Chinese Traditional Ecological Wisdom and Contemporary Sustainable Landscape Art

Abstract

People from ancient China elevated ecological concepts to a philosophical and aesthetical level. Their traditional ecological wisdom played an important role in guiding human behaviors and proved to be safe and effective over centuries, achieving ecological and aesthetical excellence. This not only provides a lens through which to reflect on today’s ecological crisis but also provides resources and inspirations for contemporary landscape practice. This aesthetic concept is represented on ancient utensils, landscape paintings and more notably in the gardens of southern humanitarians and urban constructions. Such traditional philosophy of union between nature and man was not only aesthetical and cultural, but also ecological in concepts. In accordance with landscape practices, this paper will introduce the application of tradition Chinese ecological wisdom in a current sustainability environment by explaining the following ideas: how traditional sustainable ecological principles are utilized in a newly started project, how landscape designs or facilities harmonize with the surrounding environment and residents instead of squandering natural resources and how can we utilize existing resources instead of expensive and complicated high technology when its long term effects are uncertain, to build sustainable environments in places lacking ecological regulations. To be specific, we want to know how landscapes can maximize surrounding resources and adopt the simplest and most effective method as well as how to influence people’s ecological attitudes and daily behavior through environmental design to make the concept of ecological sustainability a basic principle for people.