Objective  The landscaping of Chinese traditional gardens operates similarly to the arts of poetry and painting by introducing relevant natural imageries, with moonlight being one of the most prominent and well-established imageries adopted. A moon lightscape is conveyed more through its poetic and pictorial atmosphere rather than its physical characteristics alone. This research aims to, based on the review of a number of records, diagrams, poems and paintings regarding Chinese traditional gardens, document the visual perception elements of moon lightscape incorporated in Chinese traditional gardens, and reveal the key characteristics thereof: distinct landscape consciousness, aesthetic principle and philosophical underpinning.

Methods  This research summarizes the famous moonlight landscaping ideas based on the theoretical framework of lightscape, and further figures out how moonlight and shadow affect the atmosphere in spaces such as buildings, stones, and plants and why this idea of moonlight lightscape is used as a paradigm for landscaping of Chinese traditional gardens. Additionally, the research theoretically refines and analyzes the classic composition of moonlight lightscape in traditional Chinese gardens in terms of composition elements, constituent characteristics and creation methods.

Results  The research summarizes totally five classical patterns of moon lightscape configuration, including "Moonlight Silently Brightening Empty Mountain", "Moonlight on Water", "Moonlight Viewing from a High Platform", "Moonlight on Plum Branches", and "Moonlight on Water Held in Both Hands". The "Moonlight Silently Brightening Empty Mountain" pattern takes open mountain flat lands as a viewing point, highlighting the cultural connotation of traditional Chinese aesthetics of "quiet observation", creating an atmosphere of "emptiness and stillness". "Moonlight on Water" combined with architecture and environment can evoke rich literary or humanistic allusions. "Moonlight Viewing from a High Platform" provides an open and unobstructed view. The scene of "Moonlight on Plum Branches" is created by planting a large number of plum trees to form a sea of plum flowers under the moonlight, or by planting plum trees around houses, inspiring a multi-sensory interplay of sight and smell. "Moonlight on Water Held in Both Hands" is a typical interactive lightscape that can be enjoyed in a house garden or any other convenient site. "Person-light-environment" is also a fundamental element in constructing a moon lightscape. The "person" element invokes human activities, experiences and emotional expression in the moonlight scenery. The "light" element involves the properties of moonlight and other light sources combined with moonlight. The "environment" element includes physical elements such as animals, stones, flowers, trees, water and buildings, as well as non-physical elements such as sounds and smells. The research outlines four structural characteristics of moon lightscape gardening. The visual effect of "Yi Shijie" (scene shifting) refers to how the moonlight changes the original color, shape and shadow of a garden, creating a unique visual experience. The "spatio-temporal experience of changing moon phase" means that the change of moon phase and light can naturally provide a dynamic experience even with immobile objects such as buildings, scenery, stones, water and plants. The "spatial hierarchy from upward and downward vision" is created by looking up and down while enjoying the moonlight lightscape. The "multi-sensory experience" focuses on how moonlight expands the viewers' integrated perception and stimulates a rich experience of sight, sound and smell. Moonlight plays an important role in the construction of traditional Chinese gardens. The research proposes six main methods for constructing a moon lightscape. Specifically, "moonlight borrowing" refers to incorporating the connotations contained in the moonlight into the composition of lightscape by directly using the light, shape, shadow and color of the moon as elements. "Moonlight shading" involves creating a unique lightscape by changing the light that passes through plants or other elements. "Moonlight penetration" refers to the penetration of the moonlight into such objects as scenery stones or bridge holes to form a unique effect, just like a bunch of full moon images on water. "Moonlight reflection" involves creating a lightscape scene with the reflection of the moon on still water. "Moonlight backdropping" sets off and enhances the experience of sounds and smells against the stillness of the moonlight to create a multi-faceted landscape. "Interactive and integrated lightscape" emphasizes the integration of different light elements, such as fireflies and artificial lights, to create a rich lightscape.

Conclusion  In Chinese traditional gardens, the creation of moon lightscapes focuses on the cultural context and spiritual perception of people, rather than physical factors such as brightness, illumination and comfort. Moon lightscape is not merely a symbolic feature in a garden, which should be viewed from a broader perspective to understand the unique landscape patterns and characteristics thereof. Drawing on the experience of moon lightscape configuration in Chinese gardens can provide a new perspective for the construction of modern nightscape, the quality improvement of human living environment and the research on modern gardens, which is also an effective way to promote traditional culture, strengthen the sense of place and enhance national cultural confidence.