General Information

View gallery guide in
English and Chinese,
and objects in the exhibition

“I built a cottage right
in the realm of men . . .
I picked a chrysanthemum
by the eastern hedge . . . ”

Plum, bamboo, orchid, lotus, and chrysanthemum are among the many plants on the grounds of The Huntington that have long been identified with China. It was their presence that inspired The Huntington to build the Chinese garden under way today.

From at least the fifth century B.C. onwards, plants, as well as luxury goods such as silk, spices, and ceramics were significant items in the trade between China and the West. By the 19th century, plant motifs had become popular decorations for the porcelain, popularly known as “china,” exported to the West.

In China, many of these plants had been cultivated for centuries. They had inspired poets and artists, and their place in daily life was not limited to a decorative role: they came to convey seasonal, cultural, and historical meanings.

With its lake, bridges, pavilions, Chinese plants, and rocks from Lake Tai in China, the Huntington project reflects the components of the traditional Chinese garden and the aspirations of its designers. Like the Shao Garden depicted in the 1615 painting in the exhibition, it too will be a place for gatherings, for the enjoyment of scenery, and for personal discovery.

The title of this exhibition, “Chrysanthemums on the Eastern Hedge,” is taken from a work by the famous Chinese poet Tao Yuanming (365-427). Protesting the inequities he witnessed while in government service, Tao retired to his garden. There, he planted his favorite flower, the unpretentious chrysanthemum. Tao’s simple garden has come to represent the perfect retreat of a man of principle.

The art of garden building in China has long been considered an artistic endeavor, encompassing the composition of scenic views, landscapes, floral colors, literary references, and much more. The artworks in this exhibition illuminate some of the hidden cultural meanings that are richly embedded in The Huntington’s garden and its cultivated plants.

Western interaction with China
Luxuriously decorated European maps of China attest to the great interest the West had in China by the 17th century. The exhibition includes the ninth volume from a set of Dutch maps of the world dating from 1664 featuring China and several provinces. In fact, these maps were derived from earlier Chinese maps of the Yuan (1280-1368) and Ming dynasties (1368-1644).

From a cartographic viewpoint, the Dutch maps show a methodical approach to understanding the geography of China. However, as can be seen in some of the fanciful drawings adorning each page, the culture and people of China remained exotic and unfathomable. Well-to-do Westerners thought of China as a source of luxury goods that decorated their homes.

Porcelain and Flowering Plants
In China, fine porcelain was made to satisfy the demanding tastes of the imperial family and wealthy clients. Floral designs were used not just for their beauty but for the meanings they had acquired. The delicate paintings of the blue fruit and flower sprays on the late 15th century yellow dish in the exhibition all are identifiable and selected for conveying auspicious messages. Pomegranates and lotus pods, with their plentiful seeds, signify an abundance of progeny. The lotus blossom, arising pristine from muddy water, stands for purity. And the peaches, long associated with the immortals, represent longevity. These symbols are part of a visual vocabulary for plants that had developed in China long ago.

Western buyers could not be expected to understand the embedded messages on the porcelain objects exported from China. The plant motifs were attractive in themselves. The Huntingtons, for example, probably would not have recognized that the peonies decorating their fine porcelain vases represented wealth.

Gardens in Chinese Painting
Gardens in China developed over 2,000 years ago from imperial parks and expansive hunting grounds. Even back then however, smaller private preserves existed. By the 16th and 17th centuries, garden-building flourished in the fertile region around the lower Yangzi River delta.

Some of the best visual records of private gardens from this period are found in paintings, many of which were commissioned by garden owners eager to show off their wealth and taste. Gardens conferred on their owners an image of cultivation and high moral principles. By building esteemed gardens, successful merchants could raise their social standing and join the literary elite, traditionally seen as the highest social class in China.
Calligraphy, the fine art of writing and self-expression, has long been the counterpart to painting. Beautifully inscribed on paintings, poems by artists or collectors provide mood or meaning, while seemingly casual notes convey interesting information about their makers and owners.

