Lectures:  WF 1:25-2:50pm, 212 Houghton House
Office Hours: M 2:00-3:00pm, F 4:00-5:00pm, or by appointment, 208 Houghton House

In China and Japan, the natural landscape becomes a primary theme of artistic expression, and the cultivated garden is perceived as a related entity. This course will examine East Asian traditions of landscape painting, pictorial representations of gardens, and the historic gardens (often understood as microcosmic landscapes) of Suzhou and Kyoto. We will explore how these diverse works of art play upon the dichotomy between nature and artifice and consider their social, political, and religious implications. Students will read landscape and garden texts from both cultures in translation, as well as selections from the secondary literature dealing with these themes. The course is cross-listed with Architectural Studies, Asian Studies, Environmental Studies, and Media and Society. It addresses Goals 5 (experience of a fine or performing art), 6 (an intellectually grounded foundation for the understanding of differences and inequalities of gender, race, and class) and 7 (knowledge of the multiplicity of world cultures).

TEXTS:

• Richard Edwards, The World around the Chinese Artist: Aspects of Realism in Chinese Painting (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1989).
• Maggie Keswick, The Chinese Garden: History, Art and Architecture, 3rd ed. (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2003).
• Jirō Takei and Marc P. Keane, Sakuteiki: Visions of the Japanese Garden, A Modern Translation of Japan’s Gardening Classic (Boston, Rutland, Vt. and Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2001).
• Marc P. Keane, Japanese Garden Design (Rutland, Vt. and Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle, 1996).
• Diana Hacker, ed., A Pocket Style Manual, 4th ed. (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004).
• Sylvan Barnet, ed., A Short Guide to Writing about Art, 8th ed. (New York: Longman, 2004)—recommended for students new to art history.

COURSEPACK: Available from the Art Department. It includes:

