University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Integrating traditional Chinese ecological philosophies into contemporary landscape practices in China: the value of traditional Chinese ecological philosophies for contemporary landscape in China

(USC Thesis Other)

Integrating traditional Chinese ecological philosophies into contemporary landscape practices in China: the value of traditional Chinese ecological philosophies for contemporary landscape in China

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content !!
!
Integrating Traditional Chinese Ecological Philosophies into Contemporary
Landscape Practices in China: the Value of Traditional Chinese Ecological
Philosophies for Contemporary Landscape in China
!
!
by
Chen Song
!
!
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
!
!
December 2014
!
!
!
!
!!
!
!!
!
Table of Contents
!
List of Figures Ⅳ
!
Acknowledgements Ⅴ
!
Abstract 1
!
Introduction 2
!
Chapter 1. Background 6
General Background 6
Background in History 7
!
Chapter 2. Traditional Ecological Philosophies 11
Ideologies 11
Confucianism 11
Taoism 14
Buddhism 16
Conclusions for Ideologies in Traditional Chinese Gardens 20
Human beings are an integral part of nature 20
Try to find the peace of one’s mind by indulging oneself in the beauty
of mountains and water 21
The hermit in traditional culture 22
i
!!
Case Study in Traditional Gardens 25
Names 26
Layout 44
Architecture 47
Plants 49
!
Chapter 3. Contemporary Landscape Architecture Practice in China - Case
Study of Yu Kongjian’s Projects 56
Metaphors 56
Color 56
Space 57
!
Chapter 4. The Development of Ecological Thinking in the Western World 61
Eugene P. Odum 61
Ian L. McHarg 61
Richard T. T. Forman 62
Eric W. Sanderson 62
Analysis and Conclusion 63
!
Chapter 5. Contemporary Landscape Development in China 65
Chronological Introduction of Landscape Architecture Education
in China Along the Conventional Track 65
Development of China’s Landscape in Academic Field 68
Liu Binyi and His Theory of Landscape from the Tourism Side 68
Yu Kongjian and his Theory of Landscape from the Ecological Side 70
The Situation of Landscape Today in China 74
Attitude toward Traditional Gardens 74
ii
!!
Ornament Landscape Architecture in China 76
!
Chapter 6. The Future of Ecological Landscape Architecture in China 80
!
Chapter 7. Case Study of Ju’er Hutong 84
!
Chapter 8. Conclusions and Projections for the Future 90
!
References 92
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
iii
!!
List of Figures
Figure 1. The Humble Administrator’s Garden from China Garden and Landscape Architecture. 4
Figure 2. The Central Garden of Zhongguancun Software Park from China’s Contemporary
Landscapes Forums. 5
Figure 3. The former residence of LIANG Qichao from Gardens in the northern. 10
Figure 4. Guo Zhongshu’s “Copy of Wang Wei’s Wangchuan Painting” in “The List of Great
Paintings of Gardens Exhibition”. 19
Figure 5. The Master Plan of the Humble Administrator’s Garden by Liu Dunzhen. 24
Figure 6. He Feng Si Mian Ting from Traditional Chinese gardens. 29
Figure 7. Xiao Fei Hong from Traditional Chinese gardens. 30
Figure 8. Wu Zhu You Ju from Traditional Chinese gardens. 31
Figure 9. Xue Xiang Yun Wei Ting from Traditional Chinese garden. 33
Figure 10. Dai Shuang Ting from Traditional Chinese garden. 34
Figure 11. Yuan Xiang Tang from Traditional Chinese garden. 36
Figure 12. De Zhen Ting from Traditional Chinese Garden. 37
Figure 13. Jian Shan Lou from Traditional Chinese Garden. 38
Figure 14. Yu Shui Tong Zuo Xuan from Traditional Chinese garden. 40
Figure 15. Liu Ting Ge from Traditional Chinese garden. 41
Figure 16. Dao Ying Lou from Traditional Chinese garden. 43
Figure 17. The Humble Administrator’s Garden borrows scenery of Bei Si Ta by Dunzhen. 54
Figure 18. Xue Xiang Yun Wei Ting from the south of the Humble Administrator’s Garden
by Liu, Dunzhen. 55
Figure 19. The Red Ribbon: Tanghe River Park from Turenscape. 59
Figure 20. Zhongshan Shipyard Park from Turenscape. 60
Figure 21. An empty grand plaza in China from Landscape in China. 78
Figure 22. An empty grand boulevard in China from Landscape in China. 79
Figure 23. Ju’er Hutong before re-designing. Source: Beijing Municipal Archives. 88
Figure 24. Ju’er Hutong after re-designing. Source: Beijing Municipal Archives. 89
!
iv
!!
Acknowledgements
I would never have been able to finish my thesis without the guidance of my committee mem-
bers, help from friends, and support from my family.
!
I would like to thank my chair, Professor Alison Hirsch, for her constant guidance. She has
walked me through all the stages of the writing of this thesis. Without her consistent instruction,
this thesis could not have reached its present form.
!
I would like to thank my committee members, Professor Rachael Berney and Professor Robert
Perry, for their illuminating instruction. They help me to make my argument stronger.
!
I would like to thank Professor Robert Harris, who helps me to understand my own culture bet-
ter. He gives me strong support in my difficulties.
!
I would like to thank Professor Lucienne Aarsen, who helps me with the grammar of my paper.
!
Finally, I would like to thank my parents, who are always encouraging me and supporting me
with their best wishes. v
Abstract
!
The traditional landscape architecture of China is an elegant expression of Chinese culture. The
goal of this paper is to demonstrate the need to embed China’s traditional philosophies about
the natural world (what I am calling “ecological philosophies”) into contemporary landscape ar-
chitecture in China to prevent the further loss of cultural meaning in the rapidly developing built
environment. The proposition being explored is that landscape architecture embedded with Chi-
na's ecological philosophy and practice will provide a more relevant and effective trajectory for
China’s future.
!
This paper asserts that the Chinese people should expect landscape architects to understand
their cultural heritage in order to reinterpret traditional values and ecological philosophy in the
new circumstances of contemporary China.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
1
Introduction
This paper examines the ecology and philosophy that originated from traditional culture in Chi-
nese landscape design. It discusses the cultural meanings embodied in traditional garden de-
sign, and the degree to which Chinese people treasure their authentic gardens and landscapes.
The paper proposes reasserting traditional cultural meanings in Chinese contemporary land-
scape architecture. It also identifies existing problems of current landscape design practice, and
the advantages of design that harmoniously combines traditional culture with contemporary
landscape architecture.
!
The paper is written with the premise that many professionals doubt the value of traditional gar-
den design principles and practices in contemporary landscape architecture. In the designing
process, traditional culture is often neglected, global influences are given preference, and local
life and culture is neglected. The ecological values in traditional culture are also neglected.
!
The research method used in the paper is to study the history of landscape design development
in China, recognize evolving ecological values (and shifting relationships to the natural world) as
expressed in landscape design through different periods of time, and explore options for brin-
ging traditional ecological philosophies back to current practice.
!
The paper is structured in three parts. The first part introduces the historical background and the
cultural foundation of the traditional garden: the ideologies of Confucianism, Taoism, and Bud-
dhism. The culture in traditional gardens stems from these ideologies and is the basis of ecolo-
gical philosophy for the Chinese. The second part shows the relationship between contempora-
ry landscape architecture and traditional culture. It introduces contemporary landscape architec-
tural projects influenced by traditional culture, and outlines the problems caused by neglecting
cultural components. It also analyzes contributions of specific scholars and designers to the de-
velopment of ecological thinking in the Western World, providing insights into how to combine
2
environmental problem-solving with efforts to sustain cultural meaning. The third part imagines
the future of the field with reference to a case study of a design implementing traditional culture.
The successful case of Ju'er Hutong illustrates the prospects of heritage inclusive landscape
architecture design. These prospects are based on clarification of the potential influence of cul-
turally rich traditional gardens on contemporary landscape architecture design, describing the
development of the landscape design in China, and recognizing the potential of traditional cultu-
ral values in contemporary practice. The central finding of this study is the necessity of cultural
heritage as a factor in contemporary landscape architecture design.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
3
Figure 1. The Humble Administrator’s Garden. Source: China Garden and Landscape Architecture.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
4
!

Figure 2. The Central Garden of Zhongguancun Software Park. Source: China’s Contemporary Land-
scapes Forums. The contemporary landscape architecture in China is different from traditional gardens.
Under the influence of globalization, landscape architecture is becoming with no features which leads to
the situation of low rate of utilization. The landscape architecture with strong exotic characteristics make
local people confused about how to use the space it offers. When the situation becomes widespread, de-
signers began to think about landscape architecture with features in order to increase its rate of utiliza-
tion.
!
!
!
!
!
!
5
Chapter 1. Background
Ⅰ. General Background
Traditional gardens in China are a form of art; they come into being, grow, prosper, and decay.
Most traditional gardens preserved now were either built in the Qing Dynasty or rebuilt recently.
They represent well the essence of mature traditional Chinese gardens and suggest the reason
why they left that stage in history. Traditional gardens in China can hardly be called “ecological”
1
in today’s ecological framework. They are intended to influence the spiritual aspects of people’s
lives. Functions such as water collecting and filtering used water are barely efficient in these
gardens, as South China does not have a water shortage. However, they suggest more in the
spiritual world. They use metaphors to remind visitors of noble personalities that one should
have like persistence, and these metaphors are closely related to classic Chinese literature. To
those who are familiar with Chinese culture, traditional gardens really fulfill their mission to help
people achieve peace and meditation. However, to those who are not familiar with Chinese cul-
ture and arts, they are just ornamentation in large scale. Fortunately, the situation has been im-
proved due to the compulsory education policy that was put in place after the country was
founded. As more common people have acquired deep cultural knowledge, metaphors in tradi-
tional gardens have become public secrets.
!
Since the late Qing Dynasty, China has experienced a chaotic period of almost 100 years, in-
cluding decades of anarchy. This has broken the chain of traditional garden development in
China. When the country was founded, the gap between traditional gardens and contemporary
landscape architecture had already been formed because of the precarious political environ-
ment at that time. When the field of architecture began to be resurrected, it left the traditional
gardens to the field of heritage conservation. Traditional gardens have been separated from the
landscape architecture field because of their enclosed private spaces and small scale. Since
6
Weiquan Zhou. Preface to History of Traditional Chinese Gardens, by Weiquan Zhou, (Beijing:
1
Tsinghua, 2008), 02.
most designers have largely disregarded the past, theories in landscape architecture from Eu-
rope and America. Replicating Western landscape architecture to pursue modernization became
Westernization of Asia. However, after a period of simple imitation, the empty landscape archi-
tecture designed for the purpose of serving the public have been criticized and put under great
pressure. Before this, designers turned to landscape architecture with Chinese characteristics.
But just like introducing Western landscapes to China without knowing much about its cultural
background. The core of “Chinese characteristics” — traditional ecological philosophies—has
been missing.
!
The traditional ecological philosophies found in Chinese gardens are closely related to literature
and art such as poems, essays, and drawings. Gardens and traditional culture grew simultane-
ously. What is more, both have influenced and permeated each other due to the history of the
country.
2
!
Ⅱ. Background in History
Traditional gardens have complex backgrounds related to many fields of past societies. They
have been deeply influenced by agriculture because China’s origins are as an agrarian society.
Their connection with philosophies comes from the social status of their masters—the scholar
class — a social class that studied philosophy. This also leads to their close relationship with
literature and art because of the meaning encoded behind the gardens, which was a barrier for
the less educated unlike in contemporary China with a compulsory education policy.
!
In the Qing Dynasty(AD 1644 - 1911), China as a feudal society was rigidly stratified. Having
evolved from an agrarian society, peasants were regarded as the foundation of the country, and
7
Yigang Peng, Analysis of Traditional Chinese Gardens (Beijing: China Architecture & Building,
2
1986), 03.
thus the most important social class. However, they were at the bottom of the class structure
3
and were managed by farm owners—a well-educated class. Most scholars were from this class,
and through examinations some became officials in court. Families that could cultivate such
scholars became renowned and rich. They made up the basic unit for the whole empire. With
lands in hand and influenced by traditional ecological philosophies, scholars began building ide-
al gardens, which allowed them to indulge themselves in nature behind their homes where gar-
den located. This resulted in enclosed private gardens dispersedly located in the city. Additional-
ly, the origin of agriculture has influenced the country so deeply that “wild nature” became a
magnificent theme for Chinese gardens and their philosophies. In traditional Chinese culture,
“wild nature” is the opposite of the “city”. The former represented nature slightly interrupted by
human activity, while the latter represented land occupied by humans. In Taoism, gods and spir-
its lived in mountains far away from human society. Trapped by mundane concerns, scholars
created a utopian land in their backyard. These gardens were surrounded by high walls in order
to separate them from the earthly world. Private gardens allowed them to hide and escape from
mundane concerns such as political war in court, competition for wealth, and so on. The “wild
nature” theme was also a lifestyle expressing the scholar class’s utopian desire to separate from
society and be self-sufficient in the family unit. It expressed the dream of going back to the orig-
inal agricultural lifestyle—living according to the moves of sun. Without playing political games
4
every day in fear of losing power or accumulating wealth with greed, they would have more time
to read, write, and think about the philosophy of the universe. This is the “daily examination of
oneself” for Confucianism scholars.
5
8
Weiquan Zhou, History of Traditional Chinese Gardens (Beijing: Tsinghua, 2008), 12.
3
Weiquan Zhou, History of Traditional Chinese Gardens (Beijing: Tsinghua, 2008), 12.
4
“How the philosopher Tsang daily examined himself, to guard against his being guilty of any
5
imposition. The philosopher Tsang said, ‘I daily examine myself on three on three points:
whether, in transacting business for others, I may have being not faithful; whether, in intercourse
with friends, I may have been not sincere; whether I may have not mastered and practiced the
instructions of my teacher.’” The story is from Confucian Analects translated by James Legge. It
is the guidebook for the scholar class to think and act properly everyday.
!
Traditional gardens were related to philosophies because of their owners’ social class. “Scholar
class” is a special class not only because it is at the top of the pyramid, just below the royal fam-
ily (pyramid from top down: royal family, scholar class, farmer class, craftsman class, business
class), but also because members of this class are in charge of all cultural affairs. It is a role
similar to a philosopher—considering the cultural development of the country. Elites from this
class were pioneers of development in all fields, including agriculture, politics, economics, litera-
ture, and art. They were selected by multiple examinations to enter into the court to assist the
emperor. Their existence represented the romantic idea of the “universal relationship of every-
thing as a whole” from Confucianism. It was described as “taking care of everything for family,
6
for country, and for the whole world” in court. Their culture was regarded as “high culture” be-
cause education was hardly accessible for the common people in the past. When it came to
their gardens, lack of common knowledge made it difficult for the uneducated class to under-
stand. However, with the rise of the civilian class, popular culture was introduced and blended
with high culture in gardens, leading to the mature period for traditional gardens in the Song Dy-
nasty(AD 960-1279). Later on, when education was no longer the privilege of the noble class,
the meaning inside the gardens was transformed into a common sense for everyone educated
with the same cultural background.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
9
Hu, Zhaoliang. A Survey of Cultural Geography in China. Beijing: Peking University, 2001.
6

