More than Empty: Exploring the Aesthetic and Harmonious Essence of Leaving Blank in Suzhou Scholars’ Gardens

The Suzhou Scholars’ Gardens, originating as royal sanctuaries in ancient China, evolved into cultural and artistic symbols, particularly thriving during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The blend of material wealth and intellectual pursuits among scholars and officials propelled Suzhou's garden artistry to new heights. A pivotal contribution to this artistic era was Yuan Ye, a comprehensive treatise by Ji Cheng, a gardener from the Ming Dynasty. His work, encapsulating the principles and philosophies of garden design, stands as a testament to the era's gardening expertise and reflects the deep cultural and aesthetic values these gardens embody. This essay delves into the delicate artistry of Suzhou Gardens, with a focus on the Lingering Garden, drawing insights from Yuan Ye to explore the intentional integration of blankness by garden designers. It intends to highlight the gardens’ aesthetic of simplicity and illuminate the harmonious experiences they provide, enriching both the environment and the spiritual aspects of visitors.

The principle of “Liubai” or leaving blank, literally means leaving blankness in creation without any decorations, commonly seen in traditional Chinese landscape painting, is more than a visual technique, but also a profound avenue for emotional expression by the artist. The core of leaving blank is yin-yang, a traditional artistic philosophy, meaning opposite but interconnected, mutually perpetuating forces. (McMahon, 64) Yin-yang is always shown as the contrast of black and white, light and dark, and the sparse against the dense. Thus, far surpassing simple contrast, it achieves a balance between emptiness and fullness, each enhancing the other in a symphony of balance and wholeness. Finally, achieving a dialectical harmony. 

While traditional Chinese landscape paintings and Chinese classical gardens share a common origin in the minds of ancient literati and painters, gardens elevate this art form to a new dimension. Unlike the two-dimensional nature of paintings, gardens are three-dimensional, living landscapes. The gardens represent an evolved form of landscape painting, transforming into a tangible and immersive environment that captures the literati's profound connection to nature and their emotional landscape, transcending the realm of artistic philosophy. 

First, white walls serve an aesthetic simplicity as the most direct embodiment of leaving blank, showing a changing constrained beauty. These walls are often adorned with only blue tiles, which do not shout for attention but instead invite the viewer to find beauty in the pure, unembellished surfaces and the interplay of light and shadow upon them. The philosophy here is subtraction, where what is omitted is as significant as what is included, allowing the mind to dwell on the essence rather than the superfluous. In Figure 1, it is a corridor in Lingering Garden. During the afternoon, when the sun casts its rays at an oblique angle, the corridor becomes a canvas for the play of light and shadow. The stark whiteness of the walls acts as a perfect foil, capturing the shifting patterns that dance lightly across their surface. The simplicity of the scene is deceptive; there is a dynamic quality to the stillness, a complexity woven into the unadorned. This interplay enhances the philosophy of subtraction, highlighting the importance of temporal changes in appreciating simplicity. The changing light transforms the corridor over time, suggesting that elegance and beauty are not static but evolve with the day’s rhythm. 

Also, the white walls help harmonize with the environment and further convey a sense of spiritual tranquility. A blank canvas that allows vibrant life, such as the plants, water features, and sculptures to take center stage. This interplay between the simplicity of the walls and the complexity of nature creates a dynamic yet harmonious environment. Besides, the unembellished walls foster a sense of spaciousness and openness, encouraging a contemplative mood among visitors. The resulting environment is one of tranquility and poised grace, inviting contemplation and a deeper appreciation for nature itself. Figure 2 shows the autumn view captured in front of a pond in Lingering Garden, and the stark white walls serve as the grounding backdrop to the vibrant brushstrokes of nature's palette. The bareness of the walls accentuates the rich colors of the foliage and the reflective qualities of the water, emphasizing the organic beauty that surrounds them. The white walls are not just boundaries but integral components of the garden's composition, allowing the eye to rest and the soul to expand in the presence of nature's complexity and the garden's serene design. The architecture here is not merely a physical structure but a deliberate exercise in creating a sanctuary for both contemplation and the inherent beauty of the natural world, reaching a spiritual tranquility.

Second, alongside the use of wall features, the strategic employment of water features in Suzhou Gardens, as a representation of leaving blank also shows aesthetic simplicity, leading to serenity and spiritual harmony. The concept of blankness in architecture diverges from its interpretation in traditional Chinese painting. In this case, blank space means purposeful spaciousness, a contrast to the detailed elements, rather than the absence of objects, creating a sense of expansiveness within a designed environment. In Figure 3, the expansive water surfaces, uncluttered and serene, offer a visual rest from the elaborate rockeries and intricately designed pavilions. This simplicity in design serves as a counterpoint to the detailed elements, highlighting the beauty of unadorned space and providing a visual and emotional pause from the elaborate surroundings. Also, the water's reflective quality, by mirroring the sky and surrounding greenery, double huge spaces have been presented. This simple design allows visitors to experience expansiveness and a sense of freedom, widening their perspectives and lightening their mood after navigating through the garden's intricate vistas. The act of gazing over the gentle ripples of water, in stark contrast to the detailed scenery, fosters open-mindedness and serenity. Here, emotions and thoughts meld with the scenery, creating a blend of reality and visuality. These moments of tranquility and calm will lead visitors to a state of spiritual harmony.

