Eastern Civilizations (Ancient India, China, Japan, and Pre-Columbian America) Flashcards Preview

Reviewer: History of Landscape Architecture > Eastern Civilizations (Ancient India, China, Japan, and Pre-Columbian America) > Flashcards

Flashcards in Eastern Civilizations (Ancient India, China, Japan, and Pre-Columbian America) Deck (118)
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1
Q

A wide set of steps descending to a river, especially a river used for bathing

A

Ghats

2
Q

(563-483 BC) According to Buddhist tradition, Gautama Buddha received Enlightenment under this tree; revered by Buddhist as a holy shrine and remains a sacred pilgrimage site

A

Bodhi Tree, India

3
Q

More than 1,500 miles long; believed to be the sacred river of salvation by Hindus; the riverside city of Varansi became the capital of the Kashi kingdom in the 6th century BC and remains to be a holy place of worship in Northern India

A

Ganges River

4
Q

The indigenous Indus Valley civilization overwhelmed by an Aryan race originating from the region of the Caspian Sea (1500 BC)

A

Harappan culture

5
Q

The third emperor of the new Mauryan dynasty that united most of India; dedicated himself to Buddhism (r. 272-232 BC)

A

Ashoka

6
Q

In ancient India, this is the symbol of the creation of the world, of beauty formed out apparent waste

A

Lotus

7
Q

World mountain that is believed to be the center of the universe by the Hindus; a pillar between heaven and earth, relating it to the four quarters of the compass

A

Mount Meru

8
Q

An epic poem describing the Hindu gardens having “numerous arbours covered by creepers, charming artificial hillocks, lakes filled to the brim by delicate aquatic plants on which swam red geese, ducks, and swans”

A

Mahabharata

9
Q

In Buddhist thought, a diagrammatic representation of man’s relation to the universe; the basis of religious building; magic diagram of cosmos with a universal Buddha of the zenith on the center, surrounded by four mythical Buddhas located at the four cardinal points of the compass

A

Mandala

10
Q

A supreme monument in Java, probably built in the mid-eight century; has five successive square terraces that represent the earthly world and three circular terraces that represent the cosmos, where seventy-two Buddhas are seated in latticed stupas; the final terrace and stupa is where the supreme Buddha is

A

Stupa of Borobudur

11
Q

A Dravidian monument dedicated to Suva by Kishna I (AD 757-83) of the Rashtrakuta dynasty; intended as an architectural replica of the sacred Mount Kailasa; carved out of the Ellura Hills

A

Kailasanatha Temple

12
Q

Jungle city of water and mountain-temples on the Cambodian Lake Tonle Sap; founded as the capital of the Khmers (AD 900)

A

Angkor

13
Q

A man-made lake or reservoir constructed by dikes rather than excavations, in order to catch flood waters and later release them over the land

A

Barays

14
Q

The temple complex in Cambodia, symbolic of Hindu cosmology, with concentric canals, terraces, galleries, and central temple; it’s temple roof structure represented Mount Meru, an axis mundi between the sacred and profane worlds

A

Angkor Wat

15
Q

First built by Ashoka in central India; an important Buddhist monument to honor Buddha, surrounded by four gateways

A

Great Stupa at Sanchi

16
Q

Indian concept whereby architectural or sculptural form is given to the imagined structure of the cosmos and supernatural things or regions in order that men may have power over them through their symbols; “resemblance or counterpart of real forms”

A

Pratibimba

17
Q

Sanskrit for ‘heap’; originally were simple earthen burial mounds

A

Stupa

18
Q

Indian gateways, usually of stone, marking the entrance to a Buddhist shrine or stupa, or to a Hindu temple; consist of two pillar carrying two or three traverse beams; located at the four cardinal points

A

Torana

19
Q

Three great rivers that cross China from west to east

A

Yellow River (Huang-Ho)
Yangtse-kiang
Si-kiang

20
Q

(219 BC) Believed to be the mountaintop dwelling of the mythical Immortals by the Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi

