What is the cultural connotation of ancient gardens in China?

Housing reflects the owner's life information, such as the owner's living habits, cultural orientation and so on. China Garden is a very special existence. Besides the function of residence, it also has great ornamental value and can provide more architectural space. Pavilions, waterside pavilions, trees and grass all have certain meanings, which are also the embodiment of the owner's ideological content. From the very beginning, China gardens were built on the basis of respecting nature, which is the reappearance of nature and embodies the concept of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, while western gardens were built on the basis of fighting and conquering nature, which is also the essential difference between Chinese and western gardens. So, what kind of place is China Garden? What kind of cultural connotation does it embody?

First, the meaning of China gardens

1, advocating material life "seclusion"

The ancients liked seclusion very much. Boyi and Shu Qi were the earliest hermits in the late Shang Dynasty, and they were very famous. After King Wu destroyed the business, they went to shouyangshan to live in seclusion. After that, they didn't eat Zhou Su, and finally died of hunger. There is a poem that says, "climb the western hills and learn from them." . Violence is easy to be violent, and I don't know what it is. Shennong is in danger in summer, and suddenly there is nothing. I am comfortable and safe. Hey, hey, life is dying. "

Boyi and Shu Qi are the representatives of the earliest hermits in China. Because of their noble sentiment of "not eating Zhou Su", they are highly praised by future generations. Because of this, mountains also have the meaning of seclusion, and rockeries in China gardens are taken from this seclusion culture.

"Zhuangzi Qiushui" records: "Zhuangzi was fishing in Pu Shui, and the Chu people made the doctor go first, saying,' I would like to be tired of China!'" Zhuangzi just laughed. He said,' I heard that there was a turtle in the state of Chu who died at the age of three thousand, and the king hid it in the temple with a towel. Will it be more expensive to keep the bones when this turtle is dead? Would you like to be born and drag your tail to draw? "

What does this passage mean? In other words, the king of Chu wanted to invite Zhuangzi to be an official in the palace, but Zhuangzi didn't want to be an official, preferring to live freely. Later, when Zhuangzi was traveling with Keiko, he also said, "It is a pleasure for small fish to wander around." . In Zhuangzi's view, what you do should be judged by yourself. On the issue of being an official, you can experience the pleasure of living freely without being an official. Of course, few people really stay away from the hustle and bustle of the city and return to nature. Therefore, many people build gardens in cities, imitate nature with mountains and rivers, flaunt hermits and maintain a colorful life. Therefore, in a sense, gardens are not real seclusion, but have a hypocritical temperament.

It symbolizes that hermits buy gardens in cities, compare themselves with ancient sages and flaunt themselves in the name of hermits. On the one hand, this reflects their reluctance to give up their material life, on the other hand, it also implies their detachment from the world. Therefore, China gardens are also the product of the ambivalence of hermits.

2. Fulian Apartment

In ancient China, demotion was a very shameful thing, especially for scholars, which was almost unforgettable. Many people will build gardens and live in seclusion after being demoted. For example, Su Shunqin in the Northern Song Dynasty, who was the son-in-law of the Prime Minister, was eventually dismissed from office because he wrote many times about current affairs. Su Shunqin was extremely disappointed in the court. After he was dismissed from office, he simply bought the old pond hall of Qian Yuanliao, the king of Guangling in the Five Dynasties, for 50 thousand yuan, and rebuilt the pavilions here, named Canglang Pavilion and called it Canglang Weng. From then on, Su Shunqin imitated himself as a fisherman, staying out of the world, and seemed to find the final destination in seclusion.

In fact, Su Shunqin's psychology is very contradictory. On the one hand, he wants to show his ambition and realize his life ideal. On the other hand, he didn't want to be in cahoots with people in the imperial court, so he stayed at a respectful distance from others. Su Shunqin and Canglang Pavilion illustrate a fact. In fact, the seclusion of China garden owners is just a gesture, and waiting for a comeback is the deep essence of these "hermits".

"forty without confusion" refers to a stage of life. After forty, we reach a crossroads in life. At this age, people have experienced all the contents of life, and nothing can attract you anymore. People often have a strong sense of loss and want to pursue "the meaning of life", which is also the ultimate problem of life. Among scholars, this trend is more obvious. They used to be brilliant, but now they are in decline. How should they manage themselves for the rest of their lives? While thinking about the ultimate meaning of life, China garden masters poured their thoughts into gardens and reflected them in the layout of gardens. Therefore, the landscape, pavilions and pavilions of the garden have certain meanings.

