Ancient Foundations (Neolithic – Qin Dynasty, c. 5000 BCE – 206 BCE)

Early Agricultural Beginnings

China’s botanical journey began with the domestication of crops along the Yellow and Yangtze River valleys. By 5000 BCE, Neolithic communities were cultivating millet in the north and rice in the south, laying the foundation for a sophisticated understanding of plant cultivation that would evolve over millennia.

The earliest Chinese gardens emerged not purely for aesthetic pleasure but as expressions of cosmology and utility. Archaeological evidence suggests that by the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE), royal estates included enclosed hunting parks called “you” (囿), which contained diverse plants and animals. These were predecessors to the ornamental garden tradition.

The “Shennong Bencao Jing” Legacy

The legendary figure Shennong, the “Divine Farmer,” is credited with teaching agriculture and identifying medicinal plants. While mythological, this tradition reflects early systematic botanical knowledge. The Shennong Bencao Jing (Divine Farmer’s Classic of Materia Medica), compiled around the 1st-2nd century CE but based on much earlier knowledge, documented 365 medicines derived from plants, minerals, and animals. This text established the framework for understanding plants by their medicinal properties—a perspective that would profoundly influence Chinese gardening.

The “Shan Hai Jing” and Mythical Botany

The Classic of Mountains and Seas (4th-1st century BCE) contained fantastical descriptions of plants alongside geographical knowledge, blending mythology with early botanical observation. While not strictly scientific, it reveals how ancient Chinese culture intertwined plants with spiritual and cosmological beliefs.

Imperial Gardens and Philosophical Refinement (Han – Tang Dynasties, 206 BCE – 907 CE)

Han Dynasty Innovation

The Han Dynasty witnessed the expansion of imperial gardens to unprecedented scales. Emperor Wu (141-87 BCE) created the Shanglin Park, which covered over 300 square kilometers and contained exotic plants, animals, and elaborate water features. This period marked the beginning of collecting rare botanical specimens as symbols of imperial power and the empire’s geographical reach.

The Silk Road, established during the Han Dynasty, became a botanical highway. Plants like grapes, pomegranates, sesame, and coriander entered China from Central Asia and beyond, enriching both cuisine and gardens. Chinese exports included peaches, apricots, and citrus fruits, which traveled westward.

The Influence of Daoism and Buddhism

Daoist philosophy, with its emphasis on harmony with nature and the cultivation of longevity, influenced garden design profoundly. Gardens became spaces for meditation and the pursuit of immortality. Certain plants—pines, bamboo, chrysanthemums, and plums—acquired symbolic significance as emblems of virtue and endurance.

Buddhism’s arrival during the Han Dynasty and flourishing in subsequent centuries brought new botanical interests. Buddhist temples cultivated lotus flowers, sacred to the faith, and maintained medicinal herb gardens. The religion also introduced plants from India and Southeast Asia.

Tang Dynasty Splendor

The Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) is often considered a golden age of Chinese culture, and gardening reached new artistic heights. Peony cultivation became an obsession among the aristocracy, with the city of Luoyang emerging as the center of peony breeding. Hundreds of varieties were developed, and the flower became a symbol of wealth and honor.

The Tang poet and painter Wang Wei exemplified the integration of garden design with artistic expression. His estate at Wangchuan featured naturalistic landscapes that inspired paintings and poetry, establishing the “scholar’s garden” ideal that would dominate later periods.

The Golden Age of Horticultural Literature (Song Dynasty, 960-1279)

Scientific Observation and Classification

The Song Dynasty witnessed an explosion of horticultural writing that combined practical cultivation advice with aesthetic appreciation. This period produced the first true monographs devoted to single plant genera.

Notable works include:

• Luoyang Mudan Ji (Record of the Peonies of Luoyang, 1034) by Ouyang Xiu: Documented 24 peony varieties with cultivation methods
• Fan Cun Mei Pu (Catalogue of Plums from Fan Village, c. 1186) by Fan Chengda: Described 12 plum varieties and their cultural significance
• Ju Pu (Chrysanthemum Manual, 1104) by Liu Meng: Detailed 35 chrysanthemum varieties

These texts reveal sophisticated horticultural knowledge, including grafting techniques, soil preparation, pest management, and selective breeding. The Song literati approached plant cultivation as both science and art, carefully observing and recording variations in flower form, color, and growth habit.

