Garden Culture of Ye City in Hebei Province during the Cao Wei Period

The culture of Ye began in the reign of Qihuangong, prince of the Qi State during the Spring and Autumn Period (770—476BC) and its development can be divided chronologically into such stages as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (770—221BC), the Cao Wei Period (220—265), the Sixteen States Period (340—439) and some periods after Sui and Tang Dynasties (581—?). The Ye City during the Cao Wei Period, as the golden age of the culture of Ye, had a benchmarking significance in Chinese garden history for its large number of gardens, large scales, delicate designs and elegant environment of gardens. The patterns of axis symmetry and road network crossing firstly emerged in the gardening of the Ye City. Garden architectures at that time were well known for tall and majestic buildings yet with clear themes and characteristics. In particular, the firstly appearing construction model that combined garden and military defense, the largescale artificial landscape, the special decoration style and the introduction of Buddhism had significant effects on the later development of garden culture.