Ah, the resplendent Chinese garden, with its winding pathways, miniature bridges, and trickling brooks. How many elegant literati have written poems in its praise? In that most famous of Chinese novels, Dream of the Red Chamber, the memorable characters spent their days meandering through the pavilions and pagodas of the Daguan Gardens. Though barely a mile square, Daguan had endless twists and turns. The layout of the builders was as if made in Heaven. Grottos, streams, pavilions, pagodas-now you see them, now you don't.
When Jia Zheng, the owner of Daguan, led his guests through the newly built garden for the first time, after passing through the tiger-striped marble entrance, there was a surprise: The view was completely obstructed by a hill. Jia Zheng explained that if it weren't for the hill, people entering the garden would be able to see everything at once, and, he concluded, "Where would be the fun in that?" Instead, before the guests stood oddly shaped white boulders, some looking like demons, others like wild beasts, with moss and bamboo hanging over them. And through the rocks wound a tiny pathway.
This episode illustrates what is fascinating about Chinese gardens. Following a winding pathway, one enters a rocky cave, and can see only fabulous trees and wonderful flowers. Move forward a few steps, and turn north, and on both sides are towering pagodas. . . . No wonder, with that setting, that all the people in Dream of the Red Chamber are otherworldly.
Half a planet away, with Europe ascendant, "Chinoiserie" came into vogue, a vogue that lasted two centuries. The Chinese garden would be a shock to a tradition in which symmetrical, geometric gardens were the definition of beauty. Any person who has been to Versailles will immediately be able to grasp the differences between the two styles. The shadow of Chinese style also hung over the new style gardens being built in Britain. A Chinese person entering such a garden would see much that is familiar. The style was even called "Anglo-Chinese" by the French.
Yet today mainstream British scholars are striving to deny any connection between the English style and Chinese influence. Why? What is the truth? Why do so many non-mainstream scholars insist the British garden grew out of the Chinese style? Odd, when so many foreigners today have the impression that Chinese don't have any aesthetic sense in the design of public spaces. This is the subject of this issue's cover story, a story you won't find in other magazines. These articles are part of a series by author Wang Jiafong, who specializes in the history of Sino-Western cultural interaction, and follows on her previous stories on tea, porcelain, architecture, and more. Besides recommending these articles to readers, we hope that they will inspire those of you interested in the subject to send us your views by letter or Internet.
In September, President Lee will attend the Panama Canal Conference, to be preceded by a visit to El Salvador. Many of those countries that have formal ties with the ROC are concentrated in Latin America. Yet most people in Taiwan have little understanding of this region. Since this region will likely be a rising trade and economic power in the next century, we really need to understand it better. Not to mention the fact that there are many Overseas Chinese in the region, many of whom sent back encouraging letters and faxes during last year's missile crisis and presidential elections.
Recently Sinorama sent two teams to Latin America. Last month we had a report on international technical cooperation in agriculture in Guatemala. This month we discuss the development of Taiwan business in Latin America, and, by following in the footsteps of business, gain a better understanding of that region. We will see how commercial pioneers, some of whom were in the group who created the Taiwan miracle, are making a new miracle on the other side of the globe.
Also in this issue, we offer two stories on trends in Chinese culture: "After A Fashion: The Search for Modern Chinese Clothing," and "The Legacy and Transformation of Chinese Ink Painting." There will soon be an exhibition of modern Taiwanese ink painting in Panama, featuring works from ten artists. This exhibit has had several showings, including one timed to coincide with the last appearance of the famous Splendors of Imperial China exhibit, held in San Francisco, thus juxtaposing the traditional and the contemporary, to display continuity and change. Our report takes a similar angle, and we hope readers will gain from it a deeper comprehension of, and appreciation for, Chinese ink painting.
