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| The Grand View Garden (partial) painted by Qing painter based on the Chinese classic navel The Dream of Red Mansion. | Private gardens, regardless whether from the north or the south, whether built by scholars, officials, aristocrats or rich merchants, all have one thing in common - they all try to re- create an environment close to nature in an area with limited space. Looking through the building practices of classic private gardens, we can derive the following experiences and techniques which have become the guiding principles and rules and passed down from generation to generation.
Flexibility in overall layout
Classic Chinese architecture, if looked at individually, is mostly simple in shape and not large in volume. However they often appear in groups, which is one of the differing features from Western architecture. Judging from documentation from ancient times and the remaining examples, we can conclude that this kind of architectural combination had adopted the courtyard model from very early on, which is to form a courtyard with single buildings on all sides. The main building sits in the center, flanked by the secondary buildings on either side, forming a layout with a central axis. However, garden construction breaks this rule, and in order to create in a limited space an environment that
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| The furnishings inside the buildings and the scenery in garden echo each other at a distance. |
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| The East lake in Shaoxing-buildings, bridges and natural sceneries harmonize with each other. |
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| The Winding corridor not only is a scenic sight abounding in change of lines, but also creates a visual-viewing rhythm for a not so large garden space. | emulates nature, a flexible and overall layout is creatively adopted.
Like all other kinds of architecture, architecture in gardens has to fulfill its functional demand. In private gardens, the owner has multiple needs for daily living, reading, entertaining and enjoyment, and architecture must fulfill each of these demands ¨C the residence to be secluded, reading area to be quiet, entertaining section to be convenient and the area for enjoyment to embody the mood of nature and the natural landscape - all these elements are concerns when planning the garden. In addition, the garden must possess beauty, a beautiful environment that can measure up to any found in nature.
The layout of the architecture has to both "make scenery" and to "'get scenery", which means that the position and image of the architecture must form an enjoyable view within the garden, and at the same time from within the architecture one must be able to enjoy one scene or multiple scenes in the garden. In Jichang Garden in Wuxi, the Fish Watching Fence at the eastern bank of the pond's mid section is the main scenic spot of the pond area, and at the same time standing at the fence the entire mountain view on the western side of the garden greets the eye. The Jiashu Hall at the northwestern corner of the garden is the main view at the top of the entire garden, and at the mean time from inside the hall one can overlook the water scene of the entire garden, and also see from a distance the mountains and Buddhist pagoda outside the garden.
Architecture in a garden environment does not exist in isolation, but rather forms a comprehensive scene together with the nearby mountains, waters and vegetation. In the Humble Administrator's Garden, the Fragrant Snow and Clouds Pavilion is not an isolated pavilion - it sits on the islet mountain at the center of the pond, set off by flowers and plants on all sides, supported by rock hills from the bottom and surrounded by a pond full of lotus flowers in summer time. At the east bank of the pond in the Master-of-Nets Garden, the Duck Shooting Corridor, the rock hills on its south and the year- round colorful vegetation beside the corridor and among the rocks and stones form a colorful painting against the backdrop of white-washed walls. Hills, water and architecture form scenic spots, and multiple scenic spots form scenic areas. Scenic spots and scenic areas work in synergy to create a garden with more beauty than the eye can take in.
The classic Chinese garden must be at the same time seeable, tour-able and livable, whereby all scenic spots and areas must be connected by paths for convenience of getting around. In order to create constantly-changing scenes along the way, twisted paths are suitable while straight roads are forbidden. Paths in open air coexist with corridor paths that shield from the sun and rain. Some of the paths are built along the wall, some are twisting and turning, some move up and down over the slope of the hills, while still others hover above water into water corridor or covered bridges. Along these winding paths and corridors, the builder meticulously sets up a variety of scenes, either a hall, a pavilion, or water pavilion, or an ancient tree, banana trees or a cluster of bamboos. Even a pile of rocks, when placed on hilltops,
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| The stone path in the artificial mountainous scene. |
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| The Lcurving corridor in the garden of south China. |
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| The waterside small hill piled with yellow xtone and earth. | by the pond, or at the end of the road, can always add to the scene when reasonably and cleverly positioned. Moving along the path, the tourist will be refreshed by the ever-changing scenes, scenes that never tire the eye.
