Chang Qing on Yingzao (营造)and Landscape Architecture

CHANG Qing

Editor's Note: At the invitation of Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture, Professor Chang Qing of Tongji University made a keynote presentation at its annual meeting on October 2019, which was titled "Historical-Geographical Dimension and Landscape Texture". Following this, Professor Chang, invited by Nanjing Forestry University, made another plenary talk titled "Yingzao (营造)and Landscape Architecture" at the conference Commemorating the 120thAnniversary of the birth of Chen Zhi (陈植). Both of the contents involve the interdisciplinary dialogue of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, and the reflection on the origins and relationships of the two disciplines. Additionally, some of the fundamental concept and deep-going correlations of the two disciplines were touched upon. This journal interviewed Professor Chang in this connection and thus summarized and presented the interview to the readers.

Question: It has been 90 years since the "Chinese Yingzao Society" was established. What is the present understanding of the relationship between the English word "architecture" and the Chinese "Yingzao" (营造)?

Chang: Referring to the Chinese word "Yingzao" (营造), the intention of the English word "Architecture" originated from the Latin word "Architectura" meaning "chief craftsman", while the word "Architect" is equivalent to the ancient Chinese "master craftsman" (大匠), and that is equivalent to the so-called "chair gardener" (能主之人)as recorded in Yuanye-Xingzaolun (《园冶》兴造论)by Ji Cheng of the late Ming Dynasty. In modern times, the two western words have been translated by Japanese scholars as 建筑学 and 建筑师, which is followed by Chinese colleagues up to the present day. In reality, the connotation of "Architecture" (建筑学)is far less than that of "Yingzao" (营造). Zhu Qiqian, while setting up Chinese Yingzao Society 90 years ago, pointed out that the purpose of giving the name as "Yingzao Society" instead of "Architecture Society" is to break out the limitation of architecture, so that it can involve all "substantial art". Presently, with reference to the discipline after the emergence of "École des Beaux-arts de Paris", the origin of western academicism, it is quite appropriate to translate Architecture as 建筑学, for the focus of Beaux-arts lies mainly in "High Style" buildings of classicism. In the narrow sense, this understanding is not a problem. Today, the architectural discipline in the world has been internationally integrated into "Architecture and Built Environment". Actually, the passive word "built" is translated as 建成, which is the synonym of construction and Yingzao (营造). Incidentally, included should also be Landscape Gardening and Landscape Architecture (造景学/风景园林学). While the Chinese traditional architecture has always been "Yingzao" (营造), including all building activities and buildings themselves. At most, they were looked upon as tricks and usually unqualified to take their places in higher circles.

Question: How do you look upon the discipline relationship between Architecture and Landscape Architecture?

Chang: Coming to the point of Landscape Architecture (风景园林学), I have to confess that I am an outsider. What I can give here is only some experience of study from the etymology point of view. Landscape Gardening (造园学), and another vocabulary Landscape Architecture (造景学)which came after the former were terms that used during the neoclassicism period in the 18th-19thcenturies in Europe, and the latter is still used up to now. Based on the etymological discussion of Architecture and from the view of Yingzao (营造), Architecture and Landscape Architecture are, for certain, from the same discipline source. So, to translate Landscape Architecture into 风景园林学 is not a problem, but the difference is that the scope covered and the area of relevancy are greater, involving the intersection and integration of such disciplines as Forestry, Horticulture, Landscape Ecology, Environmental Design, etc. As far as discipline designation, 风景园林学 after all covers 造园学 and 造景学, but not vice versa. Therefore, comparing with Architecture, Landscape Architecture calls for much greater field of view and more universal aesthetic concerns. Ji Cheng of the Ming Dynasty already said that generally when we talk about Yingzao (营造), 30% relies on builder and 70% on director, while for Landscape Gardening, 10% on builder and 90% on director. In other words, only those who possess both director's ideas and builder's thoughts are real "directing persons". Just because of this, Landscape Architects, as I understand, face more complex and diverse discipline challenges than architects.

Question: How do you regard the relationship between 景观 and Landscape Architecture?

Chang: The word "Jingguan" (景观)is frequently used in Chinese and its implication and coverage are tremendous. It can include all the physical and ideological images that are tangible or intangible, either it is the work of nature or manpower. Therefore it is difficult to give a definition either according to its conceptual expression or contextual differentiation. Comparing Chinese with English, firstly, the Chinese word景观, in a broad sense, may correspond to the English "scape", covering all the sceneries that objectively exist and the view that one subjectively feels. It refers to all the artifacts and almost none is excluded. Secondly, 景观 in a narrow sense, corresponds to a series of vocabulary concerning landscape with "scape" as root and different prefix qualifiers, e.g. landscape, seascape, cityscape, each has its delimitations. And "Historic Urban Landscape", one of the international research hotspots at the moment, also belongs to this category. The above comparisons show that the word "scape" in English is hardly used individually without qualifiers. While in Chinese, the term 景观 is used extensively, even human beings are included. For instance, in "a feast for the eyes", beauty is compared to delicacy and thus regarded as 景观. This might be the outcome of different thinking and expression ways between the culture of China and western countries. The former gets used to intuitive analogy while the latter is more on the side of logical perspicuity.

