Friendship Walls in a Chinese Garden

A funny thing about leafing through that 1926 novel set in China by Louise Jordan Miln, It Happened in Peking, I came upon a description, one of many, of Chinese gardens. Seems an old custom is to have a "friendship wall" in the garden usually made of bamboo - one that visitors and guests can write on, leaving their names or comments. I thought of the Chinese American architect Maya Lin's wall, with all it names, in commemoration. The Vietnam wall in Washington, of course. Wondered if the old Chinese friendship wall in the garden was an inspiration for Maya Lin.