苏州狮子林LionGroveGarden

　　LionGroveGarden(Shizilin)islocatedon23YuanlinRoad,inthenortheastofSuzhou-acitywithprofoundculturalbackgroundandconvenientdevelopmentaladvantages.LionGroveGardenisoneofthefourmostfamousandrepresentativegardensofancientclassicalstyleinSuzhouCity.TheotherthreeareBlueWavePavilion(Canglangta),LingeringGarden(Liuyuan)andHumbleAdministrator'sGarden(Zhuozhengyuan).

　　Builtin1342duringtheYuanDynasty(1279-1368)byMonkTianruandagroupofZenBuddhistdisciplesasamemorialoftheirmaster-MonkZhongfeng,LionGroveGardenhaschangedhandsandrenamedanumberoftimes.ItschangeablehistoryisbecauseMonkZhongfenghadonceapperceivedtheBuddhismsutrasatLionCliffonMountainXitianmuinZhejiangProvince.Alsotherewasmanyrocksgrotesqueinshapesinthegardenresemblinglions.ItwasfirstgiventhenameLionGrove,thisnamewaschangedtoBodhiOrthodoxTemple(PutiZhengzong)in1342.LionGroveGardenhadbeenapopularcenterofliterati'sandBuddhismactivities.Manypaintingsandpoemswereinspiredbythegardenatthistime.

　　AfterMonkTianru'sdeathandthedisbandmentofthedisciples,LionGroveGardengrewmoredilapidateddaybyday.In1589oftheMingDynasty(1368-1644),MonkMingxingaskedfordonativestorebuildthegardenandtemple,whichwereseparatedduringthereignofEmperorKangxiintheQingDynasty(1644-1911).HuangXingzu,thegovernorofHengzhou,boughtthegardenandrenameditSheGarden.Hisson,HuangXirepairedanddecoratedthegardenandgaveitanewname-Five-PineGardenin1771.Goodtimesdon'tlastlong-LionGroveGardenwasagainlefttoruinduetotheHuangs'downfallandpurchasedbyBeifamilyin1917.Afterthenationalliberation,LionGroveGardenwasdonatedtoPeople'sRepublicofChina.Fromthenon,thegardenenteredasteadyandwell-protectedperiod.

　　Coveringanareaofabout10,000squaremeters(twoandahalfacres),LionGroveGardenisanidealsightseeingsiteasithasrichlyornamentalpavilionsandtowersindifferentstyles;eachhasitsownhistoryandstory.TrueDelightPavilion(Zhenquting)issaidtobethemostmagnificentinLionGroveGardenduetoitsroyalstyleandEmperorQianlongoftheQingDynasty,whovisitedthegardenssixtimes,in1765,wroteitsplaque.ThenameofStanding-in-SnowHall(Lixuetang)camefromaBuddhiststoryaboutapure-heartedZenadherentstandinginsnowforawholenighttoworshiphismaster.PavilionforGreetingthePlumBlossoms(Wenmeige)wasaplacewherepaintersandpoetsindited.Inadditiontotheplumtreesaroundthepavilion,allthefurnituresandutensilsinsidearedecoratedorcarvedwithbeautifulplumblossomdesigns.Furthermore,manyraretabletsandsteles,paintingsandcalligraphiesarekeptinLionGroveGarden,includingpreciousartwork"PanoramicViewof"byNiYunlin,alsocalledNiZan,andthe"TwelveScenicSpotsinLionGroveGarden"byXuBen,bothwerefamouspaintersfromtheMingDynasty.

　　However,astherepresentativegardenoftheYuanDynasty,themostnotedandattractivesceneryofLionGroveGardenisthelabyrinthinerockery,whichwasmostlymadeofthelimestonefromTaihuLakeinWuxiCity.Reputedasthe"KingdomofRockery",therockswerepiledupskillfullyandingeniously,andmostofthemlooklikelionsindifferentposturesandverves:playing,roaring,fighting,sleeping,orevendancing.I