▌Introduction
The walls in the garden are referred as scenery walls that can be categorized as fence walls, garden walls, and corridor walls based on the functions. The walls are mainly used to separate the exterior and interior from each scenery spots. The walls are constructed in such as wave-shaped cloud wall, stair wall, book scroll-shaped wall, and fencing wall. The wall surfaces are often designed with see-through windows, door opening, or blank windows for both ventilation and decoration functions.
The see-through windows are also named flowery window, the unique Chinese traditional construction design. The construction of see-through windows starts with the preservation of space on the wall and the support of main construction with sand, stone, or brick made contour. The inlaying on wall surface is begun and finished with fine mud formation and color painting. See-through windows is sometimes made of wood material, too.
The beautiful see-through windows are not only served for the decoration, lighting, but also layout arrangement functions. They are used to present the scenes in the mansion and garden in better visibilities, an unique way of landscaping art.
The Ben-Yuan Lin’s Family Mansion and Garden is best known for its various types and shapes and patterns of magnificant artistry crafts in Taiwan. The design motif of see-through windows implicitly teached and signifying the meanings of elegance, abundance and fortune that are classified into the following four types:
1. Appliances: ancient coins, vases, vessels, fans, book scroll, and so on;
2. Animals: bats, butterflies, tigers, hornless dragons and so on;
3. Plants: bamboos, lotus, Sechium edule, peaches, pomegranates, pumpkins, and so on;
4. Symbol: Pang-Chang, longevity-character ,卍, ice-crack marking, and so on.
▌see-through windows
▌ longevity-character
▌Pang-Chang
▌ ice-crack marking