Analysis of Gardening Characteristics and Style Formation of Lingnan Gardens

Journal of Landscape Research 2019,11(5): 130–134Received: July 2, 2019 Accepted: August 21, 2019Analysis of Gardening Characteristics and Style Formation of Lingnan GardensZHENG Weibin(College of City Construction, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330022, China)Abstract Lingnan gardens, as one of the three major schools of Chinese classical gardens, have distinctlocal characteristics and pursue the unity of practicality and artistry. They began to develop during the Qin and Han dynasties, gradually formed their own unique characteristics during the Song and Yuan dynasties, became mature and were extricated from the influence of southern gardens and northern gardens during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In this paper, from the macro and micro levels, as well as natural, social and humanistic perspectives, the style formation of Lingnan gardens was studied.Key words Lingnan gardens, Classical gardens, Style characteristics, Development, Gardening DOI 10.16785/j.issn1943-989x. 2019.5.028Lingnan area mainly refers to the Pearl River Delta basin, including Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, Fujian, Guangxi and other areas with similar geographical environment and customs. In Lingnan area, garden construction has both aesthetic and practical characteristics, and combines eastern and western styles with mountains, water elements, and architectural sketches in the southern and northern regions of China. Therefore, Lingnan gardens, northern imperial gardens, and private gardens in Jiangnan (regions south of the Yangtze River) are called the three major schools of China’s traditional gardening art.1 Overview of Lingnan gardens1.1 Overall characteristics of Lingnan gardensLingnan gardens have the overall charac-teristics of simplicity, clarity and transparency. In respect of plane layout, unlike the complicated spatial structure of Jiangnan gardens, Lingnan gardens have a clear internal division and high independence, and have no a large number of fusion forms, showing a well organized spatial structure. In the architectural style, Lingnan gardens are characterized by fine structure, rich details and diversified colors in the decoration and sculpture pieces. In the garden scale, Lingnan gardens are meticulously processed, but do not pursue large scale and overall stacking [1-2]. In addition, under the influence of western foreign cultures, Lingnan gardens are more inclusive in the embodiment of cultural characteristics, showing the characteristics of multiculture. This unique features are related to local unique geographical features and are closely relatedto local cultural characteristics and population migration. Lingnan has a good acceptance of foreign things because of its accessible traffic location environment, so this cultural characteristic is also reflected in the construction of Lingnan gardens [3].1.2 Development overview of Lingnan gardens1.2.1 The Spring and Autumn period and the Qin and Han dynasties. The early Lingnan gardening activities recorded in history began in the late Spring and Autumn period, and only imperial gardens were built due to the feudal system. In the Qin dynasty, Ren Xiao died, and Zhao Tuo went southwards, bringing the mature culture of the Yellow River basin to Lingnan. Due to its influence, Lingnan gardens at that time lacked other strong cultural elements to support, so its gardening techniques also reflected the characteristics of the Central Plains. At that time, northern imperial gardens were mainly characterized by the construction of high platforms for sacrificial rituals and building construction, and the same architectural form was also reflected in the garden construction of Lingnan. Zhao Tuo founded Nanyue Kingdom, and built his palatial gardens (Chaohantai and Yuewangtai) in the south of the Yuexiu Mountains. In addition, Bailutai and Changletai were built in Wuhua County and Xinxing County, which is the earliest gardening activity in Lingnan area [4].1.2.2 The Five Dynasties. During the Five Dynasties, a new political power, the Southern Han, was established in the Lingnan area. In the early days of the establishment of the regime, the economy was relatively stable, and the rulers allocated a large amount of manpower for the construction of palace buildings. During the late Southern Han dynasty, the royal family built imperial gardens on a large scale inside and outside Guangzhou City [13]. Historical data at the time did not contain a description of forests in private gardens. The construction scale of palatial gardens during the Southern Han dynasty was huge. There is Ganquan Garden in