Online review of 'The Classical Gardens of Shanghai' by Shelly Bryant

I am always interested in Chinese local garden history, which is why I reviewed the following book:

Bryant, Shelly. The Classical Gardens of Shanghai. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2016.

To read it please click here to go on newbooks.Asia.

The book is available notably through JSTOR and its publisher HKUPress.

Here is reproduced the short biography for Shelly Bryant available on the HKUPress website:

Shelly Bryant, poet, translator, teacher, researcher, and writer, splits her time between Singapore and Shanghai. She is the author of six poetry collections and two travel guides, and has translated more than ten books from Chinese to English.

Guest blog at China Policy Institute: on Chinese-style gardens and soft power

Fanghuayuan, Orchid Garden, Guangzhou. Credit Richard, Josepha (2009)

This time I am happy to have a blog post published at the China Policy Institute Analysis blog platform.

The title is "Are Chinese-style gardens built outside of China a form of 'soft power'?" and it was a question I had been wondering about for quite some time. 

Feel free to comment on the original post in order to advance the debate.

The China Policy Institute is a centre of expertise on contemporary China based at the University of Nottingham, UK. Their blog platform, "CPI Analysis" hosts almost daily reflections on diverse aspects of Chinese life, news, politics, economics, etc.

Exploring Johnston's Archives (related to gardens of China) in Needham Institute part 1

 

The entire Johnston archive on tables of Needham Institute

During the week of 23-28th of May, I had the great opportunity to go through the papers of R.S. Johnston in Needham Institute, Cambridge, UK.

Who was R.S.Johnston? 

Late R. Stewart Johnston was part of the department of Architecture at the University of Nottingham. In 1991 he published Scholar gardens of China: a study and analysis of the spatial design of the Chinese private garden. Thus he become the first Western author (that I know of) to mention the gardens of Lingnan1 in an English language publication.

Librarian of Needham Institute, John Moffett, received Johnston's papers on behalf of Needham Institute from Johnston's widow. The archive contained a wealth of information on gardens of China that Johnston had systematically preserved throughout his research. Some twenty years later John Moffett generously opened this archive to me. This opportunity was sparkled by a conversation about Johnston's book in May 2015 when I underlined the fact that finding photos of Lingnan gardens was difficult, and John Moffett said that Johnston's archives were likely to contain such documents. Spoiler: I was not disappointed!

Johnston’s archive, occupying approximately 1.5m x 2m of archival shelves, had been well labelled by Johnston himself but not yet catalogued. It was therefore the occasion for me to both dig information for my thesis and contribute to the cataloguing as I went through the boxes. The exploration was well worth the effort as I discovered many black and white photographs of gardens in China, most likely dated from the 1980s (I am still working on datation): a few were taken before some of the 'rough' renovations that erased some interesting characteristics of gardens later on.

There are many interesting aspects to this archive, as I already tweeted about on @GardensOfChina; but I will underline some of the most unique parts in a few blog posts, hoping others will come to study them in more detail. 

One of the most pleasant part was to go through all the originals of the maps and drawings included in his publications: some of these were actually typed & photos and captions glued to paper as this was the case before computers changed our way of submitting manuscripts.

1.  岭南 Region located 'to the south of the five ridges' usually understood as either Guangdong province or Guangxi + Guangdong.

Illustrations for Scholar gardens of China

 

Talk: "The Illusion of Space: on Garden Design in China" Bianca Rinaldi

The "New approaches in Chinese garden history" conference of the 19th June has been an opportunity to develop another free talk on Chinese gardens after the one given by Alison Hardie in May. This time it is Bianca Rinaldi who will present on the topic of:

The Illusion of Space: on Garden Design in China. 

Monday 15th June. 

Doors open: 10.30am; Talk: 11.00am – 12noon.

Venue: The Discovery Centre, Sheffield Manor Lodge, Manor Lane, Sheffield, S2 1UJ. 

Presented in association with The Confucius Institute (University of Sheffield).

Tickets are free but please book in advance as places are limited. Email: info@greenestate.org

Telephone: 0114 2762828

Refreshments will be available at the event and the Rhubarb Shed Cafe will be open for lunches after the event.

Abstract (from the organisor):

The lecture discusses the Chinese garden focusing on the key characteristics of its design: its scenery of naturalness, its varied sequences of different ambiences and spaces, the arrangement of central elements (water, rocks, plants, architectural structures), the visual devices and methods used to manipulate the quality and apparent dimensions of garden space. The reading of the compositional structure of the Chinese garden will be applied to a renowned classical garden: the Wangshi yuan (Garden of the Master of the Fishing Nets) in Suzhou.

Bianca Maria Rinaldi teaches landscape architecture at the University of Camerino, in Italy, and is visiting professor at the National University of Singapore. She is the author of The ‘Chinese Garden in Good Taste’. Jesuits and Europe’s Knowledge of Chinese Flora and Art of the Garden in 17th and 18th Centuries (2006) and of The Chinese Garden-Garden Types for Contemporary Landscape Architecture (2011), which has been awarded a J.B. Jackson Prize for 2012 by the Foundation for Landscape Studies, New York. She is currently working on a book on Western views of Chinese gardens from the 13th to the 19th century.

Other "Chinese garden history" events to come at the University of Sheffield:

"New approaches in Chinese garden history" conference 19th June

See announcement & bookings here.

Guided garden visit to Biddulph Grange, 18th June

See announcement & bookings here.

Video: One of the four famous gardens of Lingnan, Qinghuiyuan

During my fieldwork in June/July 2014 I visited again the Qinghuiyuan 清晖园. It is considered one of the four famous gardens of Lingnan, an outdated term designing globally the region around Guangdong.

In reality this "top 4" only takes into account gardens relatively well conserved around Guangzhou, as the most renown were for the most part destructed.

Here is an amateur video of the main scene of this garden. 
 

The Qinghuiyuan is located in Daliang, Shunde 顺德. It was first a residence owned by Wang Shijun under the Ming Dynasty, but the current garden takes its origin in the constructions made for Long Yingshi at the end of the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1735-1796). It includes buildings such as the Returning Hall, the Chengyi Pavilion, the Bixi Caotang, the Xiyin Study, the main building being the Boat Hall which was supposedly built for the daughter of the owner. Two ponds are located on both sides of the boat hall, on the south-east is the original pond on which the garden is centred; and the south-west pond was added during modifications from the Jiaqing period (1796-1821). It has been largely renovated in the second half of the 20^th century, and only one of the pond has kept relatively intact appearance - the one you can see in this video.

Thanks to UCCL and to the Landscape Department at the University of Sheffield for funding my fieldwork.

Sources:

Most books on Lingnan gardens are written in Chinese, therefore I recommend this bilingual edition:
Lu, Q., Zhang, B., & Li, Y. (2004). Lingnan yuanlin yishu 岭南园林艺术 (Art of Lingnan gardens). Beijing, Zhongguo jian zhu gong ye chu ban she.

Biddulph Grange, videos

Wondering if you should come along to our guided visit to Biddulph Grange on the 18th of June? Here is something to convince you!

See also the short extract from BBC Four here. 

Any recommendations of videos welcome in the comments.

Book your guided visit from Sheffield here!

Free lecture to start the "Chinese garden history" events in the University of Sheffield

Jichangyuan, Wuxi, 2012. Credit: J.Richard. All rights reserved.

We are glad to announce that a free lecture will start the series of events on Chinese garden history in the University of Sheffield. The Confucius Institute of Sheffield is welcoming our main speaker, Dr Alison Hardie, to give a lecture on:

Chinese gardens: history, design and meanings. 

Lecture by Alison Hardie

Thursday 21 May 2015,  
3:00 - 4:00pm. 
4:00-4:30, networking with drinks and biscuits  

Location:
Conference Room, Alfred Danny Building, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, S10 2TN

Lecture:
This talk will cover the historical development of Chinese gardens, relating it to comparable or contrasting developments in European garden history.

It will outline the different types of Chinese gardens, including imperial, private and institutional (temple or academy) gardens. It will consider the cosmological ideas and design principles underlying the layout and features of Chinese gardens. Finally it will discuss the social significance and uses of Chinese gardens, particularly in the late imperial period.

Speaker biography:
Alison Hardie is a Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of Leeds and Director of the National Institute of Chinese Studies under the White Rose East Asia Centre, a collaboration between the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield. Since 2010 she has been a Senior Fellow (advisory committee member) in Garden and Landscape Studies at Dumbarton Oaks, the research institute in Washington DC affiliated to Harvard University. Dr Hardie holds degrees in Classics from the University of Oxford and in Chinese from the University of Edinburgh, and a doctorate from the University of Sussex. Her main research interest is in the social and cultural history of early modern China. She will retire this summer and a conference this 19th June will celebrate her career.


Enquiries to be sent to confucius@sheffield.ac.uk


Other "Chinese garden history" events to come at the University of Sheffield:

"New approaches in Chinese garden history" conference 19th June
See announcement & bookings here.

Guided garden visit to Biddulph Grange, 18th June
See announcement & bookings here.

Reduced delegate fee for the "New approaches in Chinese garden history" conference 19th June

19th JUNE 2015

We are pleased to announce that, thanks to the support of the Confucius Institute at Sheffield, we have been able to reduce the conference delegate rate for "New approaches in Chinese garden history".

 

This conference dedicated to Dr. Hardie on the occasion of her retirement will exceptionally bring together international scholars each interested in a different aspect of the Chinese garden and its wider theme: architecture, garden history, cultural history, translation studies, orientalism and chinoiserie, and the impact of Chinese gardens on the concept of English gardens.

The conference's schedule has been approved with a total of 7 academic speakers and 3 postgraduate speakers. Lunch and coffee breaks provided.

Student rate: £20

Delegate rate: £40

Full announcement here.
Book your seat here.
See also the Commented visit to Biddulph Grange on the 18th June here.

Conference abstract: "Cantonese gardens in the 19th century"

Yuyin shanfang, Panyu, Guangzhou suburbs. Picture: J.Richard 2010, all rights reserved.

New approaches in Chinese garden history, conference abstract

19th June 2015, at the University of Sheffield

 

Josepha Richard, PhD candidate, University of Sheffield, UK

"Cantonese gardens in the 19^th century"

Gardens in Lingnan, particularly those located in and around Guangzhou (Canton), were among the first Chinese gardens to be visited by Westerners, as until the Opium Wars, movements of foreigners were restricted to the city of Guangzhou, with the exception of a few missionaries who were able to enter Beijing. Thus Guangzhou gardens, and more specifically the Co-Hong (or merchant) gardens of the 19^th century, have largely informed Western understanding of Chinese gardens at a time when Suzhou gardens were inaccessible to foreigners. However, despite its historical importance the Lingnan region has not been thoroughly explored by Western scholars, and research in China has mostly seen local exposure. This paper will present a conjectural reconstruction of Co-Hong merchant Howqua’s garden, built at the beginning of the 19^th century in the suburbs of Guangzhou. This reconstruction is based on Western diaries, records and photographs, as well as Chinese sources such as annals, export paintings and poetry. Howqua’s garden is presented in the context of social life of late Qing Guangzhou, when its inhabitants were developing a discourse of local culture in the wake of the creation of the Xuehaitang Academy.

See Josepha's profiles here and here.

