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 Journal Of Contemporary Urban Affairs
2018, Volume 2, Number 1, pages 33–44

Classical Chinese Gardens: Landscapes for Self-Cultivation

Dr. DONIA ZHANG *
Oxford Brookes University, UK
E mail: doniazhang@oxfordbrookes.net

A R T I C L E I N F O: ABSTRACT
Article history: This paper examines the design philosophy of classical Suzhou gardens in China, with
Received 30 July 2017 regards to their natural and architectural elements on the moral education of the
Accepted 07 Augusts 2017 inhabitants. Through studying the metaphorical connotations of garden elements, the
Available online 08 Augusts author reflects on their propositions for contemporary environmental ethics, aesthetic
2017 appreciation, and moral education. As such, the article is structured around three
Keywords: themes: classical Chinese gardens cultivating environmental ethics, classical Chinese
Chinese landscape gardens cultivating appreciation of aesthetics, and classical Chinese gardens
architecture; cultivating moral characters. The essay finally suggests that classical Chinese gardens
Chinese garden; are landscapes for self-cultivation.
Chinese philosophy;
Ethics;
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS (2018) 2(1), 33-44.
Aesthetics;
https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2018.3654
Morality.

This work is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution -
NonCommercial - NoDerivs 4.0.
"CC-BY-NC-ND"

www.ijcua.com
Copyright © 2018 Journal Of Contemporary Urban Affairs. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction (Su represents “Suzhou,” and Hang for

A garden is a form of art that is related to nature “Hangzhou,” two historic Chinese cities with
as well as culture. One aspect of their perpetual classical gardens). These sayings demonstrate
appeal to people is that in a garden, art and humans’ cosmological awareness of the
science, mind and nature, finally intersect. Many interconnection between gardens and the
world philosophies or religions regard the planet universe from an earlier time.
earth as a garden. Christians believe that the
“Garden of Eden” once existed in Mesopotamia
*Corresponding Author:
of the Near East, and the “Hanging Garden” of
Oxford Brookes University, UK
Babylon has ever captivated humans’ creative
E-mail address: doniazhang@oxfordbrookes.net
imagination. Chinese people then believe that
“There is Heaven above, there is Su-Hang below”
 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 2(1), 33-44 / 2018
Historically in China, mountains were viewed as
connections between heaven and earth, and
water as a reflection of the vast emptiness of the
universe. As such, mountains and water are two
fundamental elements in Chinese landscape
architecture, as Confucius (551-479 BCE)
contended: “The wise find pleasure in water; the
virtuous find pleasure in hills.”1
Living close to mountains and water was Chinese
people’s ideal since antiquity. However, a hermit
lifestyle might not suit everyone. Thus, they
created gardens with rocks and water within the
confines of their private homes to be close to
nature.
Based on their functions, Chinese gardens fall
into three categories: imperial, monastic, and
residential. This paper focuses on Suzhou’s
residential gardens because, of all Chinese
cities, Suzhou has the largest number of private
gardens, the most beautiful in style (figure 1), and
the highest in artistic and construction quality
(Keswick, 2003; Shao, 2005; Yuan and Gong,
2004).
A Suzhou garden had always been an integral
part of a house, and the Chinese concept of a
home is explicitly expressed in the terms
yuanzhai, meaning “courtyard/garden-house,”
or jiating, denoting “home-courtyard/garden”
(Wang, 2005; Yu, 2007). Suzhou had about 270
private gardens of various sizes in the Ming
dynasty (1368-1644), over 60 are preserved, 19
open to the public today, and nine are on
UNESCO’s World Heritage List. 2
1 Shizilin (The Lion Grove Garden), Yipu (The Garden of Cultivation), Ou
Confucian Analects, Book 6 Chapter 21; translated by J. Legge,
1893/1971, p. 192.
2
UNESCO’s Suzhou gardens list: Zhuozheng Yuan (The Humble
Administrator’s Garden), Liu Yuan (The Lingering Garden), Wangshi
Yuan (The Master-of-Nets Garden), Huanxiu Shanzhuang (Mountain
Villa with Embracing Beauty), Canglang Ting (Surging Waves Pavilion),
Figure 1. Suzhou Lingering Garden (Liu Yuan). Photo by the
author 2007
2. Classical Chinese Gardens Cultivating
Environmental Ethics
In his essay “The Philosophy of Wilderness,” Shane
Steinkamp argued that “To protect the nature
that is all around us, we must think long and hard
about the nature we carry inside our heads”
(n.d.). He means that humans must uphold a
correct attitude towards nature in order to
protect the natural environment, which would
require a cultivation of our minds. A Chinese
garden is a cosmic diagram revealing a
profound view of the world; it is nature in a
nutshell that enables one to feel the charm of
nature, such as mountains, forest, and springs,
without going out of the bustling city.
When designing a Chinese garden, Feng Shui
had often been applied. Feng Shui, literally
means “wind and water,” is Chinese cosmology
for determining whether the potential site would
bring health, wealth, or misfortune to the
occupants. Dating back some 5,000 years ago,
Feng Shui can be found in classics such as Shijing
(Book of Odes), Shujing (Book of History),
Huangdi Zhai Jing (Yellow Emperor’s Canon on
Houses), and other fragmentary texts in the
Western Zhou period (1066-771 BCE).
Yuan (The Couple’s Garden of Retreat), and Tuisi Yuan (The Retreat and
Reflection Garden) (Exploration and Discovery, 2016; Shao, 2005; Yu,
2007; Yuan and Gong, 2004). Suzhou is nicknamed the “Back Garden”
of Shanghai as it is only 83 km to the northwest of it, about 30 minutes by
high-speed train.
Dr. Donia Zhang 34
 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 2(1), 33-44 / 2018

According to archaeological discoveries, Feng perish. When Yin and Yang are in disorder, all
Shui originated from the rolling hilly regions of the things change. When Yin and Yang are in
loess plateau of China. Initially it was developed balance, all things are constant.
for cave-dwellers to search for ideal cave
locations. Feng Shui is cultural wisdom
accumulated through practices and
experiences over a long period of time. Although
its concept and principles emerged in Han time
(206 BCE-220 CE), its practice became available
chiefly during the Tang dynasty (618-907) when
the compass, a crucial tool for the practice, was
invented. Feng Shui has been widespread since
the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), and because of it,
people’s attentiveness to environmental
conditions was heightened when selecting sites
for cities, towns, villages, temples, houses,
gardens, and cemeteries (Knapp, 2005).
To reach the ultimate goal of “unity of heaven Figure 2. Suzhou street mosaics showing the Yin Yang symbol.

