Comments on: 除计成外，中国另一位获得世界认可的风景园林理论家在哪里？Besides Cheng Ji, where is another international well known Chinese landscape theorist? http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/2011/11/24/besides-cheng-ji-where-is-another-international-well-known-chinese-landscape-theorist/ News and debate from Gardenvisit.com Sun, 20 May 2012 04:57:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Christine http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/2011/11/24/besides-cheng-ji-where-is-another-international-well-known-chinese-landscape-theorist/comment-page-1/#comment-10918 Christine Fri, 25 Nov 2011 02:08:12 +0000 http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/?p=7793#comment-10918 Perhaps Jerry you could tell us a little more about the gardens of Suzhou which were famous during the Ming Dynasty and the associated garden verses (which were recorded on stone in real gardens and in print on idealised gardens)? "Gardens were an important part of life for these Chinese scholar-painters. They were seen as miniature landscapes and naturally eroded rocks were placed at the major viewing points among twisting and turning paths and streams. Each viewing point had its own name and perhaps a verse inscribed on the rock. The gardens of Suzhou were particularly famous during the Ming Dynasty. This painting by Tang Yifen is called The Garden of Delight. It depicts an ideal garden, painted in the orthodox style. There are twenty-six poems following the painting as well as many colophons or comments in praise of the garden." [ http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/asia/chinese_landscape_painting/south_of_the_river.aspx ] Perhaps Jerry you could tell us a little more about the gardens of Suzhou which were famous during the Ming Dynasty and the associated garden verses (which were recorded on stone in real gardens and in print on idealised gardens)?

“Gardens were an important part of life for these Chinese scholar-painters. They were seen as miniature landscapes and naturally eroded rocks were placed at the major viewing points among twisting and turning paths and streams. Each viewing point had its own name and perhaps a verse inscribed on the rock. The gardens of Suzhou were particularly famous during the Ming Dynasty.

This painting by Tang Yifen is called The Garden of Delight. It depicts an ideal garden, painted in the orthodox style. There are twenty-six poems following the painting as well as many colophons or comments in praise of the garden.”

[ http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/asia/chinese_landscape_painting/south_of_the_river.aspx ]

]]> By: Tom Turner http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/2011/11/24/besides-cheng-ji-where-is-another-international-well-known-chinese-landscape-theorist/comment-page-1/#comment-10914 Tom Turner Thu, 24 Nov 2011 15:54:41 +0000 http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/?p=7793#comment-10914 The picture of Ji Cheng is wonderful - and I like his remark that ‘In my youth I had a deep interest in woodlands, and evaded fame among the hills and valleys. For a long time I made a living from landscape gardening. I felt as though I was cut off from the things of this world, and only heard distantly of the turmoil of current events. I had a deep desire to become a hermit but unfortunately I did not have the power to purchase a mountain of my own. I would gladly have lived b the outflow of the Peach Blossom Spring’. Can you tell us if there are any Chinese websites specialising in (1) garden design (2) garden history (3) landscape architecture. Or, as I should say: （1）园林设计（2）园林史（3）景观建筑 ?? <em>Note</em>: please could I also ask Yuan to help with this question: we are fortunate to have two Chinese contributors to this blog. My impression is that landscape architecture is not a well-defined subject in China and that it overlaps with garden design, forestry, environmental design, urban design and many other subjects. But 'overlaps' is the wrong word: what I mean is that the professional and academic boundaries between these subjects hardly exists. It is right and it is inevitable that they should 'overlap' but it is also necessary to define the 'core' of each subject and I don't think this has been done in China. Please correct me if I am wrong. My equally ill-informed comment on Chinese history since 1644 is that Chinese historians are too generous in treating the Qing Dynasty as 'Chinese'. Though Manchuria is now part of China, the Manchus did not speak Chinese amongst themselves, did they not force their women to bind their feet, and nor did they trust ethnic Chinese to guard their palaces. The central area was known to westeners as the Manchu City. In my view was the Manchus who (1) held back the development of China after 1644 (2) kept China isolated from the rest of the world. To put the point simply: the development of Chinese civilization was restrainted for some 300 years by the Manchu occupation. Great things were done but the civilization was largely static. So landscape theory (amongst other things!) was held back. The picture of Ji Cheng is wonderful – and I like his remark that ‘In my youth I had a deep interest in woodlands, and evaded fame among the hills and valleys. For a long time I made a living from landscape gardening. I felt as though I was cut off from the things of this world, and only heard distantly of the turmoil of current events. I had a deep desire to become a hermit but unfortunately I did not have the power to purchase a mountain of my own. I would gladly have lived b the outflow of the Peach Blossom Spring’.
Can you tell us if there are any Chinese websites specialising in (1) garden design (2) garden history (3) landscape architecture. Or, as I should say: （1）园林设计（2）园林史（3）景观建筑 ?? Note: please could I also ask Yuan to help with this question: we are fortunate to have two Chinese contributors to this blog.
My impression is that landscape architecture is not a well-defined subject in China and that it overlaps with garden design, forestry, environmental design, urban design and many other subjects. But ‘overlaps’ is the wrong word: what I mean is that the professional and academic boundaries between these subjects hardly exists. It is right and it is inevitable that they should ‘overlap’ but it is also necessary to define the ‘core’ of each subject and I don’t think this has been done in China. Please correct me if I am wrong.
My equally ill-informed comment on Chinese history since 1644 is that Chinese historians are too generous in treating the Qing Dynasty as ‘Chinese’. Though Manchuria is now part of China, the Manchus did not speak Chinese amongst themselves, did they not force their women to bind their feet, and nor did they trust ethnic Chinese to guard their palaces. The central area was known to westeners as the Manchu City. In my view was the Manchus who (1) held back the development of China after 1644 (2) kept China isolated from the rest of the world. To put the point simply: the development of Chinese civilization was restrainted for some 300 years by the Manchu occupation. Great things were done but the civilization was largely static. So landscape theory (amongst other things!) was held back.

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