Methods of Using Garden Paintings as Original Materials for the Reconstruction of Old Gardens：A Case Study of Album of Jichang Garden Painted by Song Maojin in the 14th Century AD China

Garden paintings are important research materials for the study of garden history, especially for the reconstruction of gardens disappeared or altered from their early stages. The difficulty of interpretation and utilization of garden paintings for the study of garden history lies in the determination of the realistic extent of those paintings for representation of the original garden landscape. The paper takes the Album of Jichang Garden painted by Song Maojin in the 14th Century AD together with other related visual materials as study case. It discusses the nature of garden paintings in old China and the process of their creation. It reveals that the nature of garden paintings in old China to a large degree met the practical functions of documentary and commemorate of the completion of the gardens. The artistic techniques of the painters fall into two categories, faithful depiction or Realism and model or pattern after ancient style. Different techniques chosen by the artists have different influence of the characters and extent of the representation of the original garden landscape.