Master of the Nets Garden

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Classical Gardens of Suzhou
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Location	China
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iii, iv, v
Reference	813
UNESCO region	Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription	1997 (21st Session)
Extensions	2000

Master of the Nets Garden
"Master of the Nets Garden" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese
Simplified Chinese	网师园
Traditional Chinese	網師園
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wǎngshī yuán IPA [wàŋ.ʂɨ́ ɥɛ̌n] Wu Romanization Maõn-sy yœ̃ Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Móhng-sī yùhn Jyutping Mong5-si1 jyun4 Southern Min Tâi-lô Bāng-su hn̂g

The Master of the Nets Garden (Chinese: 网师园; pinyin: Wǎngshī yuán; Suzhouese: IPA: [mɑ̃ sz̩ ɦyø]) in Suzhou is among the finest gardens in China. It is located at Gusu District (formerly Canglang District), Dai Cheng Qiao Road, No. 11 Kuo Jia Tou Xiang (沧浪区带城桥路阔家头巷11号). It is recognized with other classical Suzhou gardens as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The garden demonstrates Chinese garden designers' adept skills for synthesizing art, nature, and architecture to create unique metaphysical masterpieces. The Master of the Nets is particularly regarded among garden connoisseurs for its mastering the techniques of relative dimension, contrast, foil, sequence and depth, and borrowed scenery.

The Master of the Nets garden, then called Ten Thousand Volume Hall, was first constructed in 1140 by Shi Zhengzhi the Deputy Civil Service Minister of the Southern Song Dynasty government. Shi Zhengzhi was inspired by the simple and solitary life of a Chinese fisherman depicted in philosophical writings. After his death the garden passed through numerous ownership and subsequently fell into disarray until around 1785 when it was restored by Song Zongyuan, a retired government official of the Qing Dynasty. He drastically redesigned the garden and added multiple buildings, but retained the spirit of the site. He often referred to himself as a fisherman and renamed it the Master of the Nets Garden, as an allusion to the simple life of a fisherman.

Ownership passed to Qu Yuancun, a scholar well-versed in the classics and literature, in 1795. He added and remodelled buildings, planted trees, and arranged stones. The garden acquired the nickname of Qu's Garden during this period as well as its first acclaim by critics. Ownership passed to Li Hongyi, an imperial official and master calligrapher in 1868. About half of the steles in the garden are inscribed by him. Ownership passed to He Chang in 1940, who restored both the garden and returned the name back to Master of Nets Garden. He stipulated in his will the garden should be donated to the government. In 1958 his daughter He Zehui gave the garden to the Suzhou government.