A classification of Chinese garden types

In pre-20th century China, gardens were designed as an abstract art inspired by natural landscape, particularly mountain and water scenery. Gardens, understood as aesthetically designed outdoor space infused every aspect of life. This is confirmed by ancient paintings, gantha, archaeology and surviving sites. Different types of space were made for different user groups and the most common Chinese garden types may be classified as follows:

1. Imperial hunting park
2. Royal garden (imperial garden)  
3. Temple gardens (including Bhuddhist Garden, Dao Garden and Confucius Garden )
4. Scholar garden(Private garden)
5. Cemetery gardens
6. Natural Scenic Park(Resort park)  
7. College garden
8. Courtyards

The philosophy of Chinese garden design

Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, are significant aspects of classical Chinese philosophy and together influenced the creation of Chinese Garden. Of the three, Taoism had the greatest influence. Taoist thought generally focuses on nature and on relationships between humanity and the cosmos,in order to establish harmony between man and nature. Most gardens had irregular geometrical layouts coming from the image of natural mountains, rivers and lakes. But two garden types, the Temple garden and the Cemetery garden, often had regular geometrical layout influenced by the Confucius. The Temple of Heaven Park in Beijing is a good example.
Classical Chinese city planning conformed strictly to the principles of Confucianism. Confucius provided an orderly structure for social relationships and this influenced the orderly design of cities. Buddhism influenced the poetic imagery of gardens with poetic ideas coming from the human mind. A stone could symbolize a mountain, making conception make the Chinese garden an abstract art form.

Xiaomin Wu
Faculty of Hydraulic and Architectural Engineering,
Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, Yunnan,
P.R. China

中国古典园林类型

    在20世纪前，中国古典园林作为一种抽象艺术，其灵感来自于自然景观，尤其是自然山、水景观。园林被理解为一种按照美学原则而设计的户外空间，关系到人生活的方方面面，这在中国古代绘画，典籍，考古遗迹和现存的古典园林实例中可以得到证实。不同的用户群体创造了不同的园林空间类型，最为常见的类型可以分为：

1、皇家狩猎公园

2、皇家花园（皇家园林）

3、寺庙园林（包括佛寺，道观和儒教孔庙、祭祀坛庙等）

4、文人园林（私家花园）

5、墓园

6、自然风景园（风景名胜）

7、书院

8、庭院

中国古典园林哲学思想

佛教，道教和儒教是中国古典哲学的重要内容，它们都对中国古典园林创作产生了影响，其中，道教影响最大。道家思想注重自然，注重人类与自然的关系，致力于创造人与自然的和谐，因此，大多数古典园林采用不规则的几何布局，其形态来自于自然山脉，河流和湖泊。但是，也存在两种园林，寺庙园林和墓园，因受礼制思想影响而采用几何布局，如北京天坛公园是一个很好的例子。

古代中国城市规划布局严格遵守儒家礼制的原则，儒家思想提供了一个有序的社会关系结构，这使得城市布局井然有序。佛教对中国古典园林的影响表现为园林的意境（禅意），它来自于人的精神思想，比如园林叠石可以象征山脉，这种理念使得中国园林成为一种抽象的艺术。

吴晓敏

中国昆明云南农业大学水利水电与建筑工程学院