the north of Guangzhou City and ChanghuaGarden, Hualin Garden, Fanghua Garden and Xiande Garden along the banks of Liwan Lake, and several palatial gardens are collectively known as the West Park.Among the palatial gardens during the late Southern Han dynasty, the artistic level of Xianhu Yaozhou is the highest. In Xianhu Yaozhou, Jiuyaoshi symbolizes the nine suns that were shot by Hou Yi and was loved by the rulers at that time, so it was recorded as Jiuyao Garden in historical data. The design of Yaozhou was influenced by the Fangxiandao School of Laozi at that time. The rulers yearned for the life of the gods, which was embodied in the design of gardens in Yaozhou. A lake and an island were arranged in the gardens. There are pavilions on the shore of a lake, which embodies the tribute to the Daodejing in artistic conception. The garden style is highly similar to the garden features of the later Tang and Song dynasties. Natural landscape is dominant, and the buildings are elegant and simple [15].1.2.3 The Southern and Northern Song dynas-ties. Since the rise of Lingnan gardening acti-vities during the late Southern Han dynasty, Peng Yannian invested in the construction130Journal of Landscape Researchof Pen Garden during the Northern Song dynasty, and the garden is the first private garden in Lingnan during the Northern Song dynasty. In the garden, the main building Siwang Building has a three-story structure, from which the picture of surrounding fishermen’s life can be seen. At that time, the northern gardens were even difficult to surpass their level of construction. It reflects the excellence of its gardening techniques. As the first and most outstanding representative of Lingnan gardens during the Song dynasty, Peng Garden was also a private garden with local characteristics among the classical gardens during the Northern Song dynasty. 1.2.4 The Ming and Qing dynasties. After the Ming dynasty, the garden construction in Lingnan area became frequent, and a large number of merchants built private gardens. Due to the developed economy, their level was generally higher. During the early Qing dynasty, with the restoration of agriculture and the re-establishment of economic production, the garden construction activities in Lingnan area became more dense. From the Kangxi to the Qianlong period during the Qing dynasty, the traditional economy developed to the peak, and the reference to the style of private gardens in Jiangnan was gradually reduced, while local characteristics of Lingnan in terms of spatial layout, architectural forms and handling techniques were gradually produced. The four famous gardens in Lingnan were built during this period. The construction scale of Lingnan gardens during the Qing dynasty was small, and most of them were small gardens with houses as the main body. In the gardens, the proportion of buildings was large, and the buildings were connected by corridors to provide a large shade area for the inside of courtyard space, which is conducive to outdoor recreation under strong light. Most of the buildings were equipped with a top-level platform to provide excellent visibility and open up a larger area of activity to isolate the high temperature plane. After long-term imitation of Jiangnan gardens and northern gardens in the past, Lingnan gardens have accumulated enough cultural connotation and experience, and have become one of three major schools of gardens with its unique geographical features[5].2 Gardening elements and styles of Lingnan gardens2.1 Buildings and corridorsProfessors Xia Shichang and Mo Bozhi have given direct insights into the local style ofLingnan gardens in the article Talking aboutLingnan Courtyards. Lingnan gardens are“clear and light”. The main characteristics ofLingnan in the atmospheric climate are longduration of light and high temperature, which isaccompanied by dense precipitation, so the mainfunctional requirements of Lingnan gardens areheat and moisture prevention.In consideration of local climate, thelayout of buildings in Lingnan gardens focuseson natural ventilation and creates a treatmentmethod with its local characteristics. Thebuildings inside the gardens face the south, anda large vent is cut out in the north-south façade,making it perpendicular to the South Asianmonsoon blowing from the South Pacific insummer to form an effective air duct. In the eastand west, the structure is used for compressionresistance and isolates the sun from the west.In Lingnan gardens, the main buildingsmainly use an atrium to obtain light andadditional air. Air is send out through patiosand skylights using vertical pressure of airpressure, which is also known as the stack effect.Compared with residential houses, the