• James C. Cahill, “Meanings and Functions in Chinese Landscape Painting” and “Afterword: The Functions of Early Landscape Painting,” in Three Alternative Histories of Chinese Painting (Lawrence, Kans.: Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, 1988), 37-69.
• Susan Bush, “Tsung Ping’s Essay on Painting Landscape and the ‘Landscape Buddhism’ of Mount Lu,” in Theories of the Arts in China, ed. Susan Bush and Christian Murck (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983), 132-64.
• Lothar Ledderose, “The Earthly Paradise: Religious Elements in Chinese Landscape Art,” in Theories of the Arts in China, ed. Susan Bush and Christian Murck (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983), 165-83.
• Shuen-fu Lin, “A Good Place Need Not Be a Nowhere: The Garden and Utopian Thought in the Six Dynasties,” in Chinese Aesthetics: The Ordering of Literature, the Arts, and the Universe in the Six Dynasties, ed. Zong-qi Cai (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2004), 123-66.
• Kenneth J. Hammond, “Wang Shizhen's Yan Shan Garden Essays: Narrating a Literati Landscape,” Studies in the History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes 19, no. 3-4 (July-December 1999): 276-287.
• Susan Bush and Hsio-yen Shih, comp. and ed., “The Landscape Texts,” chapter 4 of Early Chinese Texts on Painting (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard-Yenching Institute, Harvard University Press, 1985), 141-190.
• Alexander C. Soper, “A Ninth Century Landscape Painting in the Japanese Imperial Palace and Some Chinese Parallels,” Artibus Asiae 29, no. 4 (1967): 335-50. (JSTOR)
• Karen L. Brock, “Yamatoe,” in The Dictionary of Art, ed. Jane Turner (New York: Grove’s Dictionaries, 1996), 17: 153-162.
• Yoshiaki Shimizu, “Seasons and Places in Yamato Landscape and Poetry,” Ars Orientalis 12 (1981): 1-14.
• Alfreda Murck, “The Buddhist Monks Muqi and Yujian,” in Poetry and Painting in Song China: The Subtle Art of Dissent (Cambridge, Mass., and London: Harvard University Press, 2000), 252-58.
• Joseph D. Parker, “Attaining Landscapes in the Mind: Nature Poetry and Painting in Gozan Zen,” Monumenta Nipponica 52, no. 2 (Summer 1997): 235-57. (JSTOR)
• Shou-chien Shih, “The Mind Landscape of Hsieh Yu-yü,” in Images of the Mind: Selections from the Edward L. Elliott Family and John B. Elliott Collections of Chinese Calligraphy and Painting at The Art Museum, Princeton University, ed. Wen C. Fong (Princeton: The Art Museum, 1984), 237-54.
• Richard Vinograd, “Family Properties: Personal Context and Cultural Pattern in Wang Meng’s Pien Mountains of A.D. 1366,” Ars Orientalis 13 (1982): 1-29.
• Zōen, “Illustrations for Designing Mountain, Water, and Hillside Field Landscapes,” trans. David A. Slawson, in Secret Teachings in the Art of Japanese Gardens: Design Principles, Aesthetic Values (Tokyo and New York: Kodansha International, 1987), 142-180.
• Helmut Brinker and Hiroshi Kanazawa, ZEN Masters of Meditation in Images and Writings, trans. Andreas Leisinger (Zürich: Artibus Asiae, 1996), 75-80. (JSTOR)
• Robert E. Harrist, Jr., “Site Names and Their Meanings in the Garden of Solitary Enjoyment,” Journal of Garden History 13, no. 4 (October-December 1993): 199-212.
• Michio Fujioka, Kyoto Country Retreats: The Shugakuin and Katsura Palaces, trans. Bruce A. Coats (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1983), 33-48.
• Yoshiho Yonezawa and Chu Yoshizawa, “Japanese Nanga Masters,” chapter 2 of Japanese Painting in the Literati Style, trans. Betty Iverson Monroe (New York and Tokyo: Weatherhill/Heibonsha, 1974), 41-75.
• Melinda Takeuchi, “Making Mountains: Mini-Fujis, Edo Popular Religion and Hiroshige’s One Hundred Famous Views of Edo,” Impressions: The Journal of the Ukiyo-e Society of America, no. 24 (2002): 25-47.
• Mingzheng Shi, “From Imperial Gardens to Public Parks: The Transformation of Urban Space in Early Twentieth-Century Beijing,” Modern China 24, no. 3 (July 1998): 219-54. (JSTOR)
• Dan Levin, “In Ancient Alleys, Modern Comforts,” The New York Times (24 July 2008). (www.nytimes.com)
• Nicolai Ouroussoff, “Lost in the New Beijing: The Old Neighborhood,” The New York Times (27 July 2008). (www.nytimes.com)

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Week 1.          Sept. 3-5.         Introduction: meanings of landscapes and gardens.
Readings: The Chinese Garden 169-217; Japanese Garden Design 145-57.
Sept. 3.             Overview of course.
Sept. 5.             Metaphorical meanings of landscape and garden elements.

Week 2.          Sept. 10-12.     Functions of Chinese landscapes.
Readings: Cahill 1988; Bush 1983; Ledderose 1983.
Sept. 10.           Themes and functions of Chinese landscape paintings.
Sept. 12.           Buddhist and Daoist interpretations of landscape; RESPONSE PAPER DUE.

Week 3.          Sept. 17-19.     Functions of Chinese gardens.
Readings: The Chinese Garden 85-101; Lin 2004; Hammond 1999.
Sept. 17.           Garden as social environment.
Sept. 19.           Researching landscapes and gardens.

Week 4.          Sept. 24-26.     Landscape painting traditions in the Five Dynasties and Song periods.
Readings: Bush and Shih 1985; The Chinese Garden 103-17; The World around the Chinese Artist chap. 1.
Sept. 24.           Five Dynasties and Northern Song masters; RESPONSE PAPER DUE.
Sept. 26.           Southern Song masters.

Week 5.          Oct. 1-3.          Kara-e and yamato-e in Japan.
Readings: Soper 1967; Brock 1996; Shimizu 1981.
Oct. 1.               Kara-e and early, Buddhist yamato-e; RESPONSE PAPER DUE.
Oct. 3.               Yamato-e in Heian narrative.
*Quiz this week*

Week 6.          Oct. 8-10.         Landscape paintings and Buddhist meditation.
Readings: Murck 2000; Parker 1977.
Oct. 8.              Chan paintings; RESEARCH PAPER PROPOSAL DUE.
Oct. 10.            Zen landscape paintings.

