Chinese Gardens

Submitted to Ar. Mekhala Saha Submitted By – Ayush (75196002)

 Chinese gardens
• The Chinese garden is a landscape
garden style which has evolved over
three thousand years. It includes both the
vast gardens of the Chinese emperors
and members of the imperial family,
built for pleasure and to impress, and the
more intimate gardens created by
scholars, poets, former government
officials, soldiers and merchants, made
for reflection and escape from the
outside world. They create an idealized
miniature landscape, which is meant to
express the harmony that should exist
between man and nature.
• A typical Chinese garden is enclosed by
walls and includes one or more ponds,
rock works, trees and flowers, and an
assortment of halls and pavilions within
the garden, connected by winding paths
and zig-zag galleries. By moving from
structure to structure, visitors can view a
series of carefully composed scenes,
unrolling like a scroll of landscape
paintings.
 Introduction
• At the beginning of eastern civilization, a
form of religion based on animist beliefs
developed.
• The mountains, sky, seas, rivers and
rocks were materialized spirits to be
honored.
• From this background a Chinese philosopher,
Lao Tzu, began to teach Taoism which
taught people to integrate themselves with
the rhythms of life.
• This resulted in the importance of good
manners towards nature and human beings.
• The Taoist beliefs led Chinese to take much
pleasure in the calming landscapes of their
natural environment and eventually emulate
these scenes so they were closer to hand.
• This was achieved through the creation of
landscape paintings to view or by creating
imitation landscapes some of which were on
a very large scale.
Geological influence
• The most impressive feature of China is
that it is endowed with a diverse natural
landscape.
• Eighty-five percent of China is markedly
mountainous. These mountains
frequently appear in Chinese landscape
art.
• China is also traversed by three of the
world’s greatest rivers. They rise in the
central area of the China and flow east
into the Pacific, splitting into myriad small
streams and several great lakes.
• The third feature of China’s physical
context is its distinct regional variation in
climate. The abundance and beauty of the
natural landscape resources originated
and nurtured Chinese art, as well as
Chinese gardens and Chinese architecture.
 Elements of
Chinese gardens

• Artificial mountains
• Rock gardens
• Water
• Flowers
• Plants & trees
• Structures – walkways,
pavilions and bridges
 Roc
k
• Decorative rocks, sometimes termed Chinese
scholar‟s rocks, are used both for structural
and sculptural purposes.
• The sculptural Taihu rock is especially prized
because it represents wisdom and
immortality, and is only procurable from Tai
Lake, just west of Suzhou. During the Song
dynasty, they were the most expensive
objects in the empire.
• Such rocks, combined w ith streams and
pools, form the basis of a garden's plan.
• The Chinese word for landscape, shan
shui, literally means "mountains and
waters" while a common phrase for
making a garden means "digging ponds
and piling mountains".
• The mountain peak was a symbol of
virtue,
stability and endurance
 Water
• Water is the blood of a traditional
Chinese garden.
• The most important element of a
garden is water, in any form:
ponds, lakes, streams, rivers and
water-falls.
• The movement of flowing water
gives pulsating life to the
garden’s
cliff, stones, bushes and flowers.
• water represents lightness and
communication.
• The shape of the garden pond
often
hides the edges of the pond
from
viewers on the other side,
giving
the illusion that the pond goes on
to infinity.
• The softness of the water contrasts
with the solidity of the rocks. The
water reflects the sky, and
Trees and flowers
• Trees and flowers, especially in
private gardens, Plants are carefully
selected for the overall layout of the
gardens, because of the limited
space.
• Plants and flowers reflecting
the beauty of the four seasons
are planted.
• In spring, peach trees blossom; in
summer, lotuses blossom; in autumn,
the maple leaves change color; and in
winter, the evergreen, bamboo and
plum trees provide greenery.
• Among the most popular flowers are
lotuses, peonies, chrysanthemums
and orchids. Special flowers are
planted to attract bees and
butterflies. These small insets make
the gardens more lively.
 Structures
• Among the most ground
are walkways, pavilions
and bridges. Timber
frame construction plays
a decisive role here.
Pavilion-like houses
have neither a harsh nor
dominant effect, but
rather bend effortlessly
into their general
surroundings.
• More specifically,
we can
divide the
structures in
classical Chinese
gardens
into the
following :
Lobby,
Corridor ,Parlour,
Waterside
Kiosk ,Storied
 Types of Chinese gardens
• Imperial gardens or northern gardens are mostly found in • Private gardens or southern gardens are mostly found in
north China, with those in Beijing as representatives, south China, especially in cities in south. Private gardens were
featuring grandness and magnificence. designed and created as a place of retreat for the ancient
scholars to escape the chaos of the city and have private
• The imperial gardens were created on a massive scale relaxation.
and filled with all manner of choice indigenous plants,
shrubs, and trees. The Chinese imperial hunting parks
complete with vast man-made lakes and miniature
mountains and islands.

