Noilly Prattle: China - Spring 2018, Suzhou – 2 The Lion Forest

Saturday, April 14, 2018

China - Spring 2018, Suzhou – 2 The Lion Forest

a short walk to The Lion Forest

     Just a short walk from the Humble Administrator's Garden there is another garden called The Lion Forest. Admission was the same for senior citizens of any nationality 50% for people 60 to 69 and free for those over 70. I joked that if you're over 70 and still alive they think you should get in free.

rocks of the Lion Forest
footpaths on different levels
       The Lion Forest is a 14th Century garden built by a Zen Monk named Wen Tianru in honor of his teacher, Abbot Zhongfeng. It is centered around a water area and covered with hundreds if not thousands of rocks full of holes and strange shapes. The garden is something of a maze with footpaths on different levels and through holes in the rocks. The garden is named for these supposedly lion-shaped rocks. (It seemed hard to see the “lion shapes” in the rocks to me.) The shape of the rocks is said to be in reference to the symbolic lion in the Buddhist's Lion's Roar Sutra. Whatever the provenance of the rocks, the effect is quite spectacular. The Lion Forest is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

the central water area
Can you see a lion in the rocks?
tiered waterfall










praying monk?




willows soften the effect of the stone











bamboo grove makes a good spot to rest 
shades of red trail off into the background














Why walk a straight line when you can zig-zag . . .

Guanqian Street
Xuanmiao Guàn Taoist Temple
       From The Lion Forest we walked back towards Guanqian Street, the main pedestrian and shopping street in Old Suzhou City. The Xuanmiao Guàn Taoist Temple is located on the north side of Guanqian Street. The original main temple building dates from the 3rd Century AD, but was destroyed by wars in the Southern Song Dynasty. The current structure was rebuilt in the 12th Century. The temple gateway, Zheng Shan Men, a graceful double roofed structure, is made entirely of wood and dates from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). It was damaged and rebuilt in 1775 AD. There are some interesting sculptures of Taoist gods in the Zheng Shan Men, one of which, a deity named Wei Tuo, is posed making an interesting and humorous hand gesture. Wei Tuo is a guardian of the gate. As such he protects the temple from evil spirits; so, if you're a bad actor, his gesture could very well mean . . . well, you know.
Wei Tuo - guardian of the gate

Taoist deities, Wei Tuo in center















Zheng Shan Men --  graceful, double roofed temple gateway

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