and humans” (tian ren he yi), the basic Feng Shui Photo by the author 2007

principle is to select a site “at the right time, the

All the Chinese schools of thought held that
right place, and for the right people” (tian shi di
everything in the universe was made up of the
li ren he) so as to establish an optimum balance.
basic material Qi. In essence, Qi is cosmic energy
Feng Shui masters suggest carefully and
or a life force; it may also refer to air or breath.
thoroughly observing the surrounding
Daoists contend that Qi arises from the ultimate
environments, to be in harmony with nature, and
oneness, yuan qi, and evolves into a twofold
to modify and utilize nature to create favorable
primeval structure: zheng qi (“positive spirit”) and
conditions for human existence and
xie qi (“negative spirit”). The design of a Chinese
development. Traditionally, a site without a
garden guided by the philosophical ideas of
dragon-shaped mountain to the east and a
Daoism, Confucianism, and to a lesser extent,
tiger-shaped one to the west would not be
Buddhism, is to promote the positive spirit and
considered ideal. The key concept of Feng Shui
eschew the negative one.
includes Yin Yang and Qi.
The word Dao, literally means “way,” refers to the
Chinese people have always believed that all
natural law and the method of proper conduct,
natural phenomena were caused by the
if the world was to run harmoniously. For Daoists,
fluctuations in the cosmic balance of Yin and
this word may symbolize the totality of all things
Yang (figure 2). In Chinese philosophy, Yin Yang
and their transformative processes of past,
balance and harmony is a fundamental
present, and future. In Chinese gardens, the
concept applied to both nature and human
concept of Dao is symbolized by placing huge
affairs. Yin Yang literarily means “shade and
standing rocks in a pond or courtyard because
light,” with the word Yin derived from the word
rocks are not only representations of the Dao, but
for “moon” and Yang for “sun.” Zhou Yi (Yi Jing,
also part of the web of life subject to the
or Book of Changes), originated in the Western
inevitable process of decay in time (Keswick,
Zhou period (1000-750 BCE), suggests that
2003; figure 3).
complementary opposites created Heaven and
Earth, Yin and Yang. When Heaven and Earth
intersect and Yin and Yang unite, it gives life to
all things. When Yin and Yang separate, all things

Dr. Donia Zhang 35

 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 2(1), 33-44 / 2018
Figure 3. Rocks at Suzhou Lion Grove Garden (Shizilin). Photo
by the author 2007
A further contribution that Daoists made to
garden art grows out of this idea of wu wei,
meaning “inaction” or “non-action” contrary to
nature. In his timeless guide on the art of living,
Dao De Jing, Laozi (c.571-471 BCE) explained it:
“Less and less do you need to force things, until
finally you arrive at non-action. When nothing is
done, nothing is left undone” (verse 48,
translated by S. Mitchell, 1999). This notion has a
profound implication for today’s world because
our contemporary global culture shows that
humans attempt to conquer and control nature
with little concern for the effects of their actions
on the earth, which has resulted in environmental
crisis and climate change observable
everywhere in the world (Zhang, 2009).
Confucius then believed in agriculture as the
basis of the state and looked back to the golden
age of the mythical farming Emperors Yao and
Shun, when refinement and simplicity were in
perfect balance. This Confucian ideal found
expression in classical Chinese gardens, side by
side with Daoist mystical notions of immortality.
So, behind a magic mountain, it is usual to find a
country cottage surrounded by an orchard of
apricots (Keswick, 2003).
Chinese people found Daoism and
Confucianism both valuable, and applied them
side by side: while the geometrical and
hierarchical plan of a classical Chinese
courtyard house mirrored the Confucian desire
to be in “harmony with humans,” the organic
and spontaneous layout of a classical Chinese
garden followed the Daoist principle of
“harmony with nature” (Exploration and
Discovery, 2016; Keswick, 2003).
Buddhism first came to China from India during
the 1st century AD (Ching, 1993; Kohn, 2008). The
Buddhist concept of the universe centers on an
astonishing central peak (Mount Meru or
Sumeru) that fits in well with Daoist mountain
worship. Amitabha’s “Paradise Garden” with its
emphasis on mountain ranges separated by
oceans mirrors the “Magic Dwellings of the
Immortals.” Another important Buddhist imagery
in a Chinese monastic garden is the pagoda
standing high above the rest of the structures.
Buddhism has also added an important new
theme: instead of Daoist wandering alone in the
mountains, Buddhists have often joined together
to enjoy the fruits of solitude, an ideal of a
monastic community life, in which people sought
spiritual enlightenment together (Johnson,
2017a; Keswick, 2003; Porter, 1993).
3. Classical Chinese Gardens Cultivating
Appreciation of Aesthetics
In his book, The Nature of Design, David Orr
(2002) observed that “buildings and landscape
reflect a hidden curriculum that powerfully
influences the learning process” (p. 127). He
suggests that the design of buildings and its
landscapes, along with the materials used for
building them, have educational functions: they
can teach people to appreciate the beauty in
the design, and the eco-friendliness of the
materials applied. To do otherwise will be like
what Rene Dubos argued: “The worst thing we
can do to our children is to convince them that
ugliness is normal.”
The connection of gardens with education has
long been a tradition worldwide (Zhang, 2009),
and the Peking/Beijing University's main campus
(Yan Yuan) is considered one of the finest
examples of integrating classical Chinese
garden design into a higher educational setting.
Both the Museum of Chinese Gardens and
Landscape Architecture, and the Beijing
Dr. Donia Zhang 36
 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 2(1), 33-44 / 2018
Planning Exhibition Hall, have displayed the
campus' original plans.
Classical Chinese residential gardens have also
tried to incorporate a little of every experience
on an aesthetic level. The Qing-dynasty writer,
Shen Fu (1763-1825?), put it explicitly: “The aim is
to see the small in the large, to see the large in
the small, to see the real in the illusory, and to see
the illusory in the real” (Keswick, 2003, p. 213;
Shao, 2005, p. 5; Yu, 2007, p. 245).
Classical Chinese garden designs have always
integrated the aesthetic theory of xu shi, which
can be interpreted in numerous ways. Xu may
denote “void, virtual, potential, unreal,
intangible, formless, or deficient,” while shi may
signify “solid, actual, real, tangible, formed, or
full” (Zhang, 2013/2016, p. 54).
The application of xu shi to Chinese garden
design is revealed in an unlimited series of
opposite qualities played off against each other:
a dark narrow corridor between two high walls
followed by a wide space full of sunlight, void in
solids, solids in a void, small leads to big, low to
high, and the like (Keswick, 2003; Shao, 2005;
Wang, 2005; Yu, 2007).
Due to its warm southern climate and favorable
natural conditions for growing lush green woods,
Suzhou is a place where “one can enjoy
landscapes without going outside the city, and
live in busy streets with the sights of forests and
tastes of spring water” (my translation). Suzhou
thus was praised as a “City of Gardens” and
“Paradise on Earth.” In imperial China, retired
officials, literati, and wealthy merchants would
like to settle in Suzhou, resulting in its prolific
number of outstanding talents and renowned
celebrities (Zhang, 2013/2016).
Ming-dynasty garden designer, Ji Cheng (1582-
c.1642), who was a Suzhou native, wrote Yuan Ye
(The Craft of Gardens, 1631), which is the first
monograph dedicated to landscape
architecture, and which has been translated into
many different languages (Hardie, 1988/2012). A
famous passage from it reads: “Although the
3
See, for example, Exploration and Discovery, 2016; Shao, 2005, p. 5;
Yu, 2007, p. 265; Yuan and Gong, 2004, p. 116.
gardens are created by the human hand, they
should appear as if the work of nature.”3
Another celebrated volume on Chinese
landscape architecture is the 12-chapter Zhang
Wu Zhi (Treatise on Superfluous Things, 1621) by
Wen Zhenheng (1585-1645), who was also a
Suzhou native and a Ming-dynasty scholar,
painter, garden designer, and great grandson of
Wen Zhengming (1470-1559, a famous Ming-
dynasty painter). While Yuan Ye focuses on
gardening techniques and plants in southern
China, Zhang Wu Zhi concentrates on the
enjoyment of garden views and plants in
northern China.
Chinese garden designers intended to recreate
the effect of totality of nature in a generally small
space of a private garden to represent nature’s
infinite change and mystery, and to provide
seclusion. There were no planning guidelines for
Chinese gardens: organic, spontaneous, and
asymmetrical were the main characteristics. In its
overall layout, the garden designers paid special
attention to the terrain, sight, and views.
The Chinese word for landscape is shan shui,
which literally means “mountains and water,”
because Chinese people have observed that
where there are mountains, there is bound to be
water in the same place. As such, rocks and
water constitute the most basic Chinese garden
elements, followed by trees, flowers and herbs,
walls, gates and windows, pavilions and
pagodas, winding corridors, zigzag bridges,
footpaths, and so on. Each element has its
metaphor, with layers of meanings.
Rocks come from mountains, and mountains
symbolize eternity. Chinese people love rocks by
placing them in their gardens to gain immortality.
Opening on all sides, rocks allow the viewers to
see things behind, thus suggesting insight and
wisdom (figure 3).
The heart of a Chinese garden is water (figure 4);
along with rocks they form a unity between
dynamic and static, and horizontal and vertical
Dr. Donia Zhang 37
 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 2(1), 33-44 / 2018