In order to expand the touring area in a not-so-large space, private gardens are often segmented into different scenic areas by corridors and walls. These walls are not high, and in addition to doorways there are often see-through windows on the walls, so that the walls divide but do not separate. These corridors and walls add to the scenes themselves, and they keep the scenic areas both connected and divided. In a larger garden, the garden builder must design at least one optimum route to tour around. Starting from the entry of the garden, one strolls on this route along stone paths or the bank of the pond, or enters a doorway, or climbs the mountain paths, or enters a hall, or takes a short rest in the water pavilion. Each move from one area to the next brings renewed scenes, extending the time and expanding the space for enjoyment.
The Lingering garden of Suzhou is a private garden relatively large in space. Its main entrance is located in between buildings on both sides and is only 8 meters in width. However the road leading to the garden area is as long as 40 meters. In this narrow area the garden builder arranged three spaces connected by winding corridors. Upon entry into the garden there is a small sky-light yard, and only by passing through the yard through the winding corridor does one get to see the second space with flowers and plants. Passing through another corridor the third space is reached, where an ancient tree leans against the wall, and only then does the mini hall connected to the corridor, and lined with lattice windows appear. Through the windows the main body of the garden can be seen. In here, halls, corridors and walls form a variety of spaces, and the alternation in these spaces, the change from light to dark, from large to small, topped with decorations of the ancient tree, and the flowers and plants, bring varied and ever-changing pleasure to the viewer.
Imitation of Natural Mountains and Waters
The ancient Chinese gardens and parks of earlier periods were enclosure gardens formed with
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| The pond connects the inner structures with outdoor sceneries skillfully. |
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| The irregular embankment etherealizes the not so large water scene. |
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| The flying eaves and warped cornus of the Rain Wrapping Building in Yr Garden, Shanghai. | real mountains and waters. Ever since the Wei, the Jin and the South and North Dynasties, the practice of simulating natural mountains and waters came into being. In the Song Dynasty, an imperial garden called Gen Yue was built in the eastern capital of Bianliang, and the Huizong Emperor (period of reign 1101-1125) demanded that the magnificence of the Five Mounts in China be represented and the precipitous Sichuan mountain paths reproduced, leading the craft of creating artificial mountains and waters to its peak. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, imitating nature had already become an important craft in garden construction among private gardens.
First let us look at the making of mountains. From appearance, natural mountains are often high and low in their rolling hills, and there are always the main peak and the subsidiary peaks. The hillsides are often covered with lush vegetation. As to build mountains in the garden it is most undesirable for mountain peaks to lie side by side or to have several peaks lined up like a paintbrush stand. The way peaks are organized depends on the requirement of the scenes. Whether the scene is to be open and spacious or deep and quiet determines the number, the size and the arrangement in height of the peaks. Mountains are built using earth, stone or both. Built with lake stones, the mountain looks delicate and lively. Built with yellow stones, the mountain looks natural and majestic. Mountains of earth should be covered with flowers and plants for a lush appearance, and stones should be scattered among the earth as if they appear out of the ground. Stone mountains should also be filled with earth in between rocks, and flowers and plants should be planted in there for a natural lively look. Within natural mountains there should be no lack of gullies, mountain paths and stone caves, and artificial mountains should follow this rule as well.
Now let us look at the management of water. Private gardens are often built within the city, and for this reason even in the south where water abounds, most garden ponds are dug by men. In nature the ever- flowing rivers twist and turn, the lakes and ponds extend into the distance, and for this reason artificial ponds should never be regular and square in shape, but need to be crooked and natural. Where there is a large water surface, small bridges should be placed to break up the pond into large and small water areas for a gradation of the water scene. The end of the pond often
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(left) The waterside pavilion is connected by the outer corridor.
(right) The flower Window commonly seen in the private garden is simple and just right. |
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(lert) Multifarious scenes in a narrow space may distract people's attention, thus a small bridge fits best.
