Sunday, December 07, 2014

Jiangnan: Lion Grove Garden, Suzhou

The Lion Grove Garden (獅子林園) in Pingjiang District, Suzhou was first built in 1342 during the Yuang Dynasty.  This garden is famous for the large amount of rocks arranged in labyrinthine grotto and artificial hill. The name of the garden is derived from the shape of some of the rocks, which are said to resemble lion. 

Emperor Qianglong of the Ching Dynasty visited Ziangnan seven times. In 1765, he visited this Rock Garden and left a tablet with the words "True Delight" (真趣) personally written by him as a gift. It was said that he initially wrote three Chinese characters (真有趣) translated as "Very Interesting", but the character "" was slightly untidy. One official noted this and pleaded to the Emperor to be "awarded" the character "". The Emperor too observed the untidy handwriting and gladly "offered" the character to him. As a result, only two characters remained: 真趣.

The rock at the rear resembles a lion while the rock at the front a crab.

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