Mountain Gardens Of The Jiangnan Area In The Late Period Of The Ming Dynasty

The dissertation,Mountain Gardens of the Jiangnan Area in the Late Period of the Ming Dynasty,focuses on the private mountain gardens of Changzhou,Suzhou,and Songjiang area in the late period of the Ming Dynasty.It estimates the ancient layouts of the gardens,studies the social,cultural and economic backgrounds,and concludes the characteristics of mountain gardens.The dissertation,consisting of three parts,uses physical remains and literature records to carry on the estimations of gardens.Part I overviews constructions in mountains in various historical periods.Part II takes three gardens as the key cases and gives reliable estimations.Part III discusses about gardens' background,layout,and construction techniques.The quantity and geographical distribution of mountain gardens in Jiangnan area of the Ming dynasty is figured,time lines of key mountains are drawn,rare historical materials are used in the case studies,some mistakes in previous researches are corrected,and the characteristics of mountain gardens are analyzed in terms of society,economy,and construction.