buildingsin Lingnan gardens use corridors and verandas.The verandas not only serve as a transportationlink for the buildings, but also shield their largeopenings, achieving a sunshade and sheltereffect. Above, the large area of corridors is oneof characteristics of Lingnan gardens combiningwith local climate.2.2 HillstoneHillstone is one of four elements ofChinese classical gardens. In the constructionof Chinese classical gardens, the treatment ofhillstone has always been highly valued. Rockymountains are one of main forms of gardenlandscape. At the same time, piling of rockeriesand stone arrangement contain the main designconcept of Chinese classical gardens. Pilingof rockeries is an imagery entourage of actualmountain scenery to show the characteristics oflandscape beyond its size in a small area, whichid a powerful summary of mountains. Piling ofrockeries reflects ancients’ concept of gardencreation that is based on nature and higher thannature.During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Ling-nan gardens belonged to “gardens” in terms ofscale. For this type of gardens, piling of rockeriesis combined with buildings more closely, andthere are water bodies such as small ponds andlakes, which is called “water-stone landscape”.The pilled rockeries in Lingnan “gardens” areessentially different from the combination ofrockeries and pools inside northern and southerngardens. In addition, limited by the floor area ofLingnan gardens, piling of rockeries and stonearrangement cannot be carried out in a largearea, can be performed only around buildings,and only simulates the corners and ones ofmountains. The scattered and fragmentedfeatures are very obvious. Therefore, differentfrom the piled rockeries in northern gardensand Jiangnan gardens (such as peaks, mountains,rocks, caves, cliffs, gullies, valleys, etc.), the piledrockeries habitually used in Lingnan gardensare often arranged in the form of peaks, wallrocks, caves, and waterfront rocks. Seen fromthe application of piling of rockeries, it can bedivided into stone arrangement and piling ofrockeries on the whole.Piling of rockeries means using a largerhillstone for landscaping, or assembling two ormore similar stones into a complete monolithstanding stone. The method of piling ofrockeries has a certain regular pattern for thevolume and material of stones. In Lingnangardens, the layout methods of stone scenerymainly include scattered configuration, specialconfiguration, and combined construction.The arrangement is rigorous and concise. Thepiled rockeries can only be used as a fragmentof landscape in Lingnan gardens, and can beseparately arranged from the scope of buildings,generally together with water body.2.3 Water bodyWaterscape is a major landscape elementof Lingnan gardens. The layout of water bodyis related to the arrangement scale and modeof hillstone in Lingnan gardens. Therefore,the landscape composed of water body andhillstone structures in the gardens is called“water-stone landscape”. This can reflect theunique characteristic of water management inLingnan gardends from a technical perspective.A courtyard is the basic space unit of Lingnangardens. The water body of Lingnan gardens isintegrated with rocky mountain and architecturallayout to form various types of courtyards.The main water management methods used inLingnan gardens are water courtyards and waterstone courtyards.2.3.1 W ater courtyards. In a water courtyard, the areaof water body is large, and the area of field andbuildings is small area. The scale of a courtyardin Lingnan gardens is sometimes too small,and the piled rockeries and stones are easy toaccumulate, so water body is used to obtainan open space. The characteristic of a watercourtyard is that water surface accounts for alarge proportion in the courtyard, and pools and131132buildings are the main parts of the courtyard, while buildings are also used as entourage. In Lingnan gardens, the layout method of water courtyards develops from early regular symmetrical layout into later various forms due to the acceptance of foreign culture after the Song dynasty[7-8].According to the size of water body and its relationship with building space, water courtyards are mainly divided into inner water courtyards, pond water courtyards, and hilly pond water courtyards. An inner water courtyard is developed from a general residential courtyard, and is also known as “a water patio”. In an inner water courtyard, water body is enclosed by buildings. A pond water courtyard is the most common method of handling waterscape in Lingnan gardens. Its characteristics are as follows: the area proportion of water body is large, and buildings are adjacent to water and interacts with water body; the volume of