JIANGNAN PRIVATE GARDENCHLOE FORD

&ASHLEY WAGERS

There are many different types of Jiangnan private gardens. The main

two we chose were the Humble Administrators and the Ancient town

of Zhouzhuang.

In 1513, during the Ming Dynasty reign of Emperor Zhengde, an administrator named Wang Xianchen

appropriated the temple and converted it into a private villa with gardens, which were constructed by digging lakes and piling the resultant earth into artificial islands. The garden

was designed in collaboration with the renowned Ming artist Wen Zhengming, and was as large as today's garden, with numerous trees and pavilions. The Wang family sold the garden several years later, and it has changed hands

many times since.

WHERE IT WAS BUILT…(THE HUMBLE ADMINISTRATORS)

Today's garden is only very loosely related to its earliest version, but closely resembles its late Qing appearance,

with numerous pavilions and bridges set among a maze of connected pools and islands. It consists of three major

parts set about a large lake: the central part (Zhuozheng Yuan), the eastern part (once called Guitianyuanju,

Dwelling Upon Return to the Countryside), and a western part (the Supplementary Garden). The house lies in the

south of the garden.In total, the garden contains 48 different buildings with 101

tablets, 40 stelae, 21 precious old trees, and over 700 Suzhou-style penjing/penzai.

CHARACTERISTICS (THE HUMBLE ADMINISTRATORS)

Rivers crisscross in the town of Zhouzhuang, where buildings and streets are constructed along the rivers. Over 60% of the buildings across the town were built in the Ming

and Qing Dynasties. In the tiny 0.47-sq.kilometer ancient town, there are close to one hundred classical houses and

over 60 brick carving gate towers. The most representative building is Shen's House, which is a courtyard house with the Qing Dynasty styles. The overall structure of the house is in neat formation, with different styles in various parts. While the most striking feature of Zhang’s House is the

small river streaming through the courtyard, where there’s a pond covering over three square meters for unloading

ships.

STRUCTURE (ANCIENT TOWN OF ZHOUZHUANG)

One of the most well-known people of Zhouzhuang was Shen Wansan, the richest man in the south of the Yangtze

River during the early years of the Ming Dynasty. He conducted trade by capitalizing on the convenient

waterway transportation in Zhouzhuang. The place thus became a flourishing town in the south of the Yangtze River

at that time as well as a distributing centre of grain, silk, porcelain wares and handicrafts.

WHO LIVES THERE (ANCIENT TOWN OF ZHOUZHUANG)