From ‘Arcadia of the literati’ to ‘extravagant enclosure’: the Tianjin salt merchant gardens of the Qing Dynasty

Figures & data

Table 1. Salt merchant gardens in Tianjin (Drawn by author).

Period	No	Name of garden	Owner	Time
Early Qing	1	Ferry Garden (Wenjin Yuan)	Zhang Lin (1661–1713)	Circa 1653–circa 1774
	2	Water View Garden (Zhuanshui Lou)	Zhang Lin	Circa 1650s–circa 1700s
	3	The Cherished Garden (Huai Yuan)	Merchant Wang (1700s?–?)	Circa 1720s–circa 1860s
	4	Tianjin Humble Cottage by the Water (Gushui Caotang)	An Shangyi (1640s?–?)	Circa 1660s–circa 1740s
	5	Single-Acre Garden (Yimu Yuan)	Zhang Lin	1680s–？
	6	Medlar Garden (Qi Yuan)	Jin Yugang (1709–1773)	Circa 1710–1820s
	7	Bright Snow Garden (Yanxue Lou)	Tong Hong (1657–)	Circa 1681–early 1800s
	8	Leisure Hall Garden (Suixian Tang)	Zhang Lin	Circa 1700–circa 1760s
	9	Sailor’s Chapel Garden (Fan Zhai)	Zhang Shu (1659–1704)	Circa 1686–circa 1740s
	10	Old Man Village Garden (Laofu Cun)	Long Zhen (1657–1726)	After 1716–？
	11	Seventy-two Islands Humble Garden (Qishiergu Caotang)	Liang Hong (?–1717)	Late 17th century–？
	12	Green Garden (Yilv Yuan)	Merchant Wang (ca. 1630s–?)	Late 17th century–？
	13	Boat Pavilion Garden (Xuzhou Ting)	Song Jiushan (ca. 1680 = –?)	Late 17th century–？
High Qing	14	Manor West of the River (Shuixizhuang)	Zha Riqian (1667–1741)	1723–circa 1870s
	15	Quiet Garden (Xiaoxian Yuan)	Yang Bingyue (ca. 1720s–?)	After 1762–circa 1850s
	16	Water Source Garden (Siyuan Zhuang)	Zhang Yingchen (ca. 1720s-?)	1768–circa 1880s
	17	Willow Garden (Yiliu Yuan)	Jin Lingyun (ca. 1770s–?)	Late 18th century–？
	18	West Garden (Xi Yuan)	Zha Changye (ca. 1740s–?)	Late 18th century–？
	19	Traveller’s Garden (Yuyou Yuan)	Li Chenghong (ca. 1740—circa 1800)	Late 18th century–early 20th century
	20	Fragrant Jujube Village Garden (Zaoxiang Cun)	Tong Kuiyuan (ca. 1850s–?)	Late 18th century–？
Late Qing	21	Golden Garden (Jinhua Garden)	Salt merchant Jin (ca. 1800s–?)	1830s–？
	22	Huang’s Compound (Huangjia Dayuan)	Huang Zhende (ca. 1790s–?)	1830s–？
	23	Rong Garden (Rong Yuan)	Li Chuncheng (1826–1872)	1863–present
	24	Shi’s Compound (Shijia Dayuan)	Shi Yuanshi (1847–1919)	1875–present

Figure 1. The location of salt merchant gardens in Tianjin. Drawn by author.

Figure 2. Zhu Min. A view of reading book at Manor West of the River in the autumn night rain. Tianjin Museum.

Figure 3. Amaster plan of Quiet Garden. Sequel to Annals of Tianjin County (1870), Tianjin. (1. Nuancui Feng 2. Youlan Gu 3. Jikuang Ting 4. Yiyun Lang 5. Suyun Dong 6. Zijun Jing 7. Guanyu Chi 8. Rushi Feng 9. Chenghuai Tang 10. Yingbi)

Figure 4. Delicate wooden and brick decorations of Shi’s Compound. Tianjin Historical Famous Gardens (2008), Tianjin.