The Architecture of Liu Fang Yuan 流芳園

Flowery Brush Library (Bi Hua Shu Fang 筆花書房)

Type: Hall (tingtang 廳堂)

Roof: Hip-and-gable (xieshan 歇山)

Ridge ends: Open-mouth dragon-fish (yulong wen 魚龍吻)

Ridge: Open-work circular tiles (huatong wa ji 花筒瓦脊)

Ceiling: Double-vaulted drop ceiling

Inspiration: Roof adapted from the Hall of Distant Fragrance (Yuanxiang tang 遠香堂), Garden of the Humble Administrator (Zhuozheng yuan 拙政園), Suzhou, China

Notes: The Library is the largest, most formal building in Liu Fang Yuan. Its roof is supported by impressive single-step bracket sets, visible most clearly on the exterior corners of the building. The main ridge is adorned with mythical fish intended to protect the building from fire. Sculpted peaches (symbols of longevity) and pomegranates (emblems of abundant offspring) appear at the base of the gable ridges. The interior structural components of the building feature carvings of magnolias and peonies.

Hall of the Jade Camellia (Yu Ming Tang 玉茗堂)

Type: Hall (tingtang 廳堂)

Roof: Hip-and-gable (xieshan 歇山)

Ridge ends: Camellia pattern (chahua wen tou 茶花紋頭)

Ridge: Open-work circular tiles (huatong wa ji 花筒瓦脊)

Ceiling: None

Inspiration: Wood and glass walls adapted from the Hall of Distant Fragrance (Yuanxiang tang 遠香堂), Garden of the Humble Administrator (Zhuozheng yuan 拙政園), Suzhou, China

Notes: The Hall is similar in form to the Flowery Brush Library, but its hip-and-gable roof is less ornate, signifying its lesser status. The principal beams, purlins, and rafters that support the central gabled section of the roof are all readily visible in the interior of the Hall. Carvings of camellias adorn many of the building’s tie-beams (the horizontal timbers connecting the columns).

Pavilion of Myriad Scenes (Wan Jing Ting 萬景亭)

Type: Viewing pavilion (xie 榭)

Roof: Hip-and-gable (xieshan 歇山)

Ridge: “Cucumber” (huanggua huan 黃瓜還) (named for the distinctive cucumber-shaped tiles that form the apex of the roof, connecting the two slopes)

Ceiling: None

Notes: The Pavilion’s open interior gives a clear view of the building’s internal roof structure, including both the central gabled area and the surrounding hips. The many rafters fanning out around the corner eaves of the building are especially prominent. Note the two layers of rafters used to construct the building’s eaves: the lower layer consists of “eave rafters”; the upper layer is composed of “flying rafters” that support the dramatic curve of the building’s eaves.

Love for the Lotus Pavilion (Ai Lian Xie 愛蓮榭)

Type: Viewing pavilion (xie 榭)

Roof: Hip-and-gable (xieshan 歇山)

Ridge: “Cucumber” (huanggua huan 黃瓜還) (named for the distinctive cucumber-shaped tiles that form the apex of the roof, connecting the two slopes)

Ceiling: None

Inspiration: Lotus Pavilion (Furong xie 芙蓉榭), Garden of the Humble Administrator (Zhuozheng yuan 拙政園), Suzhou, China

Notes: Four columns support tthe Pavilion’s wide gables and define the central space inside. The building’s hipped eaves shade the low seat walls that overlook the lotus pond outside. The interior wooden screen is adorned with depictions of eight famous Suzhou gardens. The panels closest to the water depict lotus, pine, plum, bamboo, orchid, and chrysanthemum.

Stargazing Tower (Wang Xing Lou 望星樓)

Type: Informal pavilion (ting 亭)

Roof: Pyramidal with gables / cruciform hip-and-gable (shizi ji 十字脊)

Ridge ends: Geometric-patterned ends (weiwen jiao tou 圍紋腳頭)

Ridges: Openwork circular tiles (huatong wa ji 花筒瓦脊

Ceiling: None

Notes: Despite its name, the Stargazing Tower is not a true tower, or lou 樓, which should have at least two stories. The Tower’s open interior permits a direct view of its complex, symmetrical roof structure. Its architrave (the horizontal beam above the building’s columns) includes decorative intercolumnar bracket sets and openwork floral patterns.

