ARCH5331 Topical Studies in History, Theory and Criticism: Suzhou

Transcription

1 School of Architecture Chinese University of Hong Kong ARCH5331 Topical Studies in History, Theory and Criticism: Suzhou Course outline Introduction This course is focussed on the study of major gardens in Suzhou and draws on resources and perspectives derived from architectural history and theory, landscape theory, Chinese studies, comparative philosophy and social psychology. The gardens studied in this course are not understood in terms of a binary opposition of house and garden. Suzhou gardens are highly architectural settings in which manipulated topography and rockeries, plantings, and buildings and covered galleries are brought into close juxtaposition. In this context, garden is not an open landscaped area next to a house ; rather, garden is a spatially dynamic zone in which architectural elements provide vantage points and some of the circulation routes. Suzhou gardens are multi-sensory environments that do not give priority to the sense of vision. Aural, proprioceptive, and synesthetic aspects of experience are foregrounded in this tradition. For this reason, it is especially appropriate to study this subject by personal visits. Much in the same manner that contemporary Japanese architects consider the gardens of Kyoto a point of reference and a source of inspiration, Chinese architects have focused on Suzhou gardens. Towards the end of this course, the ongoing relevance of ideas of Suzhou gardens will be studied in relation to some recent works by Chinese architects. Programme objectives The main critical premise of this programme is that conventional tools of representation common in architecture and landscape architecture such as photography and orthogonal drawings may have significant limitations in cross-cultural contexts. The first main objective of this programme acts on this premise by using two modes of imaging, photography and collage, to sensitize students to the limits of these media for the study of Suzhou gardens. Aspects of these gardens that are resistant to photographic representation (e.g. aperspectival space, heterogeneity of spatial depth under specific daylighting conditions, multi-sensory 1

2 environments, scalar ambiguity, labyrinthine spatial structures) call for in situ study; they are explored using collage techniques (working with aperspectival space) and written texts. A second objective of this programme is to contextualize the students' experience of the Suzhou gardens using Chinese texts (either in the original language or in English translation) that communicate traditional horizons, values and experiences. A range of modern scholarly sources will be used to articulate viewpoints for interpreting classical Chinese texts. The intention is to foreground differences in focus, perception, priority and horizons between the students and the textual sources. The third objective of this programme is to help students broaden their thinking beyond a personal or historical level of interest by presenting a series of discussions and encounters with contemporary Chinese architects who have taken up ideas of Suzhou gardens in their own work. Major programme dates (to be confirmed) Initial class discussions online: 4-13 June 2014 First meeting: Suzhou, 15 June, 9 am. The class moves from Suzhou to Shanghai on 20 June, midday. Programme ends with a dinner in Shanghai, 22 June, pm. There is an informal dinner for members of the class in Suzhou on 14 June, 5.40 pm sharp. Assessment The assessment scheme for ARCH5331 consists of the following components: (1) Collages and essay, 55%; (2) Seminar presentation [collage techniques], 35%; (3) Presentation on location [historical and cultural aspects], 10%. Assumed knowledge Basic ability to read architectural drawings. Previous training in an art or design-related studio setting. Basic photography and knowledge of Photoshop and InDesign. Bibliography Two major bibliographies on Chinese gardens are especially relevant: 2

3 Stanislaus Fung. "Guide to Secondary Sources on Chinese Gardens," Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes 18, 3 (Autumn 1998), Francois Louis. History of Gardens in East Asia, Bibliography on China. (assessed 1 Aug 2011) Specific Sources on Gardens [*prescribed preliminary readings] Duncan Campbell. "Qi Biaojia's 'Footnotes to Allegory Mountain': Introduction and Translation," Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes, Chinese Gardens II, 19, 3/4 (1999), *Duncan Campbell. "Transplanted Peculiarity: The Garden of the Master on the Fishing Nets", New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies, 9.1 (2007): 9-25 Chen Congzhou, On Chinese Gardens (Tongji University Press, 1984). Stanislaus Fung. "Movement and Stillness in Ming Writings on Gardens," in Landscape Design and the Experience of Motion. Edited by Michel Conan, (Dumberton Oaks, The Trustees for Harvard University, 2003). *Alison Hardie. The Life of a Seventeenth-Century Chinese Garden Designer: "The Biography of Zhang Nanyuan," by Wu Weiye ( ). Garden History, 32, 1 (Spring, 2004): Alison Hardie. "Pictorial Representations of Gardens in 16th-17th Century China," Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society 67 ( ), Martin Jacques. When China Rules the World (Penguin, 2009) *Francois Jullien. Detour and Access: Strategies of Meaning in China and Greece (MIT Press, 2004) *Liu, Dunzhen. Chinese Classical Gardens of Suzhou (McGraw-Hill, 1993) *Lu, Andong. Deciphering the Reclusive Landscape: a study of Wen Zheng-Ming s 1533 album of the Garden of the Unsuccessful Politician. Studies in the History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes 31, 1 (2011): Richard Strassberg. "Mirrors and Windows: Fictional Imagination in Later Chinese Garden Culture," Gardens and Imagination: Cultural History and Agency, edited by Michael Conan, (Dumberton Oaks, The Trustees for Harvard University, 2008). 3

4 Peter Valder. The Garden Plants of China. (Florilegium, 1999). Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom. Shanghai, : A History in Fragments (Routledge, 2009) Xu, Yinong. "Boundaries, Centres and Peripheries in Chinese gardens: A Case of Suzhou in the Eleventh Century," Studies in the History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes 24, 1 (January- March 2004), Xu, Yinong. The Chinese City in Space and Time: The Development of Urban Form in Suzhou (University of Hawaii Press, 2000) *Xu, Yinong. "Interplay of Image and Fact: The Pavilion of Surging Waves, Suzhou," Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes, 19, 3/4 (1999), Collage techniques Students are expected to research relevant sources on collage techniques for themselves. The major recommended authors are Holly Harrison, Blanche Craig and Brandon Taylor. Using exchanges from 14 May onwards, an attempt will be made to ensure that no more than 2 students are reading the same book on collage techniques so that the seminar topics will be appropriately diverse. Learning outcomes At the conclusion of this programme, students should be able to: 1. Display an awareness of content knowledge of the major Suzhou gardens. Historical and cultural background. Analytic vocabulary and its cultural specificity. [Specific readings, site visits, essay] 2. Demonstrate an understanding of the limitations of photography and orthogonal drawings for the study of Suzhou gardens [photography and collage exercises, seminar presentation, essay] 3. Demonstrate an understanding of collage techniques and their relevance to the exploration of specific aspects of Suzhou gardens [seminar presentation, collage exercises and essay, reflective diary] 4. Draw on textual sources on Chinese culture and gardens to articulate issues of cultural difference [specific readings, essay] 4

5 5. Demonstrate a critical appreciation of the uptake of ideas of Suzhou gardens among contemporary Chinese architects [presentations, discussions] 6. Demonstrate a sense of situational awareness and risk management for living and working in a Chinese city [site visits, briefing] Arrangements to be made by students for themselves In general, students should make their own arrangements for: all transportation between airports and hotels meals that are not organized centrally by teaching staff for the whole class. supply of all materials and equipment required for assignments buying maps of Suzhou and Shanghai printing copies of all previous s about logistics of the class and bringing them to Suzhou (students who are not bringing their own laptops to Suzhou) purchase of sim cards for Chinese mobile phone service supply of adaptor plugs for electrical devices entering the main emergency contact numbers into your mobile phone; also the numbers of the teaching staff and of your taxi leader. currency exchange 5