!
!
!
!
!
!
10
Figure 3. The former residence of LIANG Qichao. Source: Gardens in the northern. The format of hous-
es in the front and the garden in the backyard is very popular for scholars. It shows their desire for na-
ture and pursuing the peace in order to produce better literatures. It is not a passive spirit of escaping
from the society, but a place for one to have a good meditation without interruption from the environ-
ment for the scholar class. To cater their taste, they began to build the ideal garden with their traditional
philosophies.
Chapter 2. Traditional Ecological Philosophies
Ⅰ. Ideologies
For traditional Chinese philosophies, three ideological schools of thought influence the gardens
deeply: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. These three schools of thought are also the
foundation for the nation's culture. They have contributed to building up the earliest system of
ecological philosophies in China. Since Chinese culture honors the concept of “whole,” which
means to think generally, the different ideological schools of thought have influenced each other,
resulting in the blurring of boundaries.
!
Ⅰ-ⅰ. Confucianism
Among all ideologies in China, Confucianism has influenced China the most. It is the foundation
of the nation’s culture. Its founder, Confucius, is considered the master of the nation’s education.
The golden mean of the Confucian school has been the rule of living in Chinese society. It has
helped to build the introverted personality of the people. Gardens in China were enclosed by
walls to prevent strangers looking in from outside. Even in modern landscapes, where high walls
are not recommended any longer, the space is separated by plants into a series of small sec-
tions to offer semi-public spaces for better use. Confucianism has also inspired the winding
paths and view-blocking strategy in the gardens, which are practices that one might still see in
contemporary landscape designs. In Chapter 17 of the classic novel, The Story of The Stone,
descriptions of the new garden demonstrate the nation’s concept of aesthetics: there was a big
stone at the entrance after opening the door at the gate. While people were praising the beauti-
ful hill, Jia Zheng, the head of Jia family, explained to the others that “without this hill, the whole
garden would be visible as one entered, and all its mystery would be lost”. Confucianism has
7
been the resource for ecological philosophies in China.
11
Cao, Xueqing. The Story of The Stone. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House, 1981.
7
In Confucianism, “virtue” is the foundation for all, and “compliance” is the core. It strengthens
8
the line between social classes, which should never be crossed in hierarchy. “There is govern-
ment, when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister; when the father is father, and the
son is son.” People in the past followed this rule, as it is the canon for the scholar class. In poli
9
-
tics, it supports the idea of “things being investigated, knowledge became complete. Their
knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere. Their thoughts being sincere, their
hearts were then rectified. Their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated. Their per-
sons being cultivated, their families were regulated. Their families being regulated, their states
were rightly governed. Their states being rightly governed, the whole kingdom was made tran-
quil and happy.” Confucianism strengthens the concept of family. It claims that a country is a
10
family, and a scholar has to manage his family well to be qualified to serve his country. Thus,
family, though small in China, is considered the unit of social activity. This has contributed to the
fondness of small-scale landscape design, as families will gather together and keep distance
from other families. Ecological philosophies are always separating space into multiple sections,
from large scale to small, to attract more people to use these philosophies in China’s designed
landscapes. Also, for life, it supports the idea of “being common” compared to “being hermit”.
11
This concept concerns the relationship between Confucianism and Taoism. The philosophy of
Confucianism focuses on the relationship that people could have with the environment they are
in, while Taoism focuses on the balance inside of a person. Confucianism encourages people to
be more social, “being common” in Chinese culture, because it addresses the desire for power
and social status. This demonstrates the political idea of Confucianism—taking care of a country
12
Chenjie Chen, “The system of Confucianism’s ideology in pre - Qin Dynasty,” Research in
8
Confucius 02 (2010): 41.
Confucius, The Chinese Classics: Confucian Analects, trans. James Legge (Oxford: Oxford
9
University 1970), 256.
Tseng-tzu, The Chinese Classics: The Great Learning, trans. James Legge (Oxford: Oxford
10
University, 1970), 365.
Weiquan Zhou, History of Traditional Chinese Gardens (Beijing: Tsinghua, 2008), 15.
11
by handling its people’s relationship with their society. In Chinese culture, a hermit is close to a
“living Buddha” who does not have desire or ambitions as common people do.
12
!
Confucianism is the official canon of thoughts for the past’s ruling class. Due to its great influ-
ence on the nation’s culture and spirit, it is the foundation for traditional ecological philosophies
in Chinese gardens and landscape architecture. Traditional gardens are a miniature stage for
the performance of Chinese culture. It is common sense that a garden is the recreation of na-
ture. Not satisfied with combining art with nature alone, scholars use metaphors to bring their
universal philosophies into the garden.
!
In Confucianism, the statement “Man of honor admires moral” shows the old idea of “the com
13
-
bination of beauty and kindness.” This is extended to the concept of “humanized nature” in
14
gardens. It not only has taught people to respect nature, but it also has resulted in the focus on
the designing of mountains and water in traditional gardens. On the one hand, designers used
stone materials and plants with water to mimic the view of wild nature; on the other hand, they
did not want a parody of nature. As the final goal, balance was always prioritized when all ele-
ments were combined in a garden. A delicate point of balance is best explained as “The Doc-
trine of the Mean” and “In practicing the rules of propriety, a natural ease is to be prized,” in
15
Confucianism. Different elements of gardens were all carefully scaled to be in a state of perfect
harmony.
!
13
Guoxiang Li, “Comparison between Confucianism and Taoism’s Ideology in ‘Being Human’”,
12
Journal of Shanghai Finance University 63 (2004): 51.
Confucius, Sacred Books of the East: The Li Ki, trans. James Legge (Oxford: Oxford Universi
13
-
ty, 1885), 58
Weiquan Zhou, History of Traditional Chinese Gardens (Beijing: Tsinghua, 2008), 12.
14
Confucius, The Chinese Classics: Confucian Analects, trans. James Legge (Oxford: Oxford
15
University, 1970), 143.
Ⅰ-ⅱ. Taoism
Both Taoism and Confucianism came from I Ching, which is also called Book of Changes. Some
scholars even claim that I Ching is the origin of the nation. Different from Confucianism in en-
couraging people to figure out their relationship with the environment they are in, Taoism intends
to make people aware of their thoughts on the environment. It strengthens the relationship be-
tween “existence” and “non-existence” that is very frequently used in Chinese gardens. In Tao
Te Ching, Lao Tze illustrates the relationship as “All things in the world are produced by being.
And being is produced by non-being.” The garden is treated as a miniature of the real world,
16
and the elements inside it have their meanings. Traditional ecological philosophies came into
being with the introduction of Taoism’s theories. When visitors begin to think about “existence”
and “non-existence” in the garden, they have already begun a spiritual exploration.
!
Taoism brought dialectical thinking into philosophy. It involves studying the relationship between
different aspects of the world, including emotions, thoughts, and experiences. Unlike Confucian-
ism, which persuades people to learn virtue from nature, Taoism proposes that people find in
17
-
spiration by indulging their bodies and spirits in appreciating nature. Comparing the philosophies
of the two ideologies, the attitude toward nature in Taoism is much more flexible. The aesthetic
of appreciating nature is elevated to the interactive phase instead of the visual phase. Scholars
began to think about having more communication with nature through gardens, which facilitated
the development of traditional ecological philosophies.
!
14
Lao, Tze. Tao Te Ching, Chapter 40.
16
Confucius told his students, “The wise enjoy the waters, the benevolent enjoy the mountains,
17
the wise are active, the benevolent are placid, the wise are happy, the benevolent live long.” It is
collected in The Analects of Confucius, Chapter 6. Confucius reminds people to remember
virtue all the time and connects nature with his philosophy.
In Taoism, everything is related to every form of Tao. In politics, it supports the policy of “to gov-
ern by doing nothing but going with nature,” which also means “let it be”. In addition, Taoism
18
advocates opposite ideologies for government than that of Confucianism, such as “If we could
renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would be better for the people a hundredfold.
If we could renounce our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people would again
become filial and kindly. If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming
for) gain, there would be no thieves amor robbers.” The core of the aesthetic ideology in Tao
19
-
ism is nature. In its literature, this is also described as “Heaven and Earth proceed in the most
admirable way, but they say nothing about them; the four seasons observe the clearest laws,
but they do not discuss them. All things have their complete and distinctive constitutions, but
they say nothing about them.” This original aesthetic ideology is extended as “going back to
20
nature” and “small country with few citizens.” Corresponding to the call of indulging oneself in
21
nature, Taoism encourages people to pursue self-improvement freely. The school of Taoism ma-
jors in dialectical thinking, including the opposing and uniform relationship between Yin and
Yang, deficiency and excess, existing and non-existing, and so on. It involves studying the coex-
istence of the macroscopic and microscopic spaces of the universe in an argumentative way.
The religion is also one part of Taoism in China. It persuades people into believing they can
achieve eternity by practicing mysterious medicines (similar to alchemy) and become gods at
last. Because of religious influence, gardens became a place where people were allowed to
have a peep at paradise by mimicking the landscapes of fairy tales. Growing with it was the
15
Gu Ban, Book of Han: Biographies - Kuang, Zhang, Kong and Ma, trans. Chen Song (Shang
18
-
hai: Zhonghua Book, 1962), 3104.
Lao-tzu, Sacred Books of the East: Tao Te Ching, trans. James Legge (Oxford: Oxford Uni
19
-
versity, 1891), 62.
Yutang Lin, The Wisdom of Laotse (Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research,
20
2009), 72.
Lao-tzu, Sacred Books of the East: Tao Te Ching, trans. James Legge (Oxford: Oxford Uni
21
-
versity, 1891), 123.
practice of “metaphysics,” which supported the “Tao” concerned. Metaphysics were regarded as
the base for the universe and much like “Luminiferous Aether” in Greek ideology. Together with
Confucianism, Taoism has been dedicated to all fields of the nation’s culture, including literature,
art, science, technology, morality, and so on.
!
!
Taoism has brought romance into Chinese garden philosophies. Its religious side has introduced
the culture of the hermit into the garden. The culture of the hermit intends to bring the landscape
of mountains and water from wild nature to private gardens. At the same time, metaphors were
taken into the garden, too. In the past, most metaphors were of the wild’s natural view. For ex-
ample, the traditional layout of “one body of water with three mountains” first appeared in royal
gardens; this was the reappearance of paradise in Taoism’s fairy tales. Since then, metaphors
have become a method of showing garden philosophies.
!
Because of the philosophical concept of the whole, traditional paintings and calligraphy were
combined with gardening in China. The gardens began to take the responsibility of reminding
people of the philosophies that help them to have a better life, especially mentally. This is one
aspect of the ecological philosophies of traditional Chinese gardens. The purpose of copying
wild mountains and waters is to visually warn people of the virtues from schools of philosophical
ideologies. Since nature is regarded as the origin of Chinese culture, what gardens were trying
to do was offer people opportunities to communicate with nature to achieve a harmonious men-
tal status.
!
Ⅰ-ⅲ. Buddhism
Buddhism came to China from India in the later years of the Western Han Dynasty. It was soon
localized to be known as “Chinese Buddhism”. In all of its branches, Zen was the most popular
one among scholars as it claims that everything has “Buddha nature” which can be inspired by
16
”enlightenment”. In Southern China, the “sudden comprehension of truth/savvy” is even more
popular. All living things can become Buddha as long as they are unlighted, according to its reli-
gious teaching. In philosophy, it is interpreted as tthe idea that one does not need an objective
logical procedure for common things to understand the universe, but should follow his instinct to
achieve his own understanding. Scholars were fond of its formless and innovative way of think-
ing philosophically. Meanings were brought into gardens. They were no longer used to remind
visitors of traditional virtues and were instead used to further visitors’ mental worlds in positive
ways.
!
Scholars began to blend Confucianism and Taoism with Buddhism in their works of literature
and art. Since gardens were related to both fields, the messages scholars received from Bud-
dhism was also involved in gardens; for example, Buddhism philosophy states that mountains
and waters are endowed with souls. In Confucianism, mountains and waters look beautiful to
attract scholars and remind them of virtues that a gentleman should have. The mountains and
waters carried the “Tao” physically in Confucianism, but Buddhism carried the “Tao” mentally.
!
Wang Wei, the prime minister in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - AD 907), is famous for works with
Buddhist philosophies. He was a master of literature and art, and was noted for using the envi-
ronment to express emotions and thoughts. Scholars commented on his achievements in po-
ems and paintings: “There are poems in his paintings and paintings in his poems.” Most of his
22
works described life in the countryside with mountains, water, and farmlands. However, the
realm of thought in his works go beyond the simple appreciation of nature and express philo-
sophical thoughts of Zen. He also built his own estate on the mountain outside of the city. His
poems and paintings did not record what he saw realistically, and thus did not involve many de-
tails. His poetry left blankness to allow people to think. In one of his poems, he uses voices and
17
The great poet in Song Dynasty (AD 1037 - AD 1101), Su Shi, commented Wang Wei’s
22
achievement in literature and art in the epilogue of the collection of Wang Wei’s poems.
sunshine to share his experiences with readers; though the deep of the mountain in which he is
sitting is empty, the voices he hears reminds him he is not alone, and is simply walking through
a different path. When he sees the sun hit the stone in the same way every day, it reminds him
that the day has almost passed. This poem has allowed readers to experience the world in ways
that simply cannot be put into words.
!
Traditional ideologies have paved the way for ecological philosophies when associated with
other fields such as behavior and psychology. Influenced by these philosophies, landscape de-
sign sets the goal of associating emotion with landscape in order to achieve spontaneous self-
improvement at the spiritual level. Traditional philosophies are an expression of Chinese culture,
including behavior and perspective, which helps contemporary landscape design serve the peo-
ple of China.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
18
Figure 4. Guo Zhongshu’s “Copy of Wang Wei’s Wangchuan Painting” in Song Dynasty (AD 960- AD
1279). (Part) Source: “The List of Great Paintings of Gardens Exhibition”, Taipei, Palace museum, 1995. It
shows the way of communicating with nature by being a recluse for the scholar class.
19
!
Ⅱ. Conclusions for Ideologies in Traditional Chinese Gardens
In the history of traditional Chinese gardens, there are many schools of ideology that influence
their development; Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism are the most important because they
founded the system of traditional ecological ideas expressed in Chinese gardens. These three
mindsets, together with other ideologies, form multiple perspectives communicated through tra-
ditional Chinese gardens. Of all these perspectives, three basic rules stand out: human beings
are an integral part of nature, try to find the peace of one’s mind by indulging oneself in the
beauty of mountains and waters, and favor being a hermit. They are the soul of traditional eco-
logical ideologies in China and are discussed in more detail below.
!
Ⅱ-ⅰ. Human beings are an integral part of nature
“Human beings are an integral part of nature” was founded by Confucianism scholars in the
23
Song Dynasty (C.E.960 - C.E.1279), but was noted as a philosophical idea as early as the
Xizhou (B.C.E.11th Century - B.C.E.771). It includes three meanings. First, humans are from
nature, which is made up of heaven and earth; thus, “Tao of nature” and “Tao of human” must
be unified. Confucianism advocates the order and hierarchy of society as heaven’s regulation.
They believe that the “Tao of heaven(nature)” is also a part of human nature. In Taoism, humans
and nature are one; humans’ subjective separation causes a break in the balance and unifica-
tion of nature and the people. Therefore, Taoists believe we should remove the differences that
exist in the universe and become a unified whole. Second, humans, and the natural order of the
world, desire unification by communication; this is achieved when that which is created in nature
is unified with that which is created by man, and would deeply influence man’s attitude towards
nature. This concept teaches people to respect and follow the natural pull of the environment,
which allows society to find harmony with nature and achieve balance and has inspired the
ecological idea of “harmony of nature and humans” in gardens. Third, the theory of Yin and
20
Weiquan Zhou, History of Traditional Chinese Gardens (Beijing: Tsinghua, 2008), 14.
23
Yang, based on Yi-Ching, was integrated with the School of Wuxing in the Han Dynasty (B.C.E.
202 - C.E.220). “Human beings are an integral part of nature” evolved into “communication be-
tween humans and the universe” which claimed that changes in nature could indicate changes
in society. This is the philosophical basis for Fengshui and has influenced the contour designing
of gardens, which is an obvious element of large-scale royal gardens. On one side, it has urged
that traditional gardens be developed into “scenery or landscape style”; on the other side, it has
always pursued to unify “elements from nature” and “elements made by man” with the goal of
“created by man but looks like made by nature”. This later became the traditional philosophy of
co-existence with nature.
!
Ⅱ-ⅱ. Try to find the peace of one’s mind by indulging oneself in the beauty of mountains
and water
“Try to find the peace of one’s mind by indulging oneself in the beauty of mountains and water”
24
is also an expression of Chinese ecological philosophies. It represents the eternal “mountain
and waters complex” for the elite group — the scholar class, as traditional philosophies state
that nature powers everything.. With solid roots in education and culture, the scholar class is the
social class most in-tune with nature. Though they work hard to get promoted in court which
clashes with the hermit spirit, they maintain a close relationship with nature. When they are de-
moted or lose the emperor’s favor, they indulge themselves in the beauty of nature instead of
falling to depression; this began as a trend and later became a social norm. For a long time,
people expressed their emotions in conjunction with nature, especially in literature. Following
the general ideology of “everything is the whole”, literature connected with nature in a macro-
scopic way and gardens in a microscopic way. There is an old saying in China: “reading more is
not as useful as traveling a lot”. Traveling became an important activity for students to better
understand general philosophy, and encouraged the mention of nature in art and culture. Gar-
dens now expressed artistic strategies, like using empty space to signify existence and non-ex-
21
Weiquan Zhou, History of Traditional Chinese Gardens (Beijing: Tsinghua, 2008), 15.
24
istence. This empty space in gardens made the existing content more intriguing, just as it did in
paintings. Based on people’s understanding of common philosophies, visitors could relate to
these gardens at an emotional level. Gardening was an art form.
!
Ⅱ-ⅲ. The hermit in traditional culture
“Hermit” is closely related to “try to find the peace of one’s mind by indulging oneself in the
beauty of mountains and waters” because the peaceful mental state inspired by the beauty of
25
nature is why scholars assume the hermit lifestyle. Wise men with political ideas that were not
accepted in court became an important aspect of the hermit class, as they chose to hide in the
mountains and avoid the society they could not find acceptance in, as opposed to changing their
own political ideas. Confucianism and Taoism honored hermits for their persistence in front of
power; as China continued to the Tang Dynasty (C.E.618 - C.E.907) and Song Dynasty (C.E.
960 - C.E.1279), small families dependent on farming became rich enough to have private land,
allowing the hermit class to live better lives. The recluse group was growing fast, and so was the
idea of seclusion. Instead of simply being a hermit, one could fall in the category of “hermit in
court”, “hermit in city”, or the major group, “hermit in farmland, mountains and forests”. Levels of
seclusion evolved into “complete seclusion”, “medium seclusion” and “half seclusion”. Some
scholars even used seclusion as a shortcut for gaining favor with the emperor. Such seclusions
facilitated the development of gardens, especially those in suburban areas with villas. Hermits
slowly became a culture.
!
“Hermit” is the lifestyle expressed by traditional ecological philosophies; one needs to have his
own space to think about what he has done everyday without any influence from the opinions of
others. Through introspection, he will draw lessons from the mistakes he has made as well as
maintain habits that have brought him success. In Confucianism and Taoism, the distance be-
tween each person in a given society society is flexible because the former encourages a social
22
Weiquan Zhou, History of Traditional Chinese Gardens (Beijing: Tsinghua, 2008), 16.
25
network while the latter encourages personal practice. The hermit culture is a combination
which allows people to pursue individual enlightenment while maintaining a healthy social net-
work. It accurately expresses the introverted personality of the Chinese. In the past, scholars
used high walls to create a private space for the recluse, and later, landscape designers sepa-
rated the space into different sections of semi-private space to better fit the culture. Reclusion is
the best way to communicate with nature and be inspired philosophically. Soul, the artist’s emo-
tion, is what makes traditional paintings and calligraphy great. Scholars believe that too much
social activity hinders human nature and the mind, which results in art without soul. Thus, soli-
tude is a necessary attribute of traditional philosophies, and helps people to achieve a peaceful
mental state.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
23
!

