On the perspective of the language of landscape : the imagery evolution in contemporary Chinese landscape

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The inception of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 heralded the commencement of the modern epoch. This thesis delineates the trajectory of China’s social, economic, and cultural milieu from 1949 to the present, demarcating three pivotal periods: 1949-1978, 1978-2000, and 2000 to the present. Spanning seven decades, the contemporary Chinese landscape encapsulates both tangible and intangible vestiges of human and environmental narratives, marking a progression from agrarian and industrial epochs to the contemporary phase of a globalized ecological civilization. The constructs of the language of landscape and imagery are central to understanding the tangible and intangible interplay that influences the interpretation, perception, and manifestation of landscapes. In exploring the evolution of China’s modern landscape, this thesis delves into the shifting historical interrelation between the material and immaterial elements of people and land. The methodology comprises a literature review, case studies, and an interdisciplinary approach, aiming to provide a qualitative analysis of the language of the landscape and imagery that charts the transformation of China’s contemporary landscape.
The discourse on the language of landscape and imagery in the context of modern Chinese landscapes is structured into a four-tiered theoretical framework, encompassing the context, archetypal, symbolic, and aesthetic levels.
This retrospective examination delves into the evolution of imagery through the lens of the language of landscape in contemporary Chinese landscapes. At the context level, societal shifts have been influenced by the Soviet Model (1949-1978), the City Beautiful Movement (1978-2000), and ecological planning (2000-present). The archetypal level has witnessed transitions from Shan-shui and Marxism, geometric to pluralism. Symbolically, the landscape dialogues at this level articulate through nature, history, past, power to nature, history, and production. Throughout seventy years, aesthetic imagery has evolved from embodying productive and poetic forms with socialist political intentions and outdoor amenity spaces to adopting symptomatic forms that often uncritically emulate Western construction paradigms. As both global and national contexts continue to unfold, the language of landscape is expected to embrace and contribute to increasingly diverse dialogues, especially those revolving around natural elements. Imagery analysis anticipates future trends in Chinese landscape design, suggesting a movement towards creating vertical imagery that echoes Shan-shui principles, and amalgamates the diversity of material and spiritual elements, encompassing existence, perception, and interpretation.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Abstract 1
• Ⅰ. INTRODUCTION 3
• 1.1 Research Background 3
• 1.2 Research Aim and Methodology 10
• 1.3 Research Perspective 12
• 1.3.1 Language as the Symbol and the Landscape as the Language 12
• 1.3.2 The Aesthetic and Psychological of Imagery 16
• 1.4 Organization 20
• Ⅱ. BRIDGING THE LANGUAGE OF LANDSCAPE AND IMAGERY IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA 24
• 2.1 The Context Level: Landscape as a Product of Context 24
• 2.2 The Archetypal Level: Landscape as Collective Mental Perception 26
• 2.2.1 Imagery Emerging from Archetype 26
• 2.2.2 The Metaphysical and Biological Properties of Archetype Imagery 28
• 2.2.3 Archetype Imagery: The Mental Source of the Landscape 32
• 2.3 Symbol Level: Landscape as Symbol Expression 34
• 2.3.1 The Language of Landscape and Landscape as the Symbols 34
• 2.3.2 The Language of Landscape: Discursive and Representational Symbols 40
• 2.4 Aesthetic Level: Landscape as Aesthetic Appreciation 46
• 2.4.1 The Aesthetic Imagery and Symbol: Material and Spiritual 46
• 2.4.2 Landscape Imagery: the Intentional Creation Unity the Psychological and Aesthetic 49
• 2.5 Four Levels for the Language of Landscape and Imagery in Contemporary Chinese Landscapes 52
• Ⅲ. SOVIET MODEL PLAN: 1949 - 1978 56
• 3.1 The Context of Soviet Model 56
• 3.1.1 The Soviet Experience and Greening the Motherland 56
• 3.1.2 Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution 59
• 3.1.3 The Government Authority of Landscape Department Established 61
• 3.2 The Archetypal Level: The Archetype Imagery of Socialism and Nationalism 63
• 3.2.2 The Ideal of Marxist: Communist Society 66
• 3.2.3 Nationalism: Shan-shui as the Universality in Chinese Culture 67
• 3.3 The Symbol Level: Nature, History and Past Dialogue 73
• 3.3.1 Nationalism Park: Hua Gang Guan Yu Park 75
• 3.3.2 Culture Rest Park: Chongqing People’s Park 86
• 3.4 The Aesthetic Level: Poetic and Productive Imagery 96
• 3.4.1 Nationalism Park: Poetic Imagery 96
• 3.4.2 Culture Rest Park: Productive Imagery 104
• Ⅳ. CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT IN CHINA: 1978 - 2000 109
• 4.1 The Context of City Beautiful Movement in China 109
• 4.1.1 Economic Growth and Environmental Construction 109
• 4.1.2 The Enactment of the Law and Ecological Concept 111
• 4.2 The Archetypal Level: The Archetype Imagery of Geometric 115
• 4.2.1 Anthropomorphism as a Universality of Western Culture 115
• 4.2.2 The Ideal of Geometric: The Eternity of Heaven 118
• 4.3 The Symbol Level: Power Dialogue 120
• 4.3.1 Dalian City’s Large Scale Square 120
• 4.3.2 Dayan Pagoda Culture Square 124
• 4.4 The Aesthetic Level: Symptomatic Imagery 129
• Ⅴ. ECOLOGICAL PLAN: 2000-Present 134
• 5.1 The Context of Ecological Plan: Ecological Crisis, Sustainable Development, and Ecological Civilization 134
• 5.1.1 Ecological Crisis and Drosscape Generation 134
• 5.1.2 Globalization, Sustainable Development and Ecological Civilization 139
• 5.1.3 The Refinement and Improvement of Landscape Legal Regulations: Eco-Garden City, Forest City, Sponge City, Park City 144
• 5.2 The Archetypal Level: The Archetype Imagery of Pluralism 152
• 5.2.1 Deconstruction as the Universality of Post-modernism 152
• 5.2.2 The Ideal of Pluralism: Cooperation, Adaptation, and Harmony with Nature 157
• 5.3 The Symbol Level: Nature, Past, and Production Dialogue 159
• 5.3.1 Drosscape: Zhongshan Qijiang Park and Tianjin Qiaoyuan Park 161
• 5.3.2 Urban Event Landscape: Beijing Olympic Forest Park 172
• 5.3.3 Drosscape and Urban Event Landscape: Shanghai Houtan Park and Quarry Garden 176
• 5.3.4 Sponge City: Sanya Mangrove Wetland Park 187
• 5.3.5 Sponge City and Cultural Landscape: Xiaoyan Pagoda Historical and Cultural Restoration 193
• 5.4 The Aesthetic Level: Vertical Imagery 206
• 5.4.1 The Aesthetic Imagery of Naturalism and Ecology 206
• 5.4.2 The Aesthetic Imagery of Shan-shui and Ecology 210
• 5.4.3 The Aesthetic Imagery of Post-industrial and Ecology 213
• 5.4.4 The Universality of Pluralism Aesthetic Imagery 216
• Ⅵ. DISCUSSION 220
• 6.1 The Context Level: From Soviet Model to Ecological Plan 220
• 6.2 The Archetypal Level: From Shan-shui and Socialism to Pluralism 223
• 6.3 The Symbol Level: From Nature, History and Past to Nature, History, and Production 225
• 6.4 The Aesthetic Level: From Poetic and Productive Imagery to Vertical Imagery 228
• 6.5 The Research Limitation 230
• Ⅶ. CONCLUSION 232
• Reference 238
• 논문요약 255

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