An Illustrated Brief History of Chinese Gardens

Activity, People, Culture

Hardie Alison

$34.99

Paperback

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English

SCPG Publishing Corporation
01 April 2023

Asian history; Gardening

There are many books published in English on Chinese gardens, but the majority are primarily picture books with little informative content. With a large number of illustrations of Chinese gardens, ancient paintings, block prints, and other artefacts, this book is a social history of Chinese gardens and focuses on how gardens have functioned and been used in Chinese society through the ages.

Apart from the aesthetic or philosophical aspects of Chinese gardens, you may see how gardens functioned as real estate, how they gave opportunities of employment to skilled artisans, how they opened up outdoor space to both elite and lower-class women, and how they allowed men of different social classes and of different ethnicities to interact and gain mutual benefit; in short, how the existence of gardens exerted an influence on society as a whole.

At the same time, the reader can find how the wider society, and even socio-economic changes beyond China’s own borders, had an impact on how gardens in China developed.

By: Hardie Alison
Imprint: SCPG Publishing Corporation
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 260mm, Width: 184mm,
ISBN: 9781938368875
ISBN 10: 1938368878
Pages: 160
Publication Date: 01 April 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Alison Hardie holds degrees in Literae Humaniores at the University of Oxford and in Chinese from the University of Edinburgh, and a doctorate in the history of Chinese garden design from the University of Sussex. Her main research interest is in the social and cultural history of early modern China. She has published many translations and articles on Chinese garden history. Since taking early retirement from the University of Leeds in 2015, she has been a Visiting Fellow in Garden and Landscape Studies at Dumbarton Oaks.