Figure 5. The Master Plan of the Humble Administrator’s Garden. Source: Liu Dunzhen, Traditional Gar-
dens in Suzhou, Beijing: China Architecture and Building Press, 1970: 139-140. The figure shows the lay-
out of traditional gardens. In traditional gardens, the architectures are usually hidden in the trees to draw
visitors’ curiosity. It is following the Golden Mean of the Confucian school, to be introverted and avoid be-
ing direct.
!
24
Ⅲ. Case Study in Traditional Gardens
Most gardens still preserved today were built or rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368 - AD
1644) and Qing Dynasty (AD 1644 - AD 1911), during what is referred to in Chinese history as
the Completely Mature Period. The traditional garden is a representation of the nation’s overall
culture and ecological philosophies. These philosophies have resulted in the freestyle layout of
many gardens, seen in elements such as the selection of plants, the shape of the paths, and so
on. The masters of landscape gardening were “gentleman-scholar-poet-artists”, who steadfastly
maintained their commitment to the general philosophy that “everything follows the same fun-
damental law in universe” seen in Taoism. Names, layouts, plant selections, and architectures
26
found in Chinese gardens are all connected back to these traditional ecological philosophies. All
the elements seen in traditional gardens are related to Chinese poetry, lyrics, essays, and other
forms of literature and paintings, which continue to remind visitors of the encoded meanings and
metaphors behind these art forms. The garden is an experiential space associated with person-
al mental improvement. The Humble Administrator’s Garden is a good example of how tradi-
tional ecological philosophies are exemplified through traditional gardens.
!
The Humble Administrator’s Garden is located on Northeast Street, inside the Lou Gate in
Suzhou. It was built during the early Ming Dynasty. In the Year of Zhengde (AD 1506 - AD
1521), after Inspector Wang Xianchen lost the favor of the Wuzong Emperor (Zhu Houzhao), he
asked to retire and returned to his hometown. After spending five years working on his project,
the Humble Administrator’s Garden was finished. Xianchen built the garden on a large plot of
empty land covered only by meadows and marshes, which then belonged to the Beiyuan Da-
hong Temple in the northeast section of the city. Its ownership has shifted several times in the
centuries after Wang’s death. It was even separated into three separate sections, named the
“western part”, “the middle part”, and “the eastern part”. Some of these parts were abandoned
25
Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, Landscape Design: A Cultural And Architectural History (New York:
26
Abrams, 2001), 285.
and/or rebuilt over time. According to the records we were able to find from when the Taiping
Heavenly Kingdom was based in Suzhou, the “western part” and “middle part” served as the
backyard garden for Li Xiu, the King of Loyalty, whereas the “eastern part” (Gui Yuan Tian Ju)
was totally deserted. During the reign of Emperor Guangxu (AD 1875 - AD 1908), the “westerm
part” belonged to Zhang Lvtai and was called the Bu Garden, whilst the government owned the
“middle part”. The garden we see today is still composed of three parts: the Bu Garden in the
West, the New Garden in the East, and the Humble Administrator’s Garden between the two.
The Bu and Humble Administrator’s Gardens are laid out following the typical traditional pattern
of residential houses: “houses in the front with a garden in the backyard.” The total area is 4.1
hectares, which is quite large for a private garden.
27
!
Ⅲ-ⅰ. Names
Names are important in every culture. However, in China, naming is an art. It represents the ex-
tent to which a scholar has mastered his skills in literature, because names are usually drawn
from great works of literature. The names typically used in traditional gardens remind people
that common philosophical culture is related to the scenery of that spot. In the Humble Adminis-
trator’s Garden, every name has a meaning associated with allusions from Chinese literature.
Traditional ecological ideas in China were dedicated to enhancing the harmonious relationship
between people and nature. These ideas suggest that people receive greater benefits from their
experiences if they can achieve “enlightenment” due to what they have experienced. To the
Chinese, the process of sensing, feeling, and thinking is much more meaningful than visual en-
joyment. Names are crucial to this experience, as a place’s name creates a bridge between the
real world and the spiritual world.
!
26
Congzhou Chen, Dictionary for Traditional Chinese Gardens’ Appreciation (Shanghai: East
27
China Normal University, 2001), 03.
There are four kinds of naming techniques for Chinese gardens, which endow their subjects
with meaning in different ways. The first is selected based on the location of the garden and its
surroundings, the second is used to accentuate certain aspects of the natural scenery in the
garden, the third is taken from literature, and the fourth is used to draw forth meaningful experi-
ences from one’s life.
!
“He Feng Si Mian Ting”, “Xiao Fei Hong”, and “Wu Zhu You Ju” are typical names found in the
Humble Administrator’s Garden, which are good examples of the location-based naming tech-
nique. “He Feng Si Mian Ting” means “wind that brings fragments of lotus from four sides (north,
south, east, and west).” It got this name for its location in the center of the body of water found
in the garden. As all Chinese people know, the lotus blossoms in the summer, thus the name
causes visitors to think about the flower blooming even during off-seasons. Through this con-
nection created via a name, the garden breaks down the walls of time. In addition, the lotus is
known as the “goddess of water” because of an essay written by Cao Zhi in the Wei Dynasty
(CE 223). Zhi’s essay describes a dream he once had in which he was dating the goddess of
the Luo River. The description of the goddess is strikingly beautiful and the essay is named after
her: “Luo Shen Fu.” Due to the description of beauty and the beauty of the flower itself, scholars
took the goddess’ name and assigned it to the lotus. The name reminds people of the beauty of
the lotus flower and inspires them to produce better literature. “Xiao Fei Hong” means “small
rainbow” in Chinese. In the context of the garden, “Xiao Fei Hong” refers to a covered bridge
that uses a pavilion to cross the body of water. “Wu Zhu You Ju” means “the pavilion that sits
among the sycamores and bamboo”, which describes this piece of architecture perfectly. How-
ever, the name in this case doesn’t come from the surroundings, but from the plaque hung
above the front entrance. The calligraphy on this plaque was written by the great scholar Wen
Zhengming to document his friendship with the owner of the garden. This kind of naming tech-
nique is used to tip off those who view landscapes as great paintings created by nature, while
also serving as a memorial to these two men.
27
!
Using names based off elements of the environment reminds viewers that the aphorisms from
traditional philosophies are a common basis for the creation of gardens in China. Because a
poem describing the environment is always endowed with the author’s emotions and thoughts, a
name taken from literature reminds viewers of the tone behind certain literary works. On top of
this, such a name can easily arouse sympathy with the environment, in the same manner that
descriptions in literature do for readers. The traditional ecological philosophies intend to facili-
tate communication between humans and nature via emotional echoes. Names take different
visitors into the same philosophical world by presenting a similar scene as those seen in com-
mon literature. This helps visitors experience scholars’ thoughts on that view of nature, make
comparisons between their own experiences, and learn virtues from aspects of nature that have
remained long after the predecessors of those great scholars. In this way, one becomes spiritu-
ally entrenched in deeper philosophical thought. It is a circle of communication with nature: see-
ing, associating, comparing, drawing lessons, and achieving enlightenment. These are the core
goals of traditional ecological philosophies.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
28
Figure 6. He Feng Si Mian Ting. Source: Traditional Chinese gardens. The name reminds people of spe-
cific literature. It arouses people’s certain emotions influenced by the literature. It helps people to commu-
nicate with nature by generating some specific emotions.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
29
Figure 7. Xiao Fei Hong. Source: Traditional Chinese gardens. The name reminds people of its function
and also the way of communicating with nature.

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
30
Figure 8. Wu Zhu You Ju. Source: Traditional Chinese gardens.
!
!
31
The second naming technique attempts to reconnect viewers with the natural world by remind-
ing them of similar scenery that they have experienced during their own lives. For example, in
“Xue Xiang Yun Wei Ting”, “Xue Xiang” means “the fragrance of the plum blossom”, and “Yun
Wei” means “a lot of flowers blossoming.” This garden is a miniature scene replicating the back-
drop of plum blossoms in the suburban area outside of Suzhou. “Dai Shuang Ting” is another
typical example. The name means “waiting for the frost to come”, which refers to the ecology of
the area since a lot of orange trees are planted here during the summer and the fruit grow in the
autumn. The scenery here is a miniature representation of a group of islands in Tai Lake where
orange trees are a symbolic sight. Such names harken back to the “hermit spirit” exhibited by
many famous scholars. Since the scholars hope to achieve a greater philosophical state through
enlightenment without losing their social networking skills, replications of nature in their back-
yards help to meet their needs.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
32
Figure 9. Xue Xiang Yun Wei Ting. Source: Traditional Chinese garden. The architecture is a part of the
nature in the garden. It is not the primary element, but a tool for people to communicate with nature bet-
ter.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
33
Figure 10. Dai Shuang Ting. Source: Traditional Chinese garden. The architecture is hidden in the plants
and cannot arrive directly. It has drawn people’s attention and raised their interest, however, it takes time
to get to.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
34
The third naming technique is closely related to literature. “Yuan Xiang Tang” means “fragrance
spreading far away”, which comes from the essay “Ai Lian Shuo” (Love for Lotus) by Dunyi
Zhou. In the essay, the author praises the noble traits of being righteous in an environment of
shamelessness, which is best represented by the lotus. Even while growing in the dirty waters
underneath the mud, lotus plants still have flowers without stains on their petals. ”De Zhen Ting”
comes from the poem “Zhao Yin” (Become Reclusive to Fully Understand the Entire Universe)
by Si Zuo. It is inspired by the cypress tree, which still retains its leaves after the frost. Scholars
in China thinks people should have a tough personality in order to confront the adversities of
life, as a cypress tree does in the winter. There are four cypresses in front of the pavilion that
correspond to this name. “Jian Shan Lou” is also concerned with hermit culture. The name
means “seeing the mountain from the house” and comes from “Gui Tian Yuan Shuo”, which
means “come back to the countryside”, written by Tao Qian (who, himself, was a great hermit).
The poem describes the wonderful country life the author lived after quitting his job in govern-
ment. In this piece, he explains, “it is such a happy thing to see the mountain after opening the
front door of the house every morning.” He adores his bucolic life style and calls on his readers
to rebuild their relationship with the nature.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
35
Figure 11. Yuan Xiang Tang. Source: Traditional Chinese garden. It is also an example of communicating
with the nature outside. The glasses have brought the view inside the architecture. As communicating
with the nature is important for scholars to get inspirations for their literature creating, the designing of the
house helps them better communicate with nature.
!

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
36
Figure 12. De Zhen Ting. Source: Traditional Chinese Garden.
!
!
!
!
!
!

!
!
!
!
!
37
Figure 13. Jian Shan Lou. Source: Traditional Chinese Garden.
!
!
!
!
!
!

!
!
!
!
!
38
In the hermit culture of China, Tao Qian is the most famous hermit and thus the spiritual idol for
all scholars. He is the first one to promote the idea of “learning from the nature to improve one-
self”, and was deeply influenced by Taoism. Qian points out that one cannot truly be himself
while living as a part of society, but people can be honest to themselves when alone in nature.
In society, one wears too many masks, which prevent them from living life to the fullest. Qian
believed that people live healthier lives when they do not need to deal with complicated social
networks, but instead can communicate with nature everyday. This became the spiritual founda-
tion for traditional gardens later on. Another famous name found in the Humble Administrator’s
Garden is “Yu Shui Tong Zuo Xuan.” It is from “Dian Jiang Chun”, a poem that could be used as
the lyrics for a song written by Shi Su, a great poet/lyricist during the Northern Song Dynasty
(AD 960 - AD 1127). The poem describes a scene in which the author is sitting by himself,
communicating with nature after losing the emperor’s favor and getting demoted. The name ac-
tually serves as both a question and an answer: “Who is sitting with me? The moon, the breeze,
and me.” It is typical to place one’s emotions into natural elements in order to ease one’s disap-
pointments created by career-based and scholarly difficulties. Nature is a friend who can always
understand and interact with people when they feel lonely. The last name mentioned in this sec-
tion will be “Liu Ting Ge”, which comes from ”Wu Ti” by Shangyin Li, a poet during the Tang Dy-
nasty (AD 618 - AD 907). “Wu Ti” means “no title” and “Liu Ting Ge” means “keep the withered
leaves of the lotus, so as to enjoy the sound of raindrops falling on them.” The sound of rain-
drops falling is an important theme in both Chinese literature and art. This serves as an inspira-
tion for authors and painters because one can only notice such a gentle sound when they are
alone. Furthermore, the slight sadness caused by such loneliness always serves as excellent
inspiration for literature. Chinese culture advocates that people meditate alone, think about what
they have done, and learn lessons from the past in order to create a better future. Nature helps
us to be patient enough to do this.
!
!
39
Figure 14. Yu Shui Tong Zuo Xuan. Source: Traditional Chinese garden. The name is from a famous poet-
ry which everyone knows in China. The literature is always carrying educational meaning. The name re-
minds the visitors here to deal with their negative emotions by indulging themselves in the nature.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
40
Figure 15. Liu Ting Ge. Source: Traditional Chinese garden.
!

