In his Designs of Chinese Buildings (1757), William Chambers (1723-1796) had briefly mentioned the aesthetics of Chinese gardens. His Dissertation on Oriental Gardening (first ed. 1772) opposed the trend towards gardens with unplanned appearance by explaining the Chinese garden as an „artistically enhanced natural space designed to evoke emotions“ (Marcia Reed/Paola Demattè (ed.): China on Paper. European and Chinese Works from the Late Sixteenth to the Early Nineteenth Century (Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute 2007) p. 214).
To answer critics of his treatise, Chambers published a second, enlarged edition in 1773, adding a rebuttal of his critics attributed (falsely) to the artist Tan Chet-qua (fl. 1769-1772), one of the first Chinese who visited England. For further details see Reed/Demattè (2007) p. 214.
William Chambers: A dissertation on oriental gardening (London: Griffin 1772)
- Digitized:
> Internet Archive (Book contributor & digitizing sponsor: Research Library, The Getty Research Institute
> Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb10228541-1)
> Google Books (Original from Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, digitized 11 December 2009) - Bibliographic reference: BS 1534, ESTC Citation No. T1897
- No copy listed in Wiener China-Bibliographie
William Chambers: A Dissertation on oriental gardening. 2. ed., with additions, to which is annexed an explanatory discourse, by Tan Chet-qua. With an introduction by Richard Quaintance (London: Printed by W.Griffin 1773)
- Digitized:
> e-rara.ch (Persistent Identifier (DOI) 10.3931/e-rara-9751)
> Google Books (Original from University of Michigan, digitized 23 July 2007)
> HATHI Trust (Original from University of Michigan)
> Internet Archive (Book contributor and digitizing sponsor: Research Library, The Getty Research Institute) - Bibliographic reference: BS 1534, ESTC Citation No. T1905
French edition:
[William Chambers:] Dissertation sur le jardinage de l’Orient par Mr. de Chambers. Ouvrage traduit de l’anglais, avec plusieurs additions fournies par l’auteur (Londres: Griffin et al. 1772)
- Digitized: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb10228542-6)
- Bibliographic reference: BS 1534, ESTC Citation No. T118497
- No copy listed in Wiener China-Bibliographie
German version:
[William Chambers:] Ueber die orientalische Gartenkunst. Eine Abhandlung aus dem Englischen des Herrn W. Chambers (Gotha: Carl Wilhelm Ettinger 1775)
- Digitized: Google Books (Original from British Library, digitized 14 March 2017)
- Bibliographic reference: BS 1534
- No copy listed in Wiener China-Bibliographie
See also Chambers‘ Traité des édifices, meubles, habits, machines et ustensiles des Chinois : gravés sur les originaux dessinés à la Chine (1776) and his Desseins des edifices, meubles, habits, machines, et ustenciles des Chinois (1757)
Last update: October 28, 2017.