Conference abstract: "The evolution of Chinese public gardens in the concessional Shanghai, 1840-1940"

Representation of the Yuyuan 豫园 in Shanghai, 1884 申江名胜图说 p83

New approaches in Chinese garden history, conference abstract

19th June 2015, at the University of Sheffield

Mo Fei, PhD candidate, University of Sheffield, UK

"The evolution of Chinese public gardens in the concessional Shanghai, 1840-1940"

The Chinese notion of public recreation changed dramatically after the establishment of English, French and American concessions in Shanghai from the 1840s. Traditional public spaces for recreation did not satisfy the evolving social demands for recreation, particularly after the opening of the Public Garden on the Bund by the British in 1868. The majority of the Chinese were not allowed to access, but it triggered a general desire to experience foreign gardens and increased tensions between Chinese and foreign communities in the use of public open space, particularly as the Chinese, rather than foreigners, contributed the majority of rates in the foreign concessions. From the 1870s to the 1920s, privately owned ‘commercial’ gardens acted as public gardens for the Chinese population, as well as traditional sites such as temple compounds. The Nationalist Government of Republican China elected at the end of the 1920s first provided the conditions to develop municipal parks. In the post concessional period after 1943, the Chinese government developed transformed foreign and Chinese public gardens, parks and recreation grounds into park systems for the benefit of the population.

See Mo Fei's profile here.

Commented visit to Biddulph Grange - 18th June 2015

Biddulph Grange, taken by L.Gu, all rights reserved.

Guided visit to Biddulph Grange garden - 18th June 2015

As part of the "New approaches in Chinese garden history" conference, the Department of Landscape of the University of Sheffield is hosting a commented visit to the Victorian garden of Biddulph Grange, Staffordshire (National Trust).

Created by James Bateman from the 1840s, the garden displays a series of Italian, Egyptian, Chinese and Himalayan themes, as well as an outstanding collection of worldwide plants. In relation to our conference, the vision of a Chinese garden as well as the "Great wall of China" exhibited in the garden will be our primary focus.

There will be a prepared visit commentary, however speakers and delegates of the conference - as well as participants - will be encouraged to give their personal input. For example our speaker Emile de Bruijn has researched the garden and as to Bianca Rinaldi, she has insight into the 'chinoiserie' concept, whereas Georges Métailié could comment on the choice of plants. Students will be able to ask questions and all present will voice their reflections as the visit unfolds.

The coach will depart at 9.30am sharp from the Geography & Town and Regional Planning car park behind the Arts Tower (next to the Mushroom Lane bus 95 stop), University of Sheffield, Western Bank S10 2TN. We are aiming to return to Sheffield in the early afternoon after the commented visit, in time for all to take a break before the evening conference dinner (optional, on booking only) in town.

Delegate (£20) and student (£10) fees available.
You are more than welcome to join in directly at Biddulph Grange but will need to pay full fee for your coach seat if you need a space on the return coach.

National Trust page for Biddulph Grange HERE.
Bookings available HERE.

Enquiries such as mobility issues should be directed to Josepha Richard: j.richard@sheffield.ac.uk

What can you hear in a Chinese garden? Wind chimes

Appreciate the sound experience of a Chinese garden as it was available in Spring 2012 in Shenyuan, Shaoxing. 绍兴沈园

History of Chinese gardens - Part 4 Ming and Qing dynasties

I translated this brief history of gardens in China from the reference book:

Peng,Y. 彭一刚 (2008). Zhongguo gudian yuanlin fenxi 中国古典园林分析 (Analysis of the classical Chinese garden). 25th Ed. Beijing: China Architecture & Building press.

Yuyinshanfang 余荫山房, suburbs of Guangzhou. Part of the Four Famous Gardens of Lingnan. Copyright © 2013 J.Richard. All rights reserved.

At the beginning of the Ming dynasty¹, the capital was located in Nanjing. Then the capital shifted to Beijing, on the base of the previous Dadu. The Yuan dynasty's Taijichi (太液池) underwent transformations, the garden being enlarged to the south, and three lakes added : the northern lake Beihai (北海), the middle lake Zhonghai (中海) and southern lake Nanhai (南海). All these are then part of the wide imperial park named Xiyuan (西苑).

Around the middle of the Ming dynasty, agriculture and crafts made outstanding progress, in parallel it also marked one of the greatest development in garden-making. At this time, the important garden centres were the surroundings of Beijing, Nanjing and Suzhou cities. Officials and nobles built their private gardens in the capital, Beijing. The gardens were usually scattered around water ponds, or dispersed around the south-east area near the lake and the river. The suburbs of Beijing also featured numerous gardens such as the Shaoyuan² (勺园), the Liyuan (李园) also called Qinghuayuan (清华园) and the Liangyuan (梁园), etc.

