| This paper takes Lengmei’s Bishu Shanzhuangtu (Picture of Mountain Resort) and the gardens of Chengde Mountain Resort as the objects of study, and presents an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the artistic conception of gardening during the reign of Kanghsi by following a painting-appreciating approach. A study is made of the composition, brushing and coloring of landscape paintings in comparison with the siting and layout of classical gardens, with a view to explore, against the backdrop of traditional Chinese culture, the cultural gene and origin that are shared by both.The introductory part to this paper gives an account of the significance of this research, pointing out that behind the panorama of this realistic painting there are hidden a lot of messages with respect of imperial gardening conception and techniques, and that it makes possible our research into the deep internal logic between traditional landscape paintings and classical gardens.The first chapter is an exploration, from the panoramic view of the painting, of the motives and reasons that underlies the siting of Chengde Mountain Resort. Starting from the composition of the painting, an in-depth analysis is made of the garden-building concepts, i.e. creating views in conformity to mountain and water conditions and relying on the natural conditions to lay out mountain and waters. In the second chapter, focus is placed on the comparison of the composition of landscape paintings with the layout of garden-building, by which an explorative analysis is made of the internal relations and cultural correlation between the principal-and-subordinate composition, open-and-closed space of landscape paintings and the functional zoning, water-and-mountain location of classical gardens.The third chapter is targeted upon the brushing technique of landscape painting in comparison to the gardening ideation. The composition and perspective of painting are analyzed against the building layout, plants and pavilions configuration.Following the famous "six distances" theory of landscape paintings, the fourth chapter is committed to exploring the theoretical basis on which meandering pathways lead to secluded spots with an enchanting view in classical gardens. The distant space creation methods in classical gardens are discussed from four aspects, i.e. building rockery to create views, long pathways obscured in vagueness and mistiness, looking at small views against bigger ones and integration of garden and views, so as to examine the prominent role of scenery boiTOwing in classical gardens.In light of "application of colors according to categories", one of "six methods" theory of landscape paintings, the fifth chapter presents an analysis of the correlations between "Picture of Mountain Resort" and Chengde Mountain Resort in terms of color setting. The core concept of color setting for the Resort which is characterized with elegant simpleness and conformity to seasonal changes is fully explored.This paper is a comparative study of painting techniques and garden-building conceptions, with a view to exploring the creation basis and cultural origin that underlie the ancient painting and gardens. |
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