Summer Palace Garden In Beijing Master Of The Nets Garden In Suzhou

 Design
• philosophies
Chinese garden may be viewed as a miniature of
the Chinese landscape.
• Nature is loved and held in highest honor in
Chinese art, but this does not mean that the
nature must be simply “duplicated” in its original
form.
• The main principle of Chinese garden art is to
recreate nature, to present its essence without an
artificial effect.
• The recreation must be based on profound
observation and a deep understanding of the
nature.
• The design of Chinese garden is a process
of abstraction and stylization of the
existing landscape.
• The aim of creating a natural form in Chinese
garden is to celebrate the human spirit.
 Aesthetic
Principles
• BORROWED SCENERY – This could mean using scenes outside the
garden, such as a view of distant mountains or the trees in the
neighboring garden, to create the illusion that garden was much
bigger than it was. The most famous example was the mist-
shrouded view of the North Temple Pagoda in Suzhou, seen in the
distance over the pond of the Humble Administrator's Garden.

North Temple Pagoda in Suzhou

• CONCEALMENT AND SURPRISE – This means The garden was

not meant to be seen all at once, it was laid out to present a
series of scenes. Visitors moved from scene to scene either
within enclosed galleries or by winding paths which concealed
the scenes until the last moment. The scenes would suddenly
appear at the turn of a path, through a window, or hidden
behind a screen of bamboo. They might be revealed through
round "moon doors" or through windows of unusual shapes, or
Szczytnicki Park windows with elaborate lattices that broke the view into
pieces.
• ASYMMETRY - Japanese gardens are not laid on straight axes, or with a single feature dominating the view. Buildings
and garden features are usually placed to be seen from a diagonal, and are carefully composed into scenes that
contrast right angles, such as buildings with natural features, and vertical features, such as rocks, bamboo or trees, with
horizontal features, such as water. According to garden historians David and Michigo Young, at the heart of the
Japanese garden is the principle that a garden is a work of art. "Though inspired by nature, it is an interpretation
rather than a copy; it should appear to be natural, but it is not wild.“
• CONCEPT OF TIME AND SPACE - The concept of wabi and sabi: Wabi can denote something one-of-a-kind, or the spirit of
something. Sabi defines time or the ideal image of something. While a cement lantern may be one of a kind, it lacks
that ideal image. A rock can be old and covered with lichens, but if it is just a round boulder it has no wabi. We must
strive to find that balance. The concept of wabi/sabi deal with time and space. Where the garden is our space, time is
ably presented by the changing seasons. Unlike the western gardener the Japanese garden devotee visits and
appreciates the garden in all the seasons.
 Difference between Chinese gardens and Japanese gardens
Chinese garden
• Emphasis is being given to buildings. These are in the center of
the garden, occupying a large part of the garden space. They
are very elaborate, with much architectural decoration.
• These are designed to be seen from the inside, from the buildings
in the center of the garden.
• These are usually symmetrically designed along straight axes.
• Rocks were selected for their extraordinary shapes or
resemblance to animals or mountains and used for dramatic
effect. They were often the stars and centerpieces of the garden.
Lan Su Garden
Japanese garden
• The architecture in a Japanese garden is largely or partly
concealed. The buildings are well apart from the body of water.
the buildings are simple, with very little ornament
• Japanese gardens are designed to be seen from the outside.
• The structures in a Japanese garden from the Edo period
onward
are organized asymmetrically.
• Rocks were smaller and placed in more natural arrangements.
Integrated into the garden Use.
Adachi Museum Of Art
Thank you