Single Leaf Pavilion (Yi Ye Ting 一葉亭)

Type: Informal pavilion (ting 亭)

Roof: Pyramidal (fang cuanjian 方攢尖)

Ridges: Shaped mortar

Ceiling: None

Notes: Informal pavilions, or ting 亭, like the Single Leaf Pavilion, are meant for stopping to rest and to enjoy the scenery. Their name in Chinese (ting 亭) is related to the word for “stopping” (ting 停). The Pavilion is similar in form to the Terrace of the Jade Mirror, but it lacks the interior set of columns that anchor the Terrace’s internal plaster walls.

Terrace of the Jade Mirror (Yu Jing Tai 玉鏡臺)

Type: Informal pavilion (ting 亭)

Roof: Pyramidal (fang cuanjian 方攢尖)

Ridges: Shaped mortar

Ceiling: Flat drop ceiling

Inspiration: Retreat of Wutong and Bamboo (Wuzhu youju 梧竹幽居), Garden of the Humble Administrator (Zhuozheng yuan 拙政園), Suzhou, China

Notes: The Terrace’s dramatic pyramidal roof is supported by two sets of columns: an outer set linked by low seat walls, and an inner set anchoring the interior plaster walls of the Terrace’s central chamber. Its circular doorways evoke the full moon, poetically known as the “jade mirror” (yu jing 玉鏡) in Chinese. The word “terrace” (tai 臺) is also the word for a mirror stand. Thus, the name of this building could also be understood as “A Stand for the Moon-Mirror.”

Pavilion of the Three Friends (San You Ge 三友閣)

Type: Multi-story pavilion (ge 閣)

Roof: Pyramidal (liujiao cuanjian 六角攢尖)

Ridges: Shaped mortar

Ceiling: Flat drop ceiling

Inspirations: Combination of the single-roofed, hexagonal Pavilion of Lotus Breeze on All Sides (Hefeng simian ting 荷風四面亭) and the double-roofed, octagonal Celestial Spring Pavilion (Tianquan ting 天泉亭), Garden of the Humble Administrator (Zhuozheng yuan 拙政園), Suzhou, China

Notes: This Pavilion is the only hexagonal structure and the only double-roofed building in Liu Fang Yuan. Though it lacks a second interior floor, its two roofs give it the appearance of a two-story ge 閣, a type of multi-level pavilion. The comparatively open view of its interior structure reveals that a triangular array of massive beams supports the building’s second story.

Waveless Boat (Bu Bo Xiao Ting 不波小艇)

Type: Stone boat (shifang 石舫)

Roof: Fore chamber: gable (xuanshan 懸山); rear cabin: hip-and-gable (xieshan 歇山)

Ridges: “Cucumber” (huanggua huan 黃瓜還) (named for the distinctive cucumber-shaped tiles that form the apex of the roof, connecting the two slopes)

Ceiling: None

Inspiration: Various, including the Painted Boat Studio (Huafang zhai 畫舫齋), Garden of Joy (Yi yuan 怡園), Suzhou, China; and Fragrant Isle (Xiang zhou 香洲), Garden of the Humble Administrator (Zhuozheng yuan 拙政園), Suzhou, China

Notes: Stone boats have been a common feature of Chinese gardens for at least 800 years. They are beloved for evoking the pleasures of experiencing a garden from the water. The wooden panels in the central passageway of the Waveless Boat are adorned with carvings of rocks modeled on images in the Stone Compendium of the Plain Garden (Suyuan shipu 素園石譜), a 17th-century guide to stone collecting.

Freshwater Pavilion (Huo Shui Xuan 活水軒)

Type: Support structure (xuan 軒)

Roof: Gable (yingshan 硬山)

Ridge ends: Patterned ends (wen tou 紋頭)

Ridge: “Sugar cane” ridge (ganzhe ji 甘蔗脊) (vertically stacked tiles secured with an upper layer of darkened mortar)

Ceiling: None

Models: Various, including the Hall of Orchid Snow (Lanxue tang 蘭雪堂), Garden of the Humble Administrator (Zhuozheng yuan 拙政園), Suzhou, China; and Boundless Clouds (Qian qing yun 千頃雲) pavilion, Tiger Hill (Hu qiu 虎丘), Suzhou, China

Notes: The Freshwater Pavilion’s simple gable roof signals that it is subordinate to the elaborate, hip-and-gabled Hall of the Jade Camellia nearby. The Pavilion was intended to serve as Liu Fang Yuan’s teahouse. Its doors are carved with various flowering camellias, relatives of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis).