A Chinese Garden—The Rhythm of Nature Refreshing the Heart 中国园林——涤荡心灵的自然韵律

卡洛琳·麦克道尔 贺媛 杨文地

No culture in the world， eastern or western， has produced a longer continuous tradition of garden design than that of China. Chinas civilisation started with the advent of agricultural activity. The early Chinese paid homage to the soil in what has been called ‘a religion of agrarian fertility.

The first reference to a garden in Chinese literature suggests it consisted solely of useful trees planted with the walls around a homestead. A garden containing willows， hardwoods and mulberries is mentioned in the Shih Ching1， a book of songs collected five centuries before the Christ event.

In a Chinese garden a strong belief in a sense of unity with nature as a benign wilderness， source of awe， magic and sustenance2 is required. What vibrates through and around the various elements of its composition was designed to ‘bring out the rhythm of nature. The garden is where all the arts come together. It is the place where it is assumed that the visitor views it with an educated mind and eye.

Plants were not essential to the integrity of a Chinese garden. Rocks and water came first， followed by architecture， plants， trees and flowers.

To the Chinese their accumulated symbolic and ritual associations were far more important than looks. The modest lotus represented a transformation， emerging as it does from the murky bottom of the pond to penetrate the surface of the water where it gradually reveals its face to the sun from which it draws strength and beauty.

This is similar to the Christian idea， one shared by most cultures and religions， for that of moving through the murky darkness of sin to emerge triumphant in a glorified light.

Bamboo has similar associations. It bends in the wind and does not break—suggesting an honourable man.

The orchid on the other hand represents the true gentleman because its scent is so subtle it only invades the senses when you leave.

The peach promises fecundity and immortality， while that most ravishing of all flowers the peony reflects great wealth and elegance.

Of all flowers the chrysanthemum is recognised by many as the oldest cultivated flower in China and it symbolizes autumn.

The Chinese approach plants from a religious， spiritual and symbolical prospective rather than from an interest in botanical specimens.

The famous three friends of winter often depicted on art forms such as porcelain are the pine， the plum and the bamboo.

They form a trilogy that has classical associations for the Chinese.

The pine represents longevity， the plum wealth and prosperity while the bamboo is about integrity and perseverance.

The significance attached to particular plants is symptomatic of the resonances with which the components of a Chinese garden are charged. The garden is not only a place to ‘refresh the heart by communing with nature. It also has to engage the intellect and express a profound and serious view of the world as well as mans place within it.

The Chinese garden required a painter to design and appreciate it， a poet to immortalize it and， a calligrapher to record its most appealing qualities.

Irregularity of design was the key to the success. It was judged on its ability to continually challenge and stimulate the educated mind to discover the subtlety of its references.

Just as all other art forms in the Chinese culture have been affected by its two main indigenous philosophies， Confucianism or Daoism， so has the Chinese garden. This is reflected in the importance placed on its siting， determined by the ancient art of “Feng Shui （Air and Water）.

They consist of vital spirits， or a cosmic breath that forcefully influences the course of individuals and their descendants. All of this is dependent upon the siting of houses， gardens and graves as well as their relationship to the landscape in which they live.

The Chinese attempted to recreate natures poetic wonders and create a garden that would be an outward expression of a mans inner strength. It is highly contradictory because to be at one with the ebb and flow of the natural order of things everything is in constant flux and contradiction.

So to go forward， you must step back， to gain you have to let go， and to win you must lose. Its an introspective philosophy， one that had a ‘belief in， and reliance on， human intuition.

The Chinese Immortals were enchanted Gods of Chinese folklore who divided their time between mountaintop palaces and islands located in the so-called Eastern Seas. They commuted between their retreats on the backs of storks， and if mortals approached they would dissolve into the mist.

Their mountain tops were expressed in the use of rock formations with water and trees as essential accompaniments， both with their own deep philosophical meanings.

