Gardens are a type of landscape art created by the hands of human beings. Chinese gardens are not only one of China's traditional cultural treasures, but they are also a unique charm of human cultural heritage.Literati gardens occupy an essential position among Chinese gardens — one of the three major genres of gardens in the world. The reason why literati gardens occupy an important position in classical Chinese gardens, and even in the entire system of traditional Chinese culture and art, lies in their exquisite architecture, exotic flowers and whimsical stones available for the exploration and appreciation of the literati. More significantly, gardens have provided a venue of daily life, academic writings, artistic creation, social gatherings, and other cultural activities for ancient Chinese scholars. Consequently, a wealth of traditional Chinese cultural factors is embedded in the intricate art of landscape architecture. The constant integration and interaction of traditional Chinese culture and gardens have in turn nurtured a unique Chinese garden culture.Chinese gardens are a critical embodiment of Chinese culture, distinctly exemplifying the ancient Chinese patriarchal system, the cosmology, the personality ideal, and other cultural elements. The evolution of the cultural history of Chinese gardens is in harmony with the overall process of the Chinese cultural history.This book describes the major genres, the characteristics, and the formation of classical Chinese gardens — as well as the relationship between classical Chinese gardens and classical Chinese culture and arts — in a more succinct, plain language. The publisher believes that this book will certainly provide the reader with an authentic and comprehensive overview of the Chinese garden culture.Published by SCPG Publishing Corporation and distributed by World Scientific for all markets except China

本書共分13章，內容包含“哲學、文學、藝術、科技、節日、飲食、手工藝品、體育和園林”，等等。內容突出中華思想文化內容的講述和術語翻譯，本書用全英文編寫，並配有插圖，語言力求新穎地道，格式力求醒目別致。書中部分章節裡融入中華思想文化術語的引例，以增強讀者對有關中華思想文化術語內涵的理解；本書很好地將外語語言與中國傳統文化相結合，每個單元後面都設計配套的知識性練習和思辨性練習，既可幫助學生鞏固所學單元內容又能培養學生的思辨能力。

Promoting cultural understanding in a globalized world, this text is a key tool for students interested in understanding the fundamentals of Chinese culture. Written by a team of experts in their fields, it offers a comprehensive and detailed introduction to Chinese culture and addresses the fundamentals of Chinese cultural and social development. It notably considers Chinese traditional culture, medicine, arts and crafts, folk customs, rituals and etiquette, and is a key read for scholars and students in Chinese Culture, History and Language.

This book provides a detailed historical and design analysis of the development of parks and modern landscape architecture in late 20th century China. It questions whether the fusion of international influences with the local Chinese design vocabulary in late 20th century China has created a distinctive and novel approach to the design of public parks. Hybrid Modernity proposes a new theory for examining the design of public parks built in post-Mao China since the reforms and sets the various processes for China’s late 20th century socio-cultural context. Drawing on modernization theory, research on China’s modernity, local and global cultural trends, it illustrates through a range of case studies ways hybrid modernity defines a new design genre and language for the spatial forms of parks that emerged in China’s secondary cities. Featured case studies include the Living Water Park in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Zhongshan Shipyard Park in Guangdong Province, Jinji Lake Landscape Master Plan in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and the West Lake Southern Scenic Area Master Plan in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. This book argues that these forms represent a new stage in China’s history of landscape architecture. The work reveals that as a new profession, landscape architecture has greatly contributed to China’s massive urban experiment. This book is an ideal read for students enrolled in landscape architecture, architecture, fine arts and urban planning programs who are engaged in learning the arts and international design education.

Comprising ten papers which critically examine the field of garden history, presented at the twenty-first Dumbarton Oaks Colloquium on the History of Landscape Architecture. Topics include changes in approaches to garden history and architectural studies over time and new historical investigations and discoveries in Italian and Mughal gardens. Good

This book surveys the explosive youth culture in twenty-first century China, an active and powerful force catalysing cultural innovations, social changes, and collective efforts, re-inventing a pluralistic and multivalent youth (qingnian) in an age of enormous change, division and uncertainty. Providing a comprehensive analysis of literary, cinematic, musical, televisual, and social media representations about, for and by disparate youth groups, this book seeks to offer a systematic investigation of a trans-medial and multi-locale youth culture. In so doing, it examines contributions from high school dropouts, industrial workers, migrant laborers and "leftover women", as well as best-selling writers and filmmakers, cultural entrepreneurs, queer idols and fans, and young feminist activists. Observing the Chinese youths’ deployment of "small" genres, such as light novels and short videos, in addition to digital media, this book ultimately demonstrates the renewal of cultural forms and the transformative power of networked "small" atomized individuals in reinventing a youthful coalition of silenced, belittled, and marginalized groups. A thoroughly interdisciplinary study, Youth Economy, Crisis, and Reinvention in Twenty-First-Century China will be useful to students and scholars of Chinese culture and society, as well as Literary Studies, Cultural Studies, Gender Studies and Media Studies.

This book analyzes forms of architectures within the frame concept of geo-architecture, and looks into the interaction of architecture and its environment. It starts by discussing the collisions between architecture and geography, humanity, as well as other architectures and reflects on the ancient Chinese notion of emotional relief and expression through natural landscape. It then studies important transportation and scenic routes, like pavilions, towers, clan halls and villages within architectural systems. It also discusses the forms of geographic integration and isolation expressed through architecture, which reflects their historical and cultural context.This book is the first of a 4-volume book series. The series develops the innovative concept of “geo-architecture” by exploring the myriad influences of natural, human and historical factors upon architecture. These influences are considered in three categories, namely, interaction between architecture and nature, interaction between architecture and its human users and change in architecture over time--each category serves as a lens. Augmenting these lenses is the Time-Person-Place concept applied different geographic. The analysis ultimately focuses on two aspects: geographic influence on architecture and architectural response to geography. The over 1000 pictures of case architectures enriches the study with stunning and unique visual angles. "This unprecedented work will be a unique and valuable contribution to the literature. Integrating as it does the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, and geography, Wang Fang’s voice is original, compelling, and will be much appreciated by English-speaking readers (and inside China, too, I can only imagine.)" Stephen M Ervin Assistant Dean Graduate School of Design, Harvard University July 2nd, 2013 "One reason for why there would be interest is because her research would fill some significant gaps in the literature.What is novel about Dr. Wang’s series is that she further extends this intellectual project of looking at Chinese architecture through Chinese eyes, by taking it one provocative step further."Annette M. Kim Associate Professor Department of Urban Studies and Planning, M.I.T. July 1st, 2013