(Right) The spacious round gate in the garden wall has the function of view framing. | turns into a small bay, stopping at the corner of the house or underneath the water pavilion, where the water seems to disappear. A pond of still water is thus brought to life. Water plants should be planted to create a sense of liveliness to the water but not to fill up the entire water space, because they should not block the shadow of buildings in the water. It is appropriate to place yellow stones or lake stones along twining banks of the pond. Stones are placed at different heights. Standing on the high points one can see the scenery on all four sides, whereas standing on the low points one can easily play with the water.
In a natural environment it is common for mountains and waters to coexist. But when there is a cave in the mountain and endlessly-flowing water in the cave, it is then considered a scene of wonders. And the private gardens venture to imitate the scene. The Summer Hill of the Yangzhou Geyuan Garden is built by the pond, with stone caves winding deep into the hill. Water from the pond twists into the cave£¬bringing a sense of coolness and adding a new dimension to the name Summer Hill. Mountains and water can be regarded as the soul of the natural environment gardens. Mountain adds spirit and water adds liveliness to the scenery. It is only through a profound understanding of the natural mountains and waters that one can accurately condense and extract their real essence, and represent them faithfully in the construction of gardens.
Meticulous Attention to Treatment of Details
Private gardens cannot afford the vast space of imperial gardens, or the imposing groups of architecture. Instead their space is complex and contained, including a full array of architectural types, mountains, waters and vegetation. Therefore to create a place fit for seeing, touring and living, in addition to efforts made in the general layout, great attention must be paid to the treatment of details in the architecture, the mountains, the waters and the vegetation.
First let us look at the architecture. There are many kinds of architecture within the private garden. To take the pavilion as an example, there are pavilions that are square. oblong, circular, pentagonal, hexagonal, octagonal, plum flower-shaped, cross-shaped. fan-shaped, double squared and double circular, each placed in its appropriate location within the garden, some already a scene in itself while still others a perfect spot for the enjoyment of the scenery. On the Blowing Platform on the Slender West Lake in Yangzhou is a square pavilion that is an important scenic spot on the lake. There are walls built of earth on all four sides of the pavilion, and on each wall there is a circular doorway carved out. Looking out from one of the doorways is the scene of Five Pavilion Bridge on the lake, and from another doorway the Lama Pagoda can be seen from afar.
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| The opera performance scene on the doorhead built by bricks. | The doorways frame the lake scenes into perfect pictures. Most gardens of the scholars and most private gardens in the south have maintained a similar style in decorum, despite the variety of halls, houses, and buildings - there is never the use of the five- colored antique roof tiles, the use of colorful paintings on roof beams and frames, nor painting window and door frames with red and gold. Instead the use of black-colored flat tiles, brown roof beams, white-washed walls and gray bricks tightly knit the architecture with the mountains, waters and vegetation in an elegant manner.
Doorways on houses and courtyard walls are often oblong, circular, octagonal, plum- flower-shaped, flower, ruyi-shaped or various kinds of bottle-shaped. In addition to the commonly-shaped windows, there are patterned glass windows, lattice windows and empty windows with nothing but frames. Just in Suzhou gardens alone there are hundreds of styles of window lattice patterns and empty window shapes. These different windows look like flowers painted on a white sheet of paper from a distance, but only when looked at from up close does one see the meticulous and handsome craftsmanship. The window frames are often pieced together carefully with gray bricks, finely polished and lined with different borders. Whether geometrical or foliage shaped, the lattice patterns are all molded with brick strips and clay, giving a clean outline and sharp image. This kind of fine artwork that reflects the high skills of the southern craftsmen has become the exemplary stroke of genius for the private gardens within this region.
On the gate facing the grand hall and the gate of the Xiexiu Mansion courtyard wall at the Master-of-Nets Garden, there is attached to the wall a decorative doorhead that imitates wooden structure with bricks. One of the doorheads has on both sides of the beam carved stage scenes complete with figures and buildings, and the multi-layered carving was done so meticulously that even the facial expressions of the figures are clearly visible. On the sides of the other doorhead there are also carved images of chimes (qing-homonymous with "celebrate" ) and fish (yu-homonymous with "abundance"), meaning auspicious happiness with overabundance. Grounds in the gardens are often paved with bricks, pebbles, stone pieces or bricks. Craftsmen like to use their varying styles, colors and textures to make patterns on the floor, mostly geometrical or foliage-shaped and sometimes even in the shape of animals such as lions or deer. After being washed a few times of by the spring rain, fresh green sprouts push through the stone gaps on the road surfaces with different patterns, adding to its freshness and life.
