Chinese gardens and landscape

CHINESE GARDENS AND LANDSCAPE

B.J.NILESH KRISHNAA

What is landscape ..?? Landscape design is an

independent profession and a design and art tradition, practised by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice landscape design bridges between landscape architecture and garden design

Aim of landscape design.. The primary aim

of landscape design is to use plants to beautify a property and to enhance the visual appearance of a facility.

Asian Gardens of the world …. Japanese gardens Chinese gardens Persian gardens Indian gardens

Philosophy “Even though everything [in the garden] is the work of

man, it must appear to have been created by heaven” - Ji Cheng

 "Chinese classical gardens are a perfect integration of nature and work by man” - Zhou Ganzhi ( President of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture )

The zig-zag bridge in the Humble Administrator's Garden illustrates the proverb, "By detours, access to secrets."

History ….. Five thousand years of

experience in garden building is significant, and the Shang (1600–1046 BC) and Zhou (1045–256 BC)dynasties were the beginning of gardening as functional and visually appealing additions to the emperor's abode.

Gardens were designated as homes for animals used for hunting and for enclosing an outside plot of ground for the emperor. 

History ….. After the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD),

gardens were places for the emperor to rest and renew energy.

Then, a garden was called a yuan. The imperial garden, Lin Yuan, added buildings

and became a villa-like escape for the emperor.

The Lin Garden was embellished with little palaces, pavilions and rooms on little islands in a pond, and plants were added for beautification.

This technique of garden development is attributed to the Qin (221–206 BC) and Han dynasties.

History ….. Emperor Kangxi of the Ming

Dynasty (1386–1644) and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) again brought focus to the building structures in the garden, but specifically to enhance appearance. Buildings were added solely to create pleasant or striking scenery.

The royal garden evolved with time and changing tastes over the centuries and inspired gardens in other areas of China.

Chinese Gardens The chinese gardens are

also called as chinese classical gardens is a place for solitary or social contemplation of nature .

It has been regarded the most important and leading gardening system among the three gardening systems in the world.

The Chinese consider gardens a serious art   form and as with painting, sculpture and  poetry aim.

Types

Two Types – The Imperial garden & The private garden.

Imperial gardens are mostly found in north China, with those in Beijing as representatives, featuring grandness and magnificence. 

Private gardens are mostly found in south China, especially in cities in south of the Yangtze River, such as Suzhou, Wuxi, Nanjing and Hangzhou.

Private gardens were designed and created as a place of retreat for the ancient scholars to escape the chaos of the city and have private relaxation.

Characteristics  The creation of classical

Chinese gardens depended on mountains, rivers, buildings ,plants, animals and even the weather.

In these gardens usually the ground is like that of a mountain area.

This kind of garden layout imitates real terrain.

Chinese scholar’s rocks, are used both for structural and sculptural purposes.

Elements Artificial mountains Rock gardens Water Flowers , Plants & trees Structures –

walkways , pavillions , bridges

Elements – Rocks  Decorative rocks,

sometimes termed Chinese scholar’s rocks, are used both for structural and sculptural purposes.

During the Song dynasty, they were the most expensive objects in the empire.

 In smaller classical gardens, a single scholar rock represents a mountain, or a row of rocks represents a mountain range.

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.

Gardens will have a single lake with one or more streams coming into the lake, with bridges crossing the streams.

Garden –Plants & Trees Trees and flowers, especially

in private gardens, 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.

They represent nature in its most vivid form.

 The pine, bamboo and Chinese plum (Prunus mume) were considered the "Three Friends of Winter" ( 歲寒三友 ).

CHINESE PLUMPEONY

AZALAE LOTUS

Structures The most important

structures of garden ground are walkways, pavilions and bridges.

Timber frame construction plays a decisive role here.

Chinese gardens are filled with architecture; halls, pavilions, temples, galleries, bridges, kiosks, and towers, occupying a large part of the space. 

Gardens also often feature two-story towers), usually at the edge of the garden , which provided a view from above of certain parts of the garden or the distant scenery.

Bridges are another common feature of the Chinese garden.

Bridges are often built from rough timber or stone-slab raised pathways. 

Gardens also often include small, austere houses for solitude and meditation, sometimes in the form of rustic fishing huts

References www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/

architecture/history-garden.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Chinese_garden http://www.allchinanet.com/

chinese_garden/chinese_garden_philosophy.shtml

http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/architecture/chinese-garden.htm

谢谢 – Thank you