This dissertation examines the history of the Western Multistoried-Buildings garden (Xiyang lou) located within the Chinese imperial Garden of Round Brightness (Yuanming yuan) of the Qing dynasty. As a "Western-like" garden designed and cobuilt by the European Jesuits in China, the Western Multistoried-Buildings garden was unique in garden history. It provides a significant and unique case study of the cultural encounter between Chinese and European civilizations in the eighteenth century. The research reported in this thesis focuses on the communication between the visions of the Chinese emperor and the Western Jesuits during the construction of this European garden. The research demonstrates how Jesuit metaphysics fused with Chinese cosmology through the creation of the multiple jing, the bright views of the garden scenes, using the technique of the "line-method," which embodied the Chinese transformation of Western linear perspective. This research differs from the usual approach in history and cross-cultural studies that treats buildings and gardens as secondary objects re-presenting a priori or a posteriori ideas. It goes directly to the material context to analyze how the creation of a garden framed the minds of individuals who came from different cultures and religions. Such a "materialist" approach not only acts as a reflection of the Western metaphysical approach, but also attempts to initiate a new interpretative perspective that is closer to the poetic essence of the Chinese culture. As the Western Multistoried-Buildings garden demonstrates, there does exist a way by which cultural and religious conflicts are dissolved into the "round brightness" of cultural fusion, which in turn makes cultural differences shine.
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