Garden Construction by Royal Families

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Private Gardens and Monastic Gardens of the Wei，Jin，Southern and Northern Dynasties The Wei dynasty（220-265），Jin dynasty（265-420），and Southern and Northern Dynasties（420-589）witnessed the advent of the large scale garden-construction movement，which is also considered to be a turning point in the Chinese gardens history.During that time，short-lived regimes were ceaselessly replaced by their new rivals while political upheavals piled up one after another.Under the influence of Buddhism and Taoism，literati indulged themselves in metaphysical talks.They advocated life in solitude and summoned up their enthusiasm in mountains and waters.

For literati，it was a fashion to go sightseeing among hills and up and down waters.

On one hand，they enjoyed the charming wildness of nature；on the other hand，they were not satisfied with the temporary tours.They yearned for a long-term possession of the beautiful scenery.As a result，the private garden developed very fast and soon mounted to its prime.

In this period of time，the private garden transformed its grand structure popular in the Han dynasty into exquisite arrangement.The garden design became less realistic but more poetic.It was the result of its absorption into Taoism，Buddhism，and the poetic pursuit.

In addition，Buddhism was prevalent at that time and hence，monastic economy developed very wel1.Monks tended to set up temples in thickly forested mountains near rivers or lakes.Monastic gardens or temple gardens in deep and spectacular mountains made appearance.In general，people at that time displayed greater competence in appreciating the beautiful natural scenery.With an aim of presentingnatural beauty，private gardens and temple gardens were built with artificial lakes and rockeries as their main part.Therefore，garden construction became an artistic activity.

Garden Construction by Royal Families in the Wei，Jin，Southern and Northern Dynasties In the Wei，Jin，Southern and Northern Dynasties（220-589）in order to prove the divine right of kings，all political administrations had large-scale gardens and parks built in their own capitals.However，due to the threat of wars and battles，most of these gardens could only be found within the city wall or near the city outskirt.

The Fang-Lin Park，located in the northeast of the Luoyang City，was reconstructed and expanded in the reign of Emperor Mingdi of Wei（227-239）upon itsold basis founded in the Han dynasty.According to Records of Wei of the Records of the Three Kingdoms，”In the first year of Jingchu（237）…the king had more palaces constructed.Pavilions and storied buildings were painted and decorated.People dug silica mine in Taihang Mountains and collected tablets from every city.Then a hill named Jingyang were pile up in the Fang-Lin Park and a palatial hall named Zhaoyang were built to the north of the Taiji Hall.In addtion，people made huge metal sculptures of dragons，phoenixes，and other large beasts and moved them to the fortified walls，the Lingyun Terrace，and the Lingxiao Gate Towers.The huge projectcalled up a large number of workers and participants，which included the ministersin the court and students in private schools.The King set an example by digging a hole to stimulate his people to make contribution to the construction.”The King himself，leading his ministers and officials，participated in the construction activities.It is obvious that the park was an important royal project at that time.

The Fang-Lin Park was an imperial garden that imitated natural landscapes mainly by manual work. In its northwest, there was a rockery made of colored aragonite and earth while in the southeast,a lake named Tianyuan was dug. Water introduced from the valley wound up through halls and chambers, and finally accumulated in as a complete water system. Along such water system, carefully sculptured stones formedspectacular scene. Moreover, there were also many different kinds of animals, trees, flowers, and performance sites. Though its layout and contents inherited the artistic features of the gardens and hunting parks in the Han dynasty, the Fang-LinPark made remarkable progress and hence was taken as a model by the later imperial gardens.