A

Islands of the Immortals

21
Q

The Emperor who created a simulation of the Immortals homeland by building three artificial mountains in a lake, establishing the influential prototype of the lake-and-island garden

A

Emperor Wudi (141-86 BC) of the Han Dynasty

22
Q

The Chinese philosopher who systemized earlier rites and ideas into a moral code of behavior rather than of religion

A

Confucius (550-478 BC)

23
Q

Religion that means ‘the way’: all men must live, work, and die within the laws of nature ordained by the Lord of the Heaven, who moves all things

A

Taoism (Tao)

24
Q

Taoist concept of forces; symbolized by the rock, hill, or mountain as the stimulating male force, and the still water as the tranquilizing female force

A

Yin and yang

25
Q

Four cardinal animals of China (with cardinal point, color, season, and element representations)

A

Turtle (north, black, winter, water)
Phoenix (south, red, summer, fire)
Dragon (east, blue-green, spring, wood)
Tiger (west, white, autumn, metal)

26
Q

Private retreats, places for self-development, and communion with intimate friends in Suzhou; where scholar-officials retired from government service and decided to embrace the aesthetic of solitude, learning, and poverty

A

Scholar gardens

27
Q

Considered as the “Venice of the East”

A

Suzhou

28
Q

The capital established by the first Sung emperor, who reunified the country after the collapse of the Tang dynasty

A

City of Kaifeng

29
Q

New capital of China under the Sung dynasty, after Kaifeng fell to a rival clan in 1126

A

Hangchow (Hangzhou)

30
Q

Artificial lake made in the 17th century AD when the Hangchow City was founded; a fresh-water-fed from the mountains

A

West Lake

31
Q

The Mongol emperor who conquered Hangchow in 1279 and formed the Yuan Dynasty; moved the capital to Peking (Beijing)

A

Kublai Khan

32
Q

Located at the south of Peking, and east of the central axis; built by the Ming in 1420; symbolic of the relationship between the heavenly circle and the earthly square

A

Altar of the Heaven

33
Q

Dynasty that marks the high point of Chinese imperial landscapes

A

Ming Dynasty

34
Q

The person who converted the Great Wall from earth to stone, incorporating imposing fortress architecture on its twisting line

A

Yung Lo

35
Q

In a Chinese garden, the lotus is a symbolism of…

A

Spiritual freedom

36
Q

The “three friends of winter” that signifies longevity, endurance, and resilience respectively

A

Pine
Plum
Bamboo

37
Q

Plants that represent the four seasons and the four traits of an ideal gentleman (plant and meaning)

A

Orchid - grace
Bamboo - resilience
Chrysanthemum - nobility
Flowering Plum - endurance

38
Q

The dynasty that replaced the Yuan dynasty when it collapsed in 1368

A

Ming Dynasty

39
Q

The third Ming emperor who began the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing

A

Yongle

40
Q

Consisted of hundreds of buildings and courtyard symmetrically arranged around a north-south axis and all buildings faced south; moat and wall surrounded it, which was contained within the boundaries of the Imperial City of China

A

Forbidden City

41
Q

The “sea palaces” of the imperial park

A

Nanhai, Zhonghai, and Beihai

42
Q

The dynasty established by the Manchu warriors from north, after desposing the last Ming emperor in the late 17th century

A

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

43
Q

During his reign, China reached the height of prosperity and expansion; also nurtured the development of the arts and sciences

A

Qianlong (1736-1795)

44
Q

A Scottish architect who went to China and published “Of the Art of Layout Out Gardens Among the Chinese”; who felt that there was an affinity between the British and Chinese philosophies, stating that “Chinese gardeners are like European painters

A

CHAMBERS, Sir William (1726-1796)

45
Q

An imperial pleasure garden located in the Western Hills outside the Forbidden City, first planned by Emperor Kangxi and further developed by his grandson, Qianlong; comprised of three linked gardens representing the three geographic areas of China - the northwest plateau, the great plains, and the southeast coastal area

A

Yuanming Yuan (Garden of Perfect Brightness), Beijing

46
Q

Basic Japanese religion; worship of nature, sense of purity, and rice cultivation

