OPEN TODAY: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.

Growing and Knowing in the Gardens of China: A Symposium

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

Sat., Nov. 9, 2024, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Free with registration. Optional: Lunch $30; student lunch is free (with valid school ID) Conference registration includes free admission to the grounds and galleries. Advance lunch orders end Nov. 4 at 5 p.m.

Education and Visitor Center, Rothenberg Hall, and livestream

In-Person RegistrationLivestream Registration
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

Schedule

8:30 a.m.

Registration and Coffee

9:30 a.m.

Introduction and Welcome Remarks
Nicole Cavender, Telleen/Jorgensen Director of the 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”
  • Huijun Mai, Assistant Professor of Asian Languages and Cultures at UCLA
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 to request a vegetarian lunch, please contact Michelle Bailey or call 626-405-3503.

A Chinese-style ink drawing on paper depicting a garden structure with potted chrysanthemums.
A Chinese-style ink painting on silk depicting a person reclining in a bamboo grove, surrounded by a grid of cultivated plants.
A Chinese-style ink drawing on paper depicting a garden structure with potted chrysanthemums.
A Chinese-style ink painting on silk depicting a person reclining in a bamboo grove, surrounded by a grid of cultivated plants.

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.

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

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

奪天工 Growing and Knowing in the Gardens of China

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
chinese pavilion

Center for East Asian Garden Studies

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

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The exhibition has been made possible with support from Getty through its PST ART: Art & Science Collideinitiative.

Southern California’s landmark arts event, PST ART, returned 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