Lion Grove Garden
Bei, Runsheng
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Alternative Titles
Lion Forest Garden
Shizi lin Yuan
狮子林园
Date
1342Description
Court near the Small Square Hall with a rockery garden (mountain elements here represented by rocks and plants); The Lion Grove Garden is famous for the large and labyrinthine grotto of taihu rock (from Lake Tai) at the garden's center. The name of the garden derives from the shape of these rocks which are said to resemble lions. These served as frequent subjects for artists such as Shen Zhou and Ni Zan. The Lion Grove Garden was first built in 1342 CE during the Yuan Dynasty by a Zen Buddhist monk, Wen Tianru in memory of his teacher Abbot Zhongfeng. At that time the garden was part of Bodi Orthodox Monastery (Pinyn: Puti Zhengzong). There were building phases in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1917 Bei Runsheng, wealthy owner of a paint business, purchased the garden and finished the restoration in 1926. Many buildings and rocks date from this restoration. Bei Runsheng was the great-uncle of the architect I. M. Pei (Bei Yuming). It is recognized with other classical Suzhou gardens as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 8/5/2012)
Type of Work
historic site; gardenSubject
architecture, botanical, landscape, Gardens, Restoration and conservation, Yüan, Qing
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only