elements, representing Yin Yang in perfect are found in a variety of shapes and metaphors,
harmony. of which the most common are in the forms of
flowers, petals, leaves, fans, shells, gourds, or
vases (figures 6 and 7). Windows in a classical
Chinese garden can be even more fanciful in
shape and theme because their function is
purely decorative (figures 1 and 3).

Figure 4. Water at Suzhou Lion Grove Garden (Shizilin). Photo

by the author 2007

To Daoists, the mountain here represents the

masculine Yang: upright, bright, hard, and bony. Figure 5. Moon Gate at Suzhou Humble Administrator’s
By contrast, water in its Yin aspects is receptive, Garden (Zhuozheng Yuan). Photo by the author 2007
soft, wet, and dark. The pair takes on further
meaning when we remember the ancient
legend that rivers are the arteries of the earth’s
body, while mountains are its skeleton (Keswick,
2003; Yu, 2007; Yuan and Gong, 2004).
To Confucians, however, the Yin Yang
relationship of mountains and water is reversed:
water is regarded as the active Yang principle
expressing itself in swiftly moving torrents, while
mountains as the passive and reflective Yin
principle because they remain motionless and
fixed.
The wall plays the most critical role in a Chinese
garden, for it is not only the most common
device for separating different areas, but also
provides quietness and seclusion, serving as a
backdrop for the vibrating shadows of bamboos
or plum trees. As the sun shifts, different patterns
are cast on the wall, changing its perception of Figure 6. Flower-shaped Gate at Suzhou Lion Grove Garden
depth and solidity. These walls are a suggestion (Shizilin). Photo by the author 2007
of infinity (Keswick, 2003; Knapp, 2005).
A “moon gate” is a common shape to denote
perfection (figure 5) since a circle focuses the
eyes like the lens on a camera to intensify and
concentrate all that is revealed behind. In
addition to moon gates, the holes in garden walls

Dr. Donia Zhang 38

 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 2(1), 33-44 / 2018

Figure 8. Pavilion and zigzag bridge at Suzhou Humble

Administrator’s Garden (Zhuozheng Yuan). Photo by the
author 2007
Figure 7. Gourd-shaped Gate at Suzhou Calm Garden (Ding
Yuan), behind which is the Tea House. Photo by the author
2007

The pavilion is the focal point of a classical

Chinese garden and a delightful resting place
where visitors can sit for a quiet talk or
contemplation (figures 4 and 8). The roofed and
open-sided gallery corridors wind up and down
the site, connecting pavilions and gateways, at
the same time dividing up the space like a
screen (figure 9). They unite the garden as a
whole and serve as a frame for viewing the Figure 9. Covered corridors at Suzhou Humble Administrator’s
garden and as a sheltered walkway. Walking Garden (Zhuozheng Yuan). Photo by the author 2007
through the corridors is like being inside and
outside at the same time (figures 9, 10, and 11).
Ancient Chinese people believed that all evil
spirit travels in straight lines. To prevent this, they
built garden bridges in zigzag shapes (figure 8).
The paths made of stone, brick, or pebble
mosaic would have a variety of patterns and
themes to harmonize the different occasions on
a garden walk (figures 2 and 12).
Libraries and study rooms were an integral part
of nearly all classical Chinese gardens. Their
owners’ time was often spent practicing
calligraphy and writing poetry, often in the
company of family or friends. Such rooms were Figure 10. Festival corridors at Suzhou Calm Garden (Ding

usually secluded and surrounded by private Yuan). Photo by the author 2007

courtyard gardens to protect the readers and

give them a pleasant view to look out.

