reading yuanye in the west

This thesis investigates the relationships, both positive and negative, between traditional Chinese gardens-particularly those in the city of Suzhou-and Western ecological theories, in terms of their backgrounds, principles, and applications. It also explores the applicability of historic design concepts to the ecological concerns of contemporary Chinese landscape architecture design. The author makes the assumption that the Chinese philosophy exemplified by traditional gardens, and concepts of landscape ecology can be applied to rethinking, planning and designing contemporary landscapes.