GARDENS SOUTH AND NORTH DIFFER IN SCENERY
Department of Architecture, Tongji University, October 10, 1981
Vernal rain south of the Yangtze River;
Autumn wind north of the Yellow River.
This terse line tells decisively of the climatic differences between south and north China that affect the scenic vistas in both regions. Likewise, any talk about the differences between gardens of south and north China cannot do without taking such natural differences into account. I once said that mankind's first dwellings were dens in the north and nests in the south, with the former evolving into sheds that have a window in one wall and the latter being widely open in most cases. The same is true of garden buildings. Those in the north are not as open and airy as most of their southern counterparts. Indeed, in terms of natural environment, the universal law of causality is obviously at work when it comes to differences between sumptuous northern gardens and graceful Jiangnan gardens. Like other branches of culture, a garden inevitably bears its local characteristics, a phenomenon which has multiple causes behind it.
The poetic lines, "Low bridge, stream running, cottages" and "Wooded flatland, setting sun, homecoming crows," describe different scenic views and their effects on people. The loftiness and majesty of the northland, and the demure grace of the southland bestow diverse personalities on local gardens. According to Li Gefei's A Record of the Celebrated Gardens of Luoyang, the northern gardens of the Tang and the Song offer imposing scenery with earthen dens and giant trees but lack such scenery as piled-up rocks and diminutive brooks. From the Ming-Qing period (1368-1911) onward, the gardens in and around Beijing changed tremendously under the influence of southern gardens. Some of such changes were made through innovations to overcome natural barriers, which was manifest first of all in the use of water, so that in the water-poor north, only with water could a garden make a difference and put itself on the map. The gardens built in Beijing's western outskirts are naturally endowed with water, whereas those in city proper had to fill the ponds dug on their premises with water channelled from the suburbs.
Water being the case, most artificial mountains in southern gardens are built of Lake Tai rocks—chunks of moist limestone with rich postures and refined charms. When piled up to form a mountain, such rocks always "allow water to flow around the mountain and enable the mountain to come alive with water." In northern gardens, artificial mountains are built with indigenous lake rocks, which turn out to be a kind of slate that is too thick and heavy and devoid of the kind of subtle gracefulness that characterizes authentic Lake Tai rocks from the Jiangnan area.
Given the long annual defoliation periods of deciduous flowers and trees, large numbers of evergreen trees like pines and cypresses are planted in northern gardens. Under white clouds and azure skies, these trees' dark green colors contrast strikingly with yellow-glazed rooftops, vermillion pillars, and peony and crabapple flowers to bring about prospects in dazzling splendor. In comparison, gardens in the moist Jiangnan area feature white-washed walls and dark roof tiles, bamboo shades, orchids' aroma, and stream-girdled belvederes. Such gardens are segmented into quite a few yards by winding loggias, so that despite their usually small spaces, they provide enough room for people to loiter and give them the impression that there are infinite scenes and sights to be discovered in their recesses, while the ubiquitous deciduous trees keep the visitors in intimate touch with the four changing seasons. Luxurious grass and trees are special gifts bestowed by nature on this part of the country. Nevertheless, the northland is not without its small gardens and sights just as the south is not without its large ones.
Most Chinese landscape paintings in the northern tradition are splendid in green and golden colors whereas those in the southern tradition are based on gray and light carmine backgrounds, so are the gardens respectively in these two traditions because they share the same poetic sentiments, picturesque conceptions and images as poetry and painting. The imperial gardens (and the gardens built in a similar style by bureaucrats and landlords) in the north, which I call "palace gardens," look noble and majestic but are not without their vulgarities. Subtly serene and elegant, rich in scholastic quality as the gardens in the south are, there is no lack of humble and shabby ones among them. Thus successful northern gardens are invested with scholastic quality, with the finest of them always being those "northern gardens bestowed with a southern tone." Moreover, a successful northern garden invariably has some pools deployed meticulously in its precincts, just like a lady's pair of eyes that are always the most fascinating part of her looks.
I am fond of comparing the southern gardens to Kunqu Opera and the northern gardens—those built after the Tongzhi (1862-1874) and Guangxu (1875-1908) reigns of the Qing in particular—to Peking Opera. So heavily influenced is Peking Opera by Kunqu Opera that we can say the former was more or less evolved from the latter. The two are different from each other, and people, too, feel differently about them, but none of the celebrated Peking Opera stars has not worked hard on Kunqu Opera. Similarly, the creation of famous northern gardens must have involved the wisdom and labour of southern artisans. Constant cultural exchange gives rise to new things. In the Chinese garden's course of development there is a medium between southern and northern traditions, that is, the Yangzhou school of gardens which differs from both its Jiangnan and North China counterparts in that it is a hybrid of the two, and its salient features bear out the complexity of Yangzhou's geographic conditions and of the city's cultural exchanges with southern and northern regions.
Tourism is being advocated nowadays, but it is by no means about "having a good time" merely—I would say it is an exalted form of cultural recreation. When we marvel at scenic attractions and gardens, we have got to be good at making analyses and comparisons, for the real meaning of sightseeing lies in the knowledge and wisdom we are to gain therefrom.