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
41
!
The viewpoints described by names from literature are different from those with names taken
from the environment and locale. The first builds a viewpoint based upon historical literature,
while the other assigns a name according to what the view physically looks like. It should be
noted, however, that the literature-based naming technique does not pursue the goal of recreat-
ing the scene exactly as it was described in the actual work of literature. Thus, a garden named
with this technique will usually only use representative parts to remind the viewers of the whole
picture. For example, certain gardens use “existence” to show “non-existence” in accordance
with the philosophies of Taoism. Names are merely tips to help viewers think about what they
have seen. Through this method, people can mentally and spiritually connect with nature.
!
The final naming technique is used to accentuate meaningful landmarks in the garden, such as
“Dao Ying Lou”, which means “house where to appreciate the shadow of the garden over the
water.” The house, in this case, is a two-story building in which the first floor is named “Bai Wen
Yi Shen Zhi Zhai”, which means “solute to Wen Zhengming and Shen Zhou.” Both of these men
were famous painters in Suzhou at that time. Wen Zhengming was the garden owner’s best
friend and Zhou Shen was his tutor. It was common practice for scholars to make friends with
poets and painters in order to show their high taste in literature and art. The house serves as a
symbol of their friendship and shows the mutual respect and admiration between Wen Zheng-
ming and Shen Zhou. As for the name of the house itself, it reminds people not to miss out on
the fun of appreciating the shadow of the garden against the backdrop of the water. In traditional
gardens, beauty is experienced by all the senses, not the eyes alone. A good garden will make
visitors see, hear, smell, and think. In this way, people can be brought into the world of nature
and communicate with it. This further proves that the traditional Chinese ecological ideas are
meant to enlighten people, thus gardening techniques are used more for teaching lessons than
creating beautiful displays.
!
42
Figure 16. Dao Ying Lou. Source: Traditional Chinese garden. It reminds the visitors not only to appreci-
ate the architecture but also its shade in the water. In traditional ecological philosophies, it can make peo-
ple endow their emotions to the scenery they have seen. People communicate with the nature in the way
of treating them like a person.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
43
In general, names in China are closely related to literature and will contain encoded meanings
and metaphors. This helps remind those who come to the spot why it exists. The garden de-
signer wants to share that meaning with those who can pick up on and understand it. In Chi-
nese, such an audience would be referred to as “zhiyin” or “friends who share the same
thoughts and see the same things as you.” Mental communication such as this is far more im-
portant to scholars than actually speaking to one another, which is why they prefer to use
metaphors in their created environments. However, they are sometimes afraid that these philo-
sophical meanings are hidden too deeply for their friends to figure out, thus they provide clever
names to serve as tips. While the manner in which well-read people connect to the same view
may be different, they will always register the same basic meaning, as the designer’s moods
and opinions are always shared in implicit ways. According to the traditional ecological philoso-
phies, the goal of landscape gardening is to help visitors achieve a harmonious coexistence with
nature and acquire the philosophical enlightenment necessary for a peaceful mental state.
However, all meaning behind such works can only be fully understood by practicing meditation,
due to the subtlety of the hints left behind by the designers. Naming serves as the passage be-
tween the mental world and the garden itself. The idea of the “golden mean” in Confucianism is
deeply rooted in the nation’s culture and it is a known fact that the Chinese enjoy riddles with
obscure keys. The common literature and history of the country provide just enough information
for these riddles to be solved. A landscape requires a bridge, such as the names in traditional
gardens, for people to understand why it exists. “Indulging oneself in nature” means to emotion-
ally and mentally communicate with what one has experienced in nature. Names are a medium
for people to indulge their emotions in nature, while also serving as the inspiration to seek
deeper philosophical thoughts. As many different moods can be elicited from the same scenery,
names can be thought of as signposts for roads that lead to different destinations.
!
!
!
44
Ⅲ-ⅱ. Layout
The layouts of traditional Chinese gardens are intricately designed in the spirit of reclusion and
follow the philosophies of traditional ideologies in order to achieve a deeply cultural ecology.
This can be seen in both the blankness of layouts influenced by Taoism, as well as the combina-
tion of winding routes and hidden aspects in layouts influenced by Confucianism.
!
“Yin Di Zhi Yi” is the canon for garden and landscape design in China. This phrase translates to
”making plans and taking action according to the situation”. This strategy comes from a history
book called “Wu Yue Chun Qiu, Lv He Nei Zhuan”, which means “biography of He Lv in the
chapter of Wu and Yue district in Chun Qiu Dynasty” (BCE 770 - BCE 221). It introduced into
gardening the idea of designing by developing based on the site’s existing advantages, such as
building a mound in the upper area and using the cut-and-fill technique to create a pond in the
lower section. Garden designers use such methods to weaken the manmade feeling of their
28
work and make them feel more natural. Garden designers use such techniques to make hu-
mans an integral part of nature and bring them closer to their final goal of finding a harmonious
coexistence between the two. In modern landscaping, this strategy also saves resources. Ac-
cording to the traditional ecological philosophies, proper application of these strategies was
seen as the result of proper communication with nature.
!
The Humble Administrator’s Garden was built on a site covered with many meadows and
marshes, meaning that the central body of water would be a major element of the garden. In
most cases, traditional gardens were laid out with a primary body of water in the center, sur-
rounded by a number of important architectural aspects. The Humble Administrator’s Garden is
no different, though its bigger size makes it possible to do more things with the primary body of
water. For example, the designer piled stones in the center of the pond until they formed two
45
Cheng Ji, Yuan Ye, trans. Jiaji Zhang (Taiyuan: Shanxi Chinese Classics Publishing, 2002),
28
175.
islands that mimicked the scenery of Tai Lake. This also served to separate the water into the
eastern and western sections. The boundary was designed in an irregular shape to avoid aes-
thetic fatigue. In traditional Chinese gardening, it is a rule that bigger bodies of water should be
built in regular shapes, while smaller ones should have a lot of twists and turns to ensure the
best viewing experience. There are exits at the eastern and western ends of the pond to allow
29
the water to extend a bit farther and simulate an endless appearance. Three winding paths con-
nect the islands with other parts of the garden and help to physically separate the water into
separate sections. Compared with the shape of the outer boundary, these paths are more
sharply drawn. One of the garden designer’s greatest tricks is taking into account the psycholo-
gy of visitors when plotting the design of his garden. A great designer knows how to pique your
interest in the spot he wants you to notice. For example, when you are on the island in “He Feng
Si Mian Ting”, you can see “Jian Shan Lou” in the north, “Xiang Zhou” in the southwest, “Yi Yu
Xuan” in the south, and “Wu Zhu You Ju” in the east. These four major pieces of architecture
easily catch your eyes when you are in that spot. On top of that, you cannot get there in any
manner you want. The winding paths and corridors slow you down, which cause you to see the
lovely pavilion and house in front in greater detail. This is why the art of laying out is some
30
-
times referred to as “hide and seek”; everything is done intentionally. Even the “Bei Shan Ting”,
which sits at the highest point of the garden on the eastern island, is hard for people to notice
because it is deliberately hidden behind trees and bushes, which makes it an unexpected sur-
prise. This same principle is true for “Xiao Fei Hong” and “Xiao Cang Lang.” Both of which are
eye-catching covered bridges. However, they are located in the extended narrow branches of
the pathway that crosses over the water in the south, and thus serve as hidden parts of the gar-
den. Using plants and terrain to hide interesting scenic spots is a common strategy in Chinese
gardening. On the one hand, it makes the garden seem more like a natural landscape found in
46
Dunzhen Liu, Traditional Gardens in Suzhou (Beijing: China Architecture & Building, 1979),
29
15.
Dunzhen Liu, Traditional Gardens in Suzhou (Beijing: China Architecture & Building, 1979),
30
11.
the wild, thus bringing it closer to the goal of integrating humans into nature. On the other hand,
it copies the feeling of landscapes found deep in the mountains, where hermits tend to live. The
introverted personality of the nation is influenced by Confucianism and makes such an indistinct
appearance more attractive to the Chinese.
!
The layouts of traditional gardens mainly provide a space for scholars to better communicate
with nature. They mimic the distinctive sounds, colors, and scents found in nature from the
mountain views, to the winding paths, to the miniatures waterfalls. With high walls separating
the garden from outside, the space is quiet enough to allow for meditation and, hopefully, en-
lightenment. Besides, the idea of mimicking wild nature is also connected to Chinese literature.
On top of this, the communication between humans and nature is enhanced by these carefully
designed layouts.
!
Ⅲ-ⅲ. Architecture
Architecture is never the most important aspect of traditional Chinese gardens, however it’s in-
corporation into the process leads to better overall designs. Using these more complex ele-
ments , gardens can be appreciated in an aesthetic manner similar to traditional Chinese paint
31
-
ings. The architecture serves as a frame for the scenery. In traditional ecological philosophies,
architecture refers to parts of the garden where scholars can meditate on philosophical enlight-
enment and create literature and paintings to record their thoughts. These small spaces physi-
cally connect humans with nature in an unlikely combination of Confucianism and Taoism, in
which one side advocates social network and the other advocates being reclusive. Most pieces
of architecture found in gardens are semi-enclosed, lacking walls as to prevent the communica-
tion between inside and outside from being blocked. This has demonstrated how deeply Confu-
cianism’s “golden mean” influences the Chinese people.
47
Hard elements are the materials except for plants, and plants are the soft elements in Chi
31
-
nese gardening.
!
“Yuan Xiang Tang” is the primary architectural piece found in the middle section of the Humble
Administrator’s Garden. Instead of having wooden patterns as is customary, all of the windows
are framed with glass, which provide different angles for viewing the garden. The reactions and
behaviors of viewers are what drive the designs here. The garden is treated as a stage and all
of its elements are actors in the play. In the same way, the people visiting the garden are also
actors and actresses from the eyes of other viewers. This dialectical relationship between visi-
tors is always an interesting one for scholars of Taoism to examine. Different people see differ-
ent things in the same garden. However, everyone is focused on their own happiness regard-
less of whether those around them understand those feelings or not. Chuang Tzu, in one of his
stories, explores this interesting idea: one day, Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu were on Hao Bridge
and had an argument about whether they could know if a fish was happy or not. The question
Hui Tzu asks Chuang Tzu is, “you are not fish, so how could you know if it is happy while in the
water?” This quote has appeared many times in subsequent Chinese literature to express the
relationship between a person’s mental reality (inside) and the physical reality they are in (out-
side). The combination of these two realities has also been explored in scholarly literature and
32
paintings. In many poems, natural elements are used to help convey the author’s emotions. If a
scholar was feeling happy, he would not say that outright in his poem. Instead, he would say
that the trees, the flowers, and even the moon in the sky are happy. Scholars would frequently
view nature and subsequently use it to describe their moods. When designing their gardens,
scholars worked in the same manner. The ecological philosophies found in traditional gardens
are as implicit as the riddles in Buddhism. One needs to think hard and pay attention to the de-
tails of nature in order to attain enlightenment.
!
48
Congzhou Chen, Dictionary for Traditional Chinese Gardens’ Appreciation (Shanghai: East
32
China Normal University, 2001), 03.
Two other primary tricks concerning architecture are “Kuang Jing” and “Jie Jing.” “Kuang Jing”
means “framing a scene like a photograph.” There are many specially shaped windows and
doors in traditional gardens. The circular shaped doors on each side of the walls are like full
moons in “Wu Zhu You Ju”, which provide the people inside with a perfect view of the scenery in
“Kuang Jing.” These moon-shaped doors work as frames for other garden elements that, from
the outside, form an entire picture. Their purpose is to show the changing contents of the same
scene over time through various seasons. Tourist guides introduce these wonderful doors and
windows as the “earliest form of television” in China. This closely follows the ideology of Taoism
— let nature show her beauty and all you need to do is to see, to feel, and to think. Indeed,
views changing over the course of the seasons are one of the most popular themes in Chinese
literature. Scholars realized the value of time and how quickly it passed, causing them to pro-
duce a multitude of literature on the subject. That literature then became associated with views
found in gardens and made those spots even more meaningful. Since education is one of pri-
mary aspects of Confucianism, the functions of inspiration and enlightenment are treasured in
traditional ecological philosophies. “Jie Jing” means “to bring scenery from the outside into the
garden.” This is a brilliant way to introduce nature into the garden and weaken the influence of
man-made elements. In the Humble Administrator’s Garden, scenery has been borrowed from
33
the “Bei Si Ta”, a nine-story Buddhist temple built in the Liang Dynasty during the North and
South Period (CE 502 - CE 557). The tower in the temple can be seen from any open space
within the garden. The carefully layout makes people feel that the temple is close to them while
it is actually miles away. This design is a response to the philosophies of “existence and non-
existence” in Taoism, a theory of relativity between the mental and physical worlds. As stated
many times before, the greatest gardens are passages for people to travel between these two
worlds.
!
49
Cheng Ji, Yuan Ye, trans. Jiaji Zhang (Taiyuan: Shanxi Chinese Classics Publishing, 2002),
33
325.
Ⅲ-ⅳ. Plants
For Chinese people in the past, ecology represented a harmonious relationship between people
and nature. Plants conveyed the general philosophical ideology that “human beings are an inte-
gral part of nature”. People in the past endowed certain plants with certain noble personality
traits, which is where a number of flower-based metaphors come from. China began as an
agrarian society and remained that way for a long time, thus plants becomes an integral part of
their ecological culture because of their initial importance as food sources. The Chinese thought
that plants harmoniously connected them to nature. Besides, farming work was difficult and re-
quired a good amount of self-discipline, which is regarded as steppingstone to success in most
cultures. Just as this positive spirit was frequently expressed in traditional literature, it was rep-
resented to people physically by the plants selected for gardens, which were another bridge be-
tween the mental and physical worlds. In the Humble Administrator’s Garden, there are several
cases that demonstrate these philosophies. Plants remind people which virtues a noble man
should possess according to traditional philosophies. On top of this, great people in Chinese
history who were famous for said virtues would immediately come to the minds of the viewers.
This creates a positive spiritual influence, which is good as gaining benefits from communicating
with nature is always the goal of traditional ecological philosophies.
!
In Chinese, “Lan Xue” means “magnolia”, thus “Lan Xue Tang” is named after a poem by Li Bai:
“The Magnolia Blossom in the Spring Breeze.” There are six magnolia trees and ten camphor
trees placed in front of the architectural aspects of this garden in order to recreate the scene
from the poem. The camphor trees are planted in a manner that the leaves will make noise
when the wind blows. Magnolias represent noble and unsullied personalities, whereas camphor
trees represent elegant and unconventional personalities because they allow people to experi-
ence the spring breeze via sound. “Yu Lan Tang” is another place following the theme of magno-
lias. “Yu Lan” is another Chinese name for magnolias. In this garden, magnolias are planted in a
box with several groups of nandinas underneath. During the summer, the vibrant green color will
50
bring about a sense of cooling, while in the winter, the scarlet fruit of the nandina plants will
make people feel warm. Traditional Chinese ecology works in this manner by using the power
inside of people to adjust the experience of a subpar environment to one that is better. The final
goal of traditional ecological philosophies is to build a strong mental fortitude within a person to
make them more resistant to setbacks, to make them more like a hermit who cherishes peace,
strength, persistence, and so on.
!
The “Hai Tang Chun Wu” is a continuation of the “Lan Xue Tang.” “Lan Xue Tang” shows the
early spring scene, whereas “Hai Tang Chun Wu” shows the middle spring scene. “Wu” means
“field on a hill where the boundary area is higher than the central area”, and “Chun” simply
means “spring.” This name comes from Yang E’shi's poem “Spring Comes Late and Lasts
Longer on the Field on the Hill where the Boundary Area is Higher than the Central Area”, writ-
ing during the Tang Dynasty. As it is mentioned in a number of literature pieces that peach flow-
ers and plum (“Li”) trees are frivolous due to their bright colors, the designer chose Chinese
flowering crab apples to represent middle spring and serve as the transition scene after the ear-
ly spring sections represented by the magnolias. The Chinese flowering crab apple stands for
an elegant or chic style of living, which reminds people to have good taste.
!
The designer referred to the late spring scene as “Jia Shi TIng”, which means “good fruits.”
Thus, it is full of plum trees (“Mei”), which serve as the central theme. The Mei plum is a plant
generally used for entertainment in Chinese culture. In a poem written by Tingjian Huang (CE
1045 - CE 1105) during the Song Dynasty, he describes, “if you want to know what period of
spring it is, just check how big the plums are.” It is great fun to watch the growth of Mei plums in
the garden, which served as the inspiration for numerous pieces of literature exploring the
theme of “time flying by.” By reminding viewers of the value of time, this garden constructs a
bridge between scholars wishing to indulge in nature and those wishing to become an integral
part of nature. Because, when compared with nature, the lifetime of a person is far too short to
51
waste time on setbacks, thus accepting the ups and downs of life is a major aspect of the
philosophies of “following nature” in Taoism. Eventually, one will find enough peace of mind to
become part of nature and communicate with it in a new method.
!
“Pi Pa Yuan” is the “garden of loquat.” A loquat is type of locally grown fruit found on the Dongt-
ing Mountain in Suzhou. Here, they were grown in planting boxes laid out on terraced fields.
Along with the planting boxes, the lakeside rockeries serve as fences. As the loquat blossoms in
the winter and fruits in the summer, it brings new elements to the garden during different sea-
sons. Their fruits attract birds, which makes the garden more natural and helps make it a more
suitable place for reclusive thought in the city.
!
Bamboo is another plant full of metaphorical significance. People in China praise this shrub for
its rigid straightness and hollow inside. Straight equates to “uprightness”, while hollowness al-
ludes to the idea of having “nothing to hide”, which extends to loyalty. “Yi Yu Xuan” is a section
of the Humble Administrator’s Garden that plays off the theme of bamboo. Small groups of
bamboo are planted beside the windows of the architecture, because the shadows of bamboo
plants on the windows or the floor mimic an agreeable, yet melancholy scene in literature that is
frequently introduced into gardens by scholars. The shadow and sound bamboo makes in wind
are both very present, but cannot be physically touched. They represent the “nonexistence” of
traditional philosophies and relate scholars back to nature by mentally eliciting certain literary
moods, such as sadness and homesickness. The scholars would silently communicate with
these plants through their work and while practicing meditation, using questions and answers in
this way to achieve philosophical enlightenment.
!
“Ting Feng Song Chu” means “place for listening to the sound of wind going through the pine
trees.” It is inspired by Tao Hongjing (CE 456 - CE 536), who was famously known as the “prime
minister hiding in the mountains” during the Liang Dynasty. As a hermit, Tao refused to serve the
52
emperor in court. However, because of his wisdom, the emperor occasionally would go into the
mountains to seek advice from him. Pine tree were Tao’s favorite, along with bamboo and win-
tersweet, which is why they are now called the “three friends of winter.” On one hand, planting
pine trees was a way for the garden owner’s to show his respect to Tao, but, on the other hand,
it also represents the owner’s determination to be similar to Tao, who was wise and had mas-
tered knowledge in many fields. He is deeply influenced by Taoism and Buddhism, but still ac-
cepts Confucianism. The pine trees here convey the wish of achieving the overall philosophical
understanding of all of the garden’s owners. It is an example of using the part to represent the
whole.
!
Philosophies do not have a physical body, however, they are constantly influencing people’s
personalities and modes of thought. When it comes to the landscape, “localization” is very im-
portant, as ecological philosophies are always influencing people’s landscape preferences in
China. The Chinese people have accepted to live with these philosophies and are happy to find
them in contemporary landscapes. The philosophies are what designers consider culture to be.
Modern viewers want to see a mode of thinking behind their landscape designs, not only colors
and plant styles. That is part of modern landscaping that is still lacking and is what designers
are searching for.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
53
Figure 17. The Humble Administrator’s Garden borrows scenery of Bei Si Ta. Source: Liu, Dunzhen. Tra-
ditional Gardens in Suzhou. (Beijing: China Architecture and Building Press, 1979.). It is the strategy of
“Jie Jing” in traditional gardens. It shows the relationship between the whole and the part in traditional
philosophies. Because of Chinese culture’s homogenization, the strategy is also used in people’s life.
Even for people in the city where can hardly be evolved into the nature, they can take the nature far away
into their place in this way.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
54
Figure 18. Xue Xiang Yun Wei Ting from the south of the Humble Administrator’s Garden. Source: Liu,
Dunzhen. Traditional Gardens in Suzhou. (Beijing: China Architecture and Building Press, 1979.). It is the
strategy of “Kuang Jing” in traditional gardens. It has blocked some part of the visitor’s view and makes
the scenery appear in an indirect way. It well caters the introverted personality of Chinese people influ-
enced by Confucianism.
!
55
Chapter 3. Contemporary Landscape Architecture Practice in China -—
Case Study of Kongjian Yu’s Projects
The field of landscape architecture in China is still developing. Kongjian Yu is the one of pio-
neers of this arena and supports bringing ecology into landscape architecture. All of his projects
stress cultural meaning and focus on the relationship between humans and nature. Through his
work, we can see how landscape designers re-interpret traditional Chinese ecological ideologies
in modern times.
!
Ⅰ. Metaphors
Metaphors are still used in Yu’s designs to remind people of their relationship with nature. He
reinterprets the old canon for garden designing in China: “human beings are an integral part of
nature.” The following is a description of how he uses metaphor to embody that fundamental
landscape architecture belief.
!
Ⅰ-ⅰ. Color
Color is one of the major themes in Yu’s work. To better distinguish his work from Western land-
scape architecture, he likes to mark the landscape with traditional Chinese red. In “Zhongshan
Shipyard Park”, the features that represent industry are all painted in scarlet. Not only is red a
popular color in China, it is endowed with luck and considered very solemn in Chinese culture.
The color draws attention and makes people stay recall the days from their past. Also in the
project “The Floating Gardens of Yongning River Park” in Taizhou, Yu paints a box at the cross
section of two paths red to draw viewers in to see the plant inside. He also uses red columns to
tell the story of martial arts (gong fu). In “Red Ribbon Park”, the ribbon that guides the visitors
and connects major spots in the park is red.
!
Since there is little opportunity for contemporary landscape architecture to display the name of
each view like in traditional gardens, designers use other icons to substitute for names, such as
56
color. The lack of depth in contemporary landscape architecture enforces designers to look for
cultural symbols in order to attract more viewers. The color red connects people with the land-
scapes on an emotional level. It makes the designed landscapes from the West much more fa-
miliar to the local people. The color has become a steppingstone for connecting new landscape
architecture to Chinese culture. In Taoism, when scholars see a waterfall in the mountains, they
imagine the mist and clouds around it, as seen in numerous paintings. Yu has borrowed the
same philosophy of using an existent piece to represent a non-existent whole.
!
Ⅰ-ⅱ. Space
In Yu’s work, space comes in many forms. He uses space to reinforce his visitor’s connectivity
with the land as space encourages people to communicate with the nature. In preserving the
memories and culture of the locales, Yu has endowed the land with emotions in the tradition of
“indulging oneself in nature” as seen in the traditional ecological philosophies. The land has
been treated as a living person, and speaks for the local people by expressing what they desire
in landscape design.
!
In “Zhongshan Shipyard Park”, Yu insisted upon keeping the rustic workshop, which was op-
posed by many people and caused it to take longer than it should have for the project to be ap-
proved. He kept the skeleton of the workshop in shipyard along with a number of railways,
which were considered useless by many, who wanted them removed. Despite this call for demo-
lition, Yu followed the old traditional ideology of “respecting the land and following nature” by
keeping the dock in the workshop and making it into another “Yuan Xiang Tang” (Humble Ad-
ministrator’s Garden). Due to this turmoil, it has become a semi-private space blocked off only
by people’s feelings. The contrast between invisible walls in people’s minds and the physical
scenes outside, allow viewers to get a closer look at the environment they are in. Yu’s project
has facilitated the two-way communication between humans and nature so important in ecologi-
cal philosophy. The redesigned structure makes people feel as though they are a part of nature.
57
Yu also redesigned the water tower and the light tower. The water tower became a skeleton of
its former self, while the light tower was capped with a new glass box. Both towers show the
passage of time, while both the skeleton workshop and abandoned tower serve as a recording
of memory. Yu draws visitors to the features of these rustic constructs and strengthens their
connection with people’s emotions. They have the same function as the encoded metaphors
conveyed by plants in traditional gardens, to create a powerful experience inside a person’s
mind instead of their body, changing people from the inside. The preserved symbolic structures
remind people what has previously existed on the land, and the blankness in the park provides
the space and time for people to construct these emotional connections with the past.
!
Yu’s projects have shown how traditional ecological philosophies can be combined with con-
temporary landscape architecture. Using the aspects of the culture and differing strategies of
space designing from traditional gardens, the parks become popular attractions for local resi-
dents. As in centuries passed, the emotional resonance of the land has been well preserved
with guidance from traditional ecological philosophies.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
58
Figure 19. The Red Ribbon: Tanghe River Park. Source: Turenscape. It is an example of bringing nature
into urban context. In the project, plants are used to separate space for people to acquire the sense of
introversion. Such details follow Chinese people’s traditional ecological philosophies and make the land-
scape popular with local people.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
59
Figure 20. Zhongshan Shipyard Park. Source: Turenscape. In the project, Yu avoids the grand opening
space which makes Chinese people difficult to use by using tress and hedge. The existing elements have
been extracted and transformed into the part of a contemporary landscape. The elements relate people
with memories and history of the landscape. It has the same function of relating people with nature by
common literature in traditional gardens. It is well following the traditional ecological philosophies.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
60
Chapter 4. The Development of Ecological Thinking in the Western World
The contemporary landscape architecture field has been influenced by many great scholars and
designers concerned with the future of landscape design. With the conflict between develop-
ment and environment protection, the study of ecology in the landscape architecture field has
become more and more popular. Because the traditional ecological philosophies focus on the
relationship between humans and nature, it is hardly related to finding scientific solutions to ex-
isting environmental problems. The introduction of this knowledge into ecological landscape ar-
chitecture has brought about the use of technology to solve such environmental problems, how-
ever, it has also let to the blind following of Western landscape architecture styles. To figure out
how to bring traditional ecological philosophies back into contemporary landscape architecture,
it is important to understand the origin of ecological thinking in both China and the West. Below I
introduce the major voices in ecological approaches to landscape architecture in the West.
!
Ⅰ. Eugene P. Odum - The Strategy of Ecosystem Development (1969)
Created a mathematical formula to determine energy consumption and production in different
elements of landscape. According to this formula, a designed landscape is ecological if the re-
sult of the calculation is positive, and not if the result is contrary. Odum uses his mathematical
calculation to make sure that the ecological production of a piece of landscape architecture is a
consumption or benefit to nature. He is a scientist. He did not make any commentary on land-
