Lake Stone in Zhusu Garden

Lake Stone in Zhusu Garden

The Lake Stone in Zhusu Garden is a cultural relic protection unit of Wuxi City.

The Lake Stone in Zhusu Garden, also known as the Old Man Peak, is located at No. 14 Xihe Pond, Huishan, Wuxi City, within the Ancestral Hall of Gu Kehuai. It earned its name due to its human-like shape, appearing as if it is standing upright with its head raised, arms outstretched, belly exposed, and legs together.

The stone was originally part of the Zhusu Garden estate belonging to Feng Kui (courtesy name Yanbo), the Ming Dynasty’s Guangdong Provincial Surveillance Commissioner. After Feng Kui, it came into the possession of Gu Kehuai, the Deputy Surveillance Commissioner of Guangdong. Gu Kehuai regarded the stone as a friend, built the “Stone Friends Hall” in the garden, and composed the poem “Stone Elder’s Terrace.” Gu Kehuai’s eighth-generation descendant, Gu Guangxu, moved the “Old Man Peak” to the Ancestral Hall of Gu Kehuai in the 60th year of the Qianlong reign (1795), constructed the “Paying Homage to Stone Studio,” and inscribed two poems on the stone. One reads: “Digging a pool beside the ‘cloud root,’ the deep root brings rain from the clouds; standing alone between heaven and earth, unaware of past or present.” The other: “With my autumn thoughts spanning three seasons, I gaze upon your cloud-like form; people come a thousand years later, yet still recite your pure fragrance.” Today, several lines of inscriptions remain on the stone.

In November 1983, it was designated as a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit by the Wuxi Municipal People’s Government.