gofer articles

It is an incredible landmark of the human imagination, the Oriental Garden. They are by no means all alike, but do share overarching design sensibilities that are particular to that part of the world. Chief among these is the desire for nature to express herself as much as possible despite the obvious man-made confines of a garden. Consider, for example, the use of wind chimes, often found in the gardens of Japan and China (especially the former). These ingenious devices provide a shape to the wind’s otherwise completely random musings without dictating the exact words, so to speak. Originally intended to ward off evil spirits, they seem much better at attracting nature-lovers!

Letting things go their own natural way is a common concern of the Asian aesthetic. Wood for benches and bridges. Gold fish in the pond. Wind chimes in the distance. While manicured landscapes in the West celebrate glory, those in the East seek to promote a most demure tranquility. That’s not to say that Chinese and Japanese gardens all look alike; indeed, they often exhibit as many differences as they do similarities. Nevertheless, the Asian sensibility is such that naturalness is preferred over even the most imaginative designs of man.

Hard and fast rules don’t exist, but one can safely indulge in generalizations at times as long as it’s kept in mind that every pronouncement is sure to be contradicted. In that respect, the Chinese aesthetic is more “yang” to the Japanese “yin,” so to speak. In the end, however, both seek to to sculpt nature as little as possible. Of course, gardens are, in the final analysis, entirely man-made affairs. In Asia, however, it is recognized that oftentimes almost no human input is necessary; that’s the difference. Just like how wind chimes only channel the music of the wind, thus do Chinese and Japanese gardens seek to promote nature’s majesty and mystery.