The scroll paintings in this exhibition come in two forms. One is vertical – allowing it to be hung on a wall, so that several people can view it at once. The other is a hand scroll — usually seen one small section at a time. The viewer unrolls the scroll from right to left, creating a movie-like sequence that works especially well for paintings with a visual narrative.

Another format for paintings is the album leaf. In the Zhi Garden album, for example, each leaf enabled the painter to present an individual scene, allowing the viewer to enjoy the garden from different perspectives, one page at a time.

The Language of plants
The plum, bamboo, pine, orchid, lotus, and chrysanthemum have long been observed and written about in China. Whether they had practical uses in medicine or cooking, the character and beauty of these plants inspired poets and essayists to associate them with certain human values or feelings. In time, a language of flowers and plants became part of the culture, understood by almost everyone educated in the tradition. Flowers and plants became more than decoration. They also carried special messages.

Plum
In poetry and painting, the plum became a poignant symbol of early spring during the fifth and sixth centuries when China was in great turmoil. Often the first flower to bloom when winter snows still lingered, the plum was seen as hardy, and so evoked endurance and courage. Also, the image of delicate plum petals fluttering away in the lightest breeze became a moving reminder of the transience of beauty and life.

Plum was thus a favorite subject in poetry, painting, and on objects of daily use. A 19th century artist, Zhao Tong, painted 16 album leaves of plum blossoms, each after the style of an older recognized master. The leaf shown in this exhibition was done in reverent emulation of Jin Nong (1687-1784) whose plum painting from a 100 years earlier is also in the exhibition.

The Three Friends
The plum, bamboo, and pine all thrive through the cold months of late winter. Thus united in their endurance, they were named the Three Friends of Winter.

An early 15th century Ming porcelain bowl in this exhibition shows the Three Friends painted in carefully controlled brush strokes. The Three Friends motif was popular at that time because it aptly represented the valor of the Ming dynasty founders who defeated the ruling Mongols less than a century earlier.

This design continued to evolve into a standard pattern on porcelain, as seen on this 19th century dish in the exhibition.

Lotus
The lotus represents summer, the season in which it blooms. Every part of the plant is used in cooking or medicine. Its close association with Buddhism makes it especially popular. Growing from the muddy pond, the lotus thrusts upwards to show off luxuriant leaves and untainted blossoms, suggesting purity and forthrightness.
As the lotus’ characteristics give rise to visual symbols, the sound of its name inspires still more imagery. In the Chinese language many words share the same sound. When one thing is depicted by an image of another that sounds identical, that aural-visual pun is called a rebus. The words signifying lotus and “in succession” are both pronounced lee-an. And seed, or zi, prounounced tsee, is the same word for son. Together, lianzi, or lotus seed, sounds the same as a “succession of sons.” Thus, the image of the lotus pod may suggest the good wish for many sons.

Chrysanthemum
Many kinds of chrysanthemums were included in the important volume, The Great Pharmacopia [Bencao gangmu], a tome written during the 16th century Ming dynasty describing the various curative properties of plants. Chrysanthemums were made into wine and tea. Aside from its practical uses, the flower was a popular decorative shape perhaps because it bloomed late in autumn, evoking longevity. A striking chrysanthemum-shaped porcelain dish in the exhibition, made for the Qing emperor Qianlong (reigned 1736-1795), bears a long gold inscription composed by him. It notes that the dish was a copy he had commissioned of an older lacquer of the same chrysanthemum shape.

In the end, the chrysanthemum’s most important association is with Tao Yuanming and his ideals of the garden.
- June Li, Curator, Chinese Garden

“I built a cottage right in the realm of men/
Yet there was no noise from wagon and horse.

I ask you, how can that be so? / When mind
is far, its place becomes remote.

I picked a chrysanthemum by the eastern
hedge /Off in the distance gazed on south mountain.

Mountain vapors glow lovely in twilight sun/
Where birds in flight join in return.

There is some true significance here: /
I want to expound it but have lost the words.”

“Drinking Wine V” translated by Stephen Owen

This exhibition is made possible by:

Additional support is provided by:
The Blakemore Foundation
The Robert F. Erburu Exhibition Endowment

Peter Paanakker Estate through the Carrie Kolb Foundation