CHINESE

GARDENS AND
LANDSCAPE

B.J.NILESH KRISHNAA
What is landscape ..??
 Landscape design is an
independent profession
and a design and art
tradition, practised by
landscape designers,
combining nature and
culture. In
contemporary practice
landscape design
bridges
between landscape
architecture and
garden design
Aim of landscape design..
 The primary aim of
landscape design
is to use plants to
beautify a property
and to enhance
the visual
appearance of a
facility.
Asian Gardens of the world ….
 Japanese gardens
 Chinese gardens
 Persian gardens
 Indian gardens
Philosophy
 “Even though everything [in the garden] is the work of
man, it must appear to have been created by heaven” -
Ji Cheng
 "Chinese classical gardens are a perfect integration of
nature and work by man” - Zhou Ganzhi ( President of the
Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture )
 The zig-zag bridge in the Humble Administrator's Garden
illustrates the proverb, "By detours, access to secrets."
History …..
 Five thousand years of
experience in garden
building is significant, and
the Shang (1600–1046
BC) and Zhou (1045–256
BC)dynasties were the
beginning of gardening as
functional and visually
appealing additions to the
emperor's abode.
 Gardens were designated as
homes for animals used for
hunting and for enclosing an
outside plot of ground for
the emperor.
 History …..
 After the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), gardens
were places for the emperor to rest and renew
energy.
 Then, a garden was called a yuan.
 The imperial garden, Lin Yuan, added buildings
and became a villa-like escape for the emperor.
 The Lin Garden was embellished with little
palaces, pavilions and rooms on little islands in a
pond, and plants were added for beautification.
 This technique of garden development is
attributed to the Qin (221–206 BC) and Han
dynasties.
History …..
 Emperor Kangxi of the Ming
Dynasty (1386–1644) and
Emperor Qianlong of
the Qing Dynasty (1644–
1911) again brought focus to
the building structures in the
garden, but specifically to
enhance appearance.
Buildings were added solely
to create pleasant or striking
scenery.
 The royal garden evolved
with time and changing
tastes over the centuries and
inspired gardens in other
areas of China.
 Chinese Gardens
 The chinese gardens are
also called as chinese
classical gardens is a
place for solitary or
social contemplation of
nature .
 It has been regarded
the most important and
leading gardening
system among the three
gardening systems in the
world.
 The Chinese consider
gardens a serious
art form and as with
painting, sculpture
and poetry aim.
Types
 Two Types – The Imperial garden & The private
garden.
 Imperial gardens are mostly found in north
China, with those in Beijing as representatives,
featuring grandness and magnificence.
 Private gardens are mostly found in south China,
especially in cities in south of the Yangtze River,
such as Suzhou, Wuxi, Nanjing and Hangzhou.
 Private gardens were designed and created as
a place of retreat for the ancient scholars to
escape the chaos of the city and have private
relaxation.
Characteristics
 The creation of classical
Chinese gardens
depended on mountains,
rivers, buildings ,plants,
animals and even the
weather.
 In these gardens usually
the ground is like that of a
mountain area.
 This kind of garden layout
imitates real terrain.
 Chinese scholar’s rocks,
are used both for
structural and sculptural
purposes.
Elements
 Artificialmountains
 Rock gardens
 Water
 Flowers ,
 Plants & trees
 Structures – walkways ,
pavillions , bridges
Elements – Rocks
 Decorative rocks,
sometimes termed
Chinese scholar’s
rocks, are used both for
structural and
sculptural purposes.
 During the Song
dynasty, they were the
most expensive objects
in the empire.
 In smaller classical
gardens, a single
scholar rock represents
a mountain, or a row of
rocks represents a
mountain range.
Water
 Water is the blood of
a traditional Chinese
garden.
 The most important
element of a garden
is water, in any form:
ponds, lakes,
streams, rivers and
water-falls.
 Gardens will have a
single lake with one
or more streams
coming into the lake,
with bridges crossing
the streams.
Garden –Plants & Trees
 Trees and flowers,
especially in private
gardens, are carefully
selected for the overall
layout of the gardens,
because of the limited
space.
 Plants and flowers
reflecting the beauty of
the four seasons are
planted.
 They represent nature in its
most vivid form.
 The pine, bamboo and
Chinese plum (Prunus
mume) were considered
the "Three Friends of
Winter" (歲寒三友).
PEONY

AZALAE LOTUS
Structures
 The most important
structures of garden
ground are walkways,
pavilions and bridges.
 Timber frame
construction plays a
decisive role here.
 Chinese gardens are
filled with architecture;
halls, pavilions, temples,
galleries, bridges, kiosks,
and towers, occupying
a large part of the
space.
 Gardens also often feature
two-story towers), usually at
the edge of the garden ,
which provided a view from
above of certain parts of the
garden or the distant scenery.
 Bridges are another common
feature of the Chinese
garden.
 Bridges are often built from
rough timber or stone-slab
raised pathways.
 Gardens also often include
small, austere houses for
solitude and meditation,
sometimes in the form of rustic
fishing huts
References
 www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/arch
itecture/history-garden.htm
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_gard
en
 http://www.allchinanet.com/chinese_gard
en/chinese_garden_philosophy.shtml
 http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguid
e/architecture/chinese-garden.htm
谢谢 – Thank you