The Lion Grove Garden (Chinese: 狮子林园; pinyin: Shī Zǐ Lín Yuán) located at 23 Yuanlin Road Suzhou City, of Jiangsu Province of China (平江区园林路23号) is famous for the large and labyrinthine grotto of taihu rock at the garden's center. The name of the garden derives from the shape of these rocks which are said to resemble lions. Currently, the Lion Grove Garden is one of the most popular spots for tourists in Suzhou. It is recognized with other classical Suzhou gardens as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Lion Grove Garden was 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 Orthadox Monastery (Pinyn: Puti Zhengzong). The name of the garden refers to the lion shaped Tahihu rocks, which in turn were built as reference to lion symbolism in the Lion's Roar Sutra. The name also refers to Lion Peak of Mount Tianmu in County of Zhejiang Province, where Abbot Zhongfeng attained Nirvana. At this time the garden was 6,670 m2 and covered in rock and bamboo. After Tianru's death the garden fell into disrepair, but in 1589 another Buddhist monk, Mingxing, rebuilt the garden.The magistrate(Chinse: 知縣; Pinyin:zhixian) of Hengzhou bought the garden, and his son Huang Xi rebuilt the garden in 1771. At this time the garden name was changed to the Garden of Five Pines. Starting in 1850 the garden fell into disrepair. In 1917 Bei Runsheng purchased the garden and finished the restoration in 1926. Many buildings and rocks date from this restoration. In 1949 the Bei family donated the garden to the PRC, who opened it to the public in 1954.
The garden's design attracted the attention of notable visitors such as the painter Ni Zan in 1373 CE, who created Picture Scroll of Lion Grove painting. In 1703 CE Emperor Kangxi visited the garden and was followed in 1765 by Emperor Qianlong visited the garden and left the personally inscribed True Delight tablet as gift. He also had a copy of the garden made in the Changchun garden of the Summer Palace and Chengde Mountain Resort.
The 1.1 ha garden is divided into two main parts, a housing complex and rockery around a central pond.In addition to the 22 buildings the garden also houses: 25 tablets, 71 stelae, 5 carved wooden screens, and 13 ancient specimen trees, some dating back to the Yuan dynasty. The garden is most famous for its elaborate grotto of Taihu stone. This 1154 m2 grotto contains a maze of 9 paths winding through 21 caves across 3 levels. The pond divides the grotto into east and west sections. The formal entrance to the western section is the called the Eight Diagram Tactics located across the Jade Mirror Bridge from the Pointing at Cypress Hall. The taihu stone peaks are located atop this grotto. Most famous is the Lion Peak surrounded by four other stones, Han Hui, Xuan Yu, Tu Yue, and Ang Xiao, which collectively form the Famous Five Peaks. There is a folktale about two immortals, Iron-Crutch Li and Lü Dongbin who wandered into the maze of the Lion Grove and being unable to exit settled in a cave to play chess.
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| East garden | |
| Entry Hall | |
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Grand Hall
A three bay hall used by the Bei family as an ancestral temple. A tablet is inscribed with praise for Li Zan's famous Picture Scroll of Lion Grove Garden. The inscription, by Gu Tinglong, reads, "elegant aroma of clouds and woods". |
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Hall of Swallow's Blessing
A mandarin duck type hall built during the 1917 renovation. The swallow is a symbol of wealth and the character for blessing can also mean feast. |
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Pavilion of Contrast
This enclosed pavilion was used a meditation chamber. The name refers to the contrast between sleep and waking. |
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Small Square Hall
Built during the 1917 renovation as an entry into the courtyard of the Nine Lion Peak rockery. It is a three bay hall with a portico on the north facade and a square pavilion attached to the south facade. |
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Standing-in-the-Snow Hall
Named after a story in which a scholar, Yang Shi, came to seek instructions from his teacher, Cheng Yi. The teacher; however, was sleeping, so Yang Shi waited outside in the snow until he Cheng Yi. It was built in the Yuan dynasty monastery. The name also refers to another story about Zen disciple He Kui asking Domo to be his teacher. It is a three bay fully enclosed hall. The courtyard contains an rock arrangement called, "The Ox Eats the Crab". |
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| Central Garden | |
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Bamboo Pavilion
Also called the Double Fragrance Hall of the Immortals. |
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Faint Fragrance Dim Shadow Tower
Named for a poem Lin Bu (Song dynasty), "Dappled shadows hang aslant over clear shallow water; the faint fragrance wafts in the moonlit dust". Both the verse and tower are an allusion to Zen Buddhist philosophy. The symbolism of smelling the fragrance of Prunus mume alludes to enlightenment. |
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Fan Pavilion
A semicircular pavilion in the corner of the garden. |
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Flying Waterfall Pavilion
A pavilion connected to the corridor and named for the adjacent Flying Waterfall. It is the highest point in the garden. |
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Imperial Stele Pavilion
This pavilion houses a tablet by Wen Tianxiang, a hero of the Song dynasty. |
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Lotus Hall
Also called the Flower Basket Hall is a three bay hall with a terrace on the water. It is a flower basket type hall meaning the front two columns are deleted, and replaced by elaborate carvings. This hall was built during the 1917 renovation. |
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| Mid-Pond Pavilion | |
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Mountain View Tower
A tower built in the 1917 renovation. |
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Old Five Pines Hall
Built during the 1917 renovation this three bay hall with portico divides two courts that house the last remenant of the Yuan Dynasty Garden of Five Pines. The corridor around this courtyard contains a collection of valuable stele collected by Bei Runsheng. |
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Pavilion for Greeting the Plum Blossoms
Named for the adjacent grove of Prunus mume trees, this pavilion has A tablet with the inscription, "The latticed window frames the spring scene outside". |
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Pointing to Cypress Hall
Named after a verse by Gao Qi (Ming dynasty), "Instead of greeting his guest, (the host) smiles and points at a cypress before the hall." Although named as a hall this building is actually a tower, with the top floor called the Listening to Rain Tower. The form of the structure is a nine-in-one square with three sides open. Listening to Rain Tower' This addition to the Pointing to Cypress Hall was built in 1917 to houses a calligraphy collection of rubbings from the stele embedded in the walls of the Old Five Pines Garden. |
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Prunus mume Tower
A complex five bay tower between the residential compound and the garden. The first bay of the tower has two levels, the first is hidden under a rock grotto. The second level is the entry to the remaining four bays which float over a corridor to the True Delight Pavilion. |
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| Sleeping Clouds Chamber A tower used for meditation by Buddhist monks. Named after a poem by Yuan Haowen (Tang Dynasty), which was selected to describe the cloud like shapes of the rocks surround the tower. | |
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Stone Boat
A very literal interpretation of the boat building type of Chinese classical gardens. It was built during the 1917 renovation. |
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True Delight Pavilion
A water pavilion, built to house the tablet inscribed by Emperor Qianlong |
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| Vital Energy Pavilion | |
| This article contains Chinese text. Without proper , you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. |