Dr. Donia Zhang 39

 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 2(1), 33-44 / 2018
Figure 11. The Little Flying Rainbow Bridge at Suzhou Humble
Administrator’s Garden (Zhuozheng Yuan). Photo by the
author 2007
Figure 12. Suzhou Canglang Ting (Surging Waves Pavilion).
Photo by the author 2007
4. Classical Chinese Gardens Cultivating
Moral Characters
Classical Chinese gardens did not only represent
the owners’ appreciation of the aesthetics of
nature, they can also be settings for peaceful
contemplation and self-cultivation. Confucius
advocated a moral person (junzi) to uphold the
positive aspects of life and restrain the negative
to maintain a harmonious living, with symbolic
elements that can be found in Chinese gardens.
For example, Confucius praised the harmonious
aspect of water and recommended it for its
moral character, as he suggested: “In a water
level, the water is in a most perfect state of
repose. Let that be your model. The water
remains quietly within, and does not overflow. It
is from the cultivation of such harmony that virtue
results” (Zhuangzi [Chuang Tzu], chapter v, p. 68;
translated by H.A. Giles, 1981).
Likewise, in his Dao De Jing, Laozi commented:
“The supreme good is like water, which nourishes
all things without trying to. It is content with the
low places that people disdain. Thus, it is like the
Dao” (verse 8, translated by S. Mitchell, 1999). It
is true that classical Chinese gardens did not
build fountains because it would force water to
do things against its nature.
In Suzhou’s Garden of Cultivation (Yi Yuan), a
waterside pavilion was named Longevity Pavilion
(Yan Guang Ge), inspired by the renowned
Western-Jin-dynasty (AD 265-316) scholar Yuan
Ji’s phrase: “Cultivation of one’s mind brings
about longevity, which enables one to be as
admirable as the great nature” (Yuan and Gong,
2004, p. 170).
In historic China, wars between different nation
states were so frequent that people lived in an
unstable, transient world. As a result, the
thoughtful withdrew themselves, becoming
ingrained within the safe barriers of the inner life
against outward misfortunes, making their
happiness depend entirely on their inward state
(Liu, 1989; Wang, 2005). A garden in the minds of
Chinese is a retreat from the outside world, a
place where they could gain harmony, a symbol
of stability in the transitional world.
In southern China, such as the City of Suzhou,
where the climate is generally warm, scholars
and artists would regularly meet in private
gardens where they could actively socialize,
quietly contemplate, philosophize, study,
compose and read poetry, paint, play chess and
games, drink tea or wine, pick herbs for
medicine, make elixirs in pursuit of immortality,
and the like. Many of these fashionable pastimes
were practiced well into the Song (960-1279),
Ming (1368-1644), and Qing (1644-1911)
dynasties (Wang, 2005, p. 77).
Classical Chinese gardens have also been the
places for family festivities, elaborate dramatics,
domestic affairs, growing herbs and trees, and
millet and tea, as well as literary retreat. Private
Chinese gardens were thus products of wealthy
Dr. Donia Zhang 40
 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 2(1), 33-44 / 2018
merchants, poets, painters, and scholars, who
had all contributed to the theory and practice of
garden design.
The unfolding of a classical Chinese garden
vistas is often like a Chinese landscape scroll
painting, when enjoying tea, poems, and flower
arrangements, or playing musical instruments,
one gains the most natural inspiration. Classical
Chinese gardens thus functioned as spiritual
refuges and facilitated a cultured way of life
(Zhang, 2013/2016).
Chinese people value plants as symbols of ideas
and moral qualities according to their symbolic
associations recorded in Shi Jing (Book of Odes).
Plants discovered in the 19th and 20th centuries
without historic associations could not win a
lasting place in the hearts of Chinese, and hence
tended to be considered unsuitable for their
gardens (Keswick, 2003; Yu, 2007; Yuan and
Gong, 2004).
It is the forms of nature that suggested ethical
ideas to Chinese philosophers: trees and flowers
were not only illustrative of aspirations, but the
source of them. Aged pines thin and bent with
the struggle to survive, were like glorious virtue.
Bamboos that can be broken but can never be
bent signified a Confucian moral person (junzi).
Both are evergreen, together with the blossoms
of plum tree, they comprise of the celebrated
“Three Friends of Winter” (sui han san you).
In the 18th century, Qianlong Emperor (1711-
1799) praised the moral implications of plants
and water in the following lines:
When I find pleasure in orchids I love uprightness;
When I see pines and bamboos I think of virtue;
When I stand beside limpid brooks I value
honesty;
When I see weeds I despise dishonesty.
(Translated by M. Keswick, 2003, p. 191)
Magic was an important element in Chinese
attitude towards trees and plants, and it
became associated with certain kinds of flora.
Holiness and health value became inseparably
linked: a medicinal leaf was thought of as a holy
leaf, and thus considered as beautiful (Keswick,
2003; Knapp, 2005).
Chrysanthemums were first grown for their
medicinal qualities, and became an important
ingredient in the life-prolonging elixir of Daoists.
Their usual flowering season in the autumn have
promoted their connection with longevity
because they bloom when everything else is
dying off.
Peach represents spring, marriage, and
immortality, and is a traditional symbol for
longevity, which is commonly used for birthday
celebrations. Pears signify a more modest
longevity as the trees are known to have lived
300 years.
Lotus is seen by Confucians as a model for the
moral person (junzi) and is expressed in the
phrase: “It emerges from muddy waters yet
remains uncontaminated” (chu yu ni er bu ran).
For Buddhists, the lotus is the symbol of the soul
struggling up from the slime of the material world,
through water to find final enlightenment in the
free air above. Lotus is among the most useful of
all decorative plants. Their tubers, eaten raw or
cooked, are sweet-tasting, crisp and juicy. A
starch can be made from them which is readily
digestible and usually given to the sick. The seeds
can be added to soups or used to make a sweet
paste, often used in moon cakes. The leaves are
used for flavoring and wrapping things up
(Keswick, 2003; Wang, 2005; Yuan and Gong,
2004).
Peony, or mudan, in Chinese culture is the
embodiment of aristocracy, wealth, and
beautiful women. A peony-growing industry
developed in China, producing ever finer and
more usual variations, but even the most ordinary
bloom stood for riches and honor (Keswick, 2003;
Knapp, 2005).
The flexible grace of willow trees swaying in the
wind suggest images of lovely ladies, and the
association of willows with water, and water with
women, reinforce this idea. Willow tree leaves
are also used to make tea and relieve rheumatic
pains and bruises. Chinese parasol or phoenix
trees (wutong) are often painted in Chinese
landscape paintings to signify noble aspirations
(Cultural-china.com, 2007-2014; Keswick, 2003).
Dr. Donia Zhang 41
 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 2(1), 33-44 / 2018
Thus in classical Chinese gardens, the symbolic
meanings of natural elements often seem more
important than the elements themselves. The
occurrence of such cultural meanings and
metaphors indicate that these places are meant
to be read as sacred spaces occupying two
worlds at once. By immersing oneself in such
spaces, one may grow in awareness of the Dao’s
eternal transformation (Keswick, 2003; Yuan and
Gong, 2004).
The author has observed during her 2014 and
2017 trips to China that, there are growing
numbers of green spaces and street gardens in
Beijing now than in the past (e.g., 1980s-2000s).
These greening efforts have not only lessened
the dusts in Beijing’s Springs, but also contributed
to the beautification of its urban scenes, and the
cultivation of people’s spirit, since Chinese
people still hold that the beauty of nature can
help shape moral character. As Zhang Chao
stated:
The plum tree leads a person to loftiness, the
orchid to quietness, the chrysanthemum to
unpolished simplicity, the lotus to
contentment,….the peony to heroism, the
canna to gracefulness, the pine to leisure, the
phoenix tree to clarity, the willow to sensitivity.
(Meyer, 2001, p. 234)
A professor at Sichuan Normal University also
wrote: “Beauty is the bridge which leads to
morality….appreciation of the beauties of
nature, artistic creativities, or experiencing the
beauty of human nature in a social context – all
these lead to a purification of the spirit” (Meyer,
2001, p. 234).
5. Conclusions and Contributions
This essay introduced classical Chinese garden
design philosophy and their metaphorical use of
natural and architectural elements to enhance
people’s environmental ethics, appreciation of
aesthetics, and moral characters. Metaphor as a
medium of reflection is fundamental to our
search for meaning, and it helps make sense of
the world in which we live (Perry and Cooper,
2001). However, the limitation to the use of
metaphor is in the cultural milieu from which it
originates. The paper is therefore necessary for
people from different cultural backgrounds to
comprehend the profound meanings in classical
Chinese garden design elements.
While the paper is structured around three
themes, its focus is on the influence of Daoism,
Confucianism, Buddhism, and Feng Shui
cosmology on classical Chinese garden designs.
Confucian promotion of a moral person (junzi) is
still relevant today as it has often been observed
that contemporary Chinese society lacks a
moral compass (Johnson, 2017a, 2017b), as
exemplified by misconducts such as making
unsafe food or tainted infant formula, and
especially the recently reported pedestrian
ignorance of deadly traffic accidents in cities,
and so on.
Of all the 81 verses in Dao De Jing, it is evident
that there is the spirit of equality of all creatures,
of non-domination, and of environmentalism.
Daoism gives humans a responsible and modest
place in the universe, which is a promising
beginning for creating environmental ethics
(Johnson, 2017c; Miller, 2017). The current global
environmental crisis is largely due to human
overemphasis on industrialization, economic,
and technological developments (Zhang, 2008,
2009). Through merging oneself with classical
Chinese gardens, one may comprehend these
philosophical teachings and gain wisdom, which
may help summon our efforts to remake the
world into a “Paradise Garden” again.
Finally, the author would like to highlight the
contributions of the paper with a poem she
composed, entitled “The Song of the Dao”:
Bright sun shine in your way
Gentle moon light in your way
The way you shine, the way you light
Is the way and let it be
Lofty mountains stand in your way
Soft rivers flow in your way
The way you stand, the way you flow
Is the way and let it be
Little trees grow in your way
Pretty flowers bloom in your way
The way you grow, the way you bloom
Is the way and let it be
Dr. Donia Zhang 42
 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 2(1), 33-44 / 2018
Thus, everything in this world
Has its natural course
The path each one takes
Is the way and let it be
Acknowledgements
This essay is fully revised and updated from the
author’s M.Ed course paper at Brock University in
Canada in 2004. The photos were taken during
her field trip to Suzhou, China in 2007 for her Ph.D
studies at Oxford Brookes University in the UK.
Thanks are due to Dr Milree Latimer for her review
of the paper in 2004, as well as the journal’s
anonymous reviewers and editors. The author is
also grateful to her late father, Junmin Zhang,
and mother, Suzan Xiuzeng Li, for their
unconditional support throughout the studies.
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Dr. Donia Zhang 44

Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
of each item. The first number in the sale, which cost him $45,
brought $250; the next, for which he had paid $80, fetched $800,
and so on, until about fifteen items were sold.
LETTER SIGNED BY BUTTON GWINNETT, BOUGHT FOR
$51,000
His wife, who was watching his catalogue over his shoulder, and who
could hardly contain herself any longer, exclaimed, “My, Doctor R is
going strong to-night. Why, that letter which just sold for $1650 you
bought from him only a little while ago for $360. I feel like laughing
out loud.”
“If you do,” her husband threatened, “I’ll take you by the hair, drag
you outside, and strangle you!” At this his wife was quiescent for a
few minutes. The prices were still mounting. She then wrote on a
card which she passed to Mr. G——: “I can smile, can’t I?”
“That goes for smiling, too,” replied her husband.
About five years ago I was especially interested in all material
relating to Paul Revere and his celebrated ride. In the midst of my
researches a gentleman called upon me one day and showed me a
series of volumes which contained most important papers relating to
the Revolutionary period. On looking through them I was amazed to
run across the following outstanding document, which is dated
Cambridge, April 29, 1775, ten days after Revere’s famous exploit. It
is as follows:—
This may certify that the bearer Mr. Paul Revere is a messenger to the
Committee of Safety and that all dispatch and assistance be given him
in all instances that the business of the Collony may be facilitated.
Jos. Warren, Chairn
Poor General Warren, who signed Revere’s commission as
messenger, was killed a few weeks later at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Although I freely admit that this letter belongs in the archives of New
England, you may be sure I keep it well within my reach. I don’t care
to have those doughty New England historians, such as Dr. Charles
L. Nichols, Clarence S. Brigham, George Parker Winship, and
Lawrence C. Wroth, come pouncing down as a mighty host and
demand it of me.
It is surprising how things fall the collector’s way in series. As I have
related in a previous article, I have the only certified copy of the
Declaration of Independence that is outside the public archives. But I
always hankered after a letter written by a signer who was an
eyewitness on that July Fourth, one hundred and fifty years ago—a
letter telling about the actual signing of the Declaration of
Independence. For twenty-two long years I searched for it, and was
delightfully shocked one day to read in an auction catalogue a
description of the following letter by Cæsar Rodney, the signer from
Delaware, to his brother, Thomas Rodney, dated Philadelphia, July
4, 1776. You may be sure I gobbled up this letter.
Rodney wrote:—
I arrived in Congress tho detained by thunder and rain time enough to
give my voice in the matter of Independence. It is now determined by
the thirteen United Colonies without even one desenting Colony. We
have now got through with the whole of the Declaration and ordered it
to be printed so that you will soon have the pleasure of seeing it. Hand
bills of it will be printed and sent to the armies, cities, county towns,
etc.—to be published or rather proclaimed in form....
I have always been peculiarly interested in anything which related to
the origin and history of the American flag, and I have always
wanted, with my infernal and almost feminine curiosity, to find out
when it was first raised. I had found references at various times to its
appearance sometime during the second year of the Revolution, but
could not discover the exact date in any of the items of Americana
which I had collected. One day about nine years ago I was reading a
manuscript, Journal of the most Material Occurrences proceeding
the Siege of Fort Schuyler, by William Colbreath. As I turned the
leaves of the manuscript my attention was arrested by the following:
—
Augt 3d [1777] Early this morning a Continental Flagg made by the
Officers of Col. Gansevoorts Regiment was hoisted and a Cannon
Levelled at the Enemies Camp was fired on the Occasion....
This is the only authoritative account known of the first raising of the
American battle flag, and it was on this day that the British troops
saw for the first time the new standard of America.
Some years ago I received a seductive appeal from a Boston
collector. He had purchased some wonderful books which, though
they filled his shelves, depleted his purse. And yet he could still
write, “Dear Doctor: Please tempt me!” How often do I wish the
sirens would tempt me, especially if the little charmers were in the
form of autograph letters and manuscripts relating to Lincoln and his
time. Believe me, I’ll never be too old to be caught by their allure.
Of all periods in American history, none is more inspiring and
dramatic than that of the Civil War. It is one of the most kaleidoscopic
times in all history, with three men of outstanding character in it,
Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Robert E. Lee. Any scrap of
material relating to them is bound to increase in value. Lincoln letters
to-day are rarer than Washington’s, and nearly all of his great pieces
are written in his own hand.
Of course, collectors prefer what are known as A. L. S. (autograph
letter signed) instead of the L. S., or letter merely signed by Lincoln,
that is, not in his handwriting but written by an official clerk. Thank
God, those were the days before the typewriter, and every letter
contains an intimate appeal which the machine can never give.
That puts me in mind of a good one.
About three months ago a lady came to see me in New York and
asked to be shown some Lincoln letters. I used the cataloguer’s
phrase and spoke of holographs, fair copies, A. L. S., and the usual
rigmarole of the collector. I then exhibited before her interested eyes
a letter of Lincoln’s which I treasured, because it is perhaps the only
one in which Lincoln swore. It was addressed to John T. Stuart, his
law partner, dated Vandalia, Illinois, February 14, 1839, and he
refers to a man named Ewing as follows:—
Ewing won’t do anything. He is not worth a damn.
Your friend,
A. Lincoln
The lady exclaimed, “I know what you mean by A. L. S. I did not
understand you at first. You mean Abraham Lincoln swore!”
Americana really is the collector’s best bet. I can never be too
grateful to Uncle Moses for his advice to me. I have kept zealously
almost every piece relating to the Civil War, and I think that I have
succeeded in the past thirty years in gathering the finest collection
relating to it, except the national collection in Washington. I have
such remarkable Lincoln documents as his first draft of the
Emancipation Proclamation, entirely in his autograph, written six
months before it was finally put into operation on January 1, 1863;
his famous Baltimore address, in which he gives his celebrated
definition of liberty; the original manuscript of his speech about the
formation of the Republican Party; and many other pieces of the
greatest historical significance, which can never come a collector’s
way again.
I cannot resist giving Lincoln’s speech on the party of which he was
the most illustrious leader:—
Upon those men who are, in sentiment, opposed to the spread and
nationalization of slavery, rests the task of preventing it. The
Republican Organization is the embodiment of that sentiment; though
as yet, it by no means embraces all the individuals holding that
sentiment. The party is newly formed, and in forming, old party ties
had to be broken, and the attractions of party pride, and influential
leaders, were wholly wanting. In spite of all differences, prejudices,
and animosities, its members were drawn together by a paramount
common danger. They formed and maneuvered in the face of the
disciplined enemy, and in the teeth of all his persistent
misrepresentations. Of course, they fell far short of gathering in all of
their own. And yet, a year ago, they stood up, an army over thirteen
hundred thousand strong. That army is, today, the best hope of the
nation, and of the world. Their work is before them, and from which
they may not guiltlessly turn away.
I have spoken of the unfurling of the first American battle flag. The
following is Lincoln’s beautiful acknowledgment of a flag sent him by
some ladies of a patriotic society:—
Executive Mansion
Aug. 10, 1863
Permit me to return my grateful acknowledgements to the fair
manufacturer and generous donors of the beautiful present which
accompanies their note of the 20th July. If anything could enhance to
me the value of this representation of our national ensign, so elegantly
executed and so gracefully bestowed, it would be the consideration
that its price has been devoted to the comfort and restoration of those
heroic men who have suffered and bled in our flag’s defense. We
never should, and I am sure, never shall be niggard of gratitude and
 benefaction to the soldiers who have endured toil, privations and
wounds, that the nation may live.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln

