Two Distinct Flowers in the Garden of the World--the Sameness and Difference between Chinese and Japanese Gardens

摘要

Chinese and Japanese Gardens are two distinct flowers in the Garden of the World. Like trees, Chinese Garden is the trunk, and Japanese Garden is the inoculum. The naturalism in the Chinese Garden, which seems naturally established but actually with artificial efforts can be well shown up from gardens in various periods, namely, from TAO Yuan Ming's (Dong Jin Dynasty) naturalistic verses of "While picking asters neath the Eastern fence, my gaze upon the Southern mountain rests", WANG Wei's (Tang Dynasty) Wang Chuan Bie Ye Garden, BAI Ju Yi's (Tang Dynasty) Lu Shan Grass Hut, and the Suzhou Garden of Ming and Qing Dynasty. Flexibility and Innovation embedded into the traditional Gardening is the biggest characteristic of the Chinese Garden. However, the gardening of the Japanese Garden comes down in one continuous line, which in well-orderly traditional way is the most striking feature of the Japanese Garden. This feature can be concluded from the kinds of paradise garden to boating pond garden (shuuyuushiki teien) — stroll garden (kaiyuushiki teien) — tea garden — stroll garden (kaiyuushiki teien) plus tea garden. Generally, it could be said that Chinese Garden is the garden with concepts without rules, and Japanese Garden is the garden with concepts and rules.