Maxims for design and composition

BEFORE referring in detail to the models followed in the arrangement of different kinds of gardens, it is interesting to note instructions laid down by various writers as to garden composition in general. From a European standpoint, many of these maxims may appear to present no great novelty or originality, but they will serve to show the basis upon which the theory and practice of the art is founded. Principles of design, not unlike those pursued in the West, often lead to curiously dissimilar results in the hands of the Eastern artist.