[Oct. 11-14, FALL RECESS]

Week 7.          Oct. 15-17.      Political implications of the Chinese scholar’s wilderness.
Readings: Shih 1984; Vinograd 1982.
Oct. 15.            Emulating ancient recluses.
Oct. 17.            The remote and barren landscape.

Week 8.          Oct. 22-24.      Japanese garden texts.
Readings: Japanese Garden Design 115-44; Sakuteiki 1-8, 153-204; Zōen 1987.
Oct. 22.            Elements of Japanese garden design.
Oct. 24.            Sakuteiki v. Zōen; RESPONSE PAPER DUE.

Week 9.          Oct. 29-31.      Gardens in the Muromachi period.
Readings: Japanese Garden Design 47-66; Brinker and Kanazawa 1996, 75-80; all relevant material on Bowdoin College’s The Japanese Garden website.
Oct. 29.            Zen gardens: Saihōji, Ryōanji, Daitokuji.
Oct. 31.            Stroll gardens: Kinkakuji and Ginkakuji.
*Quiz this week*

Week 10.        Nov. 5-7.         Ming landscape paintings and gardens.
Readings: The World around the Chinese Artist chap. 2; The Chinese Garden 118-24; Harrist 1993.
Nov. 5.             Imaginary and real in Shen Zhou’s landscapes; ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE.
Nov. 7.             Pictorial and literary representations of the Ming garden.

Week 11.        Nov. 12-14.     Scholars’ gardens in Suzhou.
Readings: The Chinese Garden 17-37, 129-67.
Nov. 12.           FILM: Ming Garden; Garden of the Master of the Fishing Nets.
Nov. 14.           Garden of the Unsuccessful Politician; RESPONSE PAPER DUE.

Week 12.        Nov. 19-21.  The authority of landscape in the Qing dynasty.
Readings: The World around the Chinese Artist chap. 3; The Chinese Garden 57-83.
Nov. 19.           Shitao’s landscapes.
Nov. 21.           Qing imperial gardens.

[Nov. 26-30, THANKSGIVING RECESS]

Week 13.        Dec. 3-5. Gardens and landscapes in the Edo period.
Readings: Fujioka 1983; Japanese Garden Design 99-112; Yonezawa and Yoshizawa 1974; Takeuchi 2002.
Dec. 3.              Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyōto.
Dec. 5.              Foreign and native sources in paintings and woodblock prints.
*Quiz this week*

Week 14.        Dec. 10-12.  Modern parks in China and Japan.
Readings: Shi 1998, Levin 2008; Ouroussoff 2008.
Dec. 10.           Parks and the urban landscape in Beijing and Tokyo.
Dec. 12.           *Presentation of creative projects.*

Finals Week.   Dec. 18.  Research papers due.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

1.         Class Participation (20%).  This includes regular and punctual attendance (see attendance policy) and participating in discussions in class or on the Blackboard discussion board. I grade participation on a daily basis, as follows: A for speaking up in class or on the discussion board (even to ask a question or to answer one of my questions incorrectly), B for showing up to class but not speaking, C for not paying attention or coming in late, 0 for not coming to class at all.

2.         Quizzes (15%).  Quizzes are marked on the calendar and cannot be made up.

3.         Response papers (20%).  Throughout the semester you will write several one-page papers responding to some of the readings. More details to follow.

4.         Creative project (20%), due Friday, Dec. 12.  This will be a group project meant to help you better understand the meanings of landscapes or gardens. More details to follow.

5.         Research paper (25%), due Thursday, Dec. 18, 10:00pm.  This is to be a longer research paper (roughly 10-15 pages) on a landscape or garden topic in East Asian art. More details to follow.

OFFICE HOURS
I am happy to meet with you outside of class during my office hours (see top of syllabus) or at another time that is convenient for you, in 208 Houghton House.  The best way to reach me to set up an appointment is by e-mail.