Moreover, the blankness represented by water can be seen as a testament to the harmony between the environment and humans. Ji Cheng in Yuan Ye advises, “Elevate pavilions in higher areas and form ponds in lower ones. When establishing foundations, integrate them with the water source” (Ji, 18). These shows the ideal of following the rules of nature, to adapt and construct the gardens to the local conditions. Pavilions and houses are often man-made, and they can be seen as the projections of the human spirit, whereas water or ponds are usually the natural existing resources. This guidance reveals a preference for positioning the two together, creating a harmonious interplay between built elements and the natural landscape. Furthermore, the integration of bridges, connecting land and water, also emphasizes a thoughtful balance between man-made and natural elements. It shows a thinking that transcends anthropocentricity, signifying a harmony coexisted between humans and nature.

Last, the concept of “Tianjing” in Suzhou Scholars’ Garden design exemplifies the art of leaving blank,  paradoxically expanding the spatial experience, further creating a sense of “Kongling”. In Yuan Ye, Ji introduces a unique architectural form where white walls are used predominantly, with bamboo and stone as complements, to create a semi-enclosed space. This small area, often just a few square meters, restricts movement, not quite qualifying as a courtyard— hence the description “as if there, yet not.” In Suzhou gardens, such architectural spaces, framed by courtyard walls, are known as “Shiyan Tianjing.”(see in figure 4) People normally see the interior view through the grilles. Grilles frame the courtyard views, transforming them into living landscape paintings, thus all the spaces other than plants can be seen as a way of leaving blank. Despite its limited physical size, the open sky above the courtyard invokes a sense of vastness and infinity, capturing an expansive world within a small, defined area. This illusion of boundless space, an imagining blank, plays with the visitor's perception, blending the physical confines of the patio with the endlessness of the sky.

Figure 4 shows a famous “Tianjing” in Lingering Garden. It is situated in the middle of the garden, also the smallest one designed in the corridor, with nothing in the surroundings.  Imagine looking at the white wall and the sky above your head through the grille, you are unknowingly wandering around the world, communicating with the creator across time and space. Suddenly, your vision broadens, your mind becomes clearer, and all kinds of thoughts are like a flood, carrying you forward. This experience is deeply intertwined with the concept of "Kongling" (空灵), normally translated as "Ethereal" in English, a key principle in Chinese classical literary theory. "Kong" symbolizes a state of purity and untouched essence, providing a profound canvas for artistic expression. "Ling," on the other hand, represents the spirit or soul, the divine facet of human existence. (Ye, 389) We can see “Kong” as the technique expressions used by the designers, while “Ling” involves visitors’ experience in the garden, which emphasizes that visitors and their interpretations are also part of the designs of the gardens. You are looking, thinking, and breathing, and slowly it seems to have become the same rhythm as the garden. This is the "flow" of the world, the aesthetic experience we get from this small “Tianjing”. Combined, they embody what Ye describes as “an instantaneous and eternal metaphysical experience”, facilitating a deep immersion from the outer world into the inner essence. This philosophy emphasizes transcending worldly complexities and embracing a serene, uncluttered existence, perfectly illustrated in the peaceful environments of Suzhou Gardens.

In conclusion, drawing from the principles outlined in Yuan Ye, with a special example of the Lingering Garden, the essay explores the masterful integration of ‘'blankness’ or leaving blank in their design. The intentional use of open spaces, whether through white walls, water features, or the design of “Tianjing,” goes beyond the aesthetic appeal to evoke environmental harmony and spiritual resonance. In Suzhou Gardens, the art of leaving blank extends beyond visual aesthetics to encapsulate the coexistence of virtuality and reality from painting, and the philosophical unity of nature and humanity. 

Appendix 

Figure 1. A view in Lingering Garden Captured by Sandy Shan in May. 2021

Figure 2. A view in Lingering Garden Captured by Sandy Shan in Dec. 2021

Figure 3. Ponds in Lingering Garden

Figure 4. “Shiyan Tianjin” in Lingering Garden

Bibliography

Ye, Lang 叶朗. Meixue Yuanli 美学原理 [Aesthetic Principles]. Beijing: Peking University Publisher, 2009.

Ji, Cheng 计成. Yuan Ye 园冶 [The Craft of Gardens]. Translated by Hu Tianshou. Chongqing:       Chongqing Publisher, 2009.

McMahon, Cliff G. 2003b. “The Sign System in Chinese Landscape Paintings.” The Journal of Aesthetic Education 37 (1): 64. https://doi.org/10.2307/3527422.