Are the classical gardens in China facing the end of the road?

From contemporary architecture, we can rarely see the shadow of the tradition that people want to inherit in theory. If the aesthetic concept of classical gardens is rigidly grafted to the trees of contemporary architecture, there will be strange bastards who are neither fish nor fowl. The following Zhong Da Consulting will show you the problems faced by classical gardens in China.

A friend's children are studying landscape planning in a famous forestry university in China, and they get together to talk about the landscape during the holidays.

Sun: Are you looking for a job or taking the postgraduate entrance examination after graduation? Want to go abroad?

Student: It's not easy to find a job. I can't get into a foreign language exam. If you want to continue your major in landscape planning, going abroad is not very interesting. China gardens have a high status in the world.

Sun: Not China gardens, but China classical gardens. The classical gardens in China have a glorious history, while the modern gardens in China are still in the initial stage, which is still very backward compared with many developed countries. The glory of China's classical gardens is history, but it has already passed.

Student: China has made great achievements in classical gardens. These achievements should be inherited and carried forward. In modern landscape design, we should inherit the essence of traditional culture and innovate in inheritance.

Sun: Is that your understanding?

Student: This is the teacher's theory. It should be, don't you think?

Sun: "Inheritance and innovation" is the most tenable. This is practical for China's culture and academic attitude in any field. This view will not be attacked, because it looks very philosophical and gentle, especially in line with the psychology of China people. In my opinion, this statement is the most insightful and irresponsible statement. China people like to play this golden mean. China's classical gardens have had exquisite skills in history and reached their peak. Classical gardens are the product of history and the typical expression of feudal autocratic social culture. They serve a very small number of people (nobles) and are oriented to the psychological needs of feudal corruption. At present, the analysis of China classical gardens should be observed from a historical perspective. Unfortunately, there are too few things that classical gardens can learn from modern gardens, and some ideas run counter to modern living environment and survival concepts.

Today, classical gardens have more archaeological value, and China classical gardens have reached a dead end.

Student: Can't modern garden design inherit and innovate from classical gardens?

Sun: My attitude may be a bit extreme. If I analyze it philosophically and add conservative national narcissism, my views will definitely be criticized. But I think it is necessary to maintain a non-philosophical extreme consciousness in academic circles, so as to dare to think and do and create something. The ancients said well, "Nothing can be broken, nothing can be established", and I am most opposed to academic moderation.

Student: The classical gardens in China have special aesthetic value and have a high academic status in the field of landscape architecture. The biggest difference between modern landscape architecture and modern architecture is that modern landscape architecture meets the spiritual needs of the times and makes innovations while maintaining the inheritance of classical gardens.

Sun: I have made field trips in Shanghai, Dalian, Qingdao and Shenzhen, and there are not many successful landscape designs. Most of the so-called landscape architecture designs are absurd and cannot "represent advanced culture". They are all scene designs led by cultural lag's psychology, which are chaotic, complicated and trivial, especially those so-called works that draw lessons from and inherit traditional gardens. They look neither fish nor fowl, just like a person wearing a double-breasted homespun shirt on his upper body, brand-name sneakers on his feet and yellow hair on his head. It looks silly.

Student: These situations are really common. Why can't we always solve the problems of inheritance and innovation?

Sun: Lack of critical spirit. With the rapid development of modern civilization, our living environment (material and spiritual) has undergone profound changes. Today, people's material needs and spiritual needs are essentially different from those of China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The fundamental change of lifestyle has triggered changes in people's physical and psychological needs. The closed psychology of classical garden landscape leads to the narrow and crowded garden space, small view appreciation, pondering over details, trivial and slender, and the individualistic possession psychology of boudoir backyard, which is completely contrary to modern public open space and open lifestyle. At the same time, more importantly, garden design and architecture are integrated and unified styles, and the classical gardens in China were an inseparable part of the architecture at that time, or the traditional architecture and classical gardens in China were very harmonious. Architecture itself is a kind of landscape, and there are buildings in the landscape, and the harmony between buildings has reached a very perfect situation. However, the contemporary architecture in China has been completely westernized, and the contemporary architectural style is not the same as the traditional architecture in China. Great changes have taken place in terms of volume, material, aesthetics and psychological needs. From contemporary architecture, we can rarely see the shadow of the tradition that people want to inherit in theory. If the aesthetic concept of classical gardens is rigidly grafted to the trees of contemporary architecture, there will be strange bastards who are neither fish nor fowl.

Student: People who study landscape planning are more exposed to the classical gardens in China, because the classical gardens in China have formed a complete system from the cultural background to the design techniques, which are very classic, while the contemporary landscape design lacks systematic theoretical support and practical summary.

Sun: Times have provided you with opportunities for academic revolution. Indeed, the classical gardens in China have almost reached the extreme and classic level, showing a highly developed traditional civilization. You have a heavy burden on your back. The important thing is to learn to unload it and look at everything with the contemporary spirit.

Student: Judging from the students I contacted, the basic attitude is that modern landscape architecture can only innovate on the basis of comprehensively absorbing and inheriting the achievements of classical gardens.

Sun: I don't specialize in gardens. From my research point of view, it is only my understanding of history, and the value of classical gardens tends to archaeology. "All-round absorption and inheritance" is a mean attitude of many people towards traditional culture, and it is also a cliche in concept, and may even be misleading. It is necessary to study classical gardens, from which we can understand the history, causes and glory of classical gardens and understand many spiritual connotations. But we must learn to criticize. What was excellent in the past may not be applicable to the present, but it was produced in a specific historical period. I always feel that after farmers have harvesters, it is not necessary to keep the means of raising two cows. This topic is so big that I can't make a word or two clear. It may be more important to pay more attention to your inner feelings and creativity.

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