Similar to rockeries and hillocks, water is seen as one of the basic elements of traditional gardens. Gardens in the north and south, large or small, must bring in water if conditions possible. Even when conditions were limited, every possible means were exhausted to guide in water to dig ponds. The role of water in the entire environment is similar to mountains. Water constitutes a part of the landscape in much of nature. Poets and painters have long been intoxicated by water’s charm, making it the subject matter of their creations. The Northern Song (960-1127) painter Guo Xi said it well: “water, considered as a living being, flows deep and quiet, smooth and soft. It transforms as expansive as the ocean or as winding as stripes. It could be full and round, or squirt in a sudden...”