A Modern Interpretation of the Aesthetic Ideal of "Picturesque" Gardens in the Annals of Superfluous Things

WenZhenheng, a writer of the Ming Dynasty, mentioned in his book Annals of Superfluous Things , the definition of elegance and orthodoxy as a design guide for garden aesthetic, which has a prominent position in the history of Chinese garden aesthetic and still has a strong reference value. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of systematic summary of existing research. This paper takes this book as the blueprint, integrates the real situation, painting situation and artistic conception into the garden creation from the aesthetic point of view, and analyzes and summarizes the expression of the garden aesthetic ideal of "learning from painting" in the Annals of Superfluous Things in the modern garden design. In this way, it is advocated that modern landscape design should not only inherit the traditional taste and feelings and keep away from vulgarity, but also learn from the paintings and calligraphy works, and emphasize the creation of artistic conception to meet the growing spiritual needs of people, so that modern landscape planning and design can reflect the people-oriented spirit.