Winning the highest award, how did 'New Song Water Flowing Wine' stand out?
2026-05-18
Chinese gardens are treasures of excellent traditional Chinese culture. As a model of Chinese lake and mountain gardens, the construction paradigm of Hangzhou West Lake gardens has been widely spread to the Korean Peninsula and Japan over 1000 years ago. It not only nurtured local garden art, but also radiated to various parts of Southeast Asia and influenced the creation of natural landscape gardens in the UK. As time passes, in the current era of multicultural integration and coexistence, traditional Chinese garden art is developing through inheritance, increasingly showcasing the unique and elegant Eastern charm. It is not just a space created by stacking mountains and arranging water, but also a spiritual dwelling place that soothes people's hearts and nurtures emotions. In the process of meeting the spiritual and cultural needs of modern people, it blooms with new vitality. Recently, the 2026 International Horticultural Healing Expo kicked off in Taean County, South Korea. This grand event not only covers themed environments such as forests, oceans, and emotional healing gardens, but also features an international competition unit to recognize outstanding innovations and designs from around the world. The Chinese Garden with the theme of "New Song Water Flowing Wine" stood out among numerous works and won the highest award. Water scenery is an important component of traditional Chinese garden art, possessing a special charm that other fixed landscapes such as mountains, rocks, and buildings do not have. As a special water feature in classical Chinese gardens, "Qu Shui Liu Shang" originated from the ancient ritual of ancient people feasting by the water to dispel bad luck. The Lanting Yaji can be regarded as the most famous "Qu Shui Liu Shang" event in Chinese history. Since then, "Qu Shui Liu Shang" has become a symbolic cultural symbol that integrates garden water features, literati elegance, and spiritual imagery. More than 400 years later, the Silla royal family on the Korean Peninsula also began to enjoy Qushui banquets. Today, there are still relics preserved in Baoshi Pavilion, Gyeongju City, South Korea. The rich cultural connotation of "Qu Shui Liu Shang" brings rich inspiration to the design of Chinese gardens. The design team has been dedicated to studying the art of Jiangnan gardens for many years, with a particular emphasis on exploring the aesthetics of West Lake gardens during the Southern Song Dynasty; In recent years, he has also studied under Mr. Fang Hui, a provincial-level representative inheritor of intangible cultural heritage in Yangzhou's garden construction techniques, to learn traditional garden stone stacking mountain building techniques. Therefore, in the design, the team strives to integrate the humanistic heritage of "Qu Shui Liu Shang" with previous research results, creating a healing garden with Chinese characteristics. Due to limitations in site and maintenance management, the design team did not use real water. Instead, they created an abstract "New Song Water Stream" space through rockeries, dry streams, and art installations, allowing people to relax and heal their bodies and minds in the midst of "mountains and waters". The design of the garden entrance is derived from the grass pavilion built by Su Shi in the painting "Ode to the Red Cliff" by Qiao Zhongchang of the Northern Song Dynasty. Entering the park, stepping on the path paved with pine needles, the gentle sound of footsteps and the wind passing through the forest together form the melody of nature. A "Huifeng" scenic stone stands quietly, taking the artistic conception of "Huifeng and Smooth" from the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection. Amidst the bamboo forests, the suspended "curved water" landscape installation exudes a refreshing coolness. To restore the state of water flow, the design team used parametric design techniques to carve water wave textures on the surface of fiberglass. Sunlight fell on it, reflecting hazy light and shadow. 3D printed ear cups were arranged in a staggered manner, adding a touch of leisure. Above the "Qushui" is a natural bamboo pavilion, made up of bamboo gathered around it. Its design inspiration comes from the fishing nunnery in the painting "Lonely Land" by Qiu Ying in the Ming Dynasty. Duluan Garden is a private garden built by Sima Guang in the Northern Song Dynasty, with the ingenious idea of using bamboo as a temple, hiding his desire to retire to the mountains and forests. More than 900 years later, sitting quietly in the pavilion, accompanied by the cool breeze and bamboo shadows, holding ear cups, reciting poetry and drinking with friends, what other knot of heart cannot be let go? Tracing up the 'stream', the rockery 'Little Kuaiji' becomes its own scenery. The design team adapted to local conditions and used dark gray granite from South Korea as the material to create mountains. They focused on placement and combined stacking techniques, and fully applied traditional stacking techniques such as "wrong splicing", "yin selection", and "shape matching" to create a scene of streams flowing out of the mountains within a short distance. Cross another bamboo forest path and return to the entrance. This design is inspired by the artistic conception of Su Shi's "Ding Feng Bo", hoping that every person entering the garden can learn a sense of calmness amidst the mountains and waters, and face life with an open mind. This is also the unfinished meaning of the entire garden. This presentation of the Oriental garden landscape spanning mountains and seas not only showcases the enduring charm of Chinese garden art, but also conveys profound cultural confidence. On the basis of preserving the essence of traditional Chinese garden art and designing in line with contemporary aesthetic concepts and spiritual needs, excellent traditional Chinese culture will shine with new brilliance among mountains, waters, forests, and springs. (Outlook on the New Era) (The author is a professor at the China Academy of Art and the chief designer of the China Garden at the 2026 International Horticultural Healing Expo)
Edit:Luoyu Responsible editor:Wang Xiaojing
Source:people.cn
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