In nature, plants vary by region. In addition to utilizing the existing trees and vegetation, the
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| Pot chrysanthemum in the halls of garden. | garden builder would carefully choose the most appropriate types of plants and trees. Through observation and research on the growth of trees, flowers and plants, and by the way they grow, the way they look, their growth period, as well as the color of their flowers and foliage, the garden builder would determine what combination of plants to use, and match the plants to fulfill the need of the garden environment.
In northern courtyard gardens choices are mainly focused on trees that blossom in spring, provide shade in summer and bear fruit in autumn. Commonly found trees include pears, crabapples, pomegranates, jujubes, persimmons and grapes. Gardens in the south have, of course, a much greater number of choices in terms of plants. Peach blossoms and willows greet the spring, and in most cases they are planted in rows. In the early spring, willows come out with the first sprouts, a mist of green when looked at from afar. In addition, maple trees are often used to dye the deep autumn, whereas pines and cypresses, which are green all year round, tall and straight, are even more magnificent when covered with snow in winter. Banana trees and bamboos are green in all seasons in the south, which are the most commonly-found greenery in the gardens. Ancient garden builders often used the ophiopogon japonicas to mask imperfections of artificial mountains, because their long leaves are elegant like the orchid plant, simple, tender, reserved and poised and have come to symbolize the character of the Chinese people.
Although these plants and trees already have a wide array of shapes and forms, they still need further pruning and cutting to suit the requirement of the gardens. The branches, leaves and crowns
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| An elegant and quiet courtyard with study room and primitively simple paving in South China gardens. |
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| Ground with crane design paved by the grey stones looks elegant. | of trees are all carefully pruned not only to enhance their original beauty but also to work in harmony with surrounding architecture, rocks and ponds for the utmost visual effect. Even water plants used to decorate the water surface are carefully selected and matched. Lotus flowers, although beautiful+ need to be planted in jars before being selectively planted under water+ so that they only blossom in selected areas. On larger water surfaces, it is often the practice to plant lotus at a distance and water lilies nearby and under the bridge, because water lily leaves are smaller and more delicate, suitable to look at from close up.
Many scenes in gardens are created from the inspiration of plants. On the southeastern and southwestern corners of the Humble Administrator's Garden, there are two courtyards with halls, respectively named ++Loquat Garden" and "Magnolia Hall" after the trees planted in there. In the Lingering Garden of Suzhou, there is an ancient tree leaning against the corner of the wall with withered trunk and branches. The weathered form of the tree against the whitewashed wall makes up a scene of ancient wood with crisscrossed branches.
In addition to flowers and plants planted in the ground, bonsais and potted plants with different flowering seasons are also used to decorate the garden. In front windowsills or under the steps of halls, around pavilions, upon rocks by water banks there are often scattered potted plants to add a finishing touch to a simple and elegant environment. Within the halls, against a stark background of black pillar, whitewashed walls and dark wood furniture, a few pots of autumn chrysanthemums immediately bring life and color to the entire room. The making of natural scenery gardens would not be complete without stones and rocks. In addition to making mountains, building houses, paving roads, building bridges or laying water banks out of rocks, people of ancient times liked to create scenes with a single rock or a pile of rocks. In private gardens, scenes created with stones and rock can be found everywhere, in front of and behind houses, under corridors and by the corner of walls, one can often find a single-stone scene or a multiple stone scene. The desired form of the stone should appear slender, pierced carved, and empty within. Scenes made from these stones can match a work of art carved out by nature. Sometimes plants and flowers are placed beside or below the stones, further enhancing the beauty of the garden scene.
In private gardens of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it is common practice to construct scenes with a single rock or stone. In the Hall of the Five Peak Fairies in the eastern region of the Lingering Garden in Suzhou, stone peaks rise from among the lush bamboos, symbolizing the famous Five Mounts of China. In the Garden of Gathered Brocade in the Beijing Prince Gong Palace Garden, there is a "Flying-in Stone" that serves both as a protective screen at the entry and the first scene that meets the eye upon entering the garden. |