In Nanjing, the secondary capital, there were also many private gardens. But it was especially in the Suzhou area that the private gardens were flourishing, because its thriving economy attracted many bureaucrats. A number of these gardens still exist to this day, among which we can cite the Zhuozhengyuan (拙政园), the Liuyuan (留园), the Yipu (艺圃), etc. Beside Suzhou itself, the whole surrounding region was crowded with gardens. This popularity also reached the city of Yangzhou, where scholars and painters gathered inside the growing amount of parks. The abundance and richness of garden-making during the Ming dynasty found its expression in the person of Ji Cheng, an educated painter who created gardens, and wrote the first treaty about garden making: the Yuanye³ (园冶).

After the fall of the Ming, during the Qing dynasty⁴ the popularity of garden-making was maintained, particularly under the reigns of the emperors Kangxi (康熙, ruled from 1661 to 1722) and Qianlong (乾隆, ruled from 1735 to 1796). The number of imperial gardens in Beijing during the Qing dynasty exceeded ten. Inside the city, the Ming dynasty's Xiyuan was repaired, enlarged and perfected, thanks to the construction of many buildings. To the north-west of the city were successively built the Jingyiyuan⁵ (静宜园), the Yuanmingyuan (圆明园), the Jichunyuan⁶ (畅春园) and Qingyiyuan⁷ (清漪园) etc., with a total of five imperial gardens. Moreover, in Chengde an imperial garden was also built for the summer use: the Mountain resort (避暑山庄). The gardens of Qing dynasty were superior to those of the Ming Dynasty in terms of number and size, marking the most flourishing period for garden-making in Chinese history.

Under the reign of the emperor Qianlong, Chinese economy was flourishing and the country was politically strong. The emperor undertook six inspections tours to Jiangnan. Qianlong had a strong interest for garden-making, in addition of being a very cultured person. During his inspection tours, he selected his favourite sceneries inside Jiangnan private gardens and then used any possible means to imitate these concepts in his own imperial gardens in the capital. Therefore, we can say that the Imperial gardens absorbed part of the Jiangnan private gardens concepts. As a consequence, one characteristic aspect of the Qing gardening style is to accumulate imitations of famous garden's sceneries, and then group these together in a new garden. For example, in the imperial Mountain Resort in Chengde, the emperor Kangxi ordered the construction of thirty-six sceneries, and Qianlong also created his own thirty-six sceneries. The Yuanmingyuan featured Qianlong's famous forty sceneries. Every single one of these had its own meaning and symbolic, probably inherited from the eighteen sceneries of the West Lake in Hangzhou. Inside the sceneries, the buildings themselves could be imitations of Jiangnan gardens' constructions. For example, many parts of the Mountain resort of Chengde are imitations of Jiangnan region's buildings. The Jinshan ting (金山亭)copied the Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang (镇江). The Yanyu lou (烟雨楼) was inspired by the Yanyu lou in Jiaxing (嘉兴). Following the same pattern, the Shizilin (狮子林) in the Wenyuan⁸ (文园) imitated the Shizilin in Suzhou. Finally the Wenjin ge⁹ (文津阁) was an imitation of the Tianyi ge¹⁰ (天一阁) in Zhejiang (浙江).

Apart from Beijing, during the Ming and Qing dynasties gardens were principally built in Yangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxing, Hangzhou, etc. as well as in the delta of the Pearl River¹¹. In Beijing were mostly the gardens of the emperor's family and those possessed by nobles and high officials. Other officials, scholars and wealthy merchants mainly built their gardens in the Jiangnan and Lingnan¹² (岭南) regions. While visiting Yangzhou, it is said that Qianlong saw that both banks of the Narrow West Lake (瘦西湖) were covered with gardens built by officials. Yangzhou gardens' where mainly characterised by exquisite artificial mountains. Thus the city became famous for those, and a proverb was even created [to underline this special feature]: ''Yangzhou is known for its magnificent gardens, the gardens are known for their gorgeous mountains and rocks'' (扬州以园亭胜，园亭以叠石胜). In Suzhou as well, the number of gardens was impressive: according to a statistic from the liberation, in the city alone remained at least one hundred of these. But the gardens still existing today have been modified many times and can only be considered to date from the late Qing Dynasty.

