A milestone in the history of Chinese modern landscape design: the Fangta Park in Shanghai

Abstract

Fangta Park in Shanghai is a widely admired Chinese modern park and a representative work by Professor Feng Jizhong. A literature review is first used to explain the construction process of Fangta Park, its design philosophy, master plan, and detailed design, followed by an analysis of the park’s design. Previous studies have shown how Feng Jizhong ‘deconstructed’ Western architectural forms using traditional Chinese space concepts, thus generating novel Chinese architectural forms underpinned by Western construction concepts. He adapted rhetorical devices of Chinese traditional poetry and used them in the spatial arrangement and landscape design of Fangta Park, a modern landscape and architectural masterpiece with distinctive Chinese characteristics. Feng Jizhong promoted blending Chinese culture with modern landscape design and illustrated the process of ‘space-time transformation’ with ‘conative space’. Through the design of Fangta Park, he exhibited his individuality and profound scholarship, charting a unique course for modern landscape architecture in China.

Keywords:

• conative space
• Fangta Park
• Feng Jizhong
• modern architecture
• modern landscape architecture
• space-time transformation

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14601176.2023.2275977

Acknowledgment

I would like to express my gratitude to John Tudor, Wu Ange (吴安格), Deng Wei (邓位), Zhao Jijun (赵纪军), Liu Xiaohu (刘小虎), Kuang Zhifeng (邝志峰), and Feng Ye (冯叶, daughter of Feng Jizhong) for their help preparing this manuscript. I also wish to thank Wu Hong (吴竑) and Ron Henderson for their invaluable assistance with language editing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Yugu weixin — Fangtayuan guihua 与古为新——方塔园规划 (Beijing: China Eastern Press, 2010), pp. 1–117.

2. Zhao Bing 赵冰, Feng Ye 冯叶, and Liu Xiaohu 刘小虎, ‘Dongri Helouxuan — Feng Jizhong zuopin yantao zhiyi’ 冬日何陋轩——冯纪忠作品研讨之一, Huazhong Architecture, 3, 2010, pp. 178–182.

3. Zhao Bing 赵冰, Feng Jizhong and Fangta Park (Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press, 2007).

4. Liu Xiaohu 刘小虎, Shikong zhuanhuan he yidong kongjian—Feng Jizhong wannian xueshu sixiang yanjiu 时空转换和意动空间——冯纪忠晚年学术思想研究 (Wuhan: Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 2009), pp. 28–114.

5. Ibid., p. 86.

6. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Helouxuan dakewen’ 何陋轩答客问, Time + Architecture, 3, 1988, pp. 4–5, p. 58.

7. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Yugu weixin — tan Fangtayuan guihua ji Helouxuan sheji’ 与古为新——谈方塔园规划及何陋轩设计, Huazhong Architecture, 3, 2010, p. 177.

8. Feng Jizhong冯纪忠, ‘Shikong zhuanhuan — Zhongguo gudai shige he Fangtayuan de sheji’ 时空转换——中国古代诗歌和方塔园的设计, World Architecture Review, 3, 2008, p. 24.

9. Cheng Xuke 程绪珂 and Wang Tao 王焘 (eds.), Shanghai yuanlinzhi 上海园林志 (Shanghai: Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press, 2000), pp. 234–238.

10. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Fangtayuan guihua’ 方塔园规划, Architectural Journal, 7, 1981, pp. 40–45, p. 29, p. 4.

11. Zhao Bing 赵冰, Feng Jizhong and Fangta Park.

12. Feng Jizhong冯纪忠, ‘Zai Songjiang Fangtayuan guihua fang’an shang de fayan’ 在松江方塔园规划方案讨论会上的发言, in Tongji University College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Jianzhu Xianzhu: Feng Jizhong lungao 建筑弦柱: 冯纪忠论稿 (Shanghai: Shanghai Science and Technology Press, 2003), p. 104.

13. Zang Qingsheng 臧庆生, ‘Fengxiansheng guihua Fangtayuan’ 冯先生规划方塔园, World Architecture Review, 3, 2008, p. 49.

14. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Jianzhu rensheng—Feng Jizhong zishu 建筑人生——冯纪忠自述 (Beijing: China Eastern Press, 2010), p. 264.

15. Cheng Xuke 程绪珂 and Wang Tao 王焘 (eds.), Shanghai yuanlinzhi, pp. 234–238.

16. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Jianzhu rensheng—Feng Jizhong zishu, p. 199, p. 265.

17. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Helouxuan Dakewen’, pp. 4–5, p. 58.

18. Shi Linyi 施林翊, ‘Shanghai Fangtayuan zhenggai xiangmu de lilun yu shijian (shang)’ 上海方塔园整改项目的理论与实践 (上), Landscape Architecture Academic Journal, 4, 2013, pp. 44–47.

