![]() ![]() ![]() ĭuring the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 BC), in 535 BC, the Terrace of Shanghua, with lavishly decorated palaces, was built by King Jing of the Zhou dynasty. Later Chinese philosophers and historians cited this garden as an example of decadence and bad taste. King Zhou and his friends and concubines drifted in their boats, drinking the wine with their hands and eating the roasted meat from the trees. A small island was constructed in the middle of the pool, where trees were planted, which had skewers of roasted meat hanging from their branches. A large pool, big enough for several small boats, was constructed on the palace grounds, with inner linings of polished oval shaped stones from the seashore. According to the Shiji, one of the most famous features of this garden was the Wine Pool and Meat Forest (酒池肉林). It was described in one of the early classics of Chinese literature, the Records of the Grand Historian ( Shiji). It was composed of an earth terrace, or tai, which served as an observation platform in the center of a large square park. ![]() Īnother early royal garden was Shaqui, or the Dunes of Sand, built by the last Shang ruler, King Zhou (1075–1046 BC). The King makes his promenade to the Pond of the Spirit, The water is full of fish, who wriggle. The immaculate cranes have plumes of a brilliant white. The King makes his promenade in the Park of the Spirit, The deer are kneeling on the grass, feeding their fawns, The deer are beautiful and resplendent. The park was described in the Classic of Poetry this way: Ī famous royal garden of the late Shang dynasty was the Terrace, Pond and Park of the Spirit ( Lingtai, Lingzhao Lingyou) built by King Wenwang west of his capital city, Yin. The old character for yuan is a small picture of a garden it is enclosed in a square which can represent a wall, and has symbols which can represent the plan of a structure, a small square which can represent a pond, and a symbol for a plantation or a pomegranate tree. During the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC), yuan became the character for all gardens. You was a royal garden where birds and animals were kept, while pu was a garden for plants. Early inscriptions from this period, carved on tortoise shells, have three Chinese characters for garden, you, pu and yuan. These gardens were large enclosed parks where the kings and nobles hunted game, or where fruit and vegetables were grown. The earliest recorded Chinese gardens were created in the valley of the Yellow River, during the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC). By moving from structure to structure, visitors can view a series of carefully composed scenes, unrolling like a scroll of landscape paintings. Ī typical Chinese garden is enclosed by walls and includes one or more ponds, rock works, trees and flowers, and an assortment of halls and pavilions within the garden, connected by winding paths and zig-zag galleries. Many essential elements are used in Chinese gardens, and Moon Gate is one of them. Among them, Chengde Mountain Resort and the Summer Palace, which belong to royal gardens, and several the Classical Gardens of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, which belong to private gardens, are also included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO. It is a model of Chinese aesthetics, reflecting the profound philosophical thinking and pursuit of life of the Chinese people. The art of Chinese garden integrates architecture, calligraphy and painting, sculpture, literature, gardening and other arts. They create an idealized miniature landscape, which is meant to express the harmony that should exist between man and nature. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate gardens created by scholars, poets, former government officials, soldiers and merchants, made for reflection and escape from the outside world. The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. This picture of the Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai (created in 1559) shows all the elements of a classical Chinese garden – water, architecture, vegetation, and rocks. ![]()
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