I do not want to be accused of waving too often our emblem. But I

must give in full two letters relating to the Confederate flag. They are
not particularly valuable in a money sense, but I do not think any
amount would tempt me to sell them. They are the kind that cannot
fail to melt the heart of an old bachelor with a fondness for children.
The first is addressed by General Leroy P. Walker, Secretary of War
in the Confederate Cabinet, to General Beauregard, from Richmond,
Virginia, September 14, 1861, and says:—
My dear General:
The enclosed note from my little daughter was written by her without
suggestion or alterations in any way, and the design for a flag is
entirely her own conception. She has insisted so strongly on sending it
to you that I did not feel at liberty to refuse her. I consent the more
readily because I am sure you will appreciate it in the spirit in which it
is sent.
She signs herself with the usual vanity of her sex, “daughter of the
Secretary of War”, and this gives me the opportunity to say that my
official connection with the Army is about to terminate, having
tendered my resignation to the President a few days since.
What I have done in this office has been honestly done, and when the
history of this war is written I feel that the laggard justice of popular
approval will be bestowed.
I am etc.,
Most truly,
yr friend L. P. Walker
And here is the second letter:—
General Beauregard:—
I send you a design entirely my own for a Confederate flag. I have
never been satisfied with the Confederate flag, because it is too much
like that of the United States. I am a little girl nine years old and
though I have never seen you I feel as though I knew you
 Your admirer
Matilda Pope Walker
Daughter of the Secretary of War
Richmond, Virginia. Sept. 14.
I feel that I must return for a moment to Lincoln. Although I have
letters of the greatest historical import not only from the martyr
President himself but from nearly all his generals and members of
his cabinet, I prefer the notebook of Surgeon C. S. Taft, who was at
Lincoln’s bedside at the time of his death. You can hear in it not only
the last tragic heartbeats of one of the truly great characters of all
time, but the knell of a soul-stirring epoch. The meagre words that
follow, extracted from the notebook, are to me more moving than all
the fine writing in the world:—
The wound ceased to bleed or discharge about 5.30 a.m. and from
that time the breathing was stertorous but gradually increased in
frequency and decreased in strength up to the last breath, which was
drawn at 21 minutes and 55 seconds after 7; the heart did not cease
to beat until 22′ 10″ past 7; my hand was upon the President’s heart
and my eye upon the watch of the Surgeon General who was standing
by my side.
The finest character after Lincoln in the whole Civil War was
undoubtedly that great gentleman and descendant of gentlemen,
Robert E. Lee. From my schooldays I had read of his life of nobility
and sorrow. The letter in which he resigned his commission,
addressed to General Winfield Scott, who commanded the American
Army, has always been to me the highest example of patriotism and
the soldier’s ideal credo. The words, “save in defence of my native
State, I never desire again to draw my sword,” have been indelibly
impressed upon every mind. I know of no letter that I would sooner
possess than this, but it was thirty years before I could finally call it
my own. I give it here without further comment:—
Arlington, Washington City P. O.
20th April, 1861
Lieut. Gen. Winfield Scott,
Com. Army
 General:—Since my interview with you on the 18th inst., I have felt
that I ought no longer to retain my commission in the army. I therefore
tender my resignation which I request you will recommend for
acceptance. It would have been presented at once, but for the
struggle it has cost me to separate myself from the service to which I
have devoted all the best years of my life, all the ability I possessed.
During the whole of that time, more than thirty years, I have
experienced nothing but kindness from my superiors, the most cordial
friendship from my companions. To no one General have I been so
much indebted as to yourself for uniform kindness and consideration,
and it had always been my urgent desire to merit your approbation. I
shall carry with me to the grave the most grateful recollections of your
kind consideration, and your name and fame will always be dear to
me. Save in the defence of my native State, I never desire again to
draw my sword. Be pleased to accept my most earnest wishes for the
continuance of your happiness and prosperity, and believe me most
truly yours,
Robert E. Lee