buildings is generally small to form a certain drop and make water body big and low; there are other landscape sketches along ponds to achieve spatial integration and constitute an open water courtyard. Hilly pond water courtyards generally appear in gardens of hilly areas. The main features are as follows: gullies and ponds ditched on soil slopes and ridges or natural ditches are used to store water, which will become natural or artificial water body. Buildings are built in surrounding areas with good vision and location at different altitudes according to local conditions.2.3.2 Water stone courtyards. Water stone is a special type of space arrangement for Lingnan gardens. The mirror effect of water body can make the original space appear larger, namely expanding visual space and making it become naturalized landscape. Water stone courtyards use hillstone and buildings to highlight features of different types of water body, such as wall pools, mountain streams, and mountain pools. According to the size of water body, the relationship between hillstone placement and displacement, and the distance and volume of buildings, the main arrangement methods of water stone courtyards are divided into two kinds: for sparse water stone courtyards, water body is large in volume, and hillstone is used as an embellishment and auxiliary; for deep and quiet water stone courtyards, hillstone is dominant inside, and water surface area is small, which is mostly wall pools or mountain streams.2.4 PlantsBecause Lingnan area is located in the southeast and close to the sea, it is affected by the tropical airflow from South Asia all the yearround. It has a long summer and illuminationtime, so subtropical and temperate plants canbe planted here. The excellent conditions forplant growth and characteristic climate typesof Lingnan provide the conditions for thedevelopment of Lingnan gardens. The plantconfiguration of Lingnan gardens not onlyreflects the feelings and ideas of builders orincreases the artistic and landscape of gardenlandscape, but also reflects the practicality ofLingnan gardens through the analysis of plantconfiguration[9-11]. When Lingnan gardens arebuilt, there are regularity and criteria for theselection of plant species. For housing gardens,lychee, longan, mango, plantain and other plantspecies that have ornamental value and are edibleare selected.Another feature of internal plant confi-guration of Lingnan gardens is the selection ofmedicinal species. Medicinal plants are oftenplanted in temples and non-residential gardens,and common tree species are sandalwood andcypress. The choice of plant configuration in Lingnangardens reflects its artistry and practicality.3 Influencing factors of style forma-tion of Lingnan gardens3.1 Macro factorsFrom a macro perspective, the natural condi-tions of Lingnan area are different from thoseof Jiangnan and North China, and its social andcultural environment also has strong regionalcharacteristics due to geographical deviation,which is reflected in the features of Lingnangardens. Therefore, the formation of gardenstyle in Lingnan area will also be influenced bycorresponding elements of geography, socialhistory and multicultural environment.3.1.1 Natural features. Lingnan area is locatedin the temperate zone and subtropical zone,and winter is relatively short, while summer isrelatively long. Summer precipitation accountsfor more than 70% of total precipitation inthe whole year, and the proportion exceeds80% in coastal areas. In winter and spring,monsoon is reversed, and the dry air from thenorth makes it lack precipitation and maintainsmild temperature. At the same time, Lingnanis dominated by the South Asian monsoon insummer, and wind speed is not high because itcarries a lot of water vapor. In winter, it is mostlydominated by the cold current in a northwesterlydirection, with higher troposphere and windspeed. Spring and autumn are alternatingseasons. The direction is turbulent due to thefluctuation of temperature, and the direction isvery uncertain. In Lingnan area, there are coldcurrents moving from the north to the south inwinter and tropical air currents and typhoonsfrom the Pacific Ocean in summer, and therainy season and the flood season are longer,which is different from other areas. In addition,the terrain of Lingnan area is complex, and theconditions for plant growth are good, whichprovides convenience for Lingnan gardeningactivities.In the process of crustal activity, complexterrain such as mountains, hills and terracesare produced in Lingnan area, and there is noplain, which only exists in river valleys, deltasand coastal areas. The hilly areas in Lingnan areaare mostly zonal structures. Most of hills aredistributed around