Simple refuge, a woodcut by Wang Meng from the 14th century during the Yuan dynasty. The inscription on it says: “This was painted by the Master of the Yellow Crane Mountain, Wang Meng, for the esteemed student of the Simple Refuge.”
The most important characteristic of the Chinese garden, its irregular and organic form, emerged precisely from the need to achieve harmony between man and nature. While most Western gardens, with their straight lines, order, and symmetry, are actually much closer to architecture than untouched nature, Chinese gardens are the complete opposite of that. They appear as if they are an arranged, yet fundamentally untouched landscape.
Philosophical origins
The concept of the Chinese landscape garden has its roots in the traditional values of ancient Chinese society. Several philosophical schools influenced this tradition, the most important being Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, and their interaction determined the entire Chinese culture, including the art of garden design.
Similarly Just like in Western tradition, the concept of paradise, or the dwelling place of immortals, is associated with the concept of a garden in Chinese mythology. While the Garden of Eden in Christian and Islamic traditions is located somewhere in the East, the Chinese speak of the Western paradise ruled by Xi Wang Mu. Legend has it that once every 6000 years, magical peaches ripen in the garden of her palace, and all immortals gather to eat the fruit that will rejuvenate their immortality.
Aside from being a metaphor for paradise, the garden is frequently mentioned in China as a metaphor for the macrocosm, where one can find all elements and wealth of the world in a small space. Creating a garden with all specimens of things and species in the universe is a magical act through which all vital forces of nature can be drawn to one place. A rock in the garden has the same meaning as a mountain; it is a mountain because it channels the idea of a mountain, just as water represents a river or a lake, and shrubs represent a forest. In Taoism, size is not an absolute category, it is something relative that humans comprehend. Comparing relationships between different objects, outside the mind, there actually does not exist.
Taoism speaks of the unity of everything that exists. Tao is the path, the principle that expresses the unity of all things in their state of eternal transformation. This principle is clearly reflected in the example of a garden and its changes through the seasons, where the same nature cyclically dies and is born again. In Taoist philosophy, man is not the measure of all things, but is equal to everything that surrounds him, and therefore the garden should not look like the work of man, but like the work of nature itself.
The most famous Chinese gardens are located in the city of Suzhou, where the tradition of garden art has been continuously practiced for over a thousand and a half years. In Suzhou, during its golden age, there were more than two hundred gardens, and to this day, about seventy of them have been preserved. One of the most beautiful is the Humble Administrator’s Garden, which was named after the verses of an old song: “Watering the garden and selling vegetables are the duties of a humble administrator.” govore i kao vrt Yu Yuan, ovaj vrt je poznat i kao Vrt Pjevača. Podignut je za pjesnika Lu Guimoua, a tijekom godina je prošao kroz više preuređivanja. Današnji izgled vrta se formirao tijekom dinastije Ming i smatra se jednim od najreprezentativnijih vrtova toga razdoblja.
U Kini su se razvila tri osnovna tipa vrtova. Najstariji su bili vrtovi uz carske palače koji su se spominjali još u doba dinastije Chou prije više od pet tisuća godina. Drugi tip vrta su bili parkovi i vrtovi uz hramove, dok su treći bili mali privatni vrtovi koji su se uzdigli uz kuće plemića i kasnije bogatih trgovaca. Iako su se razlikovali po veličini, sva tri tipa vrta su imala slična obilježja.
Vrt Yu Yuan u Šangaju je podignut u XVI. stoljeću od strane umirovljenog službenika za svog starog oca. U ovome vrtu se nalazi nekoliko poznatih uspravnih stijena, uključujući jedno kamenje pod nazivom Yulinglong (Sjajni žad). Kaže se da ga je tu ostavio sakupljač kamenja kojeg je car Hui Tsung angažirao kako bi prikupio stijene za svoj carvski vrt Gen Yue.
Iako se često naziva vrt Yu Yuan, ovaj vrt je također poznat kao Vrt Pjevača. Izgrađen je za pjesnika Lu Guimoua i tijekom godina je pretrpio nekoliko preuređenja. Današnji izgled vrta potječe iz vremena dinastije Ming i smatra se jednim od najreprezentativnijih vrtova tog razdoblja.
