Although the current the Humble Administrator's garden is not quite the same as the one in zhengde Period of Ming Dynasty, it is still serves as a good example of ancient Chinese private garden.

Thus in the eyes of Chinese ancient literati, the biggest psychological difference between man-made garden and real landscape lies in the short duration of garden and the eternity of landscape.

But then I read a passage in an ancient Chinese painting manual—the Mustard Seed Garden manual of painting—which made the situation clear to me.