19. Shi Linyi 施林翊, ‘Shanghai Fangtayuan zhenggai xiangmu de lilun yu shijian (xia)’ 上海方塔园整改项目的理论与实践 (下), Landscape Architecture Academic Journal, 5, 2013, pp. 48–52.

20. Wu Zhenqian 吴振千, ‘Fuyou chuangyi de “Fangtayuan” guihua sheji — ji Feng Jizhong jiaoshou jingxin sheji de guocheng’ 富有创意的‘方塔园’规划设计——记冯纪忠教授精心设计的过程, World Architecture Review, 3, 2008, p. 53.

21. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Yugu weixin—Fangtayuan guihua, pp. 4–6.

22. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Yugu weixin — tan Fangtayuan guihua ji Helouxuan sheji’, p. 177.

23. ‘Rujiangbujin, yugu weixin’ (如将不尽，与古为新) comes from Ershisi Shipin (Twenty-four Poems) by Tu Sikong (837–908). It explores the relationship between ‘jing’(境) and ‘yi’(意). This verse translates: by introducing connotative and endless conceptions into the description of state, one’s writing will become novel and unique, setting it apart from the works of the ancients. See Yu Yuan 郁沅, Ershisi Sshipin Ddaodu 二十四诗品导读 (Beijing: Peking University Press, 2012), p. 15.

24. Comes from Zheng Xie (郑燮, 1693–1765)’s inscription on one of his ‘Mo zhu tu’(墨竹图, Ink bamboo painting): ‘四十年来画竹枝，日间挥写夜间思。冗繁削尽留清瘦，画到生时是熟时’. Zheng was a calligrapher and painter in the Qing Dynasty. The poem translates: I have been painting bamboo for 40 years, drawing during the day and contemplating my work in the evening. When I remove trivial and redundant elements from my art, I discover the essence and the most dynamic elements. I now sense my painting skills have matured; the paintings are inventive, just like my first paintings with fresh vitality.

25. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Fangtayuan guihua’, pp. 40–45, p. 29, p. 4.

26. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Yugu weixin—Fangtayuan guihua, pp. 4–6.

27. Zhao Bing 赵冰, Feng Jizhong and Fangta Park.

28. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Fangtayuan guihua’, pp. 40–45, p. 29, p. 4.

29. Ibid.

30. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Yugu weixin—Fangtayuan guihua, p. 69.

31. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Shikong zhuanhuan — zhongguo gudai shige he Fangtayuan de sheji’, p. 24.

32. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Jianzhu rensheng—Feng Jizhong zishu, p. 66.

33. Zhao Bing 赵冰, Feng Ye冯叶, and Liu Xiaohu 刘小虎, ‘1947 nian Nanjing dushi jihua dagang — Feng Jizhong zuopin yantao zhiwu’ 1947年《南京都市计划大纲》——冯纪忠作品研讨之五, Huazhong Architecture, 8, 2010, pp. 1–4.

34. Wu Renwei 吴人韦, ‘Daoshi yishi’ 导师轶事, World Architecture Review, 3, 2008, p. 45.

35. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Yugu weixin—Fangtayuan guihua, p. 10.

36. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Jianzhu rensheng—Feng Jizhong zishu, p. 263.

37. Ibid., p. 204.

38. Ibid., p. 199.

39. Maggie Keswick. The Chinese garden: History, art and architecture. (London: Academy Editions, 1978), pp. 193–200.

40. Charles Jencks, ‘Zhongguo yuanlin zhi yiyi’ 中国园林之意义, The Architect, 27, 1987, pp. 201–205, p. 208.

41. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Jianzhu rensheng—Feng Jizhong zishu, p. 266.

42. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Zujing chuyi’ 组景刍议 (Over ‘Landscaping’), Journal of Tongji University, 4, 1979, pp. 1–5.

43. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Jianzhu rensheng—Feng Jizhong zishu, p. 264.

44. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Renyuziran: cong bijiao yuanlinshi kan jianzhu fazhan qushi’ 人与自然: 从比较园林史看建筑发展趋势, Architectural Journal, 5, 1990, pp. 39–45.

45. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Mutual Nutrition of Man and Nature: An Outline of the Comparative History of Landscape Architecture’, Spazio e Societa, 57, 1992, pp. 62–77.

46. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Fangtayuan guihua’, pp. 40–45, p. 29, p. 4.

47. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Yugu weixin—Fangtayuan guihua, p. 42.

