CN 11-5366/S     ISSN 1673-1530
“风景园林,不只是一本期刊。”

从《金阊名园图》论16世纪中叶江南园林艺术特征

Artistic Features of Jiangnan Gardens During the Mid-16th Century as Reflected in the Picture of a Famous Garden in Jinchang

  • 摘要:
    目的 16世纪中叶是明中后期江南私家造园转型的关键节点,但学界对当时园林的典型艺术特征尚未展开进一步讨论。文徵明《金阊名园图》描绘的徐封园(后称紫芝园)是16世纪中叶新建江南园林的代表,对其展开案例研究有助于获取佐证明中后期造园转型的论据,梳理和归纳假山、水体、植物和建筑等造园要素发生的具体变化。
    方法 基于图文互证的研究方法对《金阊名园图》所绘园林进行复原,阐析此图展示的造园要素及其设计手法,并与16世纪中叶前后其他明代江南园林进行比较,探寻明嘉靖以降造园转型的主要趋势。
    结果 《金阊名园图》描绘的徐封园以奢丽风格和社交功能而著称,园内假山、水体、植物和建筑等造园要素既有异于16世纪中叶以前传统文人园林的特征,也有顺接16世纪中叶至17世纪初造园全盛时期的现象。
    结论 徐封园的局部平面复原与造园要素分析揭示了明嘉靖以降造园转型中的2个主要趋势:叠山、理水的程式运用表明江南地区的造园者历经长期探索后逐渐确立广受认可并广泛运用的设计范式;园林中植物、建筑的功能转变源自商品经济推动下园林社交场所属性的强化。16世纪中叶江南私家造园转型源自社会演变与艺术发展的共同作用,后续推动个案研究上升到群像调查有助于宏观把握明中后期江南造园艺术的时代特征。

     

    Abstract:
    Objective The mid-16th century is a pivotal moment in the transformation of Jiangnan gardens during the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty. This period is characterized by a gradual weakening of the connection between garden making and agricultural economy, the emergence of social functions of private gardens, and the infiltration of social atmosphere of entertainment and extravagance into the life of literati. Based on clarifying the overall trend of the transformation of Jiangnan gardens, it is necessary to further explore specific changes in garden elements such as rockeries, water, plants, and buildings by combining them with practical examples. The residence garden of Xu Feng, a wealthy merchant from Suzhou, is representative of the newly constructed Jiangnan gardens in the mid-16th century. The scenery of this garden is depicted in Wen Zhengming’s Picture of a Famous Garden in Jinchang (“Jinchangmingyuantu”). This painting vividly reflects many garden design techniques that were popular during the Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty and provides intuitive evidence to support the argument of the transformation of Jiangnan gardens in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty. It also helps to form a clearer understanding of the typical artistic features of Jiangnan gardens in the mid-16th century.
    Methods The research method of mutual verification of literature and image is employed to reconstruct the garden depicted in the Picture of a Famous Garden in Jinchang. The first step involves correlating the visual information in the painting with documentary sources to identify the correspondence between the scenery in the painting and the descriptions in the Record of Zizhi Garden (Zizhiyuanji). The second step is to cross-verify the visual information from the Picture of a Famous Garden in Jinchang with the textual information from the Zizhi Garden in order to determine the orientation of the scenery and the overall layout of the garden. This process ultimately yields a partial plan of Xu Feng’s garden, making the visual image of this renowned Jiangnan garden from the mid-16th century more intuitive. Furthermore, by analyzing the garden elements and design techniques based on the reconstructed plan of Xu Feng’s garden, and comparing it with other Jiangnan gardens from the mid-16th century and its surrounding periods, the main trends in the transformation of Jiangnan gardens since the Jiajing period can be explored.
    Results The Picture of a Famous Garden in Jinchang does not include the panorama of Xu Feng’s garden, and Wen Zhengming chose to depict the core area of the garden. This handscroll depicts scenic spots such as the garden gate, Five Old Men Peaks (“Wulaofeng”), teahouse, Wohong Bridge (Wohongqiao), square pool, Dongya Hall (“Dongyatang”), Taiyi Study (“Taiyizhai”), curving stream, Qianxin Railing (“Qianxinjian”), Baixue Tower (“Baixuelou”), and Qingxiang Pavilion (“Qingxiangting”) from right to left. This garden was renowned for its luxurious style and served as a place for celebrities to engage in social activities. The garden elements such as rockeries, water bodies, plants, and buildings within the garden exhibit features that are distinct from the traditional literati gardens before the mid-16th century, while also showing continuity with the peak period of garden making from the mid-16th century to the early 17th century. The Five Old Men Peaks, which rose during the Jiajing period, continued to be popular until the late Ming Dynasty. The changes in literati's livelihood were manifested in the enhancement of the aesthetic function of plants; buildings with increasing number and diverse forms were gradually replacing plants as the main scene of gardens. In addition, this handscroll shows the combination of square pool and curving stream, providing valuable visual documentation for distinguishing the differences in waterscape design during the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty.
    Conclusion The comparison of Xu Feng’s garden with other Jiangnan gardens from the mid-16th century and its surrounding periods reveals two major trends in the transformation of garden making since the Jiajing period: The application of standardized techniques in rock-piling and water management, and the functional shift of plants and buildings. The application of standardized techniques in rock-piling and water management reflects the gradual maturation of garden making art after the mid-16th century. It indicates that, after a long period of exploration, garden makers in the Jiangnan region gradually established a set of commonly accepted and widely used design paradigms. As a representative of the symbolic landscape-making techniques of that time, the combination of the Five Old Men Peaks and the square pond reveals the convergence of garden makers’ aesthetic concepts within a specific historical period. The functional shift of plants and buildings can be seen as a manifestation of the transformation of social trend from frugality to luxury in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty. In the early 16th century, Jiangnan gardens were primarily used for the daily life and literary gatherings of literati, while also accommodating self-sufficient agricultural production. The development of the commodity economy highlighted the social attributes of gardens as venues for social interaction, stimulating garden owners’ attention to the aesthetic functions of their gardens. This also led to a continuous change in the criteria by which Jiangnan literati evaluated “frugality” and “luxury”.

     

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