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Master-of-Nets Garden covers 5,400 sq.m. and is divided into
two parts: the eastern house and the western garden.Half enclosed
by a screen wall with a row of iron rings for tethering horses,and
two alleyway side entrances,the front door faces south,having
a pair of var. pendula in front ,and hairpin-like door ornaments
above ,and two huge blocks of stone carved in the shape of
drums kept fast with the hands,placed one by its left side
and another by its right side.This type of front door showing
owner's rank at the court has become very rare now. On a north-south
axis there are four successive buildings separated by garden
courts,namely the front door hall, the sedan-chair hall, the
grand reception hall and the two-storeyed tower.Constructed
in accordance with the strict regulations of feudalism, they
are magnificent buildings with extraordinary furnishing and
interior decoration. In front of the grand reception hall
is a door with richly carved earthen ornamentation.The two-storeyed
tower at rear is the place where the family used to stay,and
the hall in front is chiefly for reception,public celebrations
and ceremonial observances.Every hall has a door or walk-way
leading to the garden.It is a typical example of combning
living quarters with a landscape garden in Suzhou.
The garden lies to the northwest of the house,making up
four fifth of the total area.Quite different from the normal
architecture in the east,the garden architecture enjoys a
considerable degree of free.Varieties of building are laid
out to meet the needs of reading,painting,viewing,resting,sipping
tea.holding small baquets among scholarly friends,capping
verse,performing on a musical instrument,meditating on nature
and cultivating one's mind.Roughly speaking ,there are three
parts in the garden.The Small Hill and Osmanthus Fragrans
Pavilion,the Daohe House and the Music Room constitute the
middle distance of the confined southern part of the garden.The
technique of emancipation by suppression and contrasting light
with shade are remarkably employed to make the middle part
of the garden appear more impressive that it is when seen
alone.
 The middle part of
the garden has a pond in the center covering about 440 sq.m.
with a small bay to the northwest and a streamlet to the southeast
giving the impression of infinity. It is curved round by a
roofed walkway ,natural-looking mountains made from yellowstones
piled up in layers forming hollows and caverns within ,a tiny
arch bridge called "the Leading to Quietude",and
a number of delicate and well-proportioned pavilions,namely
the Washing-My-Ribbon Pavilion over the water,the Moon Comes
with Breeze Pavilion,the Prunus Mume Pavilion and the Duck-Shooting
Veranda.The Washing-My-Ribbon Pavilion over the water is the
best viewing place of the garden. The idea comes from a fishman's
song in the works of Mencius,saying ,"If the water of
the Canglang River is clean ,I wash the ribbon of my hat ;if
the water of the Canglang River is dirty ,I wash my feet."
The same is true to the name of the garden---"Master-of
-Nets".
The northern part of the garden features studies and studios
with beautiful garden courts. Some noteworthy places include
the Peony Study. the Watching Pines and Appreciating Paintings
Studio,the Meditation Study, the Five Peaks Library and the
Cloud Stairway Room. With white -washed walls as their backdrop
,stones bamboo,Prunus mume and Musa basjoo partly concealed
by windows and buildings have incredibly come to foorm numerous
picturesque scenes.
 In sum,there are
scenes beyond scenes,and gardens within the garden.Many buildings
are perfectly well-spaced intead of being crammed. A small
area of water and stone is made to seem large.Based on illusion,the
garden is full of change,capturing the effect of boundlessness,and
achieving a unity of part and whole. The Master-of-Nets Garden
serves to illustrate how the few surpasses the many and the
small exceeds the large.
Today the Master-of-Nets Garden has 22 buildings, 2 doors
with richly carved earthen ornamentation,15 plateaux, 9 parallel
couplets,15 brick and stone carvings, 32 stelae, and 8 rare
species of old trees, namely Sabina chinensis ,Pinus bungeana,etc.
falling into 6 catalogues.
Website:http://www.szwsy.com/
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