Giuseppe Castiglione, arrived in China in the midst of the Rites Controversy. His design work at the Old Summer Palace, ”Yuanminguan” reflects an empathic understanding of the Emperor’s desires and longings emulating the spiritual unity of the Lord Creator with artists and architects working as one. Castiglione and his Jesuit brethren gathered inspiration from the creative design of gardens and palaces from their imaginative memory and the similar lived experience of the most powerful figures in Europe. Parallels are drawn between Maria de Medici’s longing for her home in Florence articulated in the design of Luxembourg garden and the emperor’s desire to quell the longing of his Fragrant Concubine, Xiang Fei for her home in Kashgar shown in the Islamic influences found the Belvedere palace at Yuanmingyuan. Marian imagery in the depiction of the emperors concubine waiting for their Lord is also examined. The spiritual lesson: in times of crisis, speak less, listen more and engage your senses.