What is the relationship between China gardens and Confucianism and Taoism culture?

1. Introduction China ancient gardens have become a wonderful flower of world garden art with their charming artistic conception, delicate theme, profound connotation and meaningful charm, and their aesthetic thought of reappearing nature is deeply influenced by Taoist spirit. Compared with other schools, Taoism is more rich in observing the aesthetic temperament of all things in the world, paying more attention to the aesthetic relationship between man and nature, and Taoism also shows a simple psychological tendency. The concepts and categories used by Taoism are more universal in aesthetics and are often adopted and used by landscape designers in China. Therefore, the ancient gardens in China advocated and pursued nature, explored the "Tao" and "reason" in the potential nature, and finally merged into the Taoist spirit of harmony between man and nature.

2. Taoist spirit and artistic pursuit

Taoism believes that "Tao" is the source of all things, and "man governs the land, the land governs the sky, and the sky governs nature". Tao can do nothing but biochemical things, "independent and unchanging, it is not dangerous to go around." Respecting and conforming to nature is the essence of Taoist thought and culture. According to Zhuangzi and Taoist philosophy, nature has two meanings: one is nature, not man-made. For example, Lao Tzu. Wang Bi, a philosopher in the Wei and Jin Dynasties of the Three Kingdoms, explained that "Tao often does nothing": "Follow nature." Let nature take its course, that is, obey everything itself, so regular and undisturbed. This is the fundamental nature of Tao. Another meaning is to respect the beautiful natural environment and regard it as a home for my body and mind. For example, Zhuangzi's Journey to the North said, "Harmony between mountains and soil makes me happy.

Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were divided into wars, and the society was turbulent and dark. Many scholars are greatly dissatisfied with this. The Taoist thought of "advocating nature" has a great influence on them, so they seek detachment and sustenance in the famous mountains and rivers, and the natural landscape has become the material environment they rely on closely in real life. However, it is impossible for people to realize the ideal of traveling around the world. In addition, in order to get rid of the shackles of traditional ethics, literati also like to build landscape gardens to express their thoughts and feelings. This shows that Taoist aesthetic thought has played an obvious role in the emergence of ancient gardens in China.

The aesthetic view of "Taoism is natural" provides a direction for China ancient architectural art and its design. The reason why ancient gardens in China advocate and pursue nature is not to imitate the formal beauty of nature itself, but to integrate individual consciousness into nature without trace. This kind of consciousness is more reflected in the affinity, equality and integration with nature. Taoism is natural, blending with nature and conforming to nature. Expressing nature-this is the place where ancient gardens in China embody the national culture of "harmony between man and nature", which is the biggest feature of independence from the world and the fundamental reason for the eternal vitality of art. Taoism, as one of the three major components of China traditional culture, has its own cultural characteristics, from the conception and layout of gardens to the theme distribution of scenic spots, from the superficial meaning of scenery itself to the symbolic relationship between scenery, from the material expression of gardens to the spiritual pursuit. It had a far-reaching impact on the ancient gardens in China, which combined Buddhism and Confucianism, and played a certain role in the development of garden art in China. It can even be said that the Taoist spirit constitutes the most important cultural heritage of China ancient garden aesthetics.

3. The influence of Taoist spirit on the site selection of ancient gardens in China.

Influenced by the Taoist thought of "Taoism and Nature", China's architecture not only pays attention to the beauty of the nearby environment, but also pays attention to the affinity with the wider nature, resulting in the ideal realm of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. The relationship between architecture and nature is harmonious and peaceful, so ancient temples should be "hidden" in the mountains, rather than exposed abruptly like European castles, which is more prominent in gardens. A garden monograph "Garden Governance" will be completed at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Item land is called "item land", and item land is restricted by conditions. Generally speaking, due to the limitation of building area and existing surrounding conditions, the base sites where gardens can be built are mostly irregular. The plans of ancient famous gardens in China are almost all irregular planes. Faced with these difficult terrain, gardeners should adjust measures to local conditions, not only consider the light, water source and wind direction, but also consider the coordination with the surrounding building environment, even landscaping.