scape architecture. However, his theories are adopted by landscape architects for better ecolog-
ical designing.
!
Ⅱ. Ian L. McHarg - Design with Nature (1969)
Landscape architect, Ian McHarg, philosophical and scientific level. For him, humans are just
one of many “tenants” along existing on the entirety of the Earth’s biosphere. Thus, humans
need to learn how to coexist with the other elements of nature in the universe, such as the stars,
the changing seasons, the clouds, the rain, the rivers, the oceans, the forests, the creatures,
61
and the herbs. McHarg believes that “our eyes do not divide us from the world, but unite us with
it.” We should abandon our self-mutilation, which has thus far been our custom, and give our
attention to the potential harmony between man and nature. Since man is a “uniquely conscious
creature who can perceive and express”, we should take more responsibility for our actions,
which requires us to design our architecture with nature in mind.
!
Ⅲ. Richard T. T. Forman - Land Mosaics, The Ecology of Landscapes and Regions (1995)
Landscape architect, Forman was the first person to consider the impact of different landscapes’
scales and levels in the field of ecology. He emphasized regional ecology, which could fit into
the frame of principles developed by the scale of a specific landscape. The land is divided into
small fragments, in which each one has strong relationship with the rest. Forman accepts the
existing human-altered environment and proposes that its living parts can be improved by the
application of environmental biology. The real world consists of finely fragmented habitats, and
even those extremely small in size are important to species hardly recognized by our eyes, from
insects to fungi to bacteria. However, when the species that can survive in these habitat frag-
ments come together, they determine the health and beauty of the places in which we live. For-
man proposes that we create close linkages between landscapes and regions based on a foun-
dation of general patterns and principles. For example, a system of patches, corridors, mosaics,
and flows.
!
Ⅳ. Eric W. Sanderson - Manahatta, A Natural History of New York City (2009)
As a scientist (ecologist), Sanderson sees modern ecology through the lens of New York City.
Sanderson does not agree that a city with a high-density population and little land for greening
cannot be ecological. Sanderson believes that “cities done well can be just what nature needs,
which is a good thing because cities are how humanity in the main is now choosing to live.” A
city can support large numbers of living beings with diverse appetites and remarkable require-
62
ments, while still remaining sustainable and ecological. In other words, people should be able to
coexist with all other species harmoniously in a well-developed city.
!
Ⅴ. Analysis and Conclusion
McHarg was trying “to define the problems of modern development and present a methodology
or process prescribing compatible solutions.” He advocates designers to do thorough research
34
on a site and be fully familiar with its natural conditions before beginning to design. In this way,
designers can decrease the damage they do to nature and figure out the best way to coexist
there. This is interestingly very similar to the rule of “Yin Di Zhi Yi” in Chinese traditional eco
35
-
logical philosophy. As the development of a society is inevitable, McHarg preferred to make
practical plans for both natural environments and cities. He proposed to create ecological spa-
ces before urban development when beginning a design. In this way, he hopes that we can pre-
vent unreasonable plans and designs for future cities. Yu Kongjian has taken this advice, as ex-
pressed in his ecological landscape designing theories. McHarg’s philosophies are very similar
to the ones in traditional ecology: humans are an integral part of nature. These two parts can
coexist harmoniously if they maintain proper communication.
!
Richard Forman, on the other hand, starts from the point of urban planning. Not well accepted
by the mainstream of ecological opinions, he thinks that even in a highly urbanized city, ecologi-
cal spaces do exist, even if they are fragmented. Based on this outlook, he proposes to increase
the number of links between fragments in different landscape levels. He focuses on how to build
relationships by connecting existing ecological spaces. Scales and levels are key points in his
theoretical system. If harm has been done to the environment in urban areas, what we need to
think of is how to ease this serious situation by reorganizing the ecological space into smaller
63
Schnadelbach, R. Terry, et al. "Ian McHarg 1920-." Fifty Key Thinkers on the Environment (07
34
Dec. 2000): 228-241. Environment Complete
“Yin Di Zhi Yi” means “making plans and taking action according to the situation”.
35
pieces, in order to form a more sustainable structure. Unlike Forman, he suggests how to make
ecological spaces function more efficiently instead of creating new ecological spaces within
cities.
!
Like Forman, Eric Sanderson also does not agree with putting urbanization on the opposite side
of the spectrum as ecology. Both of them believe that we can achieve a balance between nature
and human activities while maintaining the development process for the city since it is irre-
versible. In his book, he expressed his wish that highly urbanized cities find the balancing point
between undeveloped and urbanized. It is the same wish that McHarg has, the harmonious
36
development of nature and human society. He starts from the human side in his study by focus-
ing on how to improve the environment we are currently living in and suggests that we create
new ecological spaces based on the present situation of high human activity. He wants to
change the structure of the city, thus altering the ratio of space for human activity and nature in
a manner that does not disturb the pace of urbanization.
!
The desire to become part of nature is not only found in traditional ecological philosophies in
China, but in the field of landscape architecture in any country. With the expansion of industrial-
ized cities, nature and development have been placed on opposite sides of a scale. However,
as McHarg stated in his theories, designers should accept the present situation, come up with a
solution, and prevent the same mistakes from being made in the future. Humans are an integral
part of nature and should be taken into consideration when planning ecological and urban
projects. This harmonious coexistence must be our future instead of just a dream.
!
!
64
Sanderson has shown the pictures of New York City before human settlement and present
36
pictures for comparison the sharply decrease in forest coverage. And he uses the software to
make a picture of New York City he hopes to be, the city is hidden in the tress like a perfect
combination in the picture.
Chapter 5. Contemporary Landscape Development in China
In response to the trend of discarding traditional gardens and embracing modern landscaping
techniques, it is imperative for traditional ecological philosophies to be reintroduced into Chi-
nese landscape architecture. Because of the public’s demand that people become part of nature
and with nature on a spiritual level, traditional ecological philosophies result in the harmonious
coexistence between humans and nature that we need. The win-win result of development and
nature proposed by McHarg and Sanderson is what this form of traditional thought can lead to.
This is because traditional gardening is not just gardening-style, but a complex aspect of Chi-
nese culture. After the early period of blind Westernization, critics from the local community be-
gan to cast doubt on the landscaping choices being made. In response, the architects in China
began to reflect the needs of the people in their country instead of simply copying successful
cases from abroad. In the trial of redesigning traditional gardens into public parks, architects
have received a good response from local residents. Thus, architects started to combine tradi-
tional gardens with Western landscape architectures to create a new form of landscape design
with both Chinese and Western characteristics. However, this combination does not mean
putting parts from different cultures together in the same park. It is not enough to have a tradi-
tional Chinese pavilion and a grand plaza from European landscape architecture in the same
space. What designers must introduce is culture and technology. In other words, contemporary
landscape architecture in China must combine traditional garden philosophies with Western
landscape theories.
!
Ⅰ. Chronological Introduction of Landscape Architecture Education in China along the
Conventional Track
The study of landscape architecture in China can be part of either the school of architecture or
the school of horticulture, depending on the degree being offered. No matter which school the
program is part of, the history of traditional gardens is a required course, in which students learn
to recite the master plan of different gardens, from the plant selection, to the architecture de-
65
sign, to the literature related to it, and so forth. The encoded meanings of the gardens are also
an important part of this course. Despite this, the value of the philosophical system behind these
works has not been fully rediscovered. Even though students learn the strategies of building
gardens, they do not usually understand where all those strategies come from. When it comes
to the landscaping practice in modern China, no one would relate it to traditional gardens. How-
ever, the strategies of “borrowing the view from a site’s neighboring areas” and “using plants to
hide the paths to attract visitors” are still being used, along with a number of other traditional
techniques. In order to reveal more parts of the traditional ecological philosophies that can be
used in contemporary landscape architecture, the philosophies should be studied as a system
based on their influence on a person’s mental state of being.
!
To boil things down, there are two stages of landscape architecture development in the Chinese
education system: the traditional Chinese gardens and the modern landscaping field. The for-
mer is the result of feudal society and the latter is the result of Westernization. Landscape archi-
tecture being taught in schools is growing along with practice outside of school. Its rapid expan-
sion is closely related with the need for urban development. Scholars put their theories into their
projects in order to facilitate the development of modern landscape architecture. The academic
study and theories show the missing part of contemporary landscape architecture is the spiritual
side, which can be rejuvenated by traditional ecological philosophies.
!
Traditional gardening was classified into field of “crafting” in China’s past. People who lived off
this profession were called “gardeners” or “builders” and were usually the servants of noble fam-
ilies. In the craft field, it is always the master who teaches his apprentices the techniques and
keeps them practicing, following the rule of “learning by doing.” Due to this practice, traditional
skills, such as the art of gardening were kept alive for thousands of years. During the Ming Dy-
nasty, a gardener named Ji Cheng compiled all these techniques into a textbook, the Yuan Ye,
which was the only book at the time about the art of gardening and the skills in China used to
66
maintain traditional gardens. In the book, he summarizes the making of rockeries, water fea-
tures, plant arrangements, pavement, as well as other accessories and architectures used in
gardens. His suggestion to create something “built by people, with the feeling of something cre-
ated by nature” is still the canon feature for landscaping in China today.
!
Between 1949 and 1951, the architecture and horticulture programs were merged into the first
gardening program. From the 1920s until the 1940s, south China was the center of applied sci-
ences and technologies when it came to gardening. Even after 1949, gardening became a pro
37
-
fession merely intended to add greenery to the exterior of buildings. From 1951 to the
mid-1980s, horticulture had become a dominant aspect of the gardening program. Due to the
closed policies that existed before the late 1970s, the gardening program was far different from
modern landscape architecture and more focused on traditional Chinese gardening traditions. It
was not until the period of 1984 to 1987 that the gardening program was renamed as landscape
gardening and developed in two separate directions: ornamental horticulture and landscape de-
sign/planning. In the late 1990s, a redefinition of landscape architecture occurred with the ar-
gument between contemporary and traditional approaches at its center. Finally, in 1997, land-
scape gardening was officially eliminated by the Ministry of Education, which marked the end of
the evolution of conventional landscape education.
!
“A dramatic change lies in the understanding of landscape based on the definition of geography:
landscape as the holistic totality of land, and elements on the land. Accordingly, landscape ar-
chitecture is defined as the planning, design and management of the holistic system of land and
arrangement of elements on the land. Architectures and cities are considered as ‘elements’ on
the land, and part of the landscape systems.”
38
67
The first education program was established and offered by Suzhou Industrial School.
37
Kongjian Yu and Dihua Li, “Landscape Architecture as an Art of Survival”, Teaching Land
38
-
scape with Architecture: 197.
!
In the China of today, there are three departments in universities that provide education con-
cerning landscape architecture: architecture schools, geography schools, and agriculture
schools. Each of these schools provides one of two different degrees in engineering after grad-
uation: the Bachelor of Engineering or the Bachelor of Agronomy.
!
Ⅱ. Development of China’s Landscape in Academic Field
Two modern landscape designers have created theories that could act as solutions for the ques-
tions that have arisen in the academic field of landscape architecture, one of these men is Liu
Binyi from south China and the other is Yu Kongjian from north China. Both scholars have tout-
ed the importance of local culture when designing landscapes. While one favors the tourism
side of culture and the other favors the ecological side, they both have stressed the relationship
between humans and nature in their design. As part of their study, the harmonious coexistence
of both these sides was strongly taken into account during the planning phase. They are always
pursuing the goal of “humanity as an integral part of nature” from the traditional ecological
philosophies.
!
Ⅱ-ⅰ. Liu Binyi and His Theory of Landscape from the Tourism Side
Liu Binyi participates in the field of urban planning on a large scale. Liu stands behind the view
of designing for tourism, which overlaps with urban planning, but pays more attention to the
quality of natural environments found within urban area. Since tourism represents the interaction
between people and the environment they are in, Liu is always seeks to change nature in an
ecological manner. Ignoring the utopian idea of preserving nature as it is within an urban area,
Liu starts designing based on the existing condition of the land. He builds gardens based on
techniques from the traditional ecological philosophies, such as the laying out of the routes and
body of water in a specific way. Liu also prefers to use local materials, instead of those that
have been commercially manufactured and seem overly modern. This is the reason for the high
68
popularity of his designs, which are being rapidly accepted by the locals. Liu does not believe
the fast-paced development of human society and the expansion of urban cities are in direct
opposition of nature, but that the two can achieve a balanced state. Since tourism is a field in
which landscape acts as a medium between people and nature, this interpretation makes per-
fect sense. Thus, studying the ways in which both sides coexist is far more practical than study-
ing the ways in which they differ. Traditional ecological philosophies help people find this bal-
ance point between themselves and the environment around them.
!
Liu Binyi is a professor at Tongji University, where landscape architecture is closely connected
with planning. Liu established several theories, such as the “trilism of tourism planning” and
many others, focusing on the tourism side of landscape architecture. In this theory, landscaping
is understood as a means of creating differences in space and time to fuel the curiosity of mod-
ern people in terms of culture and history, and to satisfy them both physically and psychological-
ly as tourists.
!
According to this theory, landscape architecture with an eye for tourism planning should meet
three important requirements. First, all aspects of tourist activities and the cultural, historic, and
artistic sides related to them, including folk customs, must be combined with the spiritual mean-
ing hidden behind all those activities and developed as to attract tourists. Liu describes this as
the necessity for business planning based on human behavior. Second, the aspects of time and
space in landscaping, which originate from the planning of spatial layouts must include the
arrangement and design of the master plan, detail plan, scenic districts, and spots in time and
space. Liu describes this as the need for detailed spatial layouts. Finally, landscaping should
start with investigation, analysis, evaluation, and planning, in order to protect both natural and
manmade resources. Liu describes this as the need for planning landscapes based on the exist-
ing ecological environment.
!
69
On top of these requirements, there are also three elements of content planning in modern
tourism design. First, psychological planning based on group behavior and actions is at the core
of tourism. Second, creating beautiful environments is at the core of landscaping. Third, the eco-
logical protection of the environment in which tourism occurs is at the core of ecology.
!
In short, tourism, landscape, and ecology are the major three elements of modern tourism plan-
ning in Liu’s theory of the “trilism of tourism planning.” He also strengthens the close relation
39
-
ship between landscaping and tourism, which he believes is unbreakable. Tourism planning in
China is currently the best means of utilizing landscape architecture because it considers how to
magnify the influence of the environment and attract people to it. In order to attract more visi-
tors, the project needs to be localized enough to fit into the lifestyle of the local people. This is
an echo of theories seen in other aspects of ecological landscape, decreasing the ecological
cost of a landscape by taking advantages of local resources from nature.
!
Ⅱ-ⅱ. Yu Kongjian and His Theory of Landscape from the Ecological Side
Yu Kongjian is a professor at the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture in Peking
University. Yu focused on the ecological landscape, minimizing the affect of interruption on na-
ture as the result of human activities. Yu created the theory of the “negative” approach to con-
front the rapid, but lopsided development of landscape in the academic world. The “negative”
approach is explained by the following, “By negative, it is meant that landscape architects and
planners should lead the way in urban development by identifying and designing a landscape
infrastructure that is critical in safeguarding the ecological processes, and the cultural heritages
that give us our cultural identity and feed the spiritual needs, before the development plan
70
Binyi Liu, “Trilism of Landscape and Tourism Planning and Design”, Planners 6 (2001): 64 -
39
66.
evolves.” For landscaping in China, Yu proposes to preserve nature before planning the city.
40
As the primary voice in addressing issues of ecological degradation in China today, he persis-
tently encourages the preservation of nature, similar to the idea in Taoism of managing by undo-
ing. In his eyes, the interruption of human behavior should be as low as possible, but the eco-
logical reward from such a compromise is well worth it.
!
To combat negative development practices, Yu established theories of “security patterns” and
“ecological infrastructures.”
!
“EI is defined as the structural landscape network composed of critical landscape elements and
spatial patterns. It also has strategic significance in safeguarding the integrity and identity of the
natural and cultural landscapes, which in turn secure sustainable ecosystem services.”
41
!
Yu points out that EI will ensure eco-services in at least four aspects of life, while using a mini-
mum amount of space:
1) Provide higher food production and clean water;
2) Regulate climate, disease, flood, and drought;
3) Support nutrient cycles and habitats for native plant and animal species;
4) Sponsor culture, especially the spiritual and recreational benefits of such.
!
Using such tools, Yu constructs a framework for landscape designing in which nature can be
preserved as much as possible. In addition, to better evaluate the land accurately, GIS tech-
niques were introduced and strengthened repeatedly in early investigations of the site. Since the
71
Kongjian Yu, “The Art of Survival: Positioning Landscape Architecture in the New Era” (paper
40
presented at the ASLA Annual Meeting and 43rd IFLA World Congress, Minneapolis, USA, Oc-
tober 7, 2006).
Kongjian Yu, The Big-Foot Revolution, Edited. Mohsen Mostafavi, Gareth Doherty (Zurich:
41
Lars Muller, 2011 ), 282 - 291.
field of landscape architecture is still growing both in the academic and practical spheres, this
rocketing profession has attracted public attention from all walks of society. As a result of ex-
perts and non-professionals alike continuing to argue about the direction landscape architec-
ture’s future, the field began be pushed too hard. Yu stood up at this moment in order to help
landscape designers in China to review what they are doing and where they are going with their
work.
!
Meeting with great resistance, Yu always speaks in favor of a better future for the profession of
landscape architecture in China. Even though many scholars did not agree with what he was
doing, he still tried his best to increase innovation in contemporary landscape. Regardless of the
many differing opinions on Yu’s work, no one can disagree with his attestation that “I do it be-
cause of my deep feeling for the land in my country.”
!
During Yu’s ongoing trial to bring the concept of modern ecological landscaping from the West
to China, he has placed the city on the opposite side of the spectrum as nature. One of his most
debatable suggestions is to grow rice in urban areas. Even with the positive intention of bringing
people closer to nature, this has caused many to question his validity. Besides, Yu’s view of
keeping the nature perfectly intact is still doubted by many. Most professionals prefer a means
of development that favors the synchronization of human society and nature. Ian McHarg
demonstrated this in his book Design with Nature. With a romantic view, he uses “tenant” to de-
scribe the role of human beings in their interactions with the earth. Even though people have
made many changes, they should not be allowed to destroy all the natural living spaces on the
planet, for it is not their to own. Thus, for the benefit of both sides, landscape designers have to
design with nature in mind, making changes with nature as their guide. This idea is also reflect-
ed in traditional ecological philosophies, which teach people to respect nature and be fearful of
it, so that they can learn from it. Even while people are continuously changing nature to adapt
72
their environmental needs, they are still trying to become with it. Thus, better communication
with nature will help us to design with the environment in mind.
!
Yu has successfully attracted public attention to the field of ecological landscape architecture in
China. He insists on abandoning traditional gardens and instead modernizing landscape archi-
tecture in China. However, designers cannot express local culture without its context. Most op-
pose traditional gardens because of their high culture origins – in the past, only a select few
could understand them. Because of this, some claim that traditional garden elements cannot be
used in contemporary gardens and should be left in the past. However, this is just another cliché
in landscape architecture. Traditional gardens were meant for the educated, at the time a very
small facet of society. Today, as education has reached the common person, these concepts
can be understood by all. The meanings behind gardens are no longer a secret known only by a
select few. In such conditions, traditional gardens are not just landscape architecture but a
statement of culture. The philosophies stated by these gardens have influenced the country in
many ways and have become an integral part of people’s lives. As traditional gardens are so
important to modern Chinese culture, forgetting them is unwise and displays an incomplete un-
derstanding of their ecological philosophies. It also prevents further development of landscape
architecture at the emotional level, which is the traditional core, and closed the door of possibili-
ties for integration of Western and Eastern ideologies.
!
From the tourist’s point of view, landscape architecture is still more traditional than modern. In
order to attract visitors, gardens must meet the expectations of the general public. Since tradi-
tional ecological philosophies are an accurate map of Chinese culture, they are a guidebook for
modern-day landscaping. The introverted personality and hermit complex of the Chinese life-
style have attracted tourists’ focus, bringing these characteristics into landscape design. Even
though Yu has promoted the abandonment of traditional gardens, he still uses their philosophies
and has strengthened the significance of local culture. However, he focuses more on the func-
73
tion of the landscape. In Yu’s theory, a landscape designer should maintain a healthy amount of
nature in one’s design so audiences are able to communicate with nature. By keeping traditional
gardens separated from contemporary ecological landscape architecture, the cultural value,
which is what attracts locals to landscapes, provided by traditional ecological philosophies is not
revealed. When we are pursuing the ecological functions of the landscape, we need to take
people’s experiences into consideration. A landscape that does its job at the ecological level but
does not attract local people can hardly be considered win-win. The mental influence in tradi-
tional ecological philosophies has already been a habit in the country. Encouraging the combi-
nation of the West and the East does not mean that one side becomes more powerful than the
other, it means combining the best of both worlds. Simply replacing tradition with the contempo-
rary would hardly be accepted by the general public.
!
Ⅲ. The Situation of Landscape in China Today
Landscape architecture is an emerging career in China with more people focusing on a higher
quality of life. At the same time, common families began to travel, influencing their concepts of
garden aesthetics. Through the ups and downs of landscape architecture, professionals still
seek a better future. The argument focuses on the topics of “traditional gardens” and “Western
landscape”.
!
Ⅲ-ⅰ. Attitude toward Traditional Gardens
The attitude towards traditional gardens is leading to the re-definition of the modern landscape.
Some scholars think traditional gardens have repressed modern landscape architecture’s de-
velopment in China, as it has limited the designer’s ability to innovate and formed a stereotype.
The enclosed space also results in a more limited audience, as only a small number of people
can access a garden at any given time. Thus, gardening is not involved in landscape architec-
ture. However, some other scholars do not agree with the idea of abandoning traditional gar-
dens and their cultural value. They advocate that traditional gardens are the origin of contempo-
74
rary Chinese landscapes. Designers need to understand how traditional gardens work in order
to design a landscape that fulfills today’s needs.
!
There are two reasons for the different attitudes regarding traditional gardens: cultural and spiri-
tual.
!
With the trend of Westernization in Asia, landscape architecture in China was altered to inte-
grate designs from Western countries with more experience in the field. The Western use of
grand plazas and lawns as symbolism impressed Chinese designers, and were thus widely in-
troduced into China’s urban landscape. However, without cultural background, these elements
do not fit the country. While Europe’s climate facilitates lawns and grand plazas, the Chinese
climate does not; these open spaces may cause burns and rashes from the strength of the sun.
This climate type has instead lent itself to a preference toward trees. Philosophically, the Chi-
nese believe there is never enough privacy. Though the Chinese society loves competition,
Confucianism has created an introverted personality, and the Chinese prefer a small, semi-pri-
vate space.
!
The ignorance of cultural context has not only resulted in minimal grand plazas and lawns, but
also a tendency towards an ornamental landscape. Government institutions have the habit of
creating eye-catching ornamentation for celebrating official holidays. Most institutions choose to
simply display plants in boxes.
!
Such ornamental landscapes have been criticized, forcing designers to re-think the blind West-
ernization in landscape architecture. The desire for landscapes designed for locals became
stronger. Designers began to study traditional gardens to include in contemporary landscapes.
Yu has criticized the ornamental landscape which introduced elements of foreign landscapes
without considering its cultural context. In his opinion, it is caused by the loss of cultural position,
75
which means a loss of cultural identity. He pointed out that the local culture should always be
the first ecological element in a landscape design, as culture is the best way to coexist with
42
nature. Yu took the Century Avenue in Shanghai as example. The expense of Century Avenue is
high in finance as well as in ecology. It takes a space that could offer ecological value and uses
it to hold a display without actual function. He suggests the possibilities of the land: a boulevard
wider than 328 feet could have ecological value, especially if it held trees and shrubs. If this
were the case, the quality of the city’s air and underground water would be largely improved.
!
Ⅲ-ⅱ. Ornament Landscape Architecture in China
Yu criticizes that unawareness of cultural identity is one reason for blind Westernization in Chi-
nese landscape architecture. He has raised the theory of “heaven-people-god” to explain the
importance of cultural identity. “Heaven” means nature, “people” means the society, and “god”
43
means human belief. He continued to explain that the harmonious relationship between three
parts is the key to quality landscape design; this is known as the traditional philosophy of “hu-
man beings are an integral part of nature”. In contemporary landscape design, the spiritual side
of landscape architecture is still a field that has drawn a lot of attention.
!
After the blind Westernization, the concept of an ecological landscape has been introduced into
China’s landscape field. In trying to solve environmental problems with ecology, the spiritual as-
pect of landscaping has been forgotten. However, the need for landscapes with Chinese charac-
teristics becomes more important as globalization increases. Since then, landscapes with tradi-
tional elements became popular, such as pavilions and bridges. While these elements make
parks familiar to locals, scholars fear it will be another decorative trend. To avoid this, traditional
76
Yu, Kongjian. “ ‘Urban Landscape’: Concept, Myth and Cases.” Paper presented at the meet
42
-
ing for Shijiazhuang’s Planning Department’s Academic Symposium, Shijiazhuang, Hei-
longjiang, China, April 7th, 2000.
Yu, Kongjian. “Reconstruction of Home’s Spiritual Space.” New Architecture 04 (2008): 28-30
43
ecological philosophies should be introduced into a landscape in a way that improves the scene
as a whole.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
77
Figure 21. An empty grand plaza in China. Source: Landscape in China. The blindly following of the west-
ern landscape without understanding the cultural context makes the exotic landscape architecture be-
come an ornamentation. The local people do not know how to use the grand space. The grand opening
can hardly be accepted by the Chinese people. It results in the low rate of utilization. It does not have
physical ecological functions, nor follow the traditional ecological philosophies.

