Book Description
Dense with winding paths, dominated by huge rock piles and buildings squeezed into small spaces, the characteristic Chinese garden is, for many foreigners, so unlike anything else as to be incomprehensible. Only on closer acquaintance does it offer up its mysteries; and such is the achievement of Maggie Keswick's celebrated classic that it affords us--adventurers, armchair travelers, and garden buffs alike--the intimate pleasures of the Chinese garden.
In these richly illustrated pages, Chinese gardens unfold as cosmic diagrams, revealing a profound and ancient view of the world and of humanity's place in it. First sensuous impressions give way to more cerebral delights, and forms conjure unending, increasingly esoteric and mystical layers of meaning for the initiate. Keswick conducts us through the art and architecture, the principles and techniques of Chinese gardens, showing us their long history as the background for a civilization--the settings for China's great poets and painters, the scenes of ribald parties and peaceful contemplation, political intrigues and family festivals.
Updated and expanded in this third edition, with an introduction by Alison Hardie, many new illustrations, and an updated list of gardens in China accessible to visitors, Keswick's engaging work remains unparalleled as an introduction to the Chinese garden.
About the Author
Maggie Keswick was educated in Shanghai and Hong Kong and at Oxford University; she was married to the architectural critic and historian Charles Jencks, who contributed to this book.
The Chinese Garden: History, Art and Architecture FROM THE PUBLISHER
When The Chinese Garden was published in 1978, it was the first attempt in any language to explore the meanings that lie behind Chinese gardens. Now thoroughly revised and with new illustrations, it remains a classic of the subject. In a scholarly and accessible way, it traces the Chinese garden back through the earliest records, and explains its influence on, and how it was influenced by, philosophy, painting, architecture and literature. An exploration of Chinese culture, and how this culture manifested itself in the art of garden-making and design, The Chinese Garden provides unique insights into a great civilization and an intimate glimpse of the lives of the artists, scholars, poets and emperors who made it.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
The original 1978 edition of Keswick's book was the standard source on Chinese gardens in English, as well as the inspiration for many to journey to China. After Keswick's death in 1995, there was some justifiable concern over the appearance of an update or at least a reprint. Fortunately, Alison Hardie (Chinese studies, Newcastle Univ., UK) and Harvard University Press stepped up to create this new edition, which follows the format of the original, with a slightly updated map as a frontispiece and nine chapters, including "Meanings of the Chinese Garden" by Charles Jencks (Keswick's husband). Hardie and the publisher certainly had sufficient commonsense not to alter dramatically the arrangement of the text (other than correcting some factual errors) or even the appearance of figures and illustrations. Additional graphics have been added, as has a splendid introduction by Hardie that provides a context for Keswick's work in China. For those traveling to China, the last section, "Gardens Accessible to Visitors," will be most welcome, a great enhancement on Keswick's original two pages. Readers will also find a list of garden names in Chinese characters, with those names provided in English translation. This will be required reading for anyone contemplating a trip to China or trying to understand the significance of gardens in Chinese culture and history. Recommended for most academic and larger public libraries with an interest in China or landscape architecture.-Edward J. Valauskas, Lib. & Plant Info Office, Chicago Botanic Garden Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Art & Photography
Book Info
