Event

Growing and Knowing in the Gardens of China: A Symposium

Scholars from the United States and China explore people’s relationships with plants in historical China. Topics include medicinal gardens, famine foods, commercial nurseries, grafting techniques, gardening ethics, and more. Presentations will feature artworks from the exhibition by the same name, on view in the Studio for Lodging the Mind.
Conferences
A Chinese-style ink drawing on paper depicting a structure in a garden with potted chrysanthemums.

Hua Yan (1682–1756), Enjoyment of Chrysanthemums, 1753, Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper. | Saint Louis Art Museum, William K. Bixby Trust for Asian Art, 7:1954

Schedule

8:30 a.m.

Registration and Coffee

9:30 a.m.

Introduction and Welcome Remarks
Nicole Cavender, Telleen/Jorgensen Director of Botanical Gardens

9:40 a.m.

Session I: Growing

  • Phillip E. Bloom, June and Simon K.C. Li Curator of the Chinese Garden and Director of the Center for East Asian Garden Studies, The Huntington
    “Growing and Knowing in the Gardens of China”
  • Shanshan Liu, Associate Curator, School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture
    “Literati Medicinal Gardens in Chinese Paintings”
  • Nicholas Menzies, Research Fellow, Center for East Asian Garden Studies, The Huntington
    “Hua Yan’s Enjoyment of Chrysanthemums and the Pleasures of Nurturing New Varieties”
Noon

Lunch

2 p.m.

Session II: Knowing

  • Sarah Chen Huang, independent scholar, Hong Kong and Beijing
    “Famine Foods from the Prince’s Garden to the Agronomist’s Guidebook”
  • Kathleen Ryor, Tanaka Memorial Professor of International Understanding and Art History at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota
    “Living amid the Flowers: One Hundred Flowers and the Tradition of Botanical Painting in Late Imperial China”
  • Mai Huijun, Assistant Professor of Asian Languages and Cultures
4 p.m.

Roundtable Discussion

This symposium is made possible through generous support from the Carol, Edward, Ariana, and Joseph Wong Trust.

For questions or vegetarian lunch, please contact mbailey@huntington.org or call 626-405-3503

A Chinese-style ink painting on silk depicting a person reclining in a bamboo grove, surrounded by a grid of cultivated plants.

Qiu Ying (ca. 1494–ca. 1552), Garden for Solitary Pleasure, 16th century, Handscroll; ink and light color on silk. | Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1978.67

奪天工 Growing and Knowing in the Gardens of China

A green image with an illustration of a fruit tree in a garden.

Sept. 14, 2024–Jan. 6, 2025 | This exhibition displays 24 artworks and a performance piece highlighting how Chinese gardens have served as transformative spaces for growing and contemplating plants, encouraging visitors to view their gardens as sources of delight, nourishment, and inspiration.

Learn More

Center for East Asian Garden Studies

chinese pavilion

The Huntington’s Center for East Asian Garden Studies promotes innovative scholarship on the traditions of garden-making in China, Japan, and Korea.

Learn More

Red sun dial logo with text reading PST Art

Southern California’s landmark arts event, PST ART, returns in September 2024 with more than 70 exhibitions from museums and other institutions across the region, all exploring the intersections of art and science, both past and present. PST ART is presented by Getty. For more information, visit PST ART: Art & Science Collide