The Studio of Gratifying Discourse

This library and its attached rock garden are from a large residence located in the West Dongting Hills district of Lake Tai in the village of Tangli. A commemorative plaque in the garden wall dates the building to 1797, while an inscription on one of the ceiling beams names the library “The Studio of Gratifying Discourse.” After the reception hall, the library or study was the most important room in an educated upper-class household. The library and its two small, attached rock gardens, featuring contorted stones from the Lake Tai region, offered a quiet spiritual sanctuary within an urban setting. It was here that scholars could read, write, paint, examine antiques, and converse informally with friends.