In addition, in the process of site selection, "Feng Shui" was largely used. Yin and Yang, infinity, Qi and Tao in China's garden geomantic theory are not only the inheritance of the Book of Changes, but also the further development and summary of the Taoist view of nature between heaven and earth. The ancients believed that the harmony between man and nature was similar to that of human beings. Zhuangzi said: "Heaven and earth are with me, and everything is one with me." Trying to trace back to the similarities between heaven and man, in order to achieve harmony and unity between heaven and man. "Harmony between man and nature" is the most prominent philosophical thought of China in ancient times, and it is also the ideological basis of the concept of geomantic omen. The theoretical premise of the concept of geomantic omen is that heaven, earth and man are an inseparable whole, and there is a close restrictive relationship between them.

The concept of geomantic omen is a classic according to Laozi's famous saying, "All things are negative and embrace Yang, while rushing is thought to be harmonious". It is believed that the unity of heaven, earth and man exists in this "qi" of yin and yang. Although this concept has many shortcomings, it also contains a simple understanding that people should adapt to and follow the universal laws of nature. From architectural activities to the relationship between man and the natural environment, as well as the understanding, harmony, coordination and consistency between man and nature, people have paid great attention. Feng Shui is keen on the pursuit of "harmony between man and nature" in terms of weather, location, harmony and integration. Many principles that Feng Shui masters believe in are in line with or in line with weather and location. Needham said: "Feng Shui contains important aesthetic elements, which can be used to illustrate the beauty of farmland, bedrooms and villages all over China." He also spoke highly of the tradition of fully blending architectural groups with the natural environment, which was formed by attaching importance to nature in the concept of geomantic omen and conforming to the consciousness of natural environment: "No other place embodies their great ideal like China people: man and nature cannot be separated." It is this simple and strong concept of attaching importance to the environment and conforming to nature that formed the ancient gardens and natural gardens in China.

4. The influence of Taoist spirit on the structural space of ancient gardens in China.

Influenced by Taoism, ancient gardens in China demanded to get rid of the shackles of traditional ethics and advocated returning to simplicity. Therefore, the layout of the garden adopts the basic principle of being based on nature and higher than nature, trying to make artificial beauty and natural beauty cooperate with each other and add color to each other. Its architecture does not require axial symmetry, and there is no law to follow. The mountains are surrounded by water and winding. Not only do flowers and trees follow the original appearance of nature, but even artificial buildings try to conform to nature and blend harmoniously. Integrate architecture, landscape and plants organically to achieve the realm of "although it is man-made, it seems natural". This requires China ancient gardens to create infinite artistic conception in a limited area. To achieve this goal, it is obviously impossible to copy the natural landscape, and it must be achieved through the gardener's understanding of nature and the gardener's subjective creation. Specifically, in gardening activities, this is mainly achieved through the creation of garden space, and the change of virtual and real space is from small to large.

The elements of ancient gardens in China are varied: the mountains are real, the water is empty, the verandahs, pavilions and verandahs are also virtual and real, and the arrangement of flowers and trees in the gardens has resulted in the effect of linking the virtual and the real. On the plane layout, it is as regular, geometric and symmetrical as western gardens, but it is staggered, tortuous and patchwork, and the spatial layout is intertwined. As a result, the changes between truth and falsehood have increased. The spatial treatment of the combination of reality and reality has also caused another feature of ancient gardens in China: "Seeing the big from the small." In dealing with space, people often use subtle, hidden, tortuous and suggestive illusions, and skillfully use the perception of time and space to make people linger. In addition, if we can flexibly use the techniques of borrowing scenery, contrasting scenery, leaving without dying, and contrasting, we can enrich the spatial level, make people feel that there is a scenery outside the scene and a garden outside the garden, and achieve the effect of "seeing the big from the small". The population management of Suzhou Lingering Garden is the most representative. In its population streamline, a number of small spaces have been consciously arranged, and great achievements have been made by using the methods of light and shade, truth and falsehood, zigzag closure and long and narrow.

