A Treatise on the Garden of Jiangnan—A Study on the Art of Chinese Classical Garden, published by Springer in 2022, is a systematic book on the Garden of Jiangnan, which shows an excellent model of the Chinese classical garden and develops a theory for the rudiment and design of the Chinese classical garden to the world. The book is a 2017 translation project sponsored by the Chinese Fund for the Humanities and Social Sciences.
The book consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the definition of the Garden of Jiangnan, the epitome of the Chinese classical garden whose basic concepts, market and global influence are also presented. The Chinese classical garden, with a history of approximately 3,000 years, has wielded a profound influence on East Asia and Europe because of its unique design system. The Garden of Jiangnan refers to those among the lower reaches of the Yangtse River.
Chapter 2 describes the rudiment of the Garden of Jiangnan by analysing the relationship and differences between the Garden of Jiangnan and landscape painting. The basic philosophy of the Chinese classical garden is the integration of natural and artificial environments. In this way, following the foundational principle of “infinite natural landscape in a finite garden”, the Garden of Jiangnan is a functional work of art with the appeal of the natural world, providing residential recreation and pleasure in living.
Chapter 3 presents a profound and scientific analysis on the design methods of the natural, artificial and poetic constituents in the Garden of Jiangnan. The basic unit of garden art is scenic imagery, which is composed of scenic elements and structures interdependent of each other. The scenic elements consist of natural elements like mountains and rivers in the Garden of Jiangnan, and epitomize the essence of natural landscape. The scenic structures are the connections and relations between the scenic elements, where scenic montage, a kind of art of enrichment in time-space settings, is used to extend the appreciation of the garden from scenery to sentiment. With these methods employed in the design of the Garden of Jiangnan, the unity between landscape and garden scenery and between sentiment and scenery are reached.
Chapter 4 presents a case analysis of the Garden of Jiangnan. Gardens are classified into 28 typical design types based on a variety of criteria. In terms of location, there are gardens in cities, in villages, in the mountain forests and in the vicinity of rivers and lakes. In terms of imagery characteristics, there are gardens for mountain scenery, waterscapes and landscapes. In terms of size, there are large, medium and small gardens. The design type, scenic elements, scenic structure and artistic conception of the Gardens of Jiangnan are analysed for each garden. In the analysis where theories are applied to practice, pictures about these gardens are also presented.
Chapter 5 provides the conclusion to the whole book.
The book has important academic, social and cultural value. Firstly, it serves as an excellent resource to academics and students in the fields of aesthetics, garden art, classical architecture, tourism and cultural heritage. It provides methodological guidance for art theory, construction and evaluation and, as such, is highly instructional for the reconstruction and inheritance of the Chinese classical garden. It also has practical applications for the protection of cultural heritage in the contemporary era as well as in the repositioning of the Chinese classical garden within the global scenic system.
Secondly, it has attracted worldwide academic attention since its publication in Mainland China and Taiwan in 1994. The author, Yang Hongxun, a famous historian and archaeologist of architecture in China, was later appointed as a consultant in UNESCO. He gave lectures in universities and institutes in Japan, South Korea and the United States, among which the most influential one was that in the international conference held in Washington Oak Garden. The book itself, selected as the Best Work on Cultural Relics, Museology and Archaeology in the twentieth century in 2001, has become one of the required readings for the study of Chinese classical gardens in universities, institutes and related industries.
Thirdly, it enhances the mutual learning between civilizations. So far, the art and culture but not the theory and skill of the Chinese classical garden have been transmitted globally. Foreign research on Chinese classical gardens are still in the nascent phase, mainly due to the shortage of relevant Chinese classics and their translations. The translation and publication of this book overseas will drive overseas research on Chinese classical gardens to a new stage. The philosophy and wisdom about Chinese classical gardens presented in this book can enlighten all of us about the damage that artificial environments have inflicted on the natural environment since the Industrial Revolution.
However, the book, although faithful to the original work in translation, can be improved in fluency and linguistic sensibility. This could be largely due to the style of the original text, which contains various kinds of literary couplets and ancient poems. For the sake of consistency in style and philosophy with the original text, the translators tended to use more “literal” translations, which to some extent reduces readability.
To summarize, the book is the most authoritative and profound work on Chinese classical gardens. Its descriptions are brimming with flowing words and vivid pictures by which relevant cases are clearly analysed, providing innovative instruction for garden design and evaluation. It presents a window for western scholars and readers to learn the theory behind the Chinese classical garden, both for appreciation of the gardens and for their construction.