In the region of the Pearl River's delta, which is called Lingnan, the weather is moist and the soil fertile. Hence, garden-making had to be adapted to this natural condition: this makes for excellent garden-making environment. This region was added to the Chinese territory during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. At this period Lingnan was already an area with flourishing garden-making activity. As Guangzhou's port was opened to the foreigners' trade, by the Ming and Qing dynasty, the Guangdong province developed, and so did the garden-making trend. As a result of the foreigners influence, the Lingnan garden style acquired very specific characteristics.

1. Ming dynasty 明 (1368-1644).

2. A garden created by Mi Fangzhong 米方种during the Ming dynasty, nowadays part of the campus of Beijing University.

3. The Yuanye (Craft of gardens) was written in 1634 by Ji Cheng 计成.

4. Qing dynasty 清 (1644-1911).

5. The Jingyiyuan was built on a previous garden site, in 1745 under the reign of Qianlong. It is located in the Fragrant Hills to the north-west of Beijing.

6. The Jichunyuan is located to the south of the Yuanmingyuan. It was started in 1684 under the reign of Kangxi, and was later on modified and added to the wide imperial park created by Qianlong, including the Yuanmingyuan.

7. The construction of the Qingyiyuan started in 1750 under the reign of Qianlong. It was situated to the west of the Yuanmingyuan.

8. The Wenyuan is a part of the imperial Mountain resort in Chengde, built in 1747 on the model of the Suzhou garden.

9. Constructed in 1774, also part of the imperial garden in Chengde.

10. A famous Ming dynasty built library in Ningbo, with adjacent gardens.

11. Around the city of Guangzhou.

12. Lingnan 岭南 literally means ''To the south of the mountains'': represents mainly the actual Guangdong province.

History of Chinese gardens - Part 3 From the Five Dynasties to the Yuan dynasty

I translated this brief history of gardens in China from the reference book:



Peng,Y. 彭一刚 (2008). Zhongguo gudian yuanlin fenxi 中国古典园林分析 (Analysis of the classical Chinese garden). 25th Ed. Beijing: China Architecture & Building press.

 Yipu 艺圃 , Garden of Art/Cultivation, Suzhou in 2009. Copyright © 2013 J.Richard. All rights reserved.

During the chaotic period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms¹, even though finances were in a poor state, the southern cities still developed into centres of administration, craft industry and agriculture. Among them was the city of Suzhou, located in Wuyue (吴越), where garden-making was flourishing. Besides, some gardens were also built in Guangzhou, much farther in the south.

Even though the Song dynasty put an end to the independent regimes of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the rural economy was still in an exhausted condition. In addition the northern part of China was constantly threatened by invasions, leading to a daily weakening of the country's power. At the same time, the ruling class lived in luxurious style, and in consequence garden-making was still flourishing.

If Song China was not really a prosperous country, it did not prevent poetry and painting to develop and reach new heights. The imperial art academy was established, which allowed a gathering of scholar painters from all over China, triggering a great development in Chinese painting. Outside the academy great artists emerged, such as Wen Tong², Mi Fu³, Su Shi⁴, etc. who led painting schools, advocating principles rather opposed to the academic way: they cherished the Xieyi brush style, and led Chinese painting on an original new direction. This can be illustrated by Guo Xi's⁵ The Lofty Message of Forest and Streams (林泉高致) and Li Cheng's⁶ Landscape painting principles (山水诀), treaties which offered a deep reflection on the conception of landscape painting, such as the essential principles of composition. This new turn of landscape painting aesthetics also had an influence on the development of garden-making.