A

Shintoism

47
Q

The ‘perfect’ mountain in Japan, symbolic of the majestic dominance of nature over man, his work, and his art; particularly sacred to Shinto followers

A

Mt. Fuji

48
Q

heavy straw ropes usually used by the Japanese to bind natural features as a recognition of the sanctity of the landscape

A

Shimenawa

49
Q

Japanese of “wedded rock” particularly in a Shinto Shrine

A

Meoto iwa

50
Q

A triadic rock composition, based on recalling sculptures of the Buddhist Trinity, developed chiefly within the vertical plane

A

Sanzonseki-gumi

51
Q

A triadic rock composition based on the shape of the Chinese character for “articles,” developed chiefly within the horizontal plane

A

Hinbunseki-gumi

52
Q

Japanese for ‘gate’

A

Torii

53
Q

Japanese for ‘ancestral spirits’

A

Kami

54
Q

The new capital, known as the Heian-kyo, or the City of Peace and Tranquility, was planned on a grid-like Chang-an in China and Nara, the previous capital of Japan

A

Kyoto

55
Q

A garden manual written in the early 11th century by Tachibana no Toshitsuna, provides information about medieval gardens in Japan

A

Sakuteiki

56
Q

A novel written in Japanese vernacular by Lady Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century; characterized the medieval mindset and attitude toward nature

A

Tale of Genji

57
Q

A Japanese style that refers to the style of domestic architecture that was developed for palatial or aristocratic mansions built in the regions of Heian-kyo (Kyoto); consists of the shinden hall (chief central building), and tainoya (eastern and western subsidiary living quarters) that were attached together by watadono (wide covered corridors); characterized by a special symmetry of the group of buildings

A

Shinden-zukuri

58
Q

In Japan, a pond-and-island-type garden that represented Mt. Shumisen, the sacred center of the universe in the Buddhist doctrine

A

Turtle or tortoise-shaped island

59
Q

In Japan, a pond-and-island-type garden that symbolized longetivity

A

Crane-shaped island

60
Q

The Japanese artists term for the mood of great tranquility

A

Yugen

61
Q

Period in Japan marked by a spirit of self-discipline and control, evidenced by the growth of religion (Zen Buddhism) and a new military class (the samurai warrior)

A

Kamakura Period

62
Q

Provincial warlord in Japan

A

Shogun

63
Q

Japanese for ‘meditation seat’ that can be found at Saiho-ji garden

A

Zazenseki

64
Q

A paradise garden evolved between 1185 and 1332 as part of a return to contemplative Buddhism; redesigned by Muso Soseki (Muso Kokushi), a Zen priest who promoted gardening as a religious activity

A

Saiho-ji, Kyoto

65
Q

The Japanese garden that represents an important transition between the pond-and-island-style-gardens of the Heian court and the contemplative style garden of the later Kamakura/ early Muromachi period

A

Tenryu-ji

66
Q

A concept originally mentioned in the Sakuteiki, which creates the illusion of the streams and waterfalls through the placement of rocks and gravel, or “dry landscape gardens”

A

Kare sansui

67
Q

A less symmetrical, more informal architectural style developed in the mid-14th century, or “reading room” style

A

Shoin-zukuri

68
Q

The Japanese term for an alcove that projected out from the exterior wall and sometimes contained a writing desk and “picture window” that faced the garden

A

Shoin

69
Q

Japanese term for ‘borrowed scenery’

A

Shakkei

70
Q

An alcove in a Japanese room, used for the display of art; a decorative alcove; a feature of the shoin architectural style, which originated from the Kamakura period

A

Tokonama

71
Q

Rectangular mat used as a floor covering in Japanese houses

A

Tatami

72
Q

A shinden-style estate converted to a picturesque retreat by the third Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimitsu; located in the northwest sector of Kyoto

A

Kinkaku-ji (The Garden of the Golden Pavilion)

73
Q

An era where its gardens were characterized by a reduced scale, a refined purpose, and a distinct architectural setting that reflected the military regime of the Ashikaga shoguns

