Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Ancient shed

A great article by Debra Prinzing from Shed Style about her pre-tour of Liu Fan Yuan, the 'Garden of Flowing Fragrance', at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, near Pasadena, which opens to the public this weekend. Among the features is the 'shed' pictured above, Di Lu Ting, the 'Pavilion for Washing Away Thoughts'. Debra explains:
"This rustic thatched structure, situated a distance from grand pavilions, soaring moon bridges and pebble-patterned courtyards, appears at the edge of a rushing stream in a canyon-like setting. Constructed with traditional post-and-beam craftsmanship, the round, open-air shelter orients its occupant’s eyes upstream, past mature winter-flowering camellias, toward the heart of the Chinese Garden....As long ago as the Tong Dynasty (616 to 906), Chinese scholars and poets sought refuge in small, distant places - such as a pavilion - to write, observe nature, and seek understanding. Powerful and universal is the desire to separate from everyday life for quiet, spiritual, and artistic pursuits."
Well worth a browse.

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