Enter as one hundred worries vanish. Enjoy the expansion of the great river .”
Couplet inscribed vertically at the Chinese teahouse’s entrance.
Liu Fang Yuan, or The Garden of Flowing Fragrance, is an incredible 15-acre garden created in the traditional style of scholar gardens from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Suzhou, China. The stunning garden was created through nearly twenty years of collaboration between international partners, meticulous craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail. The garden is centered around a central lake, also known as Lake of Reflected Fragrance, or Ying Fang Hu. It was designed to function like a moving painting, with a variety of structures, plants and trees.
Every area of the garden has new combinations and sensations that stimulate the brain and delight the senses. The landscape and architecture of the garden are more than just beautiful. They also contain messages in Chinese calligraphy and many Chinese stones, plants and architectural elements that have been carefully incorporated to reflect cultural importance. Incredibly, Liu Fang Yuan is just one of an astounding collection of 16 themed gardens that make up 130 acres of botanical gardens at the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino, CA. The Huntington is a unique historic estate that also serves as a living museum. It houses thousands of plants, art galleries and valuable books.
Recreating a Ming Dynasty Garden
Chinese garden designers use their environment to create harmony between the outside and inside. The gardens are in keeping with the Suzhou landscape design principles. The Huntington estate, with its vast acreage and mature oaks and pines close to the San Marino Mountains provides the perfect backdrop for creating the illusion that Los Angeles County is far away.
A natural basin from which rainwaters were collected creates an authentic environment for the central garden’s 1.5-acre lake. It is the focal point of surrounding walkways, and other structures. The lake is peacefully viewed from the shore by visitors who take in views created by garden designers. The garden’s vision was developed by Suzhou, China-based designers. They drew inspiration from many classic Chinese gardens. It is an enchanting symphony made up of tiles, wood beams and granite terraces. There are also Taihu rocks, Taihu plants, and aromatic plants that line the courtyard pavilions.
” All posts and beams are joined with the same wood joinery methods that were used five hundred years ago in garden structures. The garden should be constructed by Chinese craftsmen. They have been practicing their craft for hundreds of years. Jim Frye, a U.S. architect said that they are well-informed about all details of traditional construction. “During construction, three languages were spoken: Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and English. It was a constant process of converting imperial measurements to metric, and back to imperial. There were no margins for error
90 percent of what visitors see in the garden’s structures were crafted in Suzhou workshops. This includes bridges that were hand-carved out of granite, an incredible 850 tons of imported Taihu rocks, carved pavilion beams, ornate window features, delicate roof tiles made of baked clay, sculpted wood panels and much more. In true Suzhou style, the majority of work was performed by hand. It is an example of the dedication and skillful craftsmanship that went into creating this living work of art. This dedication has allowed visitors to immerse themselves in classical Chinese culture for many years.
Features of Classical Chinese Garden Design
Classical Chinese gardens have a history dating back to the 11th century. This practice includes windows, doors, roof tiles and stone, as well as hand-carved woodwork. Wealthy merchants in Suzhou during the 16th century created large gardens on their estates with a dedication to this style. With its extensive collection of books, art and plants, the Huntington Library represents a modern example of these gardens.
Rocks is one of the most prominent features in classical Chinese gardens. Liu Fang Yuan has over 800 tons of Taihu rocks which are a limestone traditionally quarried from the Suzhou area. These rocks were formed over thousands of years in the oceans, and then were lifted into lakes to bring them to the surface. Because of the unique shapes and natural holes they have, these rocks can be spiritually and emotionally significant. The spirituality of premodern Chinese culture is represented by the ethereal forms and natural holes in their rocks. Taihu rocks represent the transformation of heavy physical forms into light. These are the reasons why featured Taihu rock at Liu Fang Yuan has dreamy names such as Embroidered cloud, Patching up Heaven and Bu Tian.
A newly expanded area of Liu Fang Yuan, called Verdant Microcosm or Cui Ling Long, was recently completed in 2020. Verdant Microcosm houses Huntington’s Penjing collections. Penjing is the Chinese equivalent to Bonzai trees. It refers to “scenes” and “landscapes” within a “tray.” Penjing’s art is to grow a small tree for a long time to create a miniature version of an impressive tree. Penjing can be displayed against large white walls, which cast shadows on the trees throughout the day. While the white walls look like paper, the Penjing can be seen as a piece or art on them.
Plants found in traditional Chinese gardens have been chosen for their cultural value. The symbolism of bamboo is unbreakable fortitude. Lotus flowers are symbolic of purity. Plum blossoms, which bloom in winter, represent the ability to persevere through hard times. Because most plants that we now take as granted are believed to be from China, the world owes an immense debt to Chinese horticulture. Jim Folsom is the Huntington’s director of botanical gardens. He puts it simply ,
” The plants found in North American gardens, or the most common, aren’t from North America and are not European. These plants are straight out of Asia. You can see the camellias, the wisteria, the forsythia, and lilac as you realize that they were grown for over a thousand year by Chinese gardeners long before Westerners knew about them. You would be able to see a lot of different material if you visited China’s gardens. It’s almost like you would look at the plants and wonder, “What are they doing to our plants?” The truth is that we are doing the opposite ?”
with our plants.
Words are used throughout classic Chinese gardens as calligraphy and poetic couplets. Each structure, pavillion, and water feature is given its name in Chinese characters. The garden is filled with literary references that have ancient cultural importance. Liu Fang Yuan, in this way, is an authentic “scholar’s garden”, in the same tradition as those in Suzhou. This is where higher thoughts can be nurtured and felt. In such a space, the creative powers of humanity and nature seem to co-exist. It is easy to feel the unifying power of Presence and Being. Each person has the opportunity to take in the gardens’ many meaningful insights as they walk through them. Although they may seem like worlds apart the tranquil symphony of the gardens is close to the city that has the most population in the world.
How could the lotus, despite being rooted in the earthen mud? The fragrance of the lotus is pure and spreads widely. Lou Qing
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