A Story of Gardens V – Integration and Development of Famous Gardens in North and South China_Summer Palace_Gardens,Integration,Development,Famous,Story,North,South,China

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A Story of Gardens V – Integration and Development of Famous Gardens in North and South China

Chinese classical gardens have a history of more than 3,000 years, which can be traced back to the you (parks) of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Originating in the north and flourishing in the south, they entered a mature stage in the Ming and Qing dynasties, when their scale and artistic achievement reached a peak. Among them, the imperial gardens in the north and the private gardens south of the Yangtze River are the two most representative types. Each has its own distinctive character, yet they have always influenced one another, integrating and evolving, innovating while inheriting tradition and learning through imitation. Together they have created the natural charm that “although man-made, a garden must appear ingenious and natural” and the poetic realm in which “a painting becomes a garden, and the garden becomes a painting”. They embody the philosophical wisdom of “harmony between man and nature; the gentleman values virtue” and have long served as a spiritual homeland for the Chinese people.
Today, as precious cultural heritage, the famous gardens of north and south China still provide an inexhaustible source of inspiration, satisfying people’s longing for a better life and playing an important role in the inheritance and development of Chinese culture with their unique charm.

Introduction to the Exhibition Sections

Famous Gardens in Dialogue

Integration of Mountains and Waters

Harmony of North and South

Conclusion

Famous Gardens in Dialogue

The Ming and Qing dynasties marked the height of classical Chinese garden development. Emperors toured the south and hunted in the north. From the regions north of the Great Wall to the lands south of the Yangtze River, eminent garden designers emerged in great numbers, and gardens were built throughout major cities. Both in theory and in practice, this promoted the flourishing of gardens in both north and south. Private gardens in Jiangnan (south of the Yangtze River) and imperial gardens in the north each developed their own sophisticated design concepts and techniques. Whether rooted in the “painted landscapes of Jiangnan” or the vast “northern heaven and earth”, the finest gardens all drew deeply on traditional culture and created countless masterpieces of garden art.

Integration of Mountains and Waters

“He delights less in the wine than in the hills and streams.” To be close to mountains and rivers is to sense the vastness of heaven and earth and the continuity of life. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, emperors and literati entrusted this love of landscapes to gardens, seeking inner peace among rocks and springs. Scenes such as the Lion Grove Garden and the “Thousand Feet of Snow” at Mount Hanshan in Suzhou were prized by emperors for their superb craftsmanship and mysterious yet leisurely artistic mood. These southern garden images were recreated, often in adapted form, in northern imperial gardens, bringing the natural, simple and poetic charm of Jiangnan landscapes into the capital.

Harmony of North and South

Classical Chinese gardens are an important vehicle of traditional culture, closely linked with classical philosophy, aesthetics, literature, painting, architecture and horticulture. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, northern and southern gardens shared the common functional ideal of being places to view, to stroll in and to live in. They expressed a refined way of life and the owners’ personal aspirations: “the owner is free of vulgarity, and the garden reveals his literary taste.” Together they bear witness to a shared aesthetic, emotional world and value system, as well as to the integrated development of gardens across regions, expressing the enduring love of the Chinese people for nature, life and culture.

Conclusion

Classical Chinese gardens are living witnesses to the transmission of China’s outstanding traditional culture from generation to generation. The ingenious design concepts of renowned garden builders, the superb skills of master craftsmen, and the elegant charm with which literati expressed their feelings through mountains and waters all interweave the cultural essence and spiritual aspirations embodied in northern and southern gardens; together they form an important part of the Chinese national spirit.

These vivid gardens are filled with Chinese stories of cultural inheritance. We should not only preserve and protect this cultural heritage in its material form, allowing gardens to continue to play a role in contemporary cultural and social life, but also cherish and carry forward the cultural roots they represent on a spiritual level, so that gardens may continue to develop in diversity and prosperity through openness, inclusiveness and innovation. Classical gardens reflect not only timeless beauty, but also the continuity of culture.

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