A Chinese Garden—The Rhythm of Nature Refreshing the Heart 中國園林——滌蕩心靈的自然韻律

卡洛琳·麥克道爾 賀媛 楊文地

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.

縱覽東西文化，唯有中國園林設計傳統最為源遠流長。農業活動出現伊始，中華文明便開始了漫長的歷程，中國先民對于土地的敬意體現在“對后土娘娘的信奉”中。

園林在中國文學中最早的形象是砌有院墻的住宅內園，單純種植實用樹木。收錄成書于公元前五世紀的中國詩歌總集《詩經》，曾提及一個園子，園子里種有杞柳樹、青檀樹和桑樹。

中國園林的設計秉持與自然和諧統一的理念，展現柔和的野趣和奇景異致，從中尋求精神寄托。構造園林的各種元素始終貫穿“展現自然韻律”的理念。園林集各種藝術形式之大成，前來游玩者無不是有教養、懂鑒賞之人。

中國園林不以樹木為尊，而先是堆山疊石、引水為池，才考慮亭臺樓閣、花草樹木。

相比園林的外觀，中國人更看重其象征意義和儀式感。荷花清新樸素，象征一種轉變：出塵離染，破水而立，迎著太陽漸漸綻放，從陽光中汲取力與美。

這與基督教思想不謀而合，亦是大多數文化和宗教所共有——穿越罪的黑暗，在榮耀之光中一躍而出，意氣風發。

竹子具有類似的象征意義——任爾東西南北風，彎而不折，象征高尚可敬之人。

蘭花象征低調高潔的真君子，其幽香讓賞花人離去之時方覺其妙。

桃花象征富饒與長壽，而百花之王牡丹則代表著雍容富貴。

百花之中，菊花被很多人視為中國最早的種植花卉，正所謂菊花開，秋意濃。

中國人研究植物是看重其宗教、精神和象征意義，而非出于對植物標本的興趣。

大名鼎鼎的歲寒三友指的是松、梅、竹，其形象往往出現在瓷器等藝術品上。

三者結為一體，對中國人具有經典的聯想意義。

松象征常青不老，梅代表富足與繁榮，竹是正直與堅韌的化身。

中國園林各個元素能夠引起人們共鳴，主要原因在于其中植物各有寓意。園林不僅是人們與大自然交流、蕩滌心靈的去處，而且激發了人類的智慧，傳達出一種深刻而嚴肅的世界觀，講述著人與世界的關系。

中國園林需用畫家之眼加以勾畫鑒賞，以詩人之情令其千古流芳，借書家之筆展其魅力之最。