During the Northern Song dynasty⁷, gardens were concentrated in the two capitals, the eastern Bianliang (Kaifeng) and the western Luoyang. As Bianliang was the main capital, the Imperial gardens were gathered here. Among them was the famous Jinmingchong (金明池), built in the eastern part of the city, featuring a regular layout with clear central axis, and pond with in the centre a hall called Shuidian (水殿). South to the Jinmingchong was located another garden called Qionglinyuan (琼林苑), which also featured ponds, this time surrounded by vegetation, flowers, and hills. The mountains in particular were arranged in good taste, undulating and changing, adopting the outline of a ship⁸. According to local records, this garden required a great amount of men to be constructed, and some of the necessary materials such as plants and strangely [shaped] rocks were sent from the Jiangnan region. The capital Bianliang counted in total nine Imperial gardens, and the private gardens built by nobles and officials were much more numerous.

In the southern capital Luoyang, the number of gardens did not match those of Bianliang, but they were still of a signifiant amount. According to the Record of Luoyang famous gardens⁹ (洛阳名园记) there was as many as 24 gardens, the majority of those were constructed on the remains of previous Tang dynasty parks. However, the garden's focus shifted from the artificial mountains to the ponds' layout and vegetation environment, causing previous Shanchi (山池) [mountainous pond] to become Yuanchi (园池) [flower pond] or Yuanpu (园圃) [garden, with the meaning of growing plants]. Henceforth Luoyang had been nicknamed ''City of flowers''.

During the Southern Song dynasty¹⁰, the political centre was located in the south, so nobles and officials congregated in cities such as Lin'An (临安) ancient name for the actual Hangzhou (杭州), Wuxing (吴兴) and Pingjiang (平江) which is the actual Suzhou (苏州). Ling'An was the southern capital, as such the gardens built around the West Lake (西湖) were too numerous to be counted. Among these, there were at least ten imperial gardens, the rest being temple gardens and private gardens. Wuxing was the place were most of government officials liked to retire or take a break from official life and as a result, the city was thriving with garden construction. According to the Wuxing gardens records¹¹ (吴兴园林记), there was at least 34 gardens in Wuxing. As for Pingjiang, even if was a bit far from the capital Ling'An, it was a flourishing commercial and military centre featuring naturally favourable conditions for garden-making. As a result in the city a number of gardens were constructed.

After the Mongol destroyed the Song and established the Yuan dynasty¹², the imperial power was in the hands of foreigners, which sparkled intense conflicts between social classes and ethnic minorities. According to the Yuan classification, the population was categorised in four types, among which Han ethnic people were considered the lowest, especially if they lived in the south. Because of the stagnation of economy, in this period there were only a few garden constructions. In the north, the Jindaninggong (金大宁宫) was transformed, adding the two gardens of Taijichi (太液池) and Wansuishan (万岁山), as part of the imperial park. In the capital Dadu (大都) near the actual Beijing, there were only a few private gardens.

1. Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period五代十国 (907-959).

2. Wen Tong 文同 (1018-1079), painter and poet of the Song dynasty.

3. Mi Fu 米芾 (1051-1107), famous calligrapher and painter of the Northern Song dynasty.

4. Sushi 苏轼 (1037-1101), also called Su Dongpo 苏东坡, one of the most famous Chinese poets.

5. Guo Xi 郭熙 (c.1020-c.1090), landscape painter which treaty detailing brushstrokes became well-known.

6. Li Cheng 李成 (919-967), landscape painter which style was characterised by its use of diluted ink.

7. Northern Song dynasty 北宋 (960-1127).

8. Here I am not very sure of the translation, since the word 外轮wai4lun2 ''foreign ship'' sounds a bit strange in the context.

9. A record written around 1105 by Li Gefei 李格非, listing private gardens in Luoyang.

10. Southern Song dynasty 南宋 (1127-1279).

11. A record written by Zhou Mi 周密 (1232-1298), a scholar from Jinan, listing the gardens in Wuxing.

12. Yuan dynasty 元 (1271-1368).