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
78
Figure 22. An empty grand boulevard in China. Source: Landscape in China. The grand boulevard breaks
the existing urban texture. It does not offer many opportunities of activities for the local people to partici-
pate in. And in some places, because of light road traffic, the boulevard is too wide for the district. It does
not follow the traditional ecological philosophies and cannot meet the local people’s expectations. It re-
sults in the low rate of utilization.

!
!
79
Chapter 6. The Future of Ecological Landscape Architecture in China
The spiritual side of ecology is always a debate. Scholars who prefer the scientific perspective
insist the order of the universe can be manipulated by people; those who see from the mental
perspective believe in the co-existence of humans and nature.
!
For today’s China, the two perspectives are blurred. On one hand, ecologists are relying on the
development of GIS techniques to figure out how nature works, such as which patches of plants
animals like to travel through, and offering suggestions for planners and designers to accurately
follow the laws of nature; on the other hand, ecology is conveyed more often than materialism,
through subjects such as culture and politics. The word “ecology” is used so widely without
meaning that its future is concerning.
!
When a better living environment is required, landscapes serve not only the society in general,
but a political tool. With no surprise, the ornamental landscape in China has triggered criticism
of using landscapes for display instead of for ecological benefits. Like a double-edge sword, it
calms the fanatical pursuit of blind Westernization which prevents more ecological waste in or-
namental and temporary landscape. However, it also leads to another argument regarding
which ecological landscape fits contemporary China best.
!
Once introduced, GIS became an important tool used in the ecological landscape field. It shows
how landscapes can be practical. It is also widely used at the planning level to predict the eco-
logical conditions of different districts. However, the technology has been relied on too heavily.
Designers believe in the GIS’s prediction so strongly that they leave little space for flexibility.
Such designing is vulnerable to any natural disasters or unexpected situations in city expansion
and development. To meet the policies of “sustainability” and “low-carbon consumption”, the def-
inition of ecology becomes rigid. “Ecology” in landscape specifically points to those with obvious
functions of healing, like absorbing greenhouse gasses. To other designers, “ecology” is just a
80
reminder to plant more trees. Even with an incomplete understanding of ecology, “materialism"
is winning as a result. Since “practice of ecological landscape architecture” believes that nature
can be altered and designed by man, ecology is expected to be a solution for the blighted envi-
ronment.
!
In his theory of “the negative approach”, Yu proposes preserving nature and changing the en
44
-
vironment that has already been developed and transforming it into human space. To support
this idea, he regards preserving the land as preserving the culture because culture coexists with
land. He also calls for total abandonment of traditional gardens for their lack of function and re-
straint on today’s ecological landscape development. However, the use of computer technology
is still dubious because nature is full of chaos. As Donald Worster wrote in his book Nature’s
Economy: A History of Ecological Ideas:
!
“That is precisely what the modern idea of conservation must aim to do: provide the
space, either set aside in large discrete blocks or protected within histories can coexist -
the history of a coral reef alongside the history of a coastal city, the history of a tropical
rain forest alongside the history of a political struggle. Such a strategy of trying to con-
serve a diversity of changes may seem paradoxical, but it is founded on a crucial and
reasonable insight. We may have to live with change, may even be the products of
change, but we do not always know - indeed, we cannot always know - which changes
are vital and which are deadly.”
!
We need to leave space for changes in ecological planning and designing. The past is more re-
liable than a prediction calculated by a computer based on the data collected from history.
Worster also claimed his opinion on ecological credibility between history and prediction:
81
Yu, Kongjian. “The Way of Landscape in Urban Area.” Lectures for Premier Leading Cadre in
44
Government. 7 (2005): 271 - 313.
!
“Whether we choose to learn from the past or not, the past is our most reliable instructor
in reality… Only by understanding that constantly changing past, a past in which hu-
mankind and nature were always one integrated whole, can we discover with the aid of
imperfect human reason, all that we value and all that we defend.”
!
Traditional gardens that grew from the land and evolved with history are a summary for Chinese
culture. Without the gaps in its timeline, traditional gardening should have evolved into the mod-
ern landscape and left less confusion for today’s Chinese landscape designer. It is the sudden
break in evolution that leads to the embarrassing argument of its right to survive. After a trend in
Westernization in design, many designers learned lessons from the failure of grand plazas and
lawns. After failing to localize Western elements and have local residence accept them, they
began to study traditional gardens once more.
!
If we redefine the origin of landscape in China as nature, it is unfair for scholars to claim that
traditional gardens were only related to high culture. I would rather claim that traditional gardens
are a form of nature that has evolved from the beginning of Chinese culture. Like evolution in
species, traditional gardens have changed form over time in order to better serve the society.
Private gardens in China were built by the well-educated. It was because of the country’s limited
access to education in the past that traditional gardens were considered high culture.. When
education is popularized, the distinction between high culture and low culture is eradicated - af-
ter all, they are just culture. For those raised in the local culture, the encoded meanings with
subtle suggestions are easily understood while tourists only see ornamentation. The ecological
philosophy that exists in traditional gardens is so familiar to the people of China that they search
for familiarity in the modern landscape. Once the landscape fails their expectations, it loses its
basic function and remains but an empty space for display.
!
82
A landscape needs to have cultural context in order for people to understand it. That is why so
many landscape designers returned to traditional styles. Landscape designers are attempting to
bring a sense of familiarity to modern landscapes in order to be accepted by the local people. In
this combinatory process, traditional gardens began evolving once more. Though there are
those avant-garde members of the field insisting on throwing out all semblance of traditional
gardens, they are still under the influence of traditional ecological ideas regarding garden de-
sign.
!
Land is the emotional container for the people who live there. Traditional gardens are like a
complex of Chinese culture: all elements are endowed with philosophical meanings from litera-
ture, calligraphy, art, or folk stories. Such philosophical meanings behind the landscape are sim-
ilar to the deep ecology of the Western world - promoting quality of life by achieving harmony
with nature. By spiritual influence, traditional Chinese ecology attempts to improve one’s life via
one’s mind.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
83
Chapter 7. Case Study of Ju’er Hutong
The Ju’er Hutong Project is part of a big preservation project regarding traditional neighbor-
hoods and courtyard houses in Beijing. It is testing the practice of preserving culture as well as
architecture in contrast to the popular proposal, which at the time was complete demolition of
the old community and replacement by high-rise towers and slab apartment buildings of the
time. It achieved success at the end of its first phase, and it has since been expanded to the
preservation of more areas. The Ju’er Hutong Project has fully demonstrated the ability of tradi-
tional space to meet expectations of modern society as well as maintaining the value of a
unique traditional culture. As a project of architecture and planning, it has transformed the tradi-
tional community and maintained its culture. It encourages landscape designers to keep tradi-
tional ecological philosophies alive for the contemporary landscape with Chinese characteris-
tics.
!
Since 1950, development of old cities means complete rebuilding. Administrators and profes-
sionals insist on the complete rebuilding of traditional neighborhoods and courtyard houses.
This is to offer housing for multiple families that have risen from population explosion and poor
sanitary conditions. Such rebuilding removes all those traditional spaces for real estate devel-
opment of modern apartments. The chief designer and project manager, Liangyong Wu, who is
also a professor from Tsinghua University’s school of architecture, did not agree with either
eradicating the traditional communities or preserving the building exteriors. He created a new
concept of “organic renewal” for rehabilitating the old city of Beijing and proposed a new court-
yard house design to begin the first phase of the project. His major concern was the preserva-
tion of such a traditional community; this became a real project a decade later. The case of Xin-
tiandi is renowned for its heritage conservation, and was successfully redesigned into a com-
mercial space. Though some scholars have expressed their doubt in such preservation, it is a
business success and the architecture itself is no longer dangerous for people to use. Unfortu-
84
nately, the project has not been popularized as a paradigm for other areas of Lilong communi-
ty’s conservation under the pressure of deep doubt from the public as well as professionals.
!
The “organic renewal” created by Liangyong Wu “recognizes that certain aspects of the Old
City’s urban structure have lasting value, and it seeks to preserve them by adapting them to
modern life. This approach seeks to establish a new organic order based on adaptation rather
than on complete replacement.” In his research into the preservation of traditional urban tex
45
-
ture, he believes that simple large-scale demolition and redevelopment is not the best solution
for today’s high pressure on land and population. It is unreasonable to keep a mere gutted shell
while redesigning the functioning interior of a building. Thus, he is leading an evolution in tradi-
tional communities to help them meet the requirement for contemporary living. He separated the
site into different areas based on the building’s health and stability. According to the cost of re-
construction and redesign, those of lowest quality were demolished and the rest were re-
designed into courtyards that met the expectations of modern living. After researching traditional
courtyard houses, he proposed a new prototype for the traditional community to make his sug-
gestion practical, and it worked well.
!
The incredibly low expense in the first phase not only persuaded the feasibility of the “organic
renewal” in traditional community preservation, but it also drew international attention to the po-
tential of the project for its popularization in large–scale projects. The government of Beijing
took Ju’er Hutong as a paradigm for the Old City’s rehabilitation. As a preservation case, it has
saved the local lifestyle and culture and shown hope for the field of architecture. With funds from
the local government, international institutions, and personal sponsors, the Old City of Beijing
has been preserved with more success than expected. Liangyong Wu pushed a traditional
community type that evolved with time and became suitable and acceptable for the modern
85
Wu, Liangyong. Rehabilitating the Old City of Beijing: A Project in the Ju’er Hutong Neigh
45
-
bourhood. Vancouver: UBC, 1999.
population. At the end of the Ju’er Hutong project, even though the rate of returning residents
was a disappointing 30%, migration rates continue to improve to this day.
!
The Ju’er Hutong project demonstrates how a traditional community evolves from a dangerous
living space with poor sanitary conditions to a modern community with a traditional lifestyle. It
has preserved the nostalgic, old Beijing lifestyle that people want but cannot afford in urban
cities. It also expresses the attitude of resilience held by landscape designers towards the tradi-
tional space.
!
As a branch in the school of architecture, Ju’er Hutong is a lesson for today’s landscape devel-
opment in China. Elements from traditional Chinese gardens are widely used in today’s land-
scapes, whether Westernized or not. The traditional ecological philosophy has unconsciously
influenced everyone’s lives. However, we should leave some space for changes in its develop-
ing. The eradication of traditional gardens is unrealistic from both the emotional and cultural
points of view. As with traditional communities like Ju’er Hutong, in which houses are old with
incomplete infrastructures, traditional gardens need to evolve to fit contemporary society’s
needs.
!
This is an answer regarding whether or not we should abandon traditional gardens. The suc-
cess of Ju’er Hutong shows the desire of a city’s residents for a traditional lifestyle. Just as peo-
ple prefer local residential architecture, they also prefer a landscape with which they are familiar.
However, it is not practical to copy the traditional garden within the city. Thus, designers are us-
ing traditional strategies to make Western landscapes more acceptable, such as the shapes of
paths and places to rest, and absent-mindedly introducing traditional ecological philosophies.
This results in the deep doubt of the value of traditional gardens and confusion in designing the
Chinese landscape, which has slowed the field’s development. Traditional ecological philoso-
phies should be introduced to the field as a system used to support the contemporary landscape
86
design. It has shown that Chinese landscapes do not need to copy the form of the garden but
should bring philosophies into today’s landscape. It is important to realize the existence of tradi-
tional ecological philosophies used in modern landscapes. It has solved the lingering question of
how to design landscapes with Chinese characteristics and maintain modern popularity. The
project of Ju’er Hutong has suggested that there is a possibility for the coexistence of traditional
and contemporary landscape architecture. The two can be perfectly combined to offer new op-
portunities.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
87

