• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.1-12
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to explore the aesthetic nature and significance of the use of plants in gardens during the Northern Song Dynasty. At that time, literati believed that nature contained truth, lived near gardens, and realized the truth of life in gardens. By analyzing the poet Su Shi's (Su Dongpo) aesthetic orientation towards peony flowers, we hope to elucidate his landscaping ideas. In terms of oriental aesthetics, the peony flower is a plant that is both unique and characterized by a myriad of ideas and emotions. Therefore, by examining the garden plant peony as a part of the landscape with infinite sensibilities and aesthetic interests, this study can understand Su Shi's literary characteristics and aesthetic vision, which grasp the aesthetic characteristics of the Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty and the aesthetic connotations of garden plants. This study aims to categorize and explore Su Shi's peony culture, with a view to arousing a strong interest in the traditional Chinese garden floriculture embedded in Chinese gardens. The in-depth study of plant culture provides a strong theoretical support for the creation of garden landscapes that has reference value for the construction and design of garden plants. In addition, while discovering the historical and cultural connotations of other gardens, it is also of great significance in understanding the aesthetic and cultural landscapes of related plants.