Although China cultural as well as political is opening up since about thirty years, the Chinese manner of cerebration, except of few exemptions, has still keep refused most people in the western world. Primarily this has to do with the ancient Chinese ideology self. The Chinese, who are calling their country “The Empire of the Middle”, were on principle in the past rarely attempted to leave their nation because the remaining world for them was not really livable. Outside the boundaries, there lived the so called barbarians, who in ancient times mostly were embodied by brutal Mongolian tribes, who martially tried to infiltrate China and from them the Chinese had to protect. So, they created their own world, a world in the world, enclosed by the thousands of meters long Great Wall (Chang Cheng), inside of they felt confident and could develop further. This retirement in an enclosed space and last but not least the retirement in oneself paved finally the way for their private gardens, in which they could undisturbed find an access to a better “world”. This essay will deal with these little enclosed garden worlds, these micro-cosmos in a macro-cosmos. This work consists of a searching for their history and the holistically “religious” backgrounds, which first made enable these small but coevally “infinite” universes. It get to the bottom of the correlations between time and space, establish relationships between narrow and open, bright and dark, and last but not least inside and outside, which all are parts of an all-containing, super-ordinate “Great”. It makes close connections to landscape paintings and the gardens self, which as major motif threads through the whole text, will find out that they are close correlated to the “Great” and grapple with the centre of the “Whole”, with the “Zero-Perspective” or the “Vapidness”, in which the human as important part at least can dive in to touch the sky. Of course also the framework of a Chinese private garden, the several elements, are considered, without them no garden could exist. The role and the important task of their walls will be bespoken, the several constructions of their buildings and last but not least the close to the human correlated plants. All this aspects will be picked up again at a walkabout through three famous Chinese gardens in Suzhou, where the mindfully reader finally will notice, that size does not necessarily count in architectural garden space.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Theory
2.1 About Chinese gardens
2.1.1 The origins of the Chinese garden
2.1.2 The first pleasure gardens
2.1.3 The Imperial Hunting Park and the Garden as an Empire
2.1.4 Scholar gardens
2.2 Scholars and their beliefs
2.2.1 The Symbol of Dao
2.2.2 Time and Space
2.2.3 Yin and Yang
2.2.4 Wu Wei
2.2.5 The Void
2.2.6 The Dao
2.2.7 Confucianism
2.3 Art and Private Gardens
2.3.1 Landscape paintings
2.3.1.1 Shan Shui
2.3.1.2 Between Abundance and Emptiness
2.3.1.3 The Perspective
2.3.1.4 The Return
2.3.2 Poetry
2.4 Layout of Private Gardens
2.4.1 Spatial concept
2.4.1.1 Arranging of buildings
2.4.1.2 Organisation of Space
2.4.1.3 Organisation of movement
2.4.2 The “Xian”
2.4.3 Rocks and Water in Private gardens
2.4.3.1 The arrangement of rocks
2.4.3.2 Sculptural rocks
2.4.3.3 Water
2.5 Plants
2.6 Use of view passages and their background
2.6.1 Screens and Landscape paintings
3. A Walk on the Dao`s way or “How deep is the garden really?”
3.1 Wang Shi Yuan (The Garden of the Fisherman`s net)
3.1.1 History
3.1.2 Layout
3.1.2 Walkabout on the “Customer route”
3.2 Zhuo Zheng Yuan (The Garden of the Humble Administrator)
3.2.1 History
3.2.2 Layout
3.2.3 Walkabout on the “Customer route”
3.3 Liu Yuan (The Lingering Garden)
3.3.1 History
3.3.2 Layout
3.3.3 Walkabout on the “Customer route”
4. Conclusion
5. Source of Literature
6. Maps
Research Objectives and Core Themes
The primary objective of this thesis is to explore Chinese private gardens as micro-cosmic representations of the macro-cosmos. By examining the historical, philosophical, and aesthetic foundations of these spaces, the work investigates how garden design alters the perception of time and space to create "infinite" universes within enclosed boundaries.
- Interplay between landscape painting, poetry, and garden architecture.
- Application of Daoist philosophy, specifically the concepts of Dao, Yin and Yang, and Wu Wei, in spatial planning.
- Structural analysis of "view passages" and "screens" as tools for spatial expansion.
- Case studies of three prominent Suzhou gardens: Wang Shi Yuan, Zhuo Zheng Yuan, and Liu Yuan.