A

Muromachi Era

74
Q

A practice of an individual pursuit concerned with meditation and the development of the interior self

A

Zen

75
Q

A Zen Buddhist monk during Muromachi period, who elaborated on Chinese ink painting techniques, and captured the immensity and depth of the landscape within a hanging scroll; resembles the Daisen-in

A

Sesshu

76
Q

Japanese term for the art of flower arrangement

A

Ikebana

77
Q

Tray gardens composed solely of stones and sand; an accepted art form during the Kamakura period

A

Bonseki

78
Q

Dwarfed plants grown in tray-like containers

A

Bonsai

79
Q

Garden building specialist in Japan that were considered poor people, who did the “unclean” work of tanning and grave digging

A

Kawaramono

80
Q

A garden designer part of the kawaramono group, who gained respect and status for his ability to arrange rocks as they appeared in ink paintings

A

Zen’ami (c. 1386-1483)

81
Q

A garden that dates from 1480 and was built by the eight Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimasa; a pond-style garden created on a more modest scale than Kinkaku-ji; consists of one of the first tearooms

A

Ginkaku-ji (Garden of the Silver Pavilion)

82
Q

Water basin in Japan

A

Tsukubai

83
Q

A Zen garden of contemplation and an example of a kare sansui garden within the precincts of Daiju-in monastery, Kyoto; consists of fifteen rocks in five groups of five, two, three, two and three each; governed by mathematical relationships, conveying to the subconscious an actual sense of harmony

A

Ryoan-ji

84
Q

A kare sansui garden within the precints of the Daitoku-ji monastery at Kyoto; the most famous garden, on the northeast side, that uses rocks and sand to narrate an allegory of life’s challenges and resolutions, beginning with the sacred mountain and concluding in the endless void

A

Daisen-in

85
Q

The latter half of the 16th century Japan, after Muromachi period; ruled by Toyotama Hideyoshi who had a reputation as an extravagant dictator

A

Momoyama Era (1569-1603)

86
Q

A castle built by Hideyoshi at Fushimi, south of Kyoto

A

Momoyama (Peach Hill)

87
Q

Japanese for ‘tea ceremony,’ involving the performance of specific movements and behaviors in a particular setting

A

Cha no yu

88
Q

The garden where the tea ceremony is held; the second term is a reference to the “dewy path” of rebirth in Buddhist doctrine, suggesting that the tea ceremony is more about the journey than the destination - stepping stones as physical representations

A

Cha niwa or Roji

89
Q

The person who codified the austere principles of the tea ceremony

A

Sen no Rikyu

90
Q

Such gardens have unique characteristics that include earth bridges, lakes with highly convoluted shorelines, and abundant use of large rocks (ex. Sambo-in, Kyoto)

A

Momoyama gardens

91
Q

Japanese term for ‘stepping stones’

A

Tobi-ishi

92
Q

A large rock first appreciated by Oda Nobunaga, a daimyo who had it placed in the shogun’s palace, moved by Hideyoshi to his own palace when Nobunaga died, and later transported it to Sambo-in

A

Fujito stone

93
Q

Another of Nobunaga’s generals, after Hideyoshi, who established a new warrior dynasty that lasted until the 19th century; who moved the shogunate to Edo (now Toyko), and issued a series of strict edicts to control all aspects of society like closing Japan to all foreigners with small exceptions

A

Tokugawa Ieyasu of the Edo Period (1615-1868)

94
Q

Gardens modeled after the tea garden, whose function was realized on a much grander scale; designed to recall the natural scenery of Japan; develops from the stepping stones of the tea pavilion to become a garden of movement

A

Stroll gardens

95
Q

Small interior courtyard gardens containing evocative elements, but were meant only for viewing, not occupation

A

Tsuboniwa

96
Q

A principle of hide-and-reveal that added an element of anticipation and surprise to the experience in Edo stroll gardens

A

Miegakure

97
Q

Countryside retreat planned in 1620 by Prince Toshihito, the adopted son of Hideyoshi, and finished by his son, Toshitada; the definitive example of the stroll garden as a poetic experience

