Chinese Garden Introduction

The most impressive feature of China is that it is endowed with a diverse natural landscape. Eighty-five percent of China is markedly mountainous. The three main mountain ranges extend from the center of China to the Pacific Ocean; two other mountains divide China into a checkerboard pattern. In China, the five famous holy mountains – Hua mountain, Tai mountain, North Heng mountain, South Heng mountain and Sung mountain symbolize the center of the earth and its four corners. These mountains frequently appear in Chinese landscape art. China is also traversed by three of the world’s greatest rivers. These three rivers – the Yellow River (Huang He), the Yangtse River (Chang Jian), and the West River (Hsi He) rise in the central area of the China and flow east into the Pacific, splitting into myriad small streams and several great lakes. The third feature of China’s physical context is its distinct regional variation in climate. China depends heavily on its agriculture, so the changing of the climate has remarkable influence on the Chinese life. The four seasons are celebrated by the Chinese people and are regarded as the background to the creation of Chinese art.

The abundance and beauty of the natural landscape resources originated and nurtured Chinese art, as well as Chinese gardens and Chinese architecture. According to Chinese tradition, man was not different from all the other created things and regarded as the part of the universe. Human character could be partly judged by the quality of man’s adjustment to the natural forces of his environment. A person who truly loves nature more than worldly “dust” was regarded as a person of the highest spiritual cultivation. The purpose of the Chinese garden is to “bring” nature into the human experience. Chinese garden may be viewed as a miniature of the Chinese landscape. Nature is loved and held in highest honor in Chinese art, but this does not mean that the nature must be simply “duplicated” in its original form. The main principle of Chinese garden art is to recreate nature, to present its essence without an artificial effect. The recreation must be based on profound observation and a deep understanding of the nature. The design of Chinese garden is a process of abstraction and stylization of the existing landscape. The final aim of creating a natural form in Chinese garden is to celebrate the human spirit.

Chinese garden may be viewed as a miniature of the Chinese landscape.

[BACK to TOP]