Gaze, Walk, Wander and Dwell: 17th Century Landscape Architect Zhou Tingce and Feiyun Peak Rockeries in Zhiyuan Garden

The art of landscape architecture thrived in the 17th century in the region south of the Yangtze River in east China. Landscape architecture became a professional field at that time and a group of experts emerged in that region. Zhou Tingce was one of the most famous and Feiyun Peak rockeries in Zhiyuan Garden were his masterpiece. The paper examines the history of the landscape architecture practice of Zhou Tingce and his father Zhou Bingzhong. It analyzes the artistic characteristics of their gardening works. It reconstructed Feiyun Peak rockeries in Zhiyuan Garden according to related literature and paintings, summarizes the artistic characteristics of Feiyun Peak from four perspectives, i.e., to gaze, walk, wander and dwell. The paper reveals that Zhou family’s rockery construction art inherited the tradition of the Wei and Jin eras, while embodied the new trend from late Ming Dynasty which was influenced by the art of painting. Zhou’s landscape architectural art is of great importance in the Chinese garden history with very high artistic value.