A

Katsura-rikyu (Katsura Imperial Villa, Kyoto)

98
Q

A retirement villa planned by Emperor Gomizuno-o with Kobori Enshu, a tea master and garden design expert, in 1634; distinguished by its pebbled beach, turtle island, and earth bridge

A

Sento Gosho

99
Q

Full Moon Bridge featured in the Koishikawa Korakuen, Tokyo, a pleasure park built by the Tokugawa daimyo Yorifusa Mito in 1629, along with Lu Shan, a 30-foot-high artificial mountain

A

Engetsu-kyo

100
Q

Landscape garden masters or professional garden artist or landscaper in Japan

A

Niwashi

101
Q

Mountain and water; “landscape” term in Japan and China

A

San sui or shan shui

102
Q

A cosmological landscape (200 BC - AD 600); an extensive series of straight lines, geometric shapes, and animal figures were inscribed on the dry lake bed by overturning gravel and exposing the light-colored earth below (geoglyphs)

A

Nazca Lines, Peru

103
Q

The earliest high civilization (c. AD 100-900), based on a religious hierarchy dominating an agrarian population

A

Mayan

104
Q

The oldest and most grandiose sacred city or ceremonial capital, founded by the Zapotecs (c. 600 BC to 900 AD)

A

Monte Alban

105
Q

A Mesoamerican city (c. AD 100-750) that lies twenty-eight miles northwest of Mexico City; characterized by the vast size of its monuments (e.g. Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon); where monuments are placed along an axial central way, or the Avenue of the Dead

A

Teotihuacan

106
Q

The large sunken plaza of the Teotihuacan, also a Spanish term for ‘citadel’

A

Ciudadela

107
Q

One of the Mayan river cities in Central America (c. AD 600), probably the most assured in its composition that showcase an angular design concept; over two million cub. yards of soil were imported for its execution; consists of a court for ball games, and a steep hieroglyphic stairway

A

Copan

108
Q

An ancient upright stone slab or column bearing a commemorative inscription or relief design

A

Stelae

109
Q

An Aztec capital founded in c. 1350 on the present site of Mexico City, built on an island in Lake Texoco; according to legend, an eagle perched on a cactus growing from a rock near a spring

A

Tenochtitlan

110
Q

The ‘fairy islands of flowers’ or the floating gardens of Mexico; a type of Mesoamerican agriculture which used small, rectangular areas of fertile arable land to grow crops on the shallow lake beds (Tenochtitlan, 1438)

A

Chinampas

111
Q

The only seat of an ancient high civilization to lie wholly south of the Equator

A

Peru

112
Q

An indigenous civilization of the Americas and a society highly organized and communal under an absolute monarchy that collapsed when the divine ruler was captured and eliminated by the Spaniards in 1532

A

Incas

113
Q

The capital founded by the Incas in the eleventh century, occupying a strip of highlands of the Andes; thought to be mapped with sacred lines that radiated from the Omphalos, the temple of the sun

A

Cuzco

114
Q

The sacred Incan lines that radiated from Omphalos, the temple of the sun; the straight lines showed the builders where to place their sacred sites

A

Ceques

115
Q

An Incan citadel among the mountains with an almost sheer drop of some two thousand feet to the River Urubamba; set out to be a gridirion or rectangular, but geometry was distorted by the topography

A

Machu Picchu (c. 1500)

116
Q

Unique practice of the Incas where each stone was treated individually with either a convex or concave to fit its adjoining stone, presumably to resist earthquakes

A

Stonework

117
Q

The last Aztec emperor who initially welcomed the Spaniards, but later killed by Hernando Cortes, a Spanish conquistador who seized Aztec lands and eventually overthrew the entire Aztec empire (1521); his palace surrounded an ‘extensive gardens filled with fragrant plants and medicinal plants’

A

Montezuma II

118
Q

A Spanish conquistador, who conquered the Incan Empire by subjugating the territories around Cuzco, and established a new city at Lima (1539)

A

Francisco Pizzaro