ATTENDANCE POLICY
I consider attendance at lectures to be mandatory. Asian art history is a challenging subject; don’t make it impossible by skipping class! That said, if you have a reasonable excuse for missing a class (religious holiday, athletic participation, etc.) I expect you to notify me as soon as possible—preferably in advance—and to turn in a one-page essay on the topics covered on the day of your absence, within a week. Not doing so will directly impact your participation grade. If you are absent three times or more, you should be prepared for me to notify the Deans about your performance. I take attendance regularly.

FORMAT FOR WRITTEN WORK
One of the things you will learn in an art history class is the importance of presentation. This applies to your written work as well:

1. Type all work in a 12-point font.
2. Double-space.
3. Leave one-inch margins on all sides.
4. Number your pages.
5. Staple your work.
6. Put your name on every page, and the due date on the first page.
7. Please check that your spelling, grammar and punctuation are correct--these are crucial to effective communication of your ideas. I will lower your grade if you have excessive errors. A Pocket Style Manual has helpful chapters titled "Clarity," "Grammar," "Punctuation," and "Mechanics." Read them.
8. If you cite another source, you may use either parenthetical references or footnotes. (See A Note about Cheating and Plagiarism below.) Make sure that you follow one of the documentation styles explained in A Pocket Style Manual (MLA, APA or Chicago-Style).
9. Include pictures with captions if appropriate (and please attach them to a clean sheet of paper-do not give me loose postcards, illustrations torn from magazines, or copies of the books you found the pictures in. Black-and-white photocopies are okay).

A NOTE ABOUT CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM
I will not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty. Not only does it destroy the trust that I have in you to do your best, it is unfair to the other students, and obviously you will not learn anything if you resort to cheating. If I find that you have cheated on a test or on a written assignment, you will receive a zero for the assignment and I will contact the Deans and/or the Committee on Standards about your case.

Now, just in case you are not clear about what plagiarism is: plagiarism is the use of someone else's words or ideas without giving that person credit. In application, this means that in your writing assignments, you need to cite your sources. When quoting directly from a text--say, five words or more in succession--you need to put those words in quotation marks and include a parenthetical reference or footnote citing the source. When rewriting a passage from a text in your own words, you don't need the quotation marks but you do still need the parenthetical reference or footnote. If you don't understand exactly what constitutes plagiarism, or how to use parenthetical references or footnotes, please ask me. I would prefer to explain what it is and how to avoid it before it happens rather than after.

GRADING
PLEASE NOTE:  I mark down one-third of a grade (for example, from A to A-) for each calendar day that a paper is late. I also mark down one-third of a grade for every ten mechanical errors (except on the first assignment to be turned in); notice what kinds of mistakes you tend to make on that first assignment, and try not to repeat them.

The research paper and creative projects will receive a letter grade. Response papers and discussions will not receive a letter grade, but a check-plus, check, or check-minus. Make-up written assignments, which count as part of your participation grade, will receive a check or a check-minus. If you are unsatisfied with a grade, please prepare a written statement explaining what grade you think you should have received and why, and submit it to me along with the assignment for review.

Assignments are due during the class period on the due date. Please bring me a hard copy. Again, I mark down for lateness. If you think you will need an extension, you should talk to me as early as possible.

A NOTE ABOUT THE CENTER FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING (CTL)
Hobart and William Smith Colleges encourage students to seek the academic collaboration and resources that will enable them to demonstrate their best work. Students who would like to enhance their study skills or writing skills, or have other academic inquiries, should contact the CTL. You may visit the CTL web site to learn more about the services and programs that are available: http://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/index.aspx.
 
If you are a student with a disability for which you may need accommodations, you are required to register with the Coordinator of Disability Services at the CTL and provide documentation of the disability. Services and accommodations will not be provided until this process is complete. The web site for information pertaining to registration with the CTL and documenting disabilities is: http://www.hws.edu/studentlife/stuaffairs_disabilities.aspx.

WEBSITE
There are two websites for this course: one at my homepage; and one at Blackboard. This syllabus, paper and project assignments and links to online resources for Chinese and Japanese landscapes and gardens can be found at both. The Blackboard site also has a course calendar, daily handouts, a discussion board, an online gradebook and an image library.