valleys, or in coastal plainsand terraces. In Lingnan, river basins are wideand have characteristics of large flow, deep waterand long flood season.The natural adaptability of gardens is embodiedin the adaptability of climatic environment,geographical environment and gardeningraw materials. The climate and geographicalenvironment are the main influencing factorsof Lingnan gardens different from northernand southern gardens. Most areas of Lingnanhave mountainous and hilly terrain, which is notsuitable for large-scale construction. Therefore,the construction activities of Lingnan area ismostly concentrated in the Pearl River Deltaand other flood plains, and an unique system isgradually produced in terms of location selection,layout mode, and gardening techniques. At thesame time, the diverse geographical environmentof coastal areas in Lingnan provides referenceand background for the construction of Lingnangardens. The piled rockeries in Lingnan gardensare basically based on local scenery.3.1.2 Social environment. The emergence,prosperity and development of gardens, andeven the evolution of gardening ideas andthe reform of craftsmanship are based on thesocial production and life of human beings,and continue to evolve with the developmentof social development. The emergence anddecline of gardens is a reflection of changes anddevelopment of production lifestyles.Lingnan area develops based on trade,and because of its superiority in transportationlocation, the economic development of ancientLingnan area is relatively stable. In NanyueKingdom, maritime trade could be seen inhistory books. During the Han dynasty, therewere routes from Hepu and other ports to theSouth Seas. Port development was earlier inthe region, and it is the starting point of the132Analysis of Gardening Characteristics and Style Formation of Lingnan Gardens133Journal of Landscape ResearchMaritime Silk Road. During the Jin dynasty and the Northern and Southern dynasties, the trade in Lingnan area continued to develop, and its foreign trade was prominent. The import and export goods during the Tang dynasty and the number of ships to and from Guangzhou Port increased sharply. During the Song dynasty, the trade routes in Lingnan area covered Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean region, and the east coast of Africa, and foreign trade reached a peak.During the Ming and Qing dynasties, for defensive purposes and the self-sufficiency of internal economy, Guangzhou became the main port city for foreign trade, so the maritime trade of Lingnan continued to develop, affecting local manual business and small-scale peasant economy. Traditional food production was changed, and the cultivation of commercial crops began, forming a new commercialized economic basis for agricultural production and shifting from a natural economy to a small commodity economy. Lingnan characteristic gardens are a manifestation of development of commodity economy. The main economic forms of other regions in China at that time were still mainly the traditional small-scale peasant economy. The traditional concept of the feudal class’s centralized system to exclude free trade was reflected in the construction activities of northern and southern gardens. Lingnan’s economy is gradually dominated by the small commodity economy. In contrast, Lingnan gardens pay more attention to their functional utility and secularized aesthetic features.3.1.3 Humanistic environment. The humanistic culture of Lingnan area always have distinct local characteristics due to the closure of land. From the perspective of cultural composition, Lingnan culture is a mixed culture produced by the combination of the local aboriginal culture after the Wuyue culture, the Minyue culture and the Jingchu culture in the Yellow River basin entered Lingnan during the Qin and Han dynasties, and it was influenced by foreign culture in the trade process to produce a new mixed culture. It is open and flexible. Lu Yuanding summarized Lingnan culture into three main systems and four characteristics in his book Lingnan Human-ities, Characters and Architecture. The three main systems refer to the local culture of the mainland, the foreign culture introduced through the ocean, and the local trade culture derived from commercial development. The four characteristics refer to cultural inclusiveness, cultural applicability, cultural secularity and cultural originality.The humanistic adaptability of Lingnan gardens, as a major aspect of Lingnan gardensthat is different from northern and southerngarden systems, is mainly reflected by the designconcepts, spiritual philosophy and aestheticelements contained in architectural expressionssuch as architectural layout, treatment