Movement, experience and scenery in the Chinese literati garden: Pre-modern understandings and modern interpretations

Description

This thesis explores conceptions of aesthetic experiences associated with the term yi bu huan jing 移步换景 in the Chinese literati garden, and the architectural means by which they are generated. An important part of the thesis is a study of how we describe the particular aesthetic experiences that are captured in the historically relevant expression yi bu huan jing and to which the Chinese literati garden grants access. The timeframe of this thesis is divided into two phases: the pre-modern period, beginning with the Wei and Jin dynasties, and the modern and contemporary periods.

This thesis presents trans-historical theoretical research in aesthetics grounded in a qualitative research methodology, aiming to explore the concept of yi bu huan jing, which has emerged in modern times as a means of summarizing the aesthetic traditions of classical literati gardens. First, focusing on Chinese philosophical theories that engender idealised conceptions of living based on a traditional Chinese cosmology, an explanatory theory explores the crucial role of the aesthetic experience referred to by the yi bu huan jing. Second, through the application of literature research methods to explore the emergence of the concept of yi bu huan jing in the modern interpretation of gardens, this thesis emphasizes that the modern interpretation of gardens shifted from inheriting pre-modern garden theories to analyzing pre-modern garden-making theories with the aid of Western modern architectural theories, especially the idea of spatial composition. Third, the historical tracing of yi bu huan jing employs the historical literature research method, this part highlights that the phrase yi bu huan ying 移步换影, which has an identical meaning to yi bu huan jing, was used in the late Ming literati gardens in a way that is closely related to the idea of painting-like garden design.

This thesis aims to unveil the relevant aesthetic traditions and their associated design strategies that have been overlooked in the shifts in interpretation and emphasis that the discourse on Chinese architectural history took under the influence of modern Western theory. The first part of the thesis argues that in the literati garden as an ideal living environment, the spiritual experience gained from the dynamic aesthetic experience is crucial in achieving an idealised experience of living. The second part argues that common contemporary understandings of the yi bu huan jing rely on an invention of the modern era integrating conceptions of traditional Chinese experiences of living and Western theories related to movement. The thesis further argues that a re-interpretation of the dynamic spatial experience in the literati garden provides insights that can broaden the contemporary discourse of the gardens.

Period	1 May 2020 → 17 Jul 2024
Examinee	Yaqin Zuo
Examination held at	University of Liverpool UK
Degree of Recognition	International