Craft of Gardens

New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. Fine in Fine DJ.. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. First complete English language translation of the 1631 work. "The book is based on Ji's notes and experiences from his career as a garden designer, which he discusses at length in his introduction. Since architecture is an integral part of the Chinese garden, much of the book is taken up with the design of different types of buildings & the integration of architecture with nature in the garden. Ji explains the religious & aesthietic principles underlying garden design & the appropriate emotional response to various effects. He then offers a down-to-earth series of instructions about his requirements of different types of sites, building layouts, architectural features, paving, the construction of artifical mountains, selection of rocks and the use of natural scenery." (from the flap). Tight, bright, and unmarred. DJ bright and clean. Green cloth boards, gilt lettering, pictorial endpages, frontispiece. 4to. 144pp. Illus. (color and b/w plates). Notes. Chronology. Appendix.