A brief history of the development of traditional gardens in China.

China gardens have a history of 3000 years, which began in Shang Dynasty. Every era has its own characteristics.

First, the embryonic form of "First Garden" in Shang and Zhou Dynasties [embryonic stage]

The original form of gardens is "Xi". "Xi" refers to spreading natural plants, animals and birds in a certain area, digging ponds and building platforms for emperors and nobles to hunt and play. "Xi" is the embryonic form of the garden. Except for some artificial buildings, most areas are still plain natural scenery.

II. The Palace Gardens and Private Gardens in the Qin and Han Dynasties [Formation Period]

The architectural palaces and private gardens in Qin and Han Dynasties have a common feature, that is, a large number of buildings are combined with mountains and rivers, and this traditional feature of China gardens has begun to appear. Famous palaces in history include Shanglinyuan, Epang Palace, Changle Palace and Weiyang Palace.

During this period, temple gardens also flourished.

Three, Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties Palace and Tang and Song Dynasties freehand brushwork landscape garden [mature period]

The Sui and Tang Dynasties were the heyday of China's feudal society in the middle period, and the palace gardens developed greatly during this period. Due to the exchange of gardens between the north and the south, the palace in the north has also evolved into a natural landscape garden in the south, and has become a landscape architecture palace. There are many famous palaces in this period.

Landscape poetry and landscape painting were very popular in Tang and Song Dynasties, which inevitably affected garden creation. Poetry and painting entered the park to paint the scenery, forming the characteristics of "Tang and Song freehand brushwork landscape garden". Because of the different conditions of garden construction, it can be divided into natural landscape gardens with natural scenery planning and layout and urban gardens with urban construction.

The prevalence of landscape poetry and landscape painting in Tang and Song Dynasties inevitably affected the creation of gardens. Poetry and painting entered the park to paint the scenery, forming the characteristics of "Tang and Song freehand brushwork landscape garden". Because of the different conditions of garden construction, it can be divided into natural landscape gardens with natural scenery planning and layout and urban gardens with urban construction. The freehand brushwork landscape garden in Tang and Song Dynasties created a new generation of China gardens, which imitated nature and was superior to nature, implied the blending of scenery and scenes, and was full of poetry and painting. It was inherited and developed by Ming and Qing gardens, especially private gardens in the south of the Yangtze River, and became one of the important features of China gardens.

Private gardens in the Tang Dynasty were also very prosperous. The gardens in the Tang Dynasty were mainly concentrated in Chang 'an and Luoyang.

The gardens in the Northern Song Dynasty were mainly concentrated in the capital Tokyo, Luoyang and Xi 'an. The political center of the Southern Song Dynasty moved south, and Lin 'an was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. There are countless gardens around the West Lake, including no less than ten royal gardens, and the rest belong to temple gardens and private gardens of nobles.

Four, Ming and Qing Dynasties Palace and Jiangnan Private Gardens [peak period]

There were not many gardens built in the Ming Dynasty, and the style was natural and simple, which inherited the tradition of landscape gardens in the Northern Song Dynasty. Mainly concentrated in Beijing, Nanjing and Suzhou. At that time, Suzhou's agriculture and handicrafts were very developed, and many bureaucratic landlords built private gardens here, which formed a climax of gardening for a period of time. Many existing gardens, such as Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden and Art Garden, were originally built during this period.

Palace gardens in Qing Dynasty were generally large in number, large in scale, luxurious and solemn in decoration and numerous in gardens. Even if there are mountains and water, the control and main role of garden buildings are still emphasized. Many gardens imitate Jiangnan landscape and absorb the characteristics of Jiangnan gardens, which are called architectural landscape palace. An important feature of gardens in the Qing Dynasty is that scenic spots all over the country are gathered into one garden, and the whole garden is divided into several scenic spots by intensive layout, each with its own unique theme, artistic conception and interest. Representative works include Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan and chengde mountain resort. The summer resort has thirty-six scenes of Kangxi Qianlong, Jinshan Pavilion imitates Zhenjiang Jinshan Temple, Yuyanlou imitates Jiaxing Yuyanlou, and Wen Yuan Lion Forest imitates Suzhou Lion Forest.

Private gardens in Ming and Qing Dynasties were mostly concentrated in Yangzhou, Suzhou, Xing Wu, Hangzhou and other cities and the Pearl River Delta.

Private gardens in Ming and Qing dynasties have made great progress on the basis of the previous generation. The famous Jiangnan gardens are distributed in Suzhou (Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden, Lion Forest, Canglang Pavilion, Wangshiyuan, etc.). ), Wuxi (Jichang Garden, Yangzhou Garden, etc. ), Shanghai (Yu Garden, Inner Garden, etc. ), Nanjing (Exhibition Park, etc. ), Changshu (Yanyuan, etc. ) and Nanxiang (Guyiyuan)