Deyu Garden is a famous private garden in China. Private gardens are located in many urban areas. Their layout is often introverted, that is, they are enclosed within a certain range and carefully constructed. They generally use the hall as the main body of the garden. Buildings and scenery are compact and changeable. Spaces are divided by walls, walls, leaky windows, corridors, etc. The large and small spaces are clearly prioritized, dense and dense, and contrast with each other, forming rhythmic changes. They are often connected by multiple viewing routes, and the roads are winding. There are often winding corridors on the main roads. The water in the pool is mainly concentrated and supplemented by division. Most of them are irregular in shape. Bridges, islands, etc. are used to make the water surfaces penetrate each other, creating a deep interest. Generally speaking, private gardens have limited space and are much smaller than royal gardens, and they cannot encircle natural landscapes into the garden. Therefore, small things are considered large, the ground is dug into ponds, and rocks are stacked into mountains to create beautiful natural landscapes. The artistic conception and gardening techniques are rich and colorful. Private gardens were mostly designed and built by literati and painters, so their attitude towards nature mainly reflected the philosophical thoughts and artistic tastes of the scholar-bureaucrat class. Influenced by the idea of ??seclusion, the style it expresses is simple, elegant, refined and friendly.
Of course, the shape of the garden cannot be ignored, especially the Chinese classical gardens. Chinese gardens are known as the "Mother of Gardens in the World", and the construction of gardens is the crystallization of the wisdom of the working people. China's long-standing cultural heritage makes Chinese garden architecture unique and poetic.
Gardens originated very early in China. Our ancestors had already begun gardening activities as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties. The original form of the garden was a garden, which was only used for hunting and enjoyment by emperors and nobles. With the development of history, gardens have also continued to improve and progress. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were already groups of landscapes in gardens, including mountains, ponds, and terraces. By this period, the components of the garden had been basically in place, and they were already different from the original garden.
Chinese classical gardens originate from nature and are higher than nature. They are designed to express the natural scenery of nature and are freely laid out. The rockeries and ponds are integrated and as if made by nature, fully reflecting the concept of "heaven and man". The national cultural characteristic of "unity" expresses a harmonious and unified cosmology of man and nature.
Gardens reached a mature stage in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Bureaucrats and literati built their own gardens or participated in gardening work. They integrated poetry and paintings into the layout and landscaping of gardens, making garden architecture no longer just It is a masterpiece of craftsmen and even more of a literati, which makes the humanistic scenery of the garden stand out.
The composition of anything has certain elements, and Chinese gardens are no exception. Generally speaking, Chinese classical gardens are composed of six major elements: mountains, ponds, plants, animals, buildings, plaques, couplets and carved stones. In order to express nature, building mountains is one of the most important factors in gardening.
No matter what type of garden, water is the most vital factor. It cannot live without water. Therefore, a pond must be dug to divert water into the garden. There are generally three methods of water management in ancient gardens: covering, separating and breaking. Covering is to use buildings and greening to cover the twists and turns of the pond bank. The barrier is either a dike built across the water, a floating corridor across the water, a zigzag stone bridge, or a wading point with stepping stones. As it is said in "Garden Governance", "If the drainage is endless, bridges will be built where it is broken." When the water surface is very small, (such as a small clear spring pond), rocks can be used as banks, with thin bamboos, wild vines, squid and green algae. Then, although it is just a pool, it can make people feel the scenery of the mountains.
Plants are another important factor. Flowers and trees are like the hair of mountains. If the waterscape is separated from the flowers and trees, it will have no beauty. Natural gardens focus on expressing natural beauty, and the selection criteria for flowers and trees are also very strict. When it comes to beauty, the shape of the crown, the density and straightness of the branches, and the texture of the bark all pursue natural beauty. The second is about the beauty of color, including red maple leaves, green bamboo leaves, mottled elm, white magnolia, purple crape myrtle, etc. We strive to keep the natural color in the garden unchanged all year round; the third is about fragrance, which requires The plants should be elegant and quiet, but should not be too thick, which would appear delicate; nor should they be too light, which would make it difficult to use them all. The fourth aspect is about realm. The foiling effect of flowers and trees on the landscape of mountains and rocks is often related to the spiritual realm of the owner of the garden. For example, bamboo symbolizes purity and elegance, pines and cypresses symbolize strength and longevity, lotus symbolizes purity, orchids symbolize secluded hermits, pomegranates symbolize many children and grandchildren, crape myrtle symbolizes high officials and generous salaries, etc. Ancient Chinese gardens used various methods to separate spaces to achieve the effect of winding paths leading to seclusion. The main method is the use of various buildings. For example, the use of leaky windows allows the space to be neither endless nor hinder visual smoothness. Looking through the leaky window, you can see the exquisite floral decorations and colorful patterns, which have a strong national flavor and aesthetic value; through the leaky window, the green bamboos are blurred and swaying, the pavilions and pavilions appear and disappear, and the white clouds fly in the distance, creating a deep and wide space. Realm and interest. Garden buildings often have halls, corridors, pavilions, pavilions, buildings and terraces. Artificial stone caves and stone steps all show the beauty of nature. The shape and spirit of all buildings are consistent with the natural environment such as the sky and the earth. At the same time, they connect all parts of the garden so that the garden embodies the artistic characteristics of nature, indifference, tranquility, and subtlety. It also receives changes in scenery as you move, and gradually Entering a beautiful environment, you can see the big from the small and other viewing effects.
Learning from nature, integrating with nature, conforming to nature, and expressing nature - this is where ancient Chinese gardens embody the national culture of "unity of nature and man". It is the biggest feature of forests that are independent from the world, and it is also the fundamental reason for eternal artistic vitality. .