You will gain deep insight not only into the art of gardening in China, but into its historical significance within the context of gardening and landscape design worldwide.".

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

Discover the deep, ancient culture of Chinese gardening with this colorfully illustrated and informative book. How did designers from the ancient dynasties combine flowers, plants, buildings, and ponds to create a work of art that expressed the thoughts and views of their time? How much did Confucianism, Zen Buddhism and Taoism influence their aesthetics? Answers to these questions are in the illustrated pages of Discovering China: Classical Gardens in China, where over 15 gardens unfold to reveal the culture and history of a civilization. An overall introduction to China's gardens, Discovering China: Classical Garden in China will not only enlightened you on the aesthetics of the Chinese garden but inform you on its history over the course of several dynasties. Classical Gardens in China contains in-depth analysis of: Yuan Ming Yuan (Old Summer Palace) Chengde Mountain Resort Humble Administrator's Garden Lingering Garden Yu Yuan (Pleasure Garden) And many more…

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 38. Chapters: Chinese garden, Chinese scholar's rocks, Classical Gardens of Suzhou, Garden of Cultivation, Keyuan, List of Chinese gardens, Shuangxi Park and Chinese Garden, Sichuanese garden, Summer Palace, Yu Garden.

In The Classical Gardens of Shanghai, Shelly Bryant looks at five of Shanghai’s remaining classical gardens through their origins, changing fortunes, restorations, and links to a wider Chinese aesthetic. Shanghai’s classical gardens are as much text as space; they exist in art, poetry, and literature as much as in stone, rock, and earth. But these gardens have not remained static entities. Rather, they have been remodelled constantly since their inception. This book reflects this process within the constancy of traditional Chinese horticulture and reveals Shanghai’s remaining classical gardens as places representing wealth and social status, social and dynastic shifts, through falling family fortunes and political revolutions to search for a recovery of China’s ancient culture in the modern day. “Like a classical Chinese garden, this admirable and beautifully balanced book conjures up wider landscapes from within a small compass. It can be savoured on many levels: poetic and aesthetic no less than scholarly and intellectual. It is the next best thing to being guided through such gardens by Shelly Bryant herself.” —Lynn Pan, author of When True Love Came to China and Shanghai Style

The garden—a place for refined pleasure and spiritual relaxation—has its roots in ancient China. Western travelers from Marco Polo onward marveled at the intricacy, the elaborate buildings, the subtle design, and the assured use of plants, water, and natural materials in Chinese landscapes. The Great Gardens of China shows, through stunning original photography and cogent text, both the visual splendors of China’s finest gardens and explains their ideas and techniques in accessible terms. Now every gardener, architect, or designer can understand China’s garden heritage and be inspired to use it to dramatic effect. Beginning with an introduction to Chinese beliefs and the historical development of garden design, this book discusses the basic aesthetics and landscaping elements—architecture, rock stacking, waterscapes, plants, borders, and scenic routes—used in Chinese garden design. The author, an expert in the history and theory of Chinese and international gardens, also describes specific gardens, from famed world cultural heritage sites like the Summer Palace in Beijing and the gardens of Suzhou—Lion Grove, Humble Administrator’s, Lingering, and Master-of-Nets Gardens—to the lesser known. The Great Gardens of China serves as a compendium—in text and illustration—of all facets of the Chinese garden. This book allows a total immersion in the enticing art of Chinese classical gardens . . . The book has helped me greatly to understand how Chinese gardens work and how to borrow from them for our own gardens in the West. I believe that Chinese gardens will strongly influence global garden design once their unique versatility is properly understood. —Janet Wheatcroft Craigieburn Garden & Nursery, Scotland