- Analysis of the "customer route" as a narrative journey through rhythmic cycles of space.
Excerpt from the Book
2.4.1.1 Arranging of buildings
"At the beginning I wanted to build only four or five rooms, and friends told me, where I should build a pavilion and where I should construct a summer house. I did not accept their proposals, but after a while they did not release me anymore, and it seemed in fact as if I should have a pavilion here and a summer house there. Still before I had finished the first phase, already new ideas forced on me and followed me to the most erroneous places, they sometimes came to me in the dream, and in front of my internal eye a new picture arose. So my interest increased from day to day, and I used to go into the garden already early in the morning and came back not until late at the evening...I worked further in summer and winter, in rain and sunshine, and neither the biting coldness nor the singeing sun could prevent me from that, because there was not any single day, at which I would not have been outside. Then I grasped my cushion and notice that my money was used up, and that annoyed me. But when I got there again, I wanted arrange stones and material only more and more. Two halls, three pavilions, four ambulatories, two towers and three dams...Where there was too much expanse, I add something, where it becomes too narrow, I remove something and where the things are too concentrated I expand it. It is like a good doctor that cures a patient in that giving him both, constructive and also abortient medicine. Or like a brilliant painter that does not approve any single wrong brushstroke during his work, or as a big author, who write essays and is not allowed in any inharmonious sentence." (Qi Biaojia, from Maggie Keswick, The Chinese Garden p129)
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: The introduction outlines the thesis's intent to treat Chinese private gardens as micro-cosmoses that connect to a larger, all-encompassing reality through art and philosophy.
2. Theory: This comprehensive section explores the historical origins of Chinese gardens, their relationship with the Daoist worldview, and their deep integration with landscape painting and poetry.
3. A Walk on the Dao`s way or “How deep is the garden really?”: This chapter provides a detailed, practical walkthrough of three famous Suzhou gardens, analyzing how specific design elements manipulate the visitor’s perception of space and time.
4. Conclusion: The conclusion synthesizes the analytical findings, contrasting Western and Chinese perspectives on the "object" and "subject," and reflecting on the garden as a manifestation of the eternal, unpolished whole.
Keywords
Chinese private gardens, Daoism, Landscape painting, Shan Shui, Spatial design, Suzhou gardens, Yin and Yang, Wu Wei, Architecture, Garden culture, Cultural philosophy, View passages, Micro-cosmos, Aesthetics, Wang Shi Yuan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
This research explores Chinese private gardens as architectural embodiments of the macro-cosmos, focusing on how their design influences the human perception of time and space.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The work covers Daoist philosophy, the connection between garden construction and landscape painting, the importance of "view passages," and the practical analysis of three historic Suzhou gardens.
What is the main research objective?
The goal is to understand how these enclosed garden worlds serve as "micro-cosmoses" and how designers used specific "tricks" to make limited, bounded spaces feel infinite to the visitor.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The thesis utilizes a combination of historical literature analysis, philosophical reflection, and a descriptive, walk-through approach to evaluate the spatial organization of the gardens.
What content does the main section provide?
The main section moves from broad theoretical frameworks—such as the meaning of Dao, the roles of nature elements like rocks and water, and the influence of Confucianism—to specific, detailed walk-throughs of the Wang Shi Yuan, Zhuo Zheng Yuan, and Liu Yuan gardens.
Which keywords best describe this study?
Key terms include Chinese private gardens, Daoism, Shan Shui, Suzhou gardens, spatial design, and the philosophy of the micro-cosmos.
How does the author define the "customer route" in the context of the gardens?
The "customer route" is defined as a planned sequence of experiences designed by the constructor to guide the visitor through rhythmic changes in space, light, and perspective, mirroring the cyclical movement of the Dao.
What is the significance of the "screens" and "view passages"?
Screens and view passages act as mediators between different garden compartments; they are used to fragment the view, create layering effects, and encourage the visitor to intellectually and spiritually engage with the landscape as a painting.
Why are rocks and water considered central elements?
Rocks and water symbolize the complementary forces of Yin and Yang; they represent the "bones" and "arteries" of the landscape, providing both structural stability and dynamic, supple movement that together constitute the "body" of the garden.
- Quote paper
- Jürgen Hirschmann (Author), 2009, The Cosmos as Garden - A pictorial contemplation of Chinese Private Gardens and their role in the alteration of time and space, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/130896
