Abstract: The "wilderness-style conservation" prevalent in the global protected area system today is rooted in the modern ontological narrative of a "human-nature dichotomy", creating a paradox for human-environment harmonious coexistence; since the 1980s, the international nature conservation field has revived the "nature-culture integration" approach. As a Qing Dynasty imperial garden with political, ecological and productive functions, Nanyuan—represented by the survival of rare species like Père David's deer—offers a typical sample to understand the resilience of traditional social-ecological systems and resolve the dualistic dilemma. From a social-ecological coupling perspective, this study analyzes Nanyuan's ecological base and social governance mechanism to reveal the "human-animal-plant symbiosis" logic in pre-modern societies. Findings show Nanyuan maintained stable Père David's deer populations via dual-layer coupling of ecological and social resilience: ecologically, water dredging and vegetation management built suitable wetland habitats; socially, hierarchical spatial control, temporal staggering and trophic niche regulation balanced human activities and species survival, while cross-regional systems with outer pasturelands reserved population resilience. Its core is the imperial-driven dynamic balance of "embedding ecological laws into governance and aligning social needs with carrying capacity", proving that orderly human participation—replacing isolated conservation—makes humans a positive force in protected areas. The study explores the value of China's traditional wisdom and indigenous ecological knowledge, promoting a cognitive shift in conservation toward synergy between biodiversity protection and human sustainable development.