Humble Administrator’s Garden

　　The Humble Administrator's Garden, located in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, was built in the early years of the Ming Dynasty (early 16th century). It is a representative work of Jiangnan classical gardens and the largest classical landscape garden in Suzhou. It is now listed as a national key cultural relic protection site. The Humble Administrator's Garden is known as one of the four famous gardens in China, along with the Summer Palace in Beijing, the Mountain Resort in Chengde, and the Lingering Garden in Suzhou.

　　1. Origin of the name

　　The Humble Administrator's Garden, built in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, is a representative work of Jiangnan classical gardens. The first owner of the Humble Administrator's Garden was Wang Xianchen, an official of the Ming Dynasty. After Wang Xianchen returned to his hometown, he bought this garden and lived with flowers, plants and trees every day, living a life described in the "Idleness Fu" by the Jin Dynasty writer Pan Yue: "Building a house, planting trees, watering the garden and selling vegetables, this is also the way of governing by a clumsy person." This is the origin of the name "Humble Administrator's Garden": governing with "clumsy things" and living seriously, expressing the owner's deep love for pastoral life.

　　2. Cultural Heritage

　　In the tenth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign, the Taiping Army entered Suzhou, and the Humble Administrator's Garden became the Zhongwang Mansion. In 1952, it was officially opened to the public. In 1961, it was listed as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council. In 1991, it was listed as a national special tourist attraction by the State Planning Commission, the Tourism Bureau and the Ministry of Construction. In 1997, it was listed as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. In 2007, Suzhou Gardens (Humble Administrator's Garden, Tiger Hill, and Lingering Garden) were rated as national AAAAA-level scenic spots.

　　3. Spatial layout

　　The entire Humble Administrator's Garden is divided into east, middle, and west parts. The middle garden is the essence of the whole garden, while the east and west gardens have their own characteristics. The East Garden is also known as Guitianyuanju. It was named because the eastern part of the garden was returned to Wang Xinyi, the Minister of the Ming Dynasty, in the fourth year of Chongzhen. The main buildings include Lanxue Hall, Furong Pavilion, Tianquan Pavilion, Zhuiyun Peak, etc., all of which were relocated. The middle part of the middle garden is the main scenic area of the Humble Administrator's Garden and the essence. Yuanxiang Hall is the main building in the middle part. It is located on the south bank of the pool. It faces the east and west islands across the pool. Lotuses are planted on the pool surface. There is a pavilion on each of the two islands. The west is the "Xuexiang Yunwei Pavilion" and the east is the "Dai Shuang Pavilion". The scenery of the four seasons varies with the time. The West Garden was originally the "Buyuan". The water surface is circuitous, and pavilions are built along the mountains and rivers. The main building is the Thirty-Six Mandarin Duck Pavilion, where the owner entertained guests and listened to music. Through the blue glass windows, you can see the undulating corridors and the reflections of the water, which is quite interesting.

　　4. The beauty of architecture

　　(1) Representative of the East Garden: Lanxue Hall

　　The name of Lanxue Hall comes from Li Bai's poem "Standing alone between heaven and earth, the breeze sprinkles the orchid and snow", which symbolizes the owner's noble sentiment of being as free and easy as the spring breeze and as pure as the orchid and snow. On the middle screen is a lacquer-carved panoramic view of the Humble Administrator's Garden. On the pillars on the left and right are long cursive couplets: This is the old site of Guitian, where friends and friends gathered in high spirits, and lingered over poetry and wine. There is still a tree of jade, and I want to see the moonlight of the old days; this garden is a famous area in Wuxia, and now it is full of flowers and trees, with pavilions and terraces, and you can see the skirts and sandals of all directions, enjoying the spring scenery of the prosperous times. There is a rockery behind Lanxue Hall, named "Zhuiyun Peak".

　　(2) Yuanxiang Hall, the representative of the Central Garden

　　Yuanxiang Hall is the main building of the Central Garden. It is located in the center of the Central Garden and is the place where the owner receives guests. There are lotus flowers planted in the river in front and in the pond in the back. When the lotus flowers bloom in summer, the whole room is filled with fragrance. Therefore, it is named after the sentence "the fragrance is far away and even more pure" from Zhou Dunyi's "On the Love of Lotus" in the Song Dynasty. The couplet on the main entrance of Yuanxiang Hall has a total of 80 characters, which is the longest couplet in Suzhou gardens: Jianye reported to Xiang, Linhuai was the general manager, in the past few years, the Yangtze River has been crossed many times, the sea has been passed, and I have come to the south with a festival, to rest from the tired officialdom, to explore the beautiful scenery, and to forget the stupidity of the new policy; the Shemen Gate is far away, and the Heshi is next to it. There are thousands of fine trees and hundreds of towering peaks here. When you look north from the window, sit with the gentlemen of Yanyan, and open a cup of wine together, and regard the famous garden as your hometown.

　　(3) Representative of the West Garden: Sanliu Yuanyang Pavilion

　　Sanliu Yuanyang Pavilion is the main building of the West Garden. This building is a mandarin duck hall. The interior is divided into north and south parts by partitions and hangings. The north hall is used for cooling off in summer, and the south hall is used for heating in winter. The hall is mainly used for banquets, listening to music, meeting guests, and resting. There is an annex at each corner of the building, also known as the "warm room". When listening to music and watching operas, the annex can be used for celebrities to rest and change their makeup; when entertaining guests, the annex can be used to wait for food; in winter, the annex can also block the cold wind. Another major feature of this hall is that the four empty spaces on the hall are inlaid with diamond-shaped blue and white glass windows.

　　5. Cultural connotation

　　(1) Literature and art

　　The Humble Administrator's Garden is not only a garden, but also a treasure house of art. The architecture, stone carvings, sculptures, calligraphy and paintings in the garden are full of the atmosphere of literature and art. Among them, the most famous are "31 Scenes of the Humble Administrator's Garden" by Wen Zhengming of the Ming Dynasty and "Six Records of a Floating Life" by Shen Fu of the Qing Dynasty. These works vividly express the landscape characteristics and humanistic feelings of the Humble Administrator's Garden, leaving behind precious spiritual wealth for future generations.

　　(2) Garden Art

　　The garden art value of the Humble Administrator's Garden lies in its unique landscaping techniques and spatial beauty. It organically integrates the elements of the garden, such as buildings, rocks, pools, and plants, through techniques such as borrowing scenery, contrast, and shadowing, forming a unique spatial beauty. For example, by borrowing scenery, the scenery in the distance is introduced into the garden, so that the scenery in the garden and the surrounding environment echo each other.

　　(3) Landscape Art

　　The layout form of "one pool and three mountains" is adopted, with the pool as the center, and elements such as mountains, islands, bridges, and pavilions are matched to create a mood of "enjoying the beauty of mountains and rivers without leaving the city, and enjoying the charm of spiritual springs while living in the bustling city". This layout form is very common in Chinese classical gardens and represents the idea of "harmony between man and nature" in traditional Chinese philosophy.

　　The Humble Administrator's Garden, located at No. 178, Northeast Street, Gusu District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, is one of the four famous gardens in China. It is an outstanding representative of Chinese gardens and a model of private gardens in Jiangnan. It is known as the first garden in Suzhou and a specimen of Chinese gardens. It has rich historical, cultural, architectural and artistic values. It is not only a garden, but also a treasure house of culture.