Daily Photo – Dunedin’s Chinese Garden

I recently visited Dunedin’s Chinese Garden, and it wasn’t till after that I came across the story of the 16th century Humble Administrator’s Garden. Where Dunedin’s garden covers about 0.25 hectares, the Humble Administrator’s Garden sprawls across a rather impressive 5.2 hectares and is considered one of China’s greatest.

It was created in the early 1500s by a retired official named Wang Xiancheng. At the end of his career, Wang decided to leave public life behind and build himself a peaceful retreat. He called it the “Humble Administrator’s Garden,” which is a rather modest name for what is, in reality, an expansive and carefully composed landscape of ponds, pavilions and winding paths.

To create it, Wang spent an enormous amount of money, pouring virtually all his resources into shaping the garden. The only thing that matched his enthusiasm for landscaping was his enthusiasm for entertaining and drinking. In fact, he became so absorbed in hosting guests and enjoying his new surroundings that he rather neglected his finances.

Not long after the garden was completed, Wang died, and his family found themselves in a difficult position. The estate was so financially strained that the garden had to be sold. In a small twist of irony, Wang’s grand symbol of a “humble” retirement lasted barely a generation in the hands of the man who created it.

There’s something both comic and unfortunate about the whole episode. A man retires to live simply, builds one of the most elaborate gardens in China, enjoys it perhaps a little too much, and ensures it slips out of his family’s hands almost immediately. There’s a lesson in there somewhere.