Shen Fu's "Six Chapters of a Floating Life" talks about the technique of the combination of reality and reality: "If there are pavilions, suites and corridors, and mountains are piled with stones, you can grow flowers, and you can see the big in the small, the big in the small, the real in the virtual, the real in the virtual, or hidden or exposed, or shallow or deep, which not only twists and turns in the cycle, but also plagues the work and expenses in the rocky areas." Shen Fu said, for example. Or the porch pavilion has a kitchen that can be opened to other hospitals. If you are free in reality, open the impassable courtyard door and reflect it with bamboo stones. If there is reality, there is nothing. Setting a short fence on the wall, like the platform above, is also empty. Visible "virtuality in reality" and "virtuality in reality" are aimed at psychologically expanding the viewer's sense of space.

In addition, in order to achieve diversity and unity, and to achieve the artistic effect of seeing the overall situation in a limited space, China ancient garden art also used a variety of composition techniques, such as contrast, infiltration and hierarchy, which made China ancient garden a typical example of time and space flow, and made us feel an invisible unified whole in the process of transformation and dispersion. Only by looking at the whole garden step by step can we appreciate the ingenuity.

5. The influence of Taoist spirit on China ancient garden landscape design.

In the ancient gardens of China, there were no regular street trees, hedges, flower beds and mowed lawns. Flowers and trees are planted in clusters according to the original vegetation distribution mode of nature, and freely gather in pools or rocks, which is full of wild interest and lush scenery. In design and construction, there is a natural layout of trees without rows and stones without positioning. "The mountain has the potential to bow, and the water has the feeling of circuitous. This is a natural scenery full of twists and turns, and the water is in full bloom. Even the buildings in the garden follow the general trend of the landscape, showing twists and turns, rugged and tailor-made clothes, embellishing the artistic taste of the natural landscape. China's natural ancient gardens are different from western regular geometric gardens, because the gardening art and construction technology of ancient gardens in China are determined by Taoist thought.

Taoism is the guiding principle of landscape art and design in China. China's ancient aesthetic thinking and artistic design have always been influenced by this basic logic. Under the guidance of the thought of "Taoism and Nature", the goal of landscape design is to find the appropriate expression of personal feelings and enjoy the beauty of nature beyond the secular level. Beauty is the product of the harmonious balance between subjective and objective, emotion and reason. "Taoism and Nature" established the connection between Taoism and nature. It implies the operation law of the whole universe and emphasizes a profound respect for nature. Everything in the world, including human activities, should abide by the law of natural operation dominated by Tao, which is a decisive view in Taoist philosophy, and this conclusion has a decisive influence on China's landscape design art. 。

In ancient gardens in China, mountains, water, plants and buildings are the main landscape elements. The aesthetic judgment of landscape design depends largely on the combination of these elements and their significance in a specific environment, not the quantity. Based on the understanding of places and the consideration of the relationship between artificial environment and natural environment, according to human activities, the artificial landscape and buildings are arranged according to their spatial order. By showing reasonable functions, pleasant proportions, proper layout, unique creativity, and precise design techniques such as colors and materials, the realm of "Taoism is natural" can be achieved. Take the application of "stone" in the ancient garden design of China as an example. Stone is a static and lifeless natural material, but China's ancient thinking regards it as it. The function, use and emotion of stone are endowed with the symbol of life. Rocks can show rich emotions in the specific time and space of the garden: "Spring mountain is light and smiling, summer mountain is green and dripping, autumn mountain is bright and make-up, and winter mountain is bleak and sleeping." Rockery with lakes and rocks, like growing out of the ground, can play a spatial role in the relationship between the artificial environment and the natural environment, whether placed in front of the hall, under the window or by the water. As a barrier, stones also play a role in separating space. It can be said that rocks become a bridge between man and nature, which makes the garden transform from orderly architectural space to free natural space perfectly. In the abstract and symbolic sense, it successfully completed the transition from man to earth and from earth to heaven, thus achieving the harmonious unity of heaven, earth and man.