Question: You put forward the concept of "Historical-Geographical Dimension and Landscape Texture" at the annual meeting of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture. Can you give us further explanation on that?

Chang: On "texture", I think that has beenbest interpreted by Confucius through his discourse on the personality of Junzi (君子). He says that "where the substance is in excess of refinement, we have rusticity", which means that simple quality alone may lead to uncultivation. And "where the refinement is in excess of substance, we have ostentation", which means excess embellishment may lead to exaggeration. When substance and refinement are equally blended, we have what is called Junzi (君子). From human beings, we then come to objects. Similarly, Landscape also has its substance and texture, and what is more, it is accompanied by historical and geographical dimensions. "Historical" here refers to time dimension which is next to refinement, while "geographical" refers to spatial dimension, next to substance. The landscape texture is not equivalent to expression. Texture is the internal quality from touch and experience, while expression is only the external form from vision and impression. That is why Chen Congzhou (陈从周)once said that “texture is true and expression is false”. Landscape texture first comes from land, while land is "topography" as we look at it from surface configuration, and "landscape" from its aesthetic aspect. The interference and changing process onto topography and landscape by construction activities can be called as changes of topography (地志), it may bring about cultural landscape that features local texture. But landscape and topography, which not only accumulate traces of past changes, but also motivate and induce local designs at present, is an important driver for the shaping of urbanrural landscape texture. Look at the tectonic of the bamboo truss of Helouxuan in Fangtayuan (方塔园何陋轩), and that of the brick curtain wall of Ningbo Museum, the ways of thinking are quite the same. Local traditional craftsmanship of both has been intervened into their construction so as to pursue the vernacular texture, instead of expression alone. Therefore, American architect F. L. Wright mentioned that buildings should be blended into land instead of being placed onto it.

Question: You mentioned vernacular landscape at both meetings. Can you tell us more about the connections between 风土, 乡土 and 景观?

Chang: In order to obtain local texture in design, the taste of culture and land has to be nosed out. This is called genius loci by western countries. In traditional Chinese culture, however, we call it 风土. 风 and 土 suggest, respectively, the features of culture and land in a certain place. Therefore, 风土 implies local texture, which is quite similar to the English word "vernacular", and it can express the texture and rhyme of both custom and land. Tetsuro Watsuji (和辻哲郎), a modern Japanese philosopher wrote a book entitled 风土, and the definition he gave about vernacular includes various factors as nature, environment and climate. Also added is "landscape", which could refer to nature and culture from aesthetic aspect, and covered by vernacular. However, in China, the word "vernacular" is normally translated as 乡土 instead of 风土. Actually, 乡土 means hometown, homeland, native land and countryside in Chinese agricultural society. Up to now, the traditional semantics still continues in Chinese society. However, the context of vernacular and 乡土 are not quite the same, because in western countries, traditional peasant society based on patriarchal clan system does not exist. Consequently, they do not have the concept of 乡土 as in Chinese rural areas. For rural society then, 风土 can cover 乡土, but not vice versa. Furthermore, when we look at the prospect of rural development, the main points are natives leaving agricultural context, nostalgia retaining cultural memory, vernacular continuing genius loci, and pastoral reconstructing ecological civilization. In addition, 乡土 does not include urban vernacular settlements since modern times, and Hutong (胡同)in Beijing, xiangzi (巷子)in Xi'an, Chengdu, Suzhou, and longtang (弄堂)in Shanghai, etc. cannot fall into that category.

Question: You mentioned a vernacular landscape project in Huangyan (黄岩). Can you tell us more about it?

Chang: 15 years ago, I led a team to Taizhou, Zhejiang Province on surveying and mapping, for the conservation project of a historical block. At that time, I discovered that a set of noble official structural members like yueliang (月梁), suozhu (梭柱), dougong (斗栱), etc., were commonly adopted in vernacular buildings. Among such buildings, Huangyan was more representative, and the difference was huge as compared with other South China areas. Then I inferred that there might be impacts from branches of imperial clan of the Southern Song Dynasty. Later, with the excavation of the tomb of Zhao Boyun (赵伯澐), some of the inferences were verified. I led a team to Huangyan 3 years ago to start our space restoration and renovation design for the Confucius Temple, and the historic environment regeneration design of its surroundings. And I discovered that there was an angle between the Confucius Temple axis and the surrounding city texture. When extending this axis southwards kilometers away, it unexpectedly facing the famous hill Weiyushan (委羽山), where "Dayou gong" (大有宫)belonging to the second Dongtian (洞天)of Taoism was situated. This well proves the Chinese saying: "Confucianism in ritual, and Taoism in nature". Aiming at the construction of the Weiyu city park, our emphasis was given to the analysis of Weiyushan cultural landscape system. Accordingly, we made designs for the conservation or restoration of several Taoist landscape, introducing Xijiang (西江)as landscape water. In the manner of landscape shaping, the "Dayou Art Center" as the complementary service facility of the park was designed. While designing this vernacular landscape, some points were taken into consideration, e.g. using of local materials, reusing of old materials, etc., to express the historical-geographical dimension and the texture of landscape.