48. Shi Linyi 施林翊, ‘Shanghai Fangtayuan zhenggai xiangmu de lilun yu shijian (shang)’, pp. 44–47.

49. Zang Qingsheng 臧庆生, ‘Yuanlin jianzhu de xintansuo — Songjiang Fangtayuan beidamen’ 园林建筑的新探索——松江方塔园北大门, Time + Architecture, 1, 1984, pp. 76–77.

50. Wu Rensan 邬人三, ‘Xiandaide, zhongguode — Songjiang Fangtayuan sheji pingjie’ 现代的、中国的——松江方塔园设计评介, New Architecture, 2, 1984, pp. 14–16.

51. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Helouxuan Dakewen’, pp. 4–5, p. 58.

52. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Shikong zhuanhuan — Zhongguo gudai shige he Fangtayuan de sheji’, p. 24.

53. ‘江馆清秋，晨起看竹，烟光日影露气，皆浮动于疏枝密叶之间。胸中勃勃遂有画意，其实胸中之竹并不是眼中之竹也。因而磨墨展纸，落笔倏作变相，手中之竹有不是胸中之竹也。总之，意在笔先则定则也; 趣在法外者，化机也。独画云乎哉!’ Translated by author.

54. Ibid.

55. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠 and Tong Qinhua 童勤华, ‘Yizaibixian — Lushan Datianchi fengjingdian guihua’ 意在笔先——庐山大天池风景点规划, Architectural Journal, 2, 1984, pp. 40–42.

56. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Jianzhu rensheng—Feng Jizhong zishu, p. 264.

57. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Yijing yu kongjian — Lun guihua yu sheji 意境与空间——论规划与设计 (Beijing: China Eastern Press, 2010), pp. 115–117.

58. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠 and Tong Qinhua 童勤华, ‘Yizaibixian — Lushan Datianchi fengjingdian guihua’, pp. 40–42.

59. Ibid.

60. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Renyuziran: cong bijiao yuanlinshi kan jianzhu fazhan qushi’, pp. 39–45.

61. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Yugu weixin—Fangtayuan Gguihua, pp. 4–6.

62. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠 and Tong Qinhua 童勤华, ‘Yizaibixian — Lushan Datianchi fengjingdian guihua’, pp. 40–42.

63. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Jianzhu rensheng—Feng Jizhong zishu, p. 119.

64. Liu Zhong 刘仲, ‘Huagang shiyi’ 花港拾遗, Architectural Journal, 4, 1997, pp. 9–11.

65. ‘Perchance I approach where a stream vanishes, I’ll sit and watch the ever-changing clouds rise’. (水穷行到处，坐看云起时). Translated by author.

66. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Zujing chuyi’, pp. 1–5.

67. Feng Jizhong冯纪忠, ‘Shikong zhuanhuan — Zhongguo gudai shige he Fangtayuan de sheji’, p. 24.

68. ‘Zhongyang dianshitai zhuanti: Fangtayuan’ 中央电视台专题: 《方塔园》, World Architecture Review, 3, 2008, pp. 58–61.

69. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Yugu weixin—Fangtayuan guihua, p. 76.

70. Ibid., p. 91.

71. Ibid., pp. 76–77.

72. Ibid., p. 99.

73. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Shikong zhuanhuan — Zhongguo gudai shige he Fangtayuan de sheji’, p. 24.

74. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Yugu weixin—Fangtayuan guihua, p. 59.

75. Zhao Bing 赵冰, Feng Ye 冯叶, and Liu Xiaohu 刘小虎, ‘Xiaye yiyuanlou — Feng Jizhong zuopin yantao zhisan’ 夏夜医院楼——冯纪忠作品研讨之三, Huazhong Architecture, 6, 2010, pp. 1–4.

76. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Yugu weixin—Fangtayuan guihua, p. 42.

77. Ibid., p. 111.

78. Ibid., p. 77.

79. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Menwaitan’ 门外谈, Time + Architecture, 3, 2001, pp. 34–36.

80. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, ‘Helouxuan dakewen’, pp. 4–5, p. 58.

81. Ibid.

82. Feng Jizhong 冯纪忠, Yugu weixin—Fangtayuan guihua, pp. 107–108.

83. Zhao Bing 赵冰, Feng Ye 冯叶, and Liu Xiaohu 刘小虎, ‘Dongri Helouxuan — Feng Jizhong zuopin yantao zhiyi’, pp. 178–182.

84. Huang Yiru 黄一如, ‘Xiaozhongjianda — Wo du Fangtayuan Helouxuan’ 小中见大——我读方塔园‘何陋轩’, in Zhao Bing 赵冰, Fengjizhong and Fangta Park (Beijing: China Architecture and Building Press, 2007), p. 121.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant No. 51108241] and the China Scholarship Council [CSC No. 201308440046].