3, helpless life destination

Life has been fading away from the beginning, and many scholars lament for it. For example, Li Bai's "How does the Yellow River water move to the sky and enter the ocean, and it will never return", Su Dongpo's "Life is sad for a while, and the Yangtze River is infinite", and Yan Shu's "Flowers fall helplessly, and it seems like a familiar swallow returns" all reflect the periodic law of life. There is a sense of helplessness in the poem, and no one can resist death. Whether mortal or emperor, dust returns to dust in the end. Behind the bustling garden, you can't get rid of the fate of the law of life cycle. Gardens have been circulated for thousands of years, rebuilt after being destroyed, and changed owners many times, which is also the destination of gardens.

When those literati sang in the garden, it was just everyone's helplessness. If officialdom is arrogant, who wants to say these irrelevant words in the garden? After all, only actions can change the status quo From this perspective, China Garden is also a sad symbol. Only when we realize this, can we really understand the garden.

Second, the cultural connotation of China gardens

1, heaven and man are one, learning from nature.

The Chinese nation has always advocated the beauty of nature and paid attention to "learning from nature", that is, the harmony between man and everything. For example, in Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu regards learning from nature as the highest criterion for the development of all things in the world, that is, "man should be a teacher in the earth, the earth should be a teacher in the sky, the sky should be a teacher in the Tao, and the Tao should be a teacher in the nature". Zhuangzi also mentioned that "the great beauty of heaven and earth is called heaven and earth", in which "heaven and earth" refers to the perfect fit between heaven and earth and nature, that is, "the unity of heaven and man". It is precisely because of "imitating nature" that China classical gardens take nature as the imitation object, and construct the essence of nature between squares, so as to achieve the purpose of "confusing the fake with the real".

So, how can we "confuse the real with the fake"? In fact, it is very simple. There are three main means: First, it imitates the natural form in the overall layout and architecture. China gardens pay attention to "gardening without qualification, accompanied by shadows", which is neither amorphous nor fixed. Mountain-shaped waters, trees, flowers, pavilions and pavilions in the garden are integrated with nature, forming a series of garden spaces intertwined with emotions and dreams. As long as you are in the garden space, you will have a feeling of returning to nature. Second, the layout and interest of scenic spots should conform to the form of natural beauty as far as possible. Generally speaking, natural beauty is both magnificent and beautiful. The ancient gardens in China are mainly embodied in beauty, delicate and hazy.

2, the gentleman is better than Germany, self-cultivation.

China's ancient gardens are places for self-cultivation and self-cultivation. This cultural connotation is closely related to China's thought that "a gentleman is superior to morality". We know that Confucianism takes "benevolence" as the core and pays attention to inner cultivation. This view of benevolence is embodied in classical gardens, that is, mountains and rivers are used to compare people's virtues of generosity, tolerance and self-cultivation, that is, the so-called "wise man Leshan, benevolent man enjoys water." "Mountain" and "water" are the embodiment of human nature, showing a situation. For example, Confucius "climbed Mount Dongshan and made a small fortune, climbed Mount Tai and set up a small world". At this time, he compared the mountain to a "benevolent", which triggered his deep thinking about the origin. It is precisely because of this that "high mountains and flowing water" has also become synonymous with noble morality.

From the very beginning, China classical gardens attached great importance to building mountains and managing water. Even if the space is square, use rockery and a pool of clear water. This relatively clean garden culture, on the one hand, reduces the cost of pursuing intellectual pursuit by literati and poets, on the other hand, caters to their indifferent thoughts of fame and fortune. For example, Tao Yuanming in the Eastern Jin Dynasty was a practitioner of garden culture. In the famous "Returning to the Garden", he compared the officialdom to a cage, and compared it to the countryside, indicating his intention of seclusion: "No vulgar rhyme, naturally love the autumn mountains. I sneaked into the official career network and have been away from the game for more than ten years. Birds in cages are often attached to the forests of the past, and fish in ponds yearn for the abyss of the past. Open up wasteland in the south and return to the garden. "

3. Concept and closed mode of housing.

China gardens embody the idea of "small country with few people", that is, to build a closed small society through gardens. In fact, as early as the primitive society, the ancients formed a closed social model. In Laozi's mind, "a small country with few people" means "the people are in poverty, and they don't interact with each other in old age and death", and Confucius' "cautious independence" has become the life creed of later generations. Therefore, whether it is the ruins of ancient villages or the current quadrangles, the basic architectural features are closure and enclosure, which is also a humanistic feature of garden architecture.

Literally, the original name of "Garden" was "Xi", and it was renamed "Yuan" after the Han Dynasty. Both "Xi" and "Garden" are "closed" in terms of fonts, and so are the actual buildings in the garden. There is a fence around the garden. The fence is closed and isolated from the outside world. This point is also reflected in many classical poems, such as "all love can't be shut up, an almond comes out of the wall" and "a swing in the wall is outside the road, and a layman laughs in the wall". These poems all reflect the closeness of the garden. In fact, there are few open ancient gardens in China, and the formation of this cultural feature also stems from the farming culture of "small country with few people".