Relationships Of Classical Gardens Depicted In Engravings And Representative Books In Ming And Qingdynasty

Engravings particularly those in traditional opera and faction in Ming and Qing Dynasty were the quintessence of engraving works in the history of China.While the gardens portrayed in Engravings provide precious details for the study of garden in Ming and Qing Dynasty.Gardening and writing were prevailing in the late Ming Dynasty and scholars compiled a mass of books about gardening.The quantity and quality of garden documents reached the peak and developed into the golden age at that time.Engravings and garden books entered the peak stage of its development at the same time and they all reflected,to some extent,the process status of gardens in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.In addition to the summary of four elements(plants,rockeries,water and buildings)of garden construction in engraving,this study compared the gardens depicted in engravings and garden books in Ming and Qing Dynasty,to seek the relationship between them.The main conclusions were as follows: Firstly,the most common plants in engravings were pine and cypress,bamboos,and willow.The painters had a certain understanding of the planting and ecological habits of garden flowers and trees.The arrangement of plants in engravings was consistent with the description in garden books and engravings provided new viewpoints for the study of plant configuration in Chinese traditional garden.Secondly,the rockery stones were always arranged in gardens,in front of the hall and in the pool and the most arranged way were placed alone and group.The wonderful arrangement in Ming and Qing Dynasty of rockery stones could be reflected by engravings.Thirdly,most gardens were built by the river and brought the river into gardens which was consistent with the idea of the gardeners and engravings provided historical evidences for the view that quadrate pond prevailed in south Chinese garden of Ming Dynasty.Fourthly,the most common buildings are halls,bedrooms and pavilions.The shape and location of buildings in engravings were consistent with the descriptions in garden writings.The garden book was one of the source of inspiration when the artist was painting.Lastly,it is concluded that the gardens in engravings showed different features in the development of Chinese traditional garden and conveyed mainly the artistic conception as garden books written.But there are limitations because the painters lacked professional knowledge background and the engraving was deficient.To make up for the deficiency,garden books should be used when engravings were studied.Engravings reflected the painter's understanding of garden art and could be used as literature supplement to the study of traditional garden.The results could provide references for research on garden and engraving in Ming and Qing Dynasty and enrich cognition to Chinese classical garden in Ming and Qing Dynasty by studying the relationship of classical gardens depicted in engraving and representative books.