Katherine Bedingfeld - Wang Shi Yuan - a study of space in a Chinese garden.doc

:‘AsayoungmanIwasknownasapainter’.,suchaspainting,music,poetryandcalligraphy,,LiYudescribestheChineseattitudetolandscapepaintinginhisprefacetoTheMustardSeedGardenManualofPainting:‘Peoplenowadaysenjoylookingatlandscapepaint-ingsasatthesceneryitself...Atonemomentalandscapemayappearovercastwithmistandclouds,,readytosetoutoverhillsandravines,freetoroamwithouthavingtowaxone’ssandalsortakeupabamboostaff’.,,amodernscholarofChinesegardens,says,‘Mostofourgardensinancienttimeswereenclosedoneswithaviewtocreatingasenseofinnitespacewithinalimitedarea’,6andHildaHookhamsaysofpainting,‘InthemutedmonochromeworkofMaYuanforexample,individualsareromanticallydwarfedbyanimmensenaturalenvironment,wherespaceandinnityaresuggestedwithafewstrokesofthebrush.’7Inpainting,‘mist’,rst,tomakeaconnectionbetweenthescreenwindowsinthegardenand‘void’:‘TheChineseperfectedtheprincipleofthethreedepths,accordingtowhichspatialdepthwasmarkedbyaforeground,middledistance,andfardistance,eachparalleltothepictureplane,sothattheeyeleaptfromonedistancetothenextthroughavoidofspace.’8Spring1997WangShiYuan:astudyofspaceinaChinesegardenKatherineBedingfeldDepartmentofArchitecture,UniversityofBath,BathBA27LY,UKThispaperisaninvest