Rock and Water: The Scholar’s Garden

Song Dynasty gardens emphasized miniaturization and symbolic representation. The famous scholar’s rocks (Taihu stones) became essential garden elements, chosen for their abstract beauty. Gardens were designed as three-dimensional paintings, with carefully composed views that changed with the seasons and viewer’s position.

The integration of plants, rocks, water, and architecture created microcosms of the natural world. Bamboo groves provided rustling soundscapes; lotus ponds offered summer fragrance; plum blossoms signaled spring’s arrival. Every element carried literary and philosophical associations.

Refinement and Expansion (Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, 1271-1911)

Yuan Dynasty Adaptations

Despite Mongol rule, Chinese garden culture persisted and adapted. The literati, often excluded from government service, devoted themselves to arts including garden design and plant cultivation. This period saw increased interest in miniature landscapes (penjing, the precursor to Japanese bonsai) and tray gardens.

Ming Dynasty Masterworks

The Ming Dynasty produced some of China’s most celebrated gardens and horticultural texts. Suzhou emerged as the center of garden art, with surviving examples like the Humble Administrator’s Garden (created 1509-1513) showcasing the mature scholar’s garden aesthetic.

Ji Cheng’s Yuanye (The Craft of Gardens, 1634) remains one of the most influential garden design treatises ever written. It systematically addressed site selection, layout principles, architecture, and plant selection. Ji Cheng emphasized “borrowing views” (jiejing) from surrounding landscapes and creating surprise through carefully orchestrated spatial sequences.

The Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica, 1578) by Li Shizhen represented the culmination of traditional Chinese botanical knowledge. This massive work described 1,892 medicinal substances, primarily plants, with detailed information on identification, preparation, and uses. It remained the standard reference for centuries and influenced botanical study across East Asia.

Global Exchange in the Ming and Qing

The Ming Dynasty saw the introduction of New World crops following European contact. Maize, sweet potatoes, peanuts, and tobacco transformed Chinese agriculture and eventually found places in ornamental gardens. The sweet potato, in particular, became a crucial food security crop.

Qing Dynasty Synthesis

The Qing Dynasty brought Manchu aesthetic influences while maintaining Chinese garden traditions. The Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735-1796) was an avid garden patron, expanding the Summer Palace and creating the Mountain Estate for Escaping the Heat at Chengde, which integrated Tibetan and Mongolian architectural and landscape elements.

The Jesuit presence at the Qing court facilitated botanical exchange with Europe. Western botanical illustration techniques influenced Chinese plant documentation, though traditional styles persisted. Chinese plants—including camellia, azalea, and tree peony varieties—were eagerly sought by European plant hunters.

Imperial plant monographs of the Qing Dynasty combined traditional knowledge with increasingly detailed observation:

• Guangqun Fangpu (Comprehensive Collection of Fragrant Plants, 1708): An encyclopedic compilation of earlier texts
• Peony Manuals: Multiple treatises documented hundreds of peony cultivars developed over centuries
• Plum Blossom Catalogues: Recorded the complex symbolism and countless varieties bred for flower form

Plant Hunting and Scientific Botany (Late 19th – Early 20th Century)

Western Plant Hunters

The 19th and early 20th centuries witnessed intensive Western botanical exploration of China. European and American plant hunters sought ornamental species and economic plants, fundamentally shaping Western horticulture.

Major figures and their discoveries:

Robert Fortune (1843-1862): Introduced chrysanthemum varieties, bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis), winter jasmine, and hundreds of other ornamentals to Europe. He also famously smuggled tea plants and cultivation knowledge from China to India, breaking China’s tea monopoly.

Ernest Henry Wilson (1899-1922): Known as “Chinese Wilson,” he introduced over 1,000 plant species to Western cultivation, including regal lily (Lilium regale), dove tree (Davidia involucrata), and numerous Rhododendron species. His expeditions produced invaluable botanical documentation.

George Forrest (1904-1932): Made seven expeditions to western China and Tibet, discovering hundreds of Rhododendron, Primula, and gentian species that became staples of Western gardens.

Frank Kingdon-Ward (1911-1956): Explored remote regions of Tibet and western China, introducing Tibetan blue poppy (Meconopsis betonicifolia) and numerous Primula and Rhododendron species.

These plant hunters operated during tumultuous times, including the Boxer Rebellion and the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Their collections transformed Western gardens and sparked enduring interest in Chinese flora, which contains approximately 30,000 vascular plant species—about one-eighth of the world’s total.

