Chinese Garden Techniques in the summer palace

Thousandsof years of Chinese gardens owe their existence to the creativity and endeavorof countless scholars and craftsmen. They gradually developed unique ideas oftechniques for Chinese gardens after untold trials and errors, leaving theposterity with precious treasures for garden development.

Chinesegardens are almost always connected with Chinese paintings. From Yuan Ye, The Arts of Garden Creation, byJi Cheng of Ming Dynasty to On Gardensby Chen Congzhou of the 20th century, all works on gardens haveemphasized the importance of original conception, the origin of the everlastingartistic charm of Chinese gardens.

Thelayout of a garden is the process of overall design. Such factors as theme,content, location are carefully considered and various garden elements arearranged according to their relative positions and logical relationship. Typically,a garden comsists of groups of sceneries, organically laid out to form aharmonious and pleasing view. This entire process is called garden layout.

The scenerydesign of a garden is like writing an essay or painting a picture: the essencelies in flexibility and imagery. Although a few laws have to be followed, thereis no set pattern. A garden derives its attraction from variations andoriginality. Scenery borrowing and blocking are two common techniques used inChinese gardens.

Sceneryblocking refers to the placement of a screen-like object or structure in agarden, or a zigzag path that leads to the depth of a garden, creating a stronglure for the visitor to see the beauty behind the screens or twists. Sceneryblocking was widely used in almost all classical Chinese gardens.

A thirdtechnique is scenery framing: using doors and windows to frame scenes beyond.The frame itself is unstressed while the scenery beyond is the focus.

Anexample of scenery framing is found at Yu Zao Xuan in the Summer Palace.When one stands in this studio, one may see the Kunming Lakeand the Jade Spring Hill through the frames created by the corridors. Here,both techniques of scenery framing and borrowing are used in an ingenious way.

Thebuildings in Chinese gardens pursue the goal to make “the residents forgetabout their worries, the sojourners reluctant to leave, and the visitors freefrom fatigue.” In both magnificent imperial gardens and delicate privategardens, halls, studios, towers, boats, pavilions and corridors are built tosuit the surroundings so that the garden is full of vitality.

Plantsare also important elements of classical Chinese gardens. As gardens developover thousands of years, a growing variety of plants have been used in thegardens. It is in the “artificial” nature of a garden, the plants help tocreate the “living” environment, to beautify the “picture” and to optimize the “imagery.”

Artificialand yet natural – this is the most prominent feature of classical Chinesegarden as well as the origin of her everlasting vitality. Thousands of years ofChinese gardens and the concepts they embody have not only enriched thecivilization of the mankind, but also of great significance to the developmentof modern gardens.