By BETH THOMAS
Lifestyles Editor
Charles Chapin has captured it in his backyard. His mystical retreat has everything from wispy flora and fauna to a waterfall and a 13th-century Chinese gong that, surprisingly, he found on eBay.
Chapin bought the gong three years ago from a seller in Colorado. It is beautifully hand-etched with Chinese dragons and unique décor. “I just happened to be on eBay one night, and I saw it listed,” he said. “You rarely find one that size available, so it immediately caught my eye.” The gong measures 45 inches around and weighs about 20 pounds. Chapin is the only person in Mississippi to own one that size. “I was very lucky to get it. That’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that come along.”
The gong is well used. Its previous owner used to lease it out to the Colorado Symphony Orchestra to use in musical productions. “It has perfect pitch. They were sad to see it go,” Chapin said.
The gong now hangs in a gazebo built by Chapin in his garden. It keeps the company of other Asian antiques Chapin has collected from eBay, including two 100-year-old wooden Japanese shutters that were rescued from a temple destroyed by fire caused by an earthquake. On the back, you can still see the scorch marks from where the wood was burned.
“You’d be surprised what all you can find on eBay if you’re willing to look,” Chapin said. And clearly, he’s right. Looking at Chapin’s collection of Asian artifacts is like browsing a history museum. Most of his items are more than 100 years old, and what isn’t quite that old yet is pretty close.
Chapin’s idea for the garden stemmed out of his interest in the martial arts.
“I really got interested in martial arts while in the Marine Corps stationed in Hawaii,” he said. This is where Chapin got involved in T’ai Chi, which he teaches, and he became heavily interested in the study of Asian culture and history.
“I thought it would be neat to have a place where my students could practice their martial arts and garden clubs could come and visit,” he said. “I wanted it to be like going to China.”
The Asian garden is completely man-produced – from the imported plants to the random placement of the stones. “This area has three truckloads of dirt that had to be added so that we could raise it up to the level that stuff could grow in,” Chapin said. The area inside the fence is 18 inches higher than the area outside the fence. When Chapin moved into the house in 1988, there wasn’t much to the yard.
“Water was dripping off of the roof and was causing the area back here to erode,” he said. “I had to hand-spread the dirt back here because no grass would grow. Water was coming off the building and eroding everything.”
More than 20 years later, the area is an Asian paradise- complete with Asian plants and artifacts. “We try to keep everything original,” Chapin said.
When you walk through the wooden gate, you’re greeted by two striking (but not intimidating) Fu Dogs and the gentle trickling of a waterfall.
The “Fu Dogs,” or Chinese imperial guardian lions, are quite common in Asian gardens. The lions, one male and one female, are there to protect the home. The female protects children while the male protects the house. Inside their mouths is a hand-carved ball that can never come out. The ball represents the Pearl of Happiness, which is what the dragon is always trying to steal.
You’ll also see a century-old red lantern close to the waterfall. “All Asian gardens are fashioned after the elements,” Chapin said. The waterfall represents water while the lantern represents fire. When you see the two of them together, it represents the interacting forces.
As you stroll through the area, you’ll notice a few plants that you probably won’t find outside of Chapin’s garden. That’s because they’re native to Japan. The Japanese black pine provides shade to those wishing to kneel and or relax at the meditation rock. Japanese gardeners like the tree because it’s tolerant to manipulation. “If you want a limb to grow in a certain direction, just hang a weight on it and it will grow that way,” Chapin said.
But the garden has a few native plants growing in it, too. Fragrant jasmine lines the top of the fence at the gate’s entrance, and a juniper tree and loblolly pine provides some shade in the back. Chapin keeps the pine trimmed so that it doesn’t reach its natural height of 60 feet.
The meditation rock faces east. It is believed that when you face east during meditation, the movement of the body’s energy is affected by the rotation of the earth. If you meditate 30 minutes before sun comes up or 30 minutes before the sun goes down, you’ll have a stronger response to the internal energy you are trying to move. Interestingly, the rocks that make up the meditation rock are part of the former patio at Webster’s. “When they remodeled their patio, they were just going to throw the rocks away. I asked them to put them over the fence in my garden instead, and I ended up using them,” Chapin said.
A statue of Kwan Yin, also known as the”female Buddha,” keeps watch over the meditation rock.
The only non-Asian artifacts in Chapin’s garden are the Asian-inspired lights.” I looked all over eBay for these kinds of lights and couldn’t find them,” Chapin said. “I ended up finding these at Walmart.”
The lights add to the ambiance and allow visitors to see the garden well at night.”When the lights come out at night, it’s a totally different place,” he said.”It’s so pretty.”
And Chapin isn’t finished with the garden yet. He has plans to add a gathering area in the back that resembles what you’d see in an ancient temple – complete with concrete tables and benches.”I’m still trying to come up with something clever to go with the palmetto I’ve got back there,” he said. Chapin wants people to think of a different part of the country when they visit that area. He also wants to add another waterfall and a few fish.
Chapin isn’t afraid to experiment with different plants and ideas in his garden.”If you want a way to bridge the gap between the cultures, gardening is the way to do it,” he said.”Even if you disagree on politics, you can still sit down together and talk about ways to grow plants. It’s a great icebreaker.”
Chapin’s main objective with his garden is to make it look as natural as possible. Even the boulders he’s placed outside the back door look like natural stepping stones.”I put the rocks in specific spots, but the idea is to make them look like they occur there randomly,” he said.”I want you to be able to walk through the gate and feel like you’re walking in China.”
Chapin welcomes visitors in his garden. To schedule a visit, call him at
