CHINESE GARDENS: THE RELATION OF MAN TO NATURE IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY
Taoism has for centuries inspired the spirit of poets, painters, garden designers, and tapestry, screen and porcelain makers. There is a close relationship of aesthetic theories, philosophy and cultural achievements in both garden design and landscape painting. The main intent of this inquiry is to seek a fresh approach to the main features of the Tao, the Chinese Way of life and creativity, and to relate these aspects to the landscape gardens in visions of poets, painters and musicians of seventeenth-century France.