details andspatial layout[14]. The construction method andstyle of Lingnan gardens are mainly influencedby humanistic environmental factors such as thetraditional Chinese culture of the Central Plains,the indigenous native culture of Lingnan, andthe culture of the South Seas and Malay[12].3.2 Microscopic factorsThe period from the Ming dynasty tothe middle Qing dynasty was the end ofdevelopment of Chinese classical gardens. Onthe one hand, the local style was weak, and alarge number of private gardens with vary highquality appeared in Jiangnan and Lingnan. Royalgardens were also greatly developed, and newimperial gardens were built. The constructionof gardens in other parts of China was basicallyaffected by the three major systems. On theother hand, classical gardens also showed theirformalism, and pursued construction methodsand skills too much. They lacked motivationand pursuit in innovation, and the weaknessof innovation ability indicated the bottleneckof development of garden system. In thedevelopment process, Lingnan gardens hadgradually demonstrated its local characteristicsadapting to local conditions. During the Mingand Qing dynasties, the functions, nature, andconstruction techniques of Lingnan gardenschanged accordingly.3.2.1 Change of gardening purpose. After theMing dynasty, the only port city Guangzhou inLingnan area has gained a new developmentopportunity. With the increase in the difficultyof being an official and the decrease in thesuppression of commercialism since theMing dynasty, the social reform of the newConfucianism and the donation system duringthe Ming and Qing dynasties have promotedthe increase in the number of business peopleand the proportion of intelligentsia going intobusiness, and the combination of merchants andofficial members has become more and moreclose, which has promoted the construction ofprivate gardens.The Ming and Qing dynasties were theprosperous period of Lingnan private gardens.The main owners of Lingnan gardens builtduring this period are still the literati, as well asmerchants. At the end of the feudal era, theliterati pursued material life instead of traditionalConfucian philosophy. Most private gardens inLingnan have become the entertainment andcultural activity center of the literati, as well asmeans of displaying wealth and social class.Their purpose and functional orientation havebegun to differentiate with the purpose of theprevious dynasty, and the trend has becomemore obvious in the later period. This reflectsthe transformation of thoughts of the feudalliterati class to secularized aesthetic experience.It has promoted the formation of the dual unityfeatures of Lingnan classical gardens, which ismainly reflected in the transformation of thepragmatism pursued by the garden buildingfunction to secular functions.3.2.2 The “Mustard” idea makes gardens movetoward formalism. During the Ming and Qingdynasties, the development of Chinese classicalgardens entered the final period of prosperity,and had no new innovation, but the developmentwas extremely mature. Despite the emergenceof three different factions of northern imperialgardens, Jiangnan gardens and Lingnan gardens,it was impossible to change the basic situationof gardens facing the lack of innovation, andit also directly reflected the formalism trend ofgardening thought. The thought of adheringto the original system and artistic methodsand pursuing details and skills continued for along time, and classical gardens lost the abilityand vitality of innovation. At the same time,the orientation of classical gardens changedduring the Ming and Qing dynasties, and therelationship between gardens and buildings infunction become closer. Gardens began to havesome functions of buildings, and were giventhe functions of entertainment, entertainmentand recreation by builders. On the other hand,the buildings in a garden also began to havesome features of the garden. Rockeries, stonescenery, water body and vegetation appearedin a courtyard enclosed by the buildings. Thismarks the overlapping of buildings and gardensin boundary and function, as well as the furtherimplementation of garden thought of very closemountain forests.Lingnan gardens pay attention to the polari-zation of artistic details, and the requirements fordetails in the methods of piling rockeries, watermanagement, flowers, and building walls aremore complicated. Builders use complex finiteforms to achieve their artistic purpose as muchas possible, and strengthen spatial elements tohighlight the idea of very close landscape. Thishas become an avenue for comparison and anarrow artistic vision, but it has also become aninevitable development trend. In the classicalgarden system,the gardening art of Lingnan133134。