Master of the Nets Garden

Guo Xi, a well-known landscape painter of the Northern Song Dynasty, describes his sentiment in The Realm of Rest and Springs:  “Always prefer a garden to cultivate the mind and to live in, lofty mountains and waters to inspire the heart, seek the pleasure and comforts of the fisherman and woodcutter, and stay away from the moil of hectic city life that imprison the mind!” Yesterday we visited The Master of Nets Garden, and we had to moil to get there, and did some serious moiling trying to find our way to another location after our exquisitely calming stroll through the splendid gardens.  I can tell you from first-hand observation, cultivating the mind is much preferable to moiling, as the moiling left us both with quite sore feet, clothing clinging to us from sweat, and a pledge to moil less and observe gardens more.

 Shi Zhengzhi chose to retire and build his “Hall of Ten Thousand Volumes” in Suzhou and oringally named this garden “Fisherman’s Retreat.”  [Some later artiste-type had to fancify the name to “Master of the Nets.] Suzhou has traditionally been a fond destination for Chinese literati-recluses.  Indeed, even I could have set up residence in the study next to the Peony Cottage. The names of these pavilions and viewing pagodas reveal their owner’s poetic leanings:  “Hall of Ten Thousand Volumes” and “Cloud Cave” and “Five Peaks Library”  “Hall of Cloud Stairway”  “Hall of Art Viewing”.

I have been to some beautiful gardens in my day, but I was completely blown away yesterday by the jewel-box of a garden we soaked in.  There were vistas at every turn, and beautifully designed windows for additional framing of the vistas, gorgeously appointed rooms for guests and others for reading, yet others for observing nature, and even the stones in the walking paths were mindfully placed.  Incredible, really.  AND… perhaps the most impressive was the complete blurring of lines between the garden and the residence.  All the pavilions and windows were built to reveal views of the central pond in several aspects.  This is one of the smallest of the UNESCO gardens in Suzhou, but it will be hard to beat as far as overall sumptuousness, although I’m not running a contest.  However, we are enjoying the idea of visiting as many gardens as we can, and in as many seasons as we can.  I’ll be returning soon to this one to see the Japanese Maple on fire for fall, and we have resolved to do far less moiling after such a relaxing outing.   You, too, can enjoy our respite from moiling, and yes, I had to look the word up.  Here are some pics:     https://flic.kr/s/aHsk1JDL97