!
!
!
!
88
Figure 23. Ju’er Hutong before re-designing. Source: Beijing Municipal Archives. Before re-designing,
the community is too old to meet the contemporary living standards. However, it is a valuable traditional
community which needs to be protected. The conflict between removing and preserving was a problem
until the project found the way of conservation.
!
!
!
!
!
!
89
Figure 24. Ju’er Hutong after re-designing. Source: Beijing Municipal Archives. The project successfully
transforms the problematic traditional community into a contemporary community meeting living stan-
dard with well preservation of its tradition. The form of the community is partly changed, however, the
tradition has been passed down.
Chapter 8. Conclusions and Projections for the Future
For landscape designers in China, the definition of “traditional” needs to be updated. There is no
doubt that “traditional” means “old and out-of-fashion”. However, it also means a style we inherit
from our ancestors. It is a habitual lifestyle that is adhered to the land we have lived on for thou-
sands of years. What is more, it is already rooted in our lives and has become part of our cul-
ture, which in turn influences everything we do and the way we think. It is evolving and changing
all the time, either independently or by human forces. Even though we may have left its physical
medium, our mind has a place for it. And this is how traditional ecological philosophies work in
the modern world.
!
As more people agree that function has priority over ornamentation in landscape design, its val-
ue in improving urban residents’ quality of life and offering them opportunities to interact with
nature is more treasured. However, the introduction of function does not mean that we should
ignore the spiritual benefits we have inherited from traditional ecological philosophies. As the
historical record shows, gardens began with specific functions as a source for vegetables or en-
tertainment space, continued to become ornamentation for visual enjoyment as well as a sym-
bol of social status, and finally developed into the modern landscape functioning to solve envi-
ronmental problems. But this is not the end for landscapes. After satisfying the people’s physical
needs by providing fresh air and greens, the spiritual needs will be urgent. Traditional ecological
philosophies provide an emotional connection between human and land for the modern land-
scape. What is more, Such design can facilitate the absorption of exotic landscape by local
landscape. The time for the localization of exotic landscapes has been shortened under the as-
sistance of traditional ecological philosophies. Traditional ecological philosophies help people
find cultural familiarity within a strange landscape.
!
Even though the form of traditional gardens no longer fits modern society’s needs, its soul-tradi-
tional ecological philosophies still influence the contemporary landscape design of China. The
90
strategies for layout, construction, and plants come from the landscape favored by locals and
achieve the precise goal of encouraging people to interact with nature, as well as offering a
healthier lifestyle. In turn, designers begin to rethink the value of traditional gardens and push
them to evolve in ways that fit today’s society.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
91
References
Ataru, Aotomura. The Taihu Rocks in Chinese Gardens before the 17th Century. The Japanese
Institute of landscape Architecture. Vol. 95. No. 1. (1995): 24-36.
!
Ban, Gu. Book of Han. Shanghai: Zhonghua Book Company. 1962. Print.
!
Cao, Xueqing. The Story of The Stone. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House, 1981.
Print.
!
Chen, Chenjie. “The System of Confucianism’s Ideology in Pre-Qin Dynasty.” Research in Con-
fucius. 02 (2010): 41. Print.
!
Chen, Congzhou. Dictionary for Traditional Chinese Gardens’ Appreciation. Shanghai: East Chi-
na Normal University. 2001. Print.
!
Chen, Yulin. “Shan-Shui-City: A Chinese Spatial Planning Tradition and Its Implications on Ur-
ban Sustainability.” Presented on 46th ISOCARP Congress in 2010.
!
Confucius. The Chinese Classics: Confucian Analects, trans. James Legge. Oxford: Oxford Uni-
versity Press, 1970. Print.
!
Confucius. Sacred Books of the East: Li Ki. trans. James Legge. Oxford: Oxford University
Press. 1885. Print.
!
Donald, Worster. Nature’s Economy: A History of Ecological Ideas. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press. 1994. Print.
!
92
E., Ya. Tetushkin. “Landscape and Ecological Genomics.” Genetika. Vol. 49. No. 10. (2013):
1133-1148.
!
Elizabeth, Barlow, Rogers. Landscape Designing: A Cultural And Architectural History. New
York: Abrams. 2001. Print.
!
Eric, W.Sanderson. Manahatta: A Natural History of New York City. New York: Harry N. Abrams.
2013. Print.
!
Eugene, P. Odum. “The Strategy of Ecosystem Development.” Science, New Series, Vol. 164,
No. 3877. (Apr. 18, 1969): 262-270. Print.
!
Fu, Xinian. Ten Chapters about Traditional Chinese Architectures. Shanghai: Fudan University
Press. 2004. Print.
!
Hu, Changlong. Garden Planning and Designing. Beijing: China Agriculture Press. 2002. Print.
!
Hu, Zhaoliang. A Survey of Cultural Geography in China. Beijing: Peking University Press, 2001.
Print.
!
Huang, Haijin. The Universal Viewpoint of Chinese Classical Garden. Journal of Chongqing
Jianzhu University. Vol. 24. No. 6. (2002): 1-4. Print.
!
Ian, L.McHarg. Design with Nature. New York: Wiley Publishing. 1995. Print.
!
Ji, Cheng. Yuan Ye. trans. Jiaji Zhang. Taiyuan: Shanxi Chinese Classics Publishing. 2002.
Print.
93
!
John, A. Wiens. and Nils Chr. Stenseth, Beatrice Van Horne, Rolf Anker Ims. “Ecological Mech-
anisms and Landscape Ecology.” Oikos. Vol. 66. Fasc. 3. (1993): 369-380.
!
Kong, Xiangwei. “A Discussion on Modernity of Landscape Design Today in China.” Landscape
Design. No. 2. (2006).
!
Lao, Tzu. Sacred Books of the East: Tao Te Ching. trans. James Legge. Oxford: Oxford univer-
sity Press. 1891. Print.
!
Lei, Lixi. “Aesthetics of Traditional Paintings with Modern Landscape Architecture Designing.”
Journal of Zhengzhou University. Vol. 3. (2009): 103-105.
!
Li, Guoxiang. “Comparison Between Confucianism and Taoism’s Ideology in ‘Being human’.”
Journal of Shanghai Finanace University. 63 (2004): 51. Print.
!
Li, Jingsong. The Understanding of Gardens and Architectures. Tianjin: Baihuawenyi Press.
2005. Print.
!
Li, Jingsong. The Possibilities of Traditional Culture and Modern Architecture. Tianjin: Bai-
huawenyi Press. 2005. Print.
!
Li, Junxiang. and Wang Yujie, Shen Xiaohong, Song Yongchang. “Landscape Pattern Analysis
along an Urban-rural Gradient in the Shanghai Metropolitan Region.” ACTA Ecologica Sinica.
Vol. 24. No. 9. (2004): 1973-1980. Print.
!
94
Li, Weihua. One Sea and Three Mountains: The Characteristics of Topography Designing in
Traditional Chinese Gardens. Guangdongyuanlin. Vol. 1. (2003): 15-19. Print.
!
Lin, Yutang. The wisdom of Laotse. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research. 2009.
Print.
!
Liu, Binyi. “The Great Transition and its Countermeasure of the Discipline and Proession of Chi-
nese Landscape Architecture.” Journal of China Landscape. Vol. 1. (2007): 7-11.
!
Liu, Binyi. “Trilism of Landscape and Tourism Planning and Design.” Planners 6 (2001): 64-66.
Print.
!
Liu, Dunzhen. Traditional Gardens in Suzhou. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press.
1979. Print.
!
Liu, Peilin. Fengshui: Concept of the Environment. Shanghai: Joint Publishing. 1995. Print.
!
Michel, Conan. Environmentalism in Landscape Architecture: History of Landsccape Architec-
ture Colloquium. Washington: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. 2001. Print.
!
Pan, Guxi and He Jianzhong. Guide to Ying Zao Fa Shi. Nanjing: Southeast University Press.
2005. Print.
!
Peng, Yigang. Analysis of Traditional Chinese Gardens. Beijing: China Architecture & Building
Press, 1986. Print.
!
95
Qiu, Zuzhou. “The Study between Chinese Landscape Painting and Traditional Chinese Gar-
dens.” Master diss., Central South university Forestry and Technology, 2006. Print.
!
Richard, T.T.Forman. Land Mosaics: The Ecology of Landscape and Regions. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. 1995. Print.
!
Song, Wen. Traditional Chinese Architecture Pictures. Beijing: East Press. 2010. Print.
Tang, Xiaoxiang. Aesthetical Exploration of the Environment of Traditional Chinese Architecture.
Guizhou University Newspaper. Vol. 18. No. 1. (2004): 35-37. Print.
!
Tseng-tze. The Chinese ClassicsL The Great Learning. trans. James Legge. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1970. Print.
!
Wan, Jiang and Zhang Xianjin. “The Anesthesia Image of Chinese Ancient Garden.” Architec-
tural History. Vol. 19. (2001): 3-5. Print.
!
Wu, Liangyong. Rehabilitating the Old City of Beijing: A Project in the Ju’er Hutong Neighbor-
hood. Vancouver: UBC Press. 1999. Print.
!
Wang, Bi. Tao Te Ching with Annotate. Shanghai: Zhonghua Book Company. 2008. Print.
!
Wang, Juyuan. The History of Traditional Gardens in China. Beijing: China Architecture & Build-
ing Press. 2006. Print.
!
Wang, Qijun. The History of Traditional Chinese Architectures. Beijing: China Architecture &
Building Press. 2005. Print.
!
96
Xu, Dejia. Plants Designing in Traditional Gardens in China. Beijing: China Environment and
Science Press. 1997. Print.
!
Xiao, Duning. “The Formation and Developmation of Modern Landscape Science.” Scientia Ge-
ographica Sinica. Vol. 19. No. 4. (1999): 379-384.
!
Yang, Bingde. The Combination History of Sino-west Architectural Culture in Modern Times of
China. Hubei: Hubei Education Press. 2003. Print.
!
Yang, Hongru. Guide to Yi Ching. Beijing: Sino-culture Press. 2001. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. “The Art of Farmland”. Mingdaowenyi. Vol. 406. (2010): 5-11. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian, Wang, Sisi, Li, Dihua, and Qiao Qing. “Ecological Baseline for Beijing’s Urban
Sprawl: Basic Ecosystem Services and Their Security Patterns.” City Planning Review, Vol. 2.
(2010): 19-24. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. “Back to Earth.” Paper edited from interview by China Pictorial, Vol. 781. (2013):
14-21. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. “Bringing Landscape Architecture Back to ‘Art of Survival’.” China Architecutre,
Vol. 05. (2013): 1-3. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian, and Yuan Hong. “District Security Patterns: The Case of Beijing.” Urban Panning,
Vol. 3. (2012): 13-16. Print.
!
97
Yu, Kongjian. “Landscape as Ecological Infrastructure for an Alternative Urbanism.” South Archi-
tecture, Vol. 3. (2011): 10. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. “Hope of Paradise in the Aesthetics of Low-carbon.” Twenty-first Century. Vol.120.
(2010): 90-101. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. “The Big-foot Revolution.” Ecological Urbanism, Edited by Mohsen Mostafavi with
Gareth Doherty, Harvard University Graduate School of Design by Lars Muller Publishers:
282-291. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. “Treasuring the Culture and Found the Beauty of Time: Zhongshan Qijiang Park
Designing.” Urban Management and Technology, Vol. 12. (2010): 54-55. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. “The Way of Landscape Architecture in City: Ecological and Cultural Dream.” Chi-
na Environment Designing Year Book. (2009): 373-375. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian, Yuan Hong, Li Dihua, Wang Sisi, and Qiao Qing. “The Difficulties and Solution for
Qianshan District’s Land Sustainability in Beijing.” China Land Science, Vol. 23. (2009): 3-8.
Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. “The Aesthetics of the Rustic.” Learning From Duisburg Nord: 78-79. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. and Li Dihua. “Landscape Architecture as an Art of Survival.” Teaching Landscape
with Architecture: 196-199. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. “The Way to Save the City.” Zhong Guan Cun, Vol. 6. (2009): 22-25. Print.
!
98
Yu, Kongjian. “The Redefinition of City.” Landscape Architecture Year Book of 2008. Dalian:
Dalian University of Technology Press. 2008. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. “Ten Years’ Experience of Landscape Architecture.” Landscape Architecture, Vol.
2. (2008): 14-17. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. “Research and Practice of Landscape Architecture in the Era of Cultural City:
From Popularization of Ecology to Cultural Identification.” Architecture and Culture. Vol. 60.
(2009): 1-4. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. “Rebuild of Spiritual Space of Homeland.” New Architecture. Vol. 4. (2008): 28-30.
Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. The Art of Survival: Positioning Landscape Architecture in the New Era. Beijing:
China Architecture and Building Press. 2006. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. “Positioning Contemporary Landscape Architecture in China.” Topos, Vol. 56.
(2006): 91-98. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. and Li Dihua, Han Xili. “Research in ‘Negative Apporoach’.” Urban Planning, Vol.
9. (2005): 64-69. Print.
!
Yu, Kongjian. “The Designing of Land: Science and Art in Landscape Architecture.” Urban Plan-
ner, Vol. 2. (2004): 13-17. Print.
!
Yu, Zhichao. About Traditional Gardens in China. Beijing: Guangming Daily Press. 2005. Print.
Zhou, Weiquan. History of Traditional Chinese Gardens. Beijing: Tsinghua Press, 2008. Print.
99

