Center for East Asian Garden Studies

The Huntington's Center for East Asian Garden Studies promotes innovative scholarship on the traditions of garden-making in China, Japan, and Korea. Furthering the educational mission of The Huntington's Chinese and Japanese Gardens, the Center makes these traditions accessible to wide audiences through lectures, workshops, symposia, exhibitions, and performances.

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Research Fellows

Dr. Nicholas K. Menzies 
“Ordering the Myriad Things: The Transition from Traditional Knowledge of Plants to Scientific Botany in China, 1850–1950.” 

Events

Lecture: The Tale of Genji: Imaged and Reimagined
April 22, 4 p.m. (PDT)
Dr. Bruce A. Coats, professor of art history and the humanities, Scripps College

Lecture: The Labor of Good Governance: Cultivation Real and Imagined in the Imperial Garden of Clear Ripples in 18th-Century China
May 20, 4 p.m. (PDT)
Dr. Roslyn Lee Hammers, associate professor of art history, University of Hong Kong

Lecture: Crafting a Literati Utopia in Nineteenth-Century Japan: The Plum Blossom Valley at Tsukigase
June 10, 4 p.m. (PDT)
Dr. Yurika Wakamatsu, assistant professor of East Asian art history, Occidental College

 Visit Videos and Recorded Programs to watch previously recorded lectures, conferences, podcasts, and videos.

Exhibitions

“A Garden of Words: The Calligraphy of Liu Fang Yuan”
Part 1: Aug. 28–Dec. 13, 2021
Part 2: Jan. 29–May 16, 2022

News

"Red Earth"
New artwork by Lita Albuquerque titled "Red Earth" on view in the Japanese Garden at The Huntington. Photo by Karl Puchlik, courtesy of the artist. Read

"Unscholarly" Gardens: Rethinking the Gardens of China
Exploring "unscholarly" spaces such as monastic gardens, merchant gardens, medicinal gardens, and market gardens, this symposium challenges common assumptions about what makes a garden in China. Listen

Transformations of the Chinese Garden
Hui-shu Lee, professor of Chinese art history at UCLA, reflects on two recipients of the Pritzker Architecture Prize—I. M. Pei and Wang Shu—and their instrumental reinterpretations of Chinese garden design. Listen

Border-Crossing Botanicals: The Curious History of Saffron in Japan
Susan Burns, professor of history at the University of Chicago, explores the incorporation of saffron into Japanese pharmacology. Listen

What Bonsai Can Teach Us About Patience
To help grapple with the frustrations of coronavirus stay-at-home orders, the Hear and Now at The Huntington podcast dives deep into the practice of bonsai for a lesson in patience, the concept of time, and respect for the pace of nature. Listen

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Public Programs

Music in the Chinese Garden
Wednesdays, 1–3 p.m. (Temporarily suspended due to Covid-19)
Enjoy traditional Chinese music every Wednesday afternoon in the Garden of Flowing Fragrance.

Japanese Teahouse Tours
Second Monday of every month, 11:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. (Temporarily suspended due to Covid-19)
Learn about the history of the Japanese Garden's ceremonial teahouse and the traditions behind its use. Informal tours are offered at 20-minute intervals.

Educational and School Programs

Poetry in the Chinese Garden
Taking students to a museum or garden is a wonderful way to encourage their appreciation for, and understanding of, our natural and cultural heritage. The Huntington offers field trips designed to deeply engage students in their personal learning experiences and bring their studies to life. In the "Poetry in the Chinese Garden" program, students use poetry as an entry point to the culture of Chinese gardens, immersing themselves in the garden experience. They compare Chinese and Western landscape styles, learn about the role of literature in the garden, and create and share their own two-line poems inspired by what they see.

Chinese Garden Discovery Cart
Discovery Carts are engaging and educational mobile exhibits that offer new learning experiences to garden visitors. The Chinese Garden cart encourages visitors to learn through culturally-themed activities involving Chinese opera masks, musical instruments, poetry, apothecary, architecture, and tea preparation, all of which highlight the scholars' garden.