South Half Garden

South Half Garden

South Half Garden is a Suzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

South Half Garden, also known as the Shi Family’s Half Garden, is an ancient garden architecture structure originally built during the Qing Dynasty. Located at No. 24 Cangmi Lane, it was designated as a Suzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 1982 and is currently under the protection and management of San Dian Guang Processing Co., Ltd.

The site of South Half Garden was originally an old residence. During the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty, Yu Yue first purchased land on Mayike to build his Qu Garden residence, and then transferred this plot to Shi Weitang, who built an eastern residence with a western garden. At that time, there was still vacant land to the west of the property, but the owner, believing in “being content with half rather than striving for completeness,” named it the “Half Garden” (to distinguish it from the Lu Family’s Half Garden on Batou East Road, it is commonly called “South Half Garden” today).

The main hall, "Half Garden Cottage," features a plaque inscribed by Yu Yue, along with a couplet reading: “Though the garden is but half, with leisure in body one feels the sky and sea vast; if one seeks not perfection in affairs, a contented heart naturally finds peace and ease.” In front of the hall are planted many flowers and trees, along with a lotus pond and stone bridge, where shimmering water ripples and piles of rockery rise. To the southwest of the hall is a boat-shaped building named “Unmoored Boat.” To the southeast, near the pond, stands a small house surrounded by lotuses in the front and bamboo at the back, named “Gentleman’s Abode.” Other features include the Refreshing Breeze Pavilion, Twin Shade Pavilion, Study Retreat, Cozy Nest, Wind Pavilion, and Moon Veranda. Yu Yue, in his “Record of the Half Garden,” praised this garden as being “a little yet surpassing much,” with “its ups and downs offering views for climbing and gazing; its wind pavilions and moon verandas exhibiting the splendor of cypresses, rivaling the famed gardens of the Wu region.”

In the early years of the Republic of China, the garden was opened to the public and attracted many visitors. Literary societies such as the Hidden Society, Half Garden Women’s Poetry Society, and Women’s Study Research Association gathered here for poetic activities. In the 1930s, Lu Hongyi operated a law firm in the garden for many years and was involved in the “Seven Gentlemen Case.” After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the Half Garden was successively used by the municipal tax bureau, a bearing factory, and the Third Optical Instrument Factory. After 1966, it suffered severe damage, with the pond, rockeries, plants, and parts of the buildings being destroyed.

South Half Garden covers an area of 6,130 square meters. Its two-courtyard, five-section residential section remains in fairly good condition, with the camphor wood flower-basket hall in the east courtyard being the most exquisite. Only the Half Garden Cottage, the Study Retreat, and some pavilions and corridors survive in the garden. The 1950s “Reference Catalog of Old Residential Buildings in Suzhou,” compiled by Tongji University, includes a floor plan and other documentation of the garden.