Similarly, other gardening elements in China ancient garden design, such as flowing water, swimming fish and flowers and trees, can also achieve the realm of "Taoism is natural" through combination. In China, gardens and stones seek novelty, corridors seek revival, water seeks melody, roads seek seclusion, rockeries overlap, flowers and trees are exotic, and the seasons change. In China, the water in ancient gardens includes lakes, rivers, springs, deep pools and lakes. Magnificent waterfalls and exquisite springs can inject great vitality into ancient gardens. Water flows around the mountains, the mountains are still and motionless, the things are moist and silent, and the mountains and rivers complement each other, giving the ancient gardens endless vitality. The reason why designers carefully build it is to give people a feeling of returning to nature. Li Yu said in "Living in a Secluded Rock and Rocks": "You" take a spoonful of water instead of water, which means there is no kind of extreme thinking. But it can turn a city into a mountain forest and attract people to live on the ground, which is naturally a magical skill. Small tricks are not allowed to show miraculous effects. "It means that in Xiaotian, a garden building turns a city into a mountain forest and moves a strange peak to the ground. The purpose is to make people who can't live under rocks and live in wood and stone compensate their feelings for the natural landscape through garden landscape.

Ancient literati painters were intoxicated by the landscape, trying to poeticize their lives, melting their favorite poetic ideas into the gardens, and pursuing elegant and detached artistic conception. Many literati painters in past dynasties directly participated in landscape design, such as Bai Juyi and Wang Wei in Tang Dynasty. Su Dongpo in Song Dynasty; Plans for the late Ming dynasty; Li Yu and others in Qing Dynasty are outstanding representatives. Literati painters often take landscape as the blueprint, poetry as the theme, color painting, scenery into painting, lyrical scenery, implicit form and expressive form, and combine couplets, poems and garden buildings, which is poetic and intriguing. Take the West Lake in Hangzhou as an example. Su Causeway is like flying on the lake. It also plays a role in dividing the water surface. It can conform to nature, escape with people and wait for the labor of water. The Milky Way takes a few seats for fun in nine days, and the scenery changes endlessly with the clear sky. Before sunrise, the lake seemed to be sleeping in a dream, but there was no ripple. The West Lake at this time is particularly soft and quiet. Surrounded by mountains in the distance, the water in front of the pavilion is as clear as a mirror, and the forest behind the pavilion is clear. Boating on the lake, the breeze blows on the face, and the melodious southern melody floats in the distance, which can be described as a paradise on earth. It is "the moon overflows the lake, and people are on the edge of Su Causeway, which shows that the moon is in the garden." When it is raining, the lakes and mountains are looming, just like nothingness. Sitting alone in Nanxuan, overlooking the other side, the piles of stones piled on Henggang show Linqing Pool, and the nitrate room is moved by it. There are many pagodas, willows and cypresses standing proudly on the ground. The embankment is surrounded by hibiscus flowers, which are red and green, and the distance is clear. Rows of swimming are desirable and fascinating. It is not difficult to see that in his eyes, the garden is like a ditch. It also reflects people's understanding of the natural spirit. It is such a Taoist philosophy, which embodies the impermanence of nature and the complementarity of all things, that guides the design principles of ancient gardens in China.

6. The highest state of "harmony between man and nature"

Taoist philosophy advocates the free realm of "everything is one with me", which is considered as the highest beauty. This is the origin of the extremely important artistic conception in China's garden aesthetics. At any time, there are always people who are unhappy and there are always problems that cannot be solved. For these people, painting artists, building gardens, expressing their feelings and finding the spiritual connection between nature and themselves are the ways to get pleasure and comfort. And Taoist philosophy can just create people. If you can't solve the problem, you can cancel it. This is called "digestion". Therefore, it is not difficult to find the shadow of Laozi and Zhuangzi from various gardens and famous temples. The influence of this philosophical thought determines that China gardens are not places to show off, but emotional sustenance of their owners. The object of communication is not the secular world, but the more essential natural world.

