A Study On Superfluous Things About Gardens And Residence Theory And Its Cultural Meaning

China has a long history of gardening. With the infiltration of Chinese traditional culture throughout thousands of years, the classic works of garden are as countless, brilliant and splendid as the bright stars. Behind these impressive achievements is the strong support from ancient Chinese experiences and theoretical system of gardening. Studies of Chinese gardening, like Chinese classical gardens, are radiant and charming. Among various gardening literature in ancient China, the book Superfluous Things, written by late Ming Dynasty's scholar Wen Zhenheng, is undoubtedly an excellent masterpiece. Viewing from vast perspectives, the book described all areas and aspects of ancient China gardening and garden life. The contents are comprehensive and profuse; descriptions are simple and diverse, and the structure is clear, smooth and logical. Mr. Chen Zhi spoke highly of "Superfluous Things as one of few precious classical masterworks in addition to Yuan Ye." (Chen Zhi, 1984)However, in the academic field, the study on Superfluous Things is not regarded as important as Yuan Ye. So far, just a few studies on this book have been published, most of which are explanations with some comments on the original text of Superfluous Things. Reviewing those studies, some are discussed purely from certain level of the gardening technique and art; while some are unilaterally described one aspect detached from the main idea centered on the garden; and others just talked about the cultural meaning. Therefore, the research on Superfluous Things needs to improve further and the scope of the study should be widened and deepened.Based on existing research papers, this thesis deeply explores the theory of gardening architecture in Superfluous Things, and find the core essence of the theory. Furthermore, this thesis put Superfluous Things into the macro background of Chinese traditional culture, starting from the Late Ming Dynasty's special politics, economy and cultural situation, using multiple disciplines to explain interactively and explore the colorful cultural implication from all aspects with a panoramic vision. This thesis is divided into five ordered chapters.The first chapter describes the epoch and the academic background, on which the studies on Superfluous Things depended, emphatically analyzing the current situation of studies both at home and abroad, and indicates the existing problems and shortcomings. Based on this analysis, this thesis proposes the paper's research purpose, meaning and methods concerning the study on Superfluous Things.Chapterâ…¡examines the three aspects covering the economy, politics and cultural environment, and attempts to demonstrate the panoramic picture of the late Ming Dynasty when Superfluous Things came into being. In this thesis I have made a systematic carding and introduction about the writer Wen Zhenheng and his book, Superfluous Things, combined with the cognitive analysis of late Ming Dynasty social environment factors.Chapterâ…¢analyzes the theory system of gardening showed in Superfluous Things from theoretical and technological level. Firstly, the whole book thoroughly penetrated the three important philosophies that are:'learning from nature';'organizing landscape depended on corresponding environment'; and'simplicity and elegance'. Secondly, this thesis makes a detailed description of the four main branches of the theoretical system. The four branches are'gardening architecture landscape';'water and stone landscapes in garden'; and'gardening plant landscape', which are directly associated with the gardening school; and'furniture and location in garden', which is indirectly subordinated with the gardening school.Chapterâ…£emphasizes the excavation of the cultural meaning implied by Superfluous Things, from the perspective of cultural research. Firstly, this chapter discloses philosophical basis of the gardening theory, which include'integrity of nature and human','mind is landscape','common people's daily life is Confucianism', as well as the disclosure of moral philosophy about "personality' and'ecological ethics'. Secondly, this chapter analyzes the relationship between gentry and hermit in ancient China and explores the ideological trend of hermitage in the late Ming Dynasty. Thirdly, through the review of the trend of revivalism, this chapter interprets the cultural language behind the revivalism declared by the book. Fourthly, through the social observation of commercial culture, this chapter observes the speech mechanism connoted in the text of book, which is exclusive discourse and deconstruction of the commercial culture.Chapter V brings the thesis to a conclusion. Based on the results of the whole paper, this thesis uncovers the contemporary meaning on the study of Superfluous Things. This chapter indicates that the gardening theory and technique of Superfluous Things embodied the combination of science and humanity, which has made a significant contribution to build a harmonious environment, to push the construction of ecological civilization, and to boost the Chinese traditional culture.