Most of the Classical Gardens of Suzhou built since the Ming and Qing dynasties are small ones hidden in urban lanes. These gardens are referred to as “urban landscapes”. The Classical Gardens of Suzhou are like an ode to nature written in the bustling city, indicating scholar-bureaucrats’ willingness to be recluses.

Why did ancient Chinese scholars indulge themselves in landscapes and live in seclusion? Why did not those garden owners, who yearned for nature, retire from the world and live a farmer’s life like Tao Yuanming of the Jin dynasty, and instead build small gardens in cities where land is very costly? Chinese scholars had been wavering between being an official and being a recluse for more than a thousand years. The Classical Gardens of Suzhou are a phenomenon of such “seclusive culture”, and are a creative answer from the scholars to the dilemma.