Four years elapsed. The war was over. General Lee had
surrendered. The following letter, which I hold, to his old friend,
General Beauregard, is one of the finest letters ever written by the
hand of man.
Lexington, Va.
3rd Oct. ’65
My dear Gen.:—
I am glad to see no indication in your letter of an intention to leave the
country. I think the South requires the aid of her sons now, more than
at any period of her history. As you ask my purpose, I will state that I
have no thought of abandoning her, unless compelled to do so.
“After the surrender of the Southern Armies in April, the revolution in
the opinions & feelings of the people, seemed so complete, & the
return of the Southern States into the union of all the States, so
inevitable; that it became in my opinion, the duty of every citizen, the
Contest being virtually ended, to cease opposition, & place himself in
a position to serve the country. I therefore upon the promulgation of
the proclamation of Pres. Johnson, which indicated apparently his
policy in restoring peace, determine to comply with its requirements; &
on the 13 of June, applied to be embraced within its provisions. I have
not heard the result of my application, but since then have been
 elected to the Presidency of Washington College, & have entered
upon the duties of the office, in the hope of being of some benefit to
the noble youth of our country.
“I need not tell you, that true patriotism requires of men sometimes, to
act exactly contrary at one period, to that which it does at another; &
that the motive which impels them, viz, the desire to do right, is
precisely the same. The circumstances which govern their actions
undergo change, and their conduct must conform to the new order of
things. History is full of illustrations of this. Washington himself is an
example, at one time he fought against the French, under Braddock,
in the service of the King of Great Britain; at another he fought with
the French at Yorktown, under the orders of the Continental Congress
of America, against him. He has not been branded by the world with
reproach for this, but his course has been applauded.
With sentiments of great esteem
I am most truly yours
R. E. Lee
To me, Ulysses S. Grant has always been a gigantic figure. He is
probably the greatest general this country has ever produced.
Nowhere are his simplicity and greatness better shown than in his
letters. For some reason they are not yet appreciated at their proper
worth, but the time will come when their extraordinary merits will be
recognized. They are written in a direct style, free of all elaboration,
not unlike Lincoln’s, but without his peculiar felicity of phrase. They
are the words of a soldier, not a statesman. Two of the letters which I
have are, it seems to me, without parallel for conciseness and
beauty. The first, written at the beginning of the war, is to his father:
—
May 30th, 1861
Galena, Illinois
Dear Father:—
I have now been home near a week, but return to Springfield today. I
have tendered my services to the government and go today to make
myself useful, if possible, from this until our national difficulties are
ended. During the six days I have been at home, I have felt all the
time as if a duty was being neglected that was paramount to any other
duty I ever owed. I have every reason to be well satisfied with myself
for the services already rendered but to stop now would not do.
Yours truly,
U. S. Grant
 GRANT’S TELEGRAM TO STANTON ANNOUNCING THE
SURRENDER OF LEE
The second, at the war’s end, is probably the finest single document
in private hands to-day, as it is the original official telegram which
ended the greatest conflict in American history. Why I was allowed to
get this is one of the mysteries of collecting. It should not be in the
hands of any one person, but ought to be in the safekeeping of the
Government. It was written in obvious haste, in his own hand, at the
moment General Lee surrendered, on a page in the notebook of
Grant’s orderly, General Badeau.
Appomattox Court House
April 9th, 1865. 4.50 o’clock p. m.
Hon. E. M. Stanton, Sec. of War, Washington
Gen. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Va. this afternoon on
terms proposed by myself. The accompanying additional
correspondence will show the condition fully.
U. S. Grant, Lt. Gen.

The demand for things American is not a passing fancy. It will

increase in the same way as a stone gathers moss. The prices now
paid for early American furniture, pottery, glass, and pictures are but
an indication of a movement yet in its infancy. Even collectors in
England, such as that eminent enthusiast, Sir R. Leicester
Harmsworth, Bart., are gathering objects of interest relating to this
country. It is only meet and proper that Americans themselves
should tenderly cherish the primal, honest, unpretentious things to
which this country owes its greatness.
 INDEX
Adam, R. B., 161.
Adonais, 25.
Agnesi, Baptista, 274.
Agriculture of Argyll County, 21.
Alexander, forged letter of, 121.
Althorp, Lord, 90, 91, 263.
Ambrosian Library (Milan), 271.
Amenities of Book Collecting (Newton), 47.
America, History of (Robertson), 20.
American Tract Society, 184.
Americana, 45, 53-58, 172-177, 253, 265-299.
See also Franklin and Washington.
Amore di Florio e di Bianchafiore (Boccaccio), 29.
Amoretti (Spenser), 148, 149, 150.
Anderson Galleries sales, 53, 95, 219, 286.
André, Major, forged letter of, 99, 100.
“Annabel Lee,” MS. of, 164, 166, 167.
Arcadia (Sidney), 61.
Arnold, Benedict, letter of, 172, 173, 174.
Articles of Confederation (U. S. A.), 176, 177.
Asquith, Margot, 43.
Autographs, A Book about, 119.
Avery, Mary, 188.
Ayer, Edward E., 252.

Babes in the Wood, 195.

