Wind Chimes Help Mother Nature Sing
It is an incredible landmark of the human imagination, the Oriental Garden. While no two are exactly alike, they all share common traits as a result of certain aesthetic principles that can be found throughout the Far East. The aesthetic is not one of sculpting nature so much as managing it a little here and a little there, providing for growth as opposed to outright manipulating it. Just think of the deployment of such decorative elements as wind chimes, rather common for a Japanese or Chinese garden. Thus does Mother Nature make music while making her rounds. While designed to repulse evil, it is evident that their real talent lies in charming people!
A reliance on nature to supply the furnishings characterizes the Oriental garden. Wood for benches and bridges. Ponds not only have fish but turtles and other creatures. Wind chimes somewhere. While manicured landscapes in the West celebrate glory, those in the East seek to promote a most demure tranquility. It’s true that for the laity Chinese and Japanese gardens may seem much more similar than not. Nevertheless, the Asian sensibility is such that naturalness is preferred over even the most imaginative designs of man.
The difference may lie in the fact that Japan still has a shamanistic culture in the form of Shinto while China’s Confucianism has thoroughly pushed aside its Taoist tendencies. In that respect, the Chinese aesthetic is more “yang” to the Japanese “yin,” so to speak. But the main motivation with each is to let nature lead when it comes to design choices. Of course, gardens are, in the final analysis, entirely man-made affairs. In Asia, however, it is recognized that oftentimes almost no human input is necessary; that’s the difference. Similar to the way wind chimes but bring song to the wind, thus do Chinese and Japanese gardens seek to promote nature’s majesty and mystery.