IMAGINARY MODELS OF THE «GARDEN AS PARADISE ON EARTH» IN THE DYNASTIC PAINTING OF CHINA

Abstract

This article is devoted to revealing the features of the visual representation of the idea of «the garden as an earthly paradise» in the painting of dynastic China. It has been clarified that the construction of the garden according to the principle of «one lake – three mountains», which embodied the religious and mythical meaning, is associated with the Taoist idea of immortality, started from the time of the Qin dynasty (III century BC) and became a vivid example of the construction of imperial gardens for rulers of all times. Over many centuries, the «Gardens of the Immortals» iconography developed in Chinese painting. The article examines the landscape works of Li Sixun (李思训, 651-716), Qiu Ying (仇英, 1494-1552), Yuan Jiang (袁江 1671-1746). In connection with the desire to recreate the imperial garden as a special fairy-tale place, landscapes with a garden theme did not reflect the real environment but mostly embodied an idealised, often fictional image. The paradise theme was realised in another garden – the garden of writers. The Garden of Writers is also outside of the ordinary world. It is not intended for a person’s meeting with the Immortals but is a «shelter of inner strength» and spiritual cultivation (Gu Kaizhi (顧愷之), Li Gonglin (李公麟), Qiu Ying (仇英)). The widespread iconography of the garden in pictorial art includes such plot motifs as «literary evenings», «gathering in the garden of peaches and plums», «gathering in the orchid pavilion», «pond with lotuses», «planting chrysanthemums». The symbolism of paradise is present in the widespread iconographic model with the image of a «hut with a thatched roof». This theme is revealed in the works of artist Tang Yin (唐寅, 1470-1523) of the Ming dynasty. Solitude as an «escape from the world» to a person’s own ideal «paradise» is one of the important themes of traditional Chinese painting.