Bache, Benjamin Franklin, 197, 198.
Bacon’s Essays, 46, 50.
Badeau, Gen. Adam, 299.
Bancroft, George, 6.
“Bannockburn,” original MS. of Burns’s, 162.
Barker, Robert, 237.
Barmudas, Discovery of the, etc., 265.
Barnes (Berners), Dame Juliana, 30.
Battle Abbey Cartularies, 257, 258.
Baxter, Richard, 43, 79.
Beatty, A. Chester, 225.
Beauregard, Gen. Pierre Gustave
Toutant, 292, 293;
letter of Lee to, 295, 296.
Beauties of the Primer, 199.
Bellomont, Earl of, 64.
Bement, Clarence S., 8, 18, 239.
Bennett, Arnold, MS. of, 262.
Berners (Barnes), Dame Juliana, 30.
Bible, Aitken, 242.
Bible, Bamberg (Pfister), 220, 221, 229.
Bible, Baskett’s, 242.
Bible, Breeches (Genevan), 239, 240, 241.
Bible, Bug, 241.
Bible, Conqueror, 222.
Bible, Coverdale, 234, 236, 237.
Bible, Eggestyn, 231.
Bible, Eliot Indian, 78, 242.
Bible, Genevan (Breeches), 239, 240, 241.
Bible, Great, 231, 237.
Bible, Great French, 231.
Bible, Gutenberg, 17, 28, 83, 84, 89;
in Mazarin Library, 211, 214, 215;
the Melk copy of, 212;
production of, 212, 213, 214;
identification by De Bure, 214, 215;
perfecting the types for, 216;
copy in Eton College library, 217, 218;
from the Vulgate MS., 218;
copies bought by Dr. Rosenbach, 218, 219, 220;
bought by James Lenox, 244.
Bible, He, 237, 239.
Bible, Jenson, 231.
Bible, King James (Authorized), 237, 238, 239.
Bible, Mainz (of 1462), 221.
Bible, Mazarin. See Gutenberg Bible.
Bible, Pfister (Bamberg), 220, 221, 229.
Bible, “R”, 231.
Bible, Saur, 242.
Bible, She, 237.
Bible, Strasburg, 231.
Bible, Sweynheym and Pannartz, 231.
Bible, Vinegar, 241, 242.
Bible, Wicked, 241, 242.
Bible for the Poor, 228, 229.
Bible in English, 232-242.
Bible MSS., Codex Vaticanus, 221;
Codex Alexandrinus, 221;
Codex Sinaiticus, 221, 222;
illuminated copies, 222, 223, 224, 225;
Four Gospels, ninth century, 223;
Liesborn Gospels, 223, 224;
Historiated Bible of fourteenth century, 224;
early Hebrew copy, 224.
Bibles, Thumb, 205.
Biblia Pauperum, 228, 229.
Bibliothèque Nationale (Paris), 215, 229, 245.
Bigelow, John, 141, 142.
Bixby, William K., 40.
Black Giles, 195.
Blandford, Marquis of, 90, 91, 128.
Block books, 226, 227, 228, 229.
Boccaccio, Giovanni, 29, 90.
Boker, George H., 6.
Book of Hunting and Hawking, The, 30.
Boswell, James, 14, 47, 126, 127, 128.
Botticelli, Sandro, 229.
Bowden, A. J., 81, 82.
Boyle, Elizabeth, Faerie Queene presented to, 148, 149, 150.
Bradford, Thomas, 206.
Bradford, William (Governor), 281.
Bradford, William (printer), 64, 65.
Brailes, W. de, 224, 225.
Brant, Sebastian, 22.
Brawne, Fanny, letter of Keats to, 95, 96, 97.
Brazil, National Library of, 221.
Brevoort, James Carson, 267.
Brewster, Sir David, 118.
Brief and True Relation of the Discovery of the Northern Part of
Virginia, A (Brereton), 277.
Briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia (Hariot),
275.
Brief Description of New York First Called New Netherlands
(Denton), 282.
Brigham, Clarence S., 288.
Brinley, Dr. George, 19, 267.
British Museum library, 50, 157, 221, 226, 244, 245, 246.
Britwell Court sale, 52, 77, 257.
Brown, Charles Brockden, 5.
Brown, John Carter, 243, 244, 267, 272, 275.
Brummell, George (“Beau”), letter of, 258.
Bry, Théodore de, 275.
Bryant, William Cullen, 6.
Buccaneers of America, The, 206.
Burdett-Coutts, Baroness, 27, 85, 158.
Burns, Robert, Glenriddel MSS. of, 160, 161;
Adam collection of, 161-164.
California, University of Southern, 45.
Call to the Unconverted, 43, 44, 79.
Cambridge University library, 50, 245.
Campbell, Mrs. Patrick, 115.
Canterbury Tales, The, 29.
Capell collection at Trinity College, 52.
Carlos V (Lope de Vega), 77.
“Carroll, Lewis” (C. L. Dodgson), forged autographs of, 111.
Cartier (Jacques) atlas, 275.
Carysfort sale, 219, 221.
Casas, Bartolomé de las, 275.
Catlin, George, 223.
Caxton, William, 29, 62;
History of Troy, 132;
Golden Legend, 232, 233.
Cervantes (Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra), letter of, 100, 101,
102.
Champlain, Samuel de, 66.
Charles V, forged letter of, 118;
genuine signature of, 269.
Chasles, Michel, 117-121.
Chatterton, Thomas, 128, 129, 130.
Chattin, James, 198.
Chaucer, Geoffrey, MSS. of, 252;
contemporary portrait of, 252.
Church, E. Dwight, 142.
Cieza de Leon, Pedro de, 275.
Civil Law (Brown), 20.
Clarissa Harlowe, 204.
Clark, C. W., 256.
Clark, William A., Jr., 45, 80.
Clemens, Samuel L. (“Mark Twain”), 164, 165.
Clements, William L., 45.
Cleopatra, forged letter of, 119.
Cockerell, Sydney C., 224, 225.
Colbert, Jean Baptiste, 21, 24.
Colbreath, William, 289.
Collections of Treaties (Jenkinson), 20.
Columbus, Christopher, 269, 270;
letter of, 271, 272.
Compleat Angler, The, 30.
Condell, Henry, 88, 151.
Confederation, Articles of (U. S. A.), 176, 177.
Confessio Amantis, 252.
Congressional Library, 67, 176, 246.
Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur’s Court, A, 164.
Conrad, Joseph, 143, 144, 145.
Cooper, James Fenimore, 6.
Cortés, Hernando, 269, 274.
Cosmographiæ Introductio, 273.
Coster (Koster), Lourens Janszoon, 216.
Cotton, Rev. John, 188, 189.
Coverdale, Miles, 234, 236.
Crane sale (1913), 198, 199.