Rivers were considered ‘life arteries of the earth and waters use in gardens， an expression of universal life. It was not only a powerful force able to erode and shape the natural landscape over time but also a subtle reminder of natures awesome ability to mould even the strongest and hardest of materials. By nature water was restless or calm， rising up into the air or dashing down onto rocks， delighting by its playfulness， overawing3 with its majesty… a living， searching4 thing.

A Chinese stroll garden also unfolds along winding paths and even though there is a homogenous5 composition， isolated scenes confront the visitor as he strolls past elements that represent mountains and lakes creating mystery and surprise.

Trees in the natural landscape of China were admired for their form， shape and colour… it was the colour of their green， the luxuriance of their foliage， the formation of their crown， the thickness and height of their trunks that was most important in any selection process and where they were placed—on the north or south or the top of a slope or hill， or in a valley…

For the Daoist gardener an aged and gnarled pine tree was one of the most desired of all elements， at least aesthetically. The garden was meant to be some distance from the house and surrounded with a curving wall or be dispersed like a ‘great cloud.

If there was rising ground a pavilion could be placed to overlook the ‘prospect so the viewer could observe the many changes of nature through the four seasons and paths.

Seats were placed so that visitors to a garden would be able to contemplate each rock and how it was placed. Trees and shrubs were often only evergreen but deliberately trained into unusual forms and shapes for their aesthetic appeal.

To quote Tao Yuanming， a fifth century Chinese Poet： ‘I had rescued from wilderness a patch of the southern moor， and still rustic， came back to field and garden… long I lived checked by the bars of the cage; now I have returned again to nature and freedom.

縱览东西文化，唯有中国园林设计传统最为源远流长。农业活动出现伊始，中华文明便开始了漫长的历程，中国先民对于土地的敬意体现在“对后土娘娘的信奉”中。

园林在中国文学中最早的形象是砌有院墙的住宅内园，单纯种植实用树木。收录成书于公元前五世纪的中国诗歌总集《诗经》，曾提及一个园子，园子里种有杞柳树、青檀树和桑树。

中国园林的设计秉持与自然和谐统一的理念，展现柔和的野趣和奇景异致，从中寻求精神寄托。构造园林的各种元素始终贯穿“展现自然韵律”的理念。园林集各种艺术形式之大成，前来游玩者无不是有教养、懂鉴赏之人。

中国园林不以树木为尊，而先是堆山叠石、引水为池，才考虑亭台楼阁、花草树木。

相比园林的外观，中国人更看重其象征意义和仪式感。荷花清新朴素，象征一种转变：出尘离染，破水而立，迎着太阳渐渐绽放，从阳光中汲取力与美。

这与基督教思想不谋而合，亦是大多数文化和宗教所共有——穿越罪的黑暗，在荣耀之光中一跃而出，意气风发。

竹子具有类似的象征意义——任尔东西南北风，弯而不折，象征高尚可敬之人。

兰花象征低调高洁的真君子，其幽香让赏花人离去之时方觉其妙。

桃花象征富饶与长寿，而百花之王牡丹则代表着雍容富贵。

百花之中，菊花被很多人视为中国最早的种植花卉，正所谓菊花开，秋意浓。

中国人研究植物是看重其宗教、精神和象征意义，而非出于对植物标本的兴趣。

大名鼎鼎的岁寒三友指的是松、梅、竹，其形象往往出现在瓷器等艺术品上。

三者结为一体，对中国人具有经典的联想意义。

松象征常青不老，梅代表富足与繁荣，竹是正直与坚韧的化身。

中国园林各个元素能够引起人们共鸣，主要原因在于其中植物各有寓意。园林不仅是人们与大自然交流、荡涤心灵的去处，而且激发了人类的智慧，传达出一种深刻而严肃的世界观，讲述着人与世界的关系。

中国园林需用画家之眼加以勾画鉴赏，以诗人之情令其千古流芳，借书家之笔展其魅力之最。