Indigenous Scientific Botany

While Western plant hunters drew international attention, Chinese scholars were developing modern scientific botany. The transition from traditional herbal knowledge to Linnaean taxonomy and modern botanical methods was complex.

Early Chinese botanists studied abroad and returned to establish herbaria, botanical gardens, and academic programs. The Lushan Botanical Garden (1934) and others became centers for studying China’s rich flora using modern methods while preserving traditional knowledge.

Revolutionary Period and Modern Era (1949-Present)

Conservation Under the People’s Republic

After 1949, botanical work focused on agricultural productivity and medicinal plant research. Traditional gardens were initially viewed with suspicion as feudal relics, and many suffered neglect or destruction during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).

However, botanical gardens expanded nationwide for economic botany research. The Chinese Academy of Sciences established gardens focused on tropical plants (Xishuangbanna), alpine species (Kunming), and regional flora conservation. By the 1980s, over 200 botanical gardens had been established.

Restoration and Recognition

Post-1980s economic reforms brought renewed appreciation for traditional garden culture. Classical gardens of Suzhou were designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites (1997-2000), recognizing their cultural and artistic significance. Restoration projects revived historic gardens, and new ones were created following classical principles.

The scholar’s garden tradition experienced revival among China’s educated classes. Private gardens, impossible during the Mao era, reappeared. Contemporary designers reinterpreted classical principles for modern contexts, creating gardens that honored tradition while embracing new materials and concepts.

Contemporary Botanical Science

Modern China has become a leader in plant conservation and horticultural science. Major initiatives include:

Flora of China Project: A comprehensive collaboration between Chinese and international botanists (completed 2013) documenting all vascular plants in China—the most biodiverse temperate region globally.

Germplasm Preservation: The Kunming Institute of Botany maintains one of Asia’s largest seed banks, preserving genetic diversity of wild and cultivated plants.

Orchid Conservation: China, home to over 1,400 orchid species, leads research on this economically and ecologically important family.

Horticultural Breeding: Chinese researchers continue developing new cultivars of traditional favorites—peonies, chrysanthemums, plums, and more—while also working with newly popular plants.

Urban Greening and Ecological Civilization

The 21st century has seen massive urban greening initiatives. Cities like Shenzhen have transformed from industrial zones to garden cities. The concept of “ecological civilization,” enshrined in China’s constitution, emphasizes harmony between development and nature—an echo of ancient Daoist principles.

Vertical gardens, green roofs, and urban forests represent contemporary interpretations of the Chinese garden tradition adapted for dense megacities. Landscape architects blend classical aesthetics with ecological functions like stormwater management and urban cooling.

Legacy and Continuing Influence

Symbolic Plants in Chinese Culture

Certain plants remain central to Chinese aesthetic and cultural identity:

The “Four Gentlemen”: Plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum represent ideal character traits and remain popular in art and gardens.

The “Three Friends of Winter”: Pine, bamboo, and plum symbolize resilience and are especially valued in traditional gardens.

Lotus: Represents purity emerging from muddy water, central to Buddhism and garden design.

Peony: The “king of flowers” symbolizes wealth, honor, and spring’s prosperity.

Global Horticultural Impact

Chinese botanical discoveries and horticultural techniques have profoundly influenced world gardening:

• Ornamental plants: Camellia, azalea, rhododendron, primula, chrysanthemum, and countless others originated in or were developed in China
• Bonsai and penjing: The art of miniature landscapes spread throughout East Asia and globally
• Garden design principles: The naturalistic aesthetic and “borrowed scenery” concept influenced Japanese gardens and modern landscape architecture
• Edible landscaping: The integration of ornamental and productive plants, long practiced in Chinese gardens, resonates with contemporary sustainable gardening

Living Traditions

Today, China’s botanical and garden traditions continue evolving. Young Chinese landscape architects study classical gardens while experimenting with contemporary forms. Urban residents cultivate balcony gardens. Rural communities preserve heirloom plant varieties. Botanical researchers catalog and protect China’s extraordinary biodiversity.

The International Horticultural Exhibition hosted by China (2019 Beijing) showcased this continuity, blending ancient traditions with cutting-edge sustainable design. As China confronts environmental challenges, its long history of observing, cultivating, and celebrating plants offers valuable perspectives on human relationships with the botanical world.

The story of Chinese botanical discovery and gardening is not merely historical—it remains a living tradition adapting to contemporary challenges while honoring millennia of accumulated knowledge, artistry, and philosophical insight into the plant kingdom.