai , also known in the West by various other transliterations, especially Li Po, was a major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period. He has been regarded as one of the greatest poets in China's Tang period, which is often called China's "golden age" of poetry. Around a thousand existing... , "There are five peaks south of Mount Lu which look like lotus flowers cut by nature". A tower with full gables and a bird decorated ridge attached to the Meditation Study, the bottom floor is a five bay hall. A small grotto of scholar stones is in front of the library and individual scholar stones are located behind it. It is built on the site of the former Ten Thousand Volume Hall of the Song Dynasty garden. The upper level is reached by cloud stair rockery.
	Inner Garden A 667 m2courtyard connected to the main garden by the Fisherman's Retreat Gate. It was used as a women's area. It is built in the style of a Ming Dynasty courtyard decorated with rockerys and scholar stones.
	Late Spring Cottage Named after a verse by Su Dongpo, "Only the peony is still flowering in the late spring". It was used to model the "Ming Hall" in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...  in New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... . This Ming Hall is used in creating an area of display for Ming Dynasty Ming Dynasty The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...  artifacts. This ridgeless three bay hall with full gables and front portico is contained in the Inner Garden courtyard. A smaller one bay annex is attached.
	Moon Comes with the Breeze Pavilion Named for a verse by Han Yu Han Yu Han Yu , born in Nanyang, Henan, China, was a precursor of Neo-Confucianism as well as an essayist and poet, during the Tang dynasty. The Indiana Companion calls him "comparable in stature to Dante, Shakespeare or Goethe" for his influence on the Chinese literary tradition . He stood for strong... , "The twilight brings the Autumn and the breeze sends the moon here". It is a hexagonal pavilion Ting Ting may refer to:* Ting , an administrative unit in China during the Qin and Han Dynasties* Ting , an administrative unit in China during the Qing Dynasty...  structure attached to a covered walkway. It was used for moon watching.
	Meditation Study Named after a quote by Zhuang Zi, "Tao is in agreement with emptiness, a state of emptiness is mentality". A three bay hall with full gables under the library tower used for Buddhist meditiation. It is attached to a front courtyard planted with bamboo.
	Music Room A square three baypavilion Ting Ting may refer to:* Ting , an administrative unit in China during the Qin and Han Dynasties* Ting , an administrative unit in China during the Qing Dynasty...   with portico on three sides attached to the back side of the Truth and Harmony Guest House. It has a hipped gable roofline with flying eves. It was used as a stage for performances. The attached courtyard is planted with an ancient pomegranate.
	Peony Hall Also called The Hall of Dewy Grace, a three-bay structure with full gables named for a Li Bai Li Bai Li Bai , also known in the West by various other transliterations, especially Li Po, was a major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period. He has been regarded as one of the greatest poets in China's Tang period, which is often called China's "golden age" of poetry. Around a thousand existing...  verse, "The spring breeze is stroking gently the balustrade and peony Peony Peony or paeony is a name for plants in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the flowering plant family Paeoniaceae. They are native to Asia, southern Europe and western North America...  is wet with dew". It has front and rear courtyards and a front gable. It is currently used as a teahouse.
	Small Hill and Osmanthus fragrans Pavilion Named for a verse from Little Hill Appeals to the Hermit by Yu Xin, "Many sweet Osmanthus fragrans trees are growing at the foot of the mountain". A three-bay hall with portico on three sides and hipped gable roofline with flying eves. The yard in front this hall holds a grove of Cassia trees and scholar stones.
	Truth and Harmony Guest House A three-bay hall with portico on three sides and hipped gable roofline used as a guest house. It is named after a proverb, "To conduct yourself harmoniously and support the truth." The window screen have elaborately carved net motifs which allude to the garden's name.
	Washing Ribbon Pavilion over Water Named from a verse by Chu Ci in The Fishermen, "If the water of Canglang River is clean I wash my ribbon, if the water of the Canglang River is dirty I wash my feet". It is a three-bay terrace with a hipped gable roofline and flying eves. The doors are decorated with carvings which depict scenes from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Romance of the Three Kingdoms Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in...
	Watching Pine and Appreciating Paintings Studio A three bay hall with full gables and ridge decorated with birds used as an art studio. The yard in front of this hall is planted with several pine and cypress trees from the Ming Dynasty. There is an annex attached to the side which connects with the Late Spring Cottage.

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