This spirit of "harmony between man and nature" is not only the basic spirit of China's philosophy, but also the highest spirit of ancient gardens in China. The "harmony between man and nature" in gardens is mainly reflected in the following aspects: First, the whole gardening concept pays attention to taking nature as the teacher and taking natural days as the highest beauty. Ji Cheng, a master gardener in Ming Dynasty, said, "It has its own natural taste. Do not disturb the people. " Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty described this kind of natural ecological beauty in "The Story of Jingming Garden": "If the husband is full of mountains, cranes and deer roam, kites and fish are all happy, Yanting Xiting, fragrant grass and ancient trees are natural, and people forget the secular world." Second, the beauty of gardens is the unity of natural beauty and artificial beauty. China gardens emphasize local conditions and make full use of the original landscape. It is also in line with social principles, and it is forbidden to use manpower to chisel through. Cao Xueqin set up a grange in A Dream of Red Mansions, and clearly saw that it was cut through by manpower: there is no neighboring village, no profile, no pulse on the back of the mountain, no water next to it, the tower of Wuyin Temple is very high, and there is no bridge leading to the city below, which is as steep and lonely as a grand view. (Cao Xueqin's Dream of Red Mansions 17) Third. There is no way to die if there is a law. Fourthly, the ancient gardens in China feel a kind of freedom in spirit, which is connected with the spirit of the universe, gods and Tao. The couplet on the bamboo pavilion in Suzhou Humble Administrator's Garden reads: "Borrow the wind and the moon, watch the flowing water and the mountains, so as to enjoy the cool." Borrowing the wind and the moon, watching the water and mountains, people are so close to nature. What kind of affinity? Li Anyun: "The breeze and the bright moon are priceless, and the moon is affectionate before the water." Not only empathy, but also empathy. Confucius said, "Wise people enjoy water, while benevolent people enjoy Leshan." Water becomes a symbol of wisdom, and mountains become a symbol of kindness. In China's view, man can find a bosom friend from nature because the essence of man and nature belongs to one noumenon-Tao, that is, "the unity of man and nature". .

The artistic pursuit of "harmony between man and nature" makes China's garden creation attach great importance to the affinity between man and nature, which makes people moved by the scenery and achieves the blending of scenes. Its rich natural artistic conception gives people inspiration and reverie: "watch the smoke wave, think about its artistic conception and swing its momentum." It makes "bamboo shoots count, stalagmites count", "sound in the wind and rain, shadow in the sun and moon, love in the wine in the poem, and companionship in leisure." From the sunset glow and lonely fog, the autumn water is long and enters the dreamland of "returning to the sky and feeling the infinity of the universe"; From the artistic conception of "taking the distant mountains and swallowing the Yangtze River, it is boundless" to the lofty ideological realm of "worrying about the world first, and enjoying the world later". This is the highest artistic realm pursued by China's traditional art: from limited to infinite, and then from infinite to limited, to achieve the natural expression of self-emotion and interest. The harmonious world outlook between man and nature is humanized and natural.

7. Conclusion Looking at the development of ancient gardens in China, we can see that this kind of garden view with the aesthetic characteristics of ancient people in China, which is manifested in ancient gardens, is not only limited to the visual feeling of modeling and color and the psychological description of human conquest of nature in general, but more importantly, it is the inevitable product of cultural development, that is, adjusting people's living environment through garden art to grasp the existence and significance of human beings. The forms of expression of garden art always meet the needs of the existence of nature and humanistic spirit, thus integrating nature and humanism without being far-fetched, invisibly creating a sense of "harmony between man and nature" and relaxing and wandering the spirit. We can find that the artistic style of ancient gardens in China is natural and perceptual, based on nature and superior to nature. It is the fusion of architectural beauty and natural beauty; It is the re-expression of the artistic conception of landscape poetry and painting; It is the emotional experience and personality support of the ancients.