Chapter 21 Section 4: Characteristics of Ancient Chinese Garden Architecture and Gardening Experience

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, China published a book called "Yuan Ye", which is a monograph on gardening.The author, Ji Cheng, was born in Songling (now Wujiang County, Jiangsu Province) in 1582. He loved painting since he was a child. He traveled to the Yangtze River and North China in his youth and enjoyed the beauty of the mountains and rivers of the motherland. Later, he engaged in gardening activities in his hometown and accumulated rich experience. experience and become a famous gardener.When he was 53 years old, he wrote this "Yuan Ye".Because he is not only a literati who can write and paint, but also has rich practical experience in gardening, in this book he can discuss the site selection of gardens, foundations, types and styles of garden buildings, pile mountains, choose Stones, building walls, laying floors, etc. are all discussed in detail.The book not only includes these specific experiences, but also the author's understanding and elaboration of gardening theories. It can be said that this is a systematic summary of ancient Chinese gardening experience, and many of the author's insights are of incisive theoretical nature.

In the theory of construction in the first volume of "Yuanye", Ji Cheng pointed out: "Gardens are ingenious because of borrowing, and the essence is in adapting to the body." Trees, water flow, pavilions are built where they are suitable for building pavilions, and pavilions are built where they are suitable for building pavilions. Everything must be handled in a "fine and appropriate" manner.The so-called borrowing means borrowing scenery. Although there are differences between the inside and the outside of the garden, there is no limit to the distance of the viewfinder.The Yufeng Pagoda on Yuquan Mountain to the west of the Summer Palace is nearly 2,000 meters away from the Longevity Mountain, but it is the best borrowed scenery of the Summer Palace, as if the pagoda is also a scenic spot in the garden.From the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou, you can see the shadow of the Beisi Pagoda in the city.The corner of the pavilion outside the garden and the blooming flowers outside the wall can be organized into the landscape of the garden. This is what Ji Cheng said about borrowing from afar, borrowing from neighbors and borrowing from time to time.That's why he said, "Where the eye sees, the vulgar will hide it, and the good will accept it", this is "coincidence and decentness".

In the general theory of gardening in the first volume of "Yuan Ye", Ji Cheng also proposed that in the construction of gardens, no matter in the suburbs or in the countryside, the selection of land, opening of roads, building of houses, opening of doors and windows, construction of walls, and planting of flowers and trees should all achieve: "Although it is made by man, it seems to be created by heaven." That is to say, the environment created by man looks like the natural world created by heaven.How can this situation be achieved?Ji Cheng also summed up specific experience in building pavilions, platforms, towers, pavilions, selecting stones, and stacking mountains. For example, building corridors in gardens. And bend, bend according to the situation, or the mountainside, or the poor water, through the flowers and across the ravine, meandering endlessly."It is this kind of endless veranda that we see in many famous gardens in the south.People walk in the corridor, follow the trend, look left and right, and the scene changes with each step.

In a nutshell, everything proceeds from the reality, makes full use of the existing environmental conditions, carefully designs and manages houses, landscapes, and plants, so that the created garden environment, although made by man, is as natural as the sky. This is the ancient Chinese natural landscape garden. gardening essentials.