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The traditional landscape architecture of China is an elegant expression of Chinese culture. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the need to embed China’s traditional philosophies about the natural world (what I am calling “ecological philosophies”) into contemporary landscape architecture in China to prevent the further loss of cultural meaning in the rapidly developing built environment. The proposition being explored is that landscape architecture embedded with China's ecological philosophy and practice will provide a more relevant and effective trajectory for China’s future. ❧ This paper asserts that the Chinese people should expect landscape architects to understand their cultural heritage in order to reinterpret traditional values and ecological philosophy in the new circumstances of contemporary China.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

The continuation of traditional garden design principles into contemporary landscape architecture in China

PDF

Evaluation of Shanghai, China’s contemporary residential public space design for people - based on the local Lilong community design style and on environment-behavior studies

PDF

Digital landscapes: how the use of transmedia strategies can enrich the interpretive and educative experience of cultural and natural landscapes

PDF

In search of a “genuine” Southern California park: evaluating the early cultural landscapes of Ralph Cornell for today

PDF

SoCal ski hills: a typological analysis of a cultural landscape

PDF

Experimenting with the margin: parklets and plazas as catalysts in community and government

PDF

Behing the Shikinen Sengu: re-examining the urban & ecological dimensions of the Ise Shrine

PDF

Child's play: designing play spaces that support healthy cognitive development in children

PDF

Qìn

PDF

Capturing the layers of the Arroyo Seco landscape: documenting a cultural landscape using digital storymaps

PDF

Amplifying quieter narratives: strategies for cultural landscape conservation at Santa Cruz Island

PDF

The globalization of contemporary Chinese art: biennales, large-scale exhibitions, and the transnational work of Cai Guo-Qiang

PDF

Transcendent hybridities: Lu Yang's interrogation of gender, technology, and "Chineseness" in contemporary

PDF

Reconstructing Eden: the Armenian community of Yettem, CA

PDF

Totality: theory, practice, and pedagogy in Qiu Zhijie’s “Total Art”

PDF

Orientalism and Chinoiserie: Chinese culture in the western fashion industry

PDF

Currency reform in 1930s China and the American silver policy: a case analysis of how Chinese monetary policy was influenced by American policy and contemporary East Asian circumstances

PDF

An exploratory study of the “observation format” in transnational Korean and Chinese reality television

PDF

Case study on Chinese heavy industry companies' community relations in U.S.: a comparison between corporate effort and media representation

PDF

Portsmouth at Piscataqua: landscape, society, and culture in the development of Portsmouth, New Hampshire to ca. 1740

Asset Metadata

Creator Song, Chen (author)

Core Title Integrating traditional Chinese ecological philosophies into contemporary landscape practices in China: the value of traditional Chinese ecological philosophies for contemporary landscape in China

School School of Architecture

Degree Master of Landscape Architecture

Degree Program Landscape Architecture

Publication Date 09/15/2014

Defense Date 09/12/2014

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag contemporary landscape practices,OAI-PMH Harvest,traditional Chinese ecological philosophies,traditional culture

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Hirsch, Alison (committee chair), Berney, Rachel (committee member), Perry, Robert (committee member)

Creator Email chensong@usc.edu,tiffar_s@163.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-477134

Unique identifier UC11287640

Identifier etd-SongChen-2938.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-477134 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-SongChen-2938.pdf

Dmrecord 477134

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Song, Chen

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA