How to appreciate the Gardens South of the Yangtze River

Abstract：The primary goal of classical Chinese garden is to provide buildings， green spaces or relaxing spaces， but it is later endowed with more functions as a carrier for showing human beings’dependence on and respect for the nature， as well as various emotions of them. This article briefly discussed how to appreciate the gardens south of the Yangtze River from aspects of construction elements， artistic conception and techniques.

Key words：Gardens South of the Yangtze River;Appreciate;Art

中图分类号：TU986.1 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1005-5312（2015）09-0208-01

Chinese gardening art can be traced back to the Shang and Zhou Dynasties，witnessing its pride in the Ming and Qing Dynasties through centuries of evolution. Over this long period of time， three styles of gardens came into being： the imperial garden， the temple garden and the private garden. Gardens in south of the Yangtze River refer to private gardens in such regions as Jiangsu， Anhui and Zhejiang. When we appreciate a garden we could work out from the following three main aspects―the scenery depicted， the emotions expressed and the techniques.

一、Construction elements

In the design and construction of the Gardens South of the Yangtze River， the soul and essence of gardens can be demonstrated through various elements and their combinations including mainly buildings， pavilions， hill stones， and waters.

Buildings. Buildings as the most important part of classical Chinese gardens lay the foundation of these gardens by integrating to the natural environment. Buildings of diversified styles and forms are connected by corridors， winding pathways and bridges， so as to forming complicated and distinctive views. Pavilions. As one of the most significant constructions in traditional Chinese garden， pavilion is able to provide a space for people enjoying the scenery， and also connect scattered scenic spots in garden landscape due to its diversified architectural forms. Hill stones. Mountains in the nature are shown as hill stones in gardens， that is， rockeries in the Gardens South of the Yangtze River are artistic simulations of natural mountains. Rockeries of diversified styles and forms were piled by using different stone materials， symbolizing picturesque scenery in the natural world and even forming different schools， as a result，" if there is no stone， there will be no garden" in China. Water. Water is also an important gardening element because of its plasticity for both in-motion and in-action scenery. Hill stones and waters by embracing each other form the optimal landscapes in classical Chinese gardens， while rockeries become serene because of water and waterscapes become vivid because of rockeries.

二、Artistic conception of the Gardens South of the Yangtze River.

Artistic conception of the Gardens South of the Yangtze River indicates a state capable of striking a responsive chord in the hearts of viewers and realizing the sublimation of natural images through properly processing landscape elements and bringing viewers the beauty of nature and art. Garden is a space in the real world; its artistic conception is synthesized by realities and emotions， which originates from the garden but is superior to the garden itself by taking root in hearts of viewers. Artistic conceptions also change with garden scenery， for example， changing seasonal aspects， sunset and sunrise， meteorological phenomena like wind， frost， rain and snow， growth and withering of plants. All these natural phenomena can help form different artistic conceptions by interacting with mood of viewers.

三、Techniques

Leaking through scenery and borrowed scenery are traditional Chinese gardening techniques，landscape gardeners have to consciously“borrow”outdoor scenery or scenery outside the garden into visual field of viewers in the garden. By applying leaking through scenery and borrowed scenery， the closed spaces become open， and solitary courtyards become vital. Image construction in the landscape configuration. Artistic conception is an aesthetic scope including artistic creation and appreciation. Before building a garden， the theme of artistic conception should be set first， then images established one by one through properly arranging and decorating landscape elements， in this way， beautiful scenery of the great nature is simulated in small gardens， and diversified landscapes set in limited spaces.