U Kini su se razvila tri osnovna tipa vrtova. Najstariji su bili vrtovi koji su se nalazili uz carske palače, spominju se još za vrijeme dinastije Chou, prije više od pet tisuća godina. Drugi tip vrta bili su parkovi i vrtovi koji su se nalazili uz hramove, a treći tip su bili mali privatni vrtovi koji su se podizali uz kuće plemića i kasnije bogatih trgovaca. Iako su se razlikovali po veličini, svi ovi tipovi vrtova imaju slična obilježja.
Vrt Yu Yuan u Šangaju je podignut u XVI. stoljeću od strane umirovljenog službenika za svog starog oca. U vrtu su smještene nekoliko poznatih uspravnih stijena, uključujući i kamen pod nazivom Yulinglong (Sjajni žad). Kažu da ga je sakupljač kamenja ostavio u vrtu, a koji je bio angažiran od strane cara Hui Tsunga kako bi skupio stijene za njegov carski vrt Gen Yue.
Iako je često nazvan vrt Yu Yuan, ovaj vrt je također poznat kao Vrt Pjevača. Podignut je za pjesnika Lu Guimoua, a tijekom godina je više puta preuređivan. Današnji izgled vrta je stvoren tijekom dinastije Ming i smatra se jednim od najreprezentativnijih vrtova toga razdoblja.
U Kini su se razvila tri osnovna tipa vrtova. Najstariji su bili vrtovi koji su se nalazili uz carske palače i spominju se još u vrijeme dinastije Chou, prije više od pet tisuća We experience in sequences, one of the most important characteristics of a Chinese garden is its integrity. This principle is called yüan, which means circle or wholeness. It is an internal artistic proportion that allows a well-designed garden within a limited space to create a complete ambiance, provide solitude and tranquility, and a sense that nothing is missing or unnecessary. This applies equally to large imperial gardens and small private ones, where it was particularly important to establish a balance between the whole and the details. A good garden will maintain its integrity even when it is deteriorating. Oswald Siren, who traveled and studied Chinese gardens during the first half of the 20th century, many of which were neglected and in poor condition, said: “What remained clear in my memory were not the individual formal elements of the gardens, but, despite their decay, the impression of the whole and the atmosphere.”
Garden Elements
No Chinese garden is considered complete if it does not include mountains or rocks. and water. They always appear together because they symbolize the perfect harmony of nature expressed through the yin-yang principle. Water represents the feminine or yin principle – closeness, softness, moisture, and darkness, while the rock embodies the masculine or yang principle – openness, hardness, dryness, and light. In every thing, there is also a fraction of its opposite, so water can also be described as an active, mobile, or masculine aspect of nature, while the rock can be described as its passive, immobile, or feminine aspect.
Part of the rock formation from the Shi Zi Lin garden in Suzhou. This garden was completely redesigned in the 16th century and today it houses the largest “artificial mountain” in Suzhou. Inside this rocky structure, there is a maze of small caves, grooves, and corridors that wind through the rock, while on the surface, there are unusual shapes resembling various animals, faces, and figures.
Remembering the rock called “Echo of Water”
The rock rises in the middle of the path leading to the Heavenly Mountain Do you sit peacefully nearby, you will hear the sound of water falling from it, and that sound is resonant and clear. The name of the rock is Echo of Water. It is over twenty feet high, but it is twice as wide. Its exterior appearance is unusually beautiful, and its composition below the surface is strange.
Juan Hung-tao
Although a Chinese garden is inconceivable without water, we will never find a fountain in it, because a fountain forces water to move against its nature. Therefore, water is present in all its natural forms – as flowing water of streams and rivers, or as still water of lakes and natural pools. Water in its liquid form represents one of the most constant forces of nature. Lao Tzu in his work Tao Te Ching says: “Nothing under heaven is softer or more yielding than water. But when it attacks forcefully and steadily, nothing can withstand it.” The calm surface of the lake represents a mirror that has symbolic meaning in all cultures. In Taoism, the mirror is considered a symbol of a calm, pure mind that reflects the idea of unity of everything that exists. Therefore, the presence of a water mirror indicates the meditative role of the garden, which is always directed inwards, towards the nurturing of the spiritual.
