Research On Yuan Mei’s Criticism Of Garden

The article selects three problems of different levels as the ways of interpreting Yuan Mei’s garden criticism. Specifically, it means analytic reading of Yuan Mei’s poetry and essays.The first chapter discusses the relationship between human and his own garden. Firstly, for Yuan Mei, the property rights to a garden is not everything. Owning a garden also needs that the owner always tries his best to keep the garden work. What’s more, it means a kind of emotional relationship between human and his garden. The second level, which is engaging in constructing of a garden, is most important to Yuan Mei. To him, the process is inherent and continuous. Secondly, agreeing with traditional ideas of garden criticism, Yuan Mei regards human rather the garden as the dominant role. At the same time, the owner need to be responsible for nature and history, which means that restrictions are always with him. Thirdly, we can also testify that Yuan Mei insists the unity of knowing and doing by interpreting those text from Yuan Mei’s friends.The second chapter turns to explore Yuan Mei’s garden elements criticism. Compared with many contemporary gardens, Sui yuan, Yuan Mei’s private garden, are famous of the using of mirrors and glass windows which are colorful. Another kind of elements is ancient things. All of those elements are crucial of poetic atmosphere of scholars’gardens. And those flowers and trees of gardens have communicative value to making friends.The third chapter starts from Sui yuan’s name—Sui. There is much philosophy in it. It is about time which may be the most important theme of philosophy. The connotation of Sui is from Zhou Yi, "great indeed are the time and significance indicated in Sui." The other meaning is significance of Sui can relate to life and death and day and night. It is not only the name of the reality in a particular garden, but also an idea that a garden can be coincidence to the rhythm of the universe. It is the key for a garden to connect nature and human.Finally, the article puts forward that we should attach importance to the status of garden art in the art history of qing dynasty. Therefore, Yuan Mei’s garden criticism should not be ignored, the study is expected to break through outdated traditions of art criticism, and provide reference to today’s garden activities.