Symbolism of Oriental Gardens: The Garden of Suggestion

One lake contained small edgy islands, bird-haunted, with special houses on them for the accommodation of the birds, some approached by wooden bridges, others by stepping-stones. `When the water-lilies near the bank are in full flower, the pond seems to be wreathed in purple and scarlet like the edge of the southern sea when the sun rises.' And last, perched on a wall of rock, there was a gazebo which looked out over the broad flat plain of the Kiang, so that he could enjoy the sight of the river winding among the rice-fields below. The garden of Hsi-Ma-Kuang is of the Sung dynasty, a time at which many Chinese arts reached the summit of their achievement. It is reasonable to suppose that it was a fine example of a type of garden which had already existed for many centuries and was to endure for many more. The Chinese ethic has until recently been conservative. Tao-ism may ignore and forget the past, but at least it makes no effort to deflect the course of the flowing river; Confucianism, on the other hand, reverences the past and strives to bind life on a thread of continuity, giving to the human spirit something of the easy peace of a tram rather than the restless journeying of a bus. Thus wherever excellence had been achieved it was immediately frozen by the rigidity of laws which laid down how in future such excellence should be emulated. This was the way in which the cultivation of the classics became the true religion of China. As usual superstition came to the aid of religious laws; for example, certain shapes which were pleasing were proclaimed propitious, and certain relationships which were inharmonious were held to be unfortunate; out of this grew a code of symbolism. Too much has been made of the symbolism of Oriental gardens; it is there, but is not essential to their spirit.