Covered paths (called lang and langfang) are a characteristic feature of Chinese gardens. They meander through the garden, connecting pavilions and entrances, while simultaneously dividing the garden space like partitions. The paths never follow a straight line, but rather go around shrubs, rocks, and lakes, creating an unusual feeling in people that they are simultaneously in both the inner and outer spaces. Along the paths, there are occasional resting and sitting areas, usually located where the path changes direction.
On the sides, under the roof, there are decorative lattice screens that are often masterpieces of artistic craftsmanship, made according to complex geometric patterns where the same pattern is infinitely repeated. Old records mention about sixty ready-made decorative schemes that were used in the design of lattice screens, and craftsmen usually preferred the simpler ones.
Paving Pathways are also a fascinating motif in Chinese gardens. Colorful pebbles were used to create them, arranged in geometric patterns or mosaics depicting plants and animals with symbolic meaning in Chinese tradition (such as bamboo, lotus, crane, dragon, etc.).
Architectural elements in Chinese gardens are numerous and diverse. These include pavilions for seating or tea ceremonies, observation decks, terraces, bridges, covered paths and corridors, galleries, and the wall that encloses the garden. Buildings were generally constructed following the typical Chinese pattern, with a rectangular layout and rooms arranged one after another, but their strict architectural form was softened with rich decor – reliefs depicting dragons, adorned pillars, and a multitude of uniquely shaped and embellished windows and doors.
Every garden, even the largest ones, is always spatially limited. This limitation was particularly pronounced in small private gardens of the middle-class urban population. Garden masters have shown great ingenuity in overcoming it. In addition to the usual scaling down of individual elements and scenes, one of the favorite concepts in garden design was the so-called “borrowing ambiance” or chieh ching. This means opening a part of the garden to a particularly beautiful part of the landscape beyond the garden boundaries, such as a forest or a distant hill. The opening shape serves as a frame for the borrowed scene, which thus represents a kind of picture. It can be a window in the garden wall through which the observer sees a part of the surrounding landscape, or simply a composition of trees and shrubs that allows a view beyond the garden boundaries. Everything outside the garden that is suitable for the garden can become an important part of the spatial experience within its frames. The picture shows a summer pavilion in the Li Yuan garden in Wuxi. The garden is located by a natural lake, and by building a dam, a part of the lake has been “borrowed” and turned into a pond, which has thus become an integral part of the garden. The view behind the dam from the pavilion The location near the lake suggests that the lake is also part of the garden space.
The main entrance gates of the garden were usually oval or circular in shape and were then called “Moon gates”. With their shape that suggests perfection, such gates emphasize the entry into a different reality, completely different from everyday life. Often, there was a visual obstacle immediately behind the entrance to further enhance the sense of mystery and uniqueness of the garden.
Once inside, a network of winding paths and trails led the visitor through the garden, with carefully designed scenes and compositions alternating before them. Behind every turn, there awaited a completely new and unexpected image. A distinctive feature of a Chinese garden are windows on the walls of pavilions or on the walls within the garden. In addition to being interesting in shape, their role was to direct the gaze of the walker towards what was behind them, namely specially beautifully arranged areas within the garden. Thus, the window served as a frame for the composition that was being observed. It is reminiscent of a picture on the wall.
Architectural elements are equally present in both small and large gardens, but pavilions, galleries, and bridges are larger, more numerous, and more diverse in large gardens. Although it follows natural forms, the Chinese garden is actually full of buildings, so it can be said that it is built rather than planted. However, all these structures are so carefully arranged and integrated into their surroundings that at no point does one lose the feeling of an untouched landscape. The Chinese garden is the result of the joint action of man and nature, where man does not try to dominate nature, but rather directs its forces to express themselves in their own unique way. And that is precisely the basic idea of the Chinese garden – to create a place where nature and man will meet in harmonious and symbiotic coexistence.