毕业论文-浅析植物造景在现代城市中的应用.doc

浅析植物造景在现代城市中的应用 以湖北省黄石市团城山植物造景设计为例摘 要本文着重对植物自身造景以及植物景观造景的进行详细阐述，从而更好的为以后的设计打下结实的理论基础。植物景观，主要指由于自然界的植被。植物群落、植物个体所表现的形象，通过人们的感观传到大脑皮层，产生一种实在的美的感受和联想，植物景观一词也包括人工的即运用植物题材来创作的景观。植物造景，就是运用乔木、灌木、藤本及草本植物等题材，通过艺术手法，充分发挥植物的形体、线条、色彩等自然美（也包括把植物整形修剪成一定形体）来创作植物景观。植物造景必须最大限度的发挥植物的特点以及习性，要达到植物造景符合审美原则与合理栽植原则，就必须把握好植物个体美以及植物与景观的配合美，这不仅是对植物习性以及生长特性了解程度的考验，也需要把握景观与植物的生态关系以及合理的组合搭配。关键词：植物造景；艺术美；园林景观；公园；搭配；前言植物造景就是应用乔木、灌木、藤本及草本植物来创造景观，充分发挥植物本身形体、线条。色彩等自然美，配植成一幅幅美丽动人的画面，供人们观赏。对植物景观的欣赏，具有不同的爱好和观点。不同的现场以及需要产生的效果使得植物造景的多样性日益突出，体现植物特色的同时也服从人们的意志。当然，在总体布局上，一些规则式的植物景观与规则式建筑的线条、外形、乃至体量较协调一致，有很高的人工美的艺术价值。规则式的植物景观具有庄严、肃穆的气氛，常给人以雄伟的气魄感，另一种则是自然式的植物景观。模拟自按然森林、草原、草甸、沼泽等景观及农村田园风光，结合地形、水体、道路来组织植物景观。体现植物自然的个体美及群体美，从宏观钠季相变化到枝、叶。花、果、刺等细致的欣赏。自然式的植物景观容易体现宁静、深遥、活泼的气氛。一 植物造景的概念随着各学科及经济飞速地发展，人们艺术修养不断提高，人们向往自然，追求丰富多彩、变化无穷的植物美，于是，创造自然的植物景观已成为新的潮流。植物景观除了供人们欣赏自然美外，人们更为重视的是植物所产生的生态效应。植物除了能创造优美舒适的环境，更重要的是能创造适合于人类生存所要求的生态环境。当人类赖以生存的生态环境日趋恶化，工业所产生的废气、废水，废渣到处污染环境，酸雨到处发生，危及人类的温室效应造成了很多反常的气候。人们不仅惊呼，如再破坏植物资源，必将自己毁灭自己，只有重视和遍植植物，才能拯救自己。为此，植物造景的出现以及普及已经成为当今社会的生活必要措施。二 植物造景的意义及国外动态植物景观既能创造优美的环境，又能改善人类赖以生存的生态环境，对于这一点是公认而没有异议的。然而在现实中往往还有一些需要改进的地方。比如设计者重园林建筑、假山、雕塑，喷泉、广场等，而轻视植物。这在园林建设投资的比例及设汁中屡见不鲜。更有甚者，某些偏激者认为中国传统的古典园林是写意自然山水园，山水便是园林的骨架，挖湖堆山理所当然，而植物只是毛发而已。因此植物种类用量都很少。由于植物效果需要较长的时间才能凸显，可是挖湖堆山，叠石筑路、营造亭。台、楼、阁则见效快。由此也助长了轻植物的倾向，使本来就很有限的绿地面积得不到充分利用。与国外园林水平相比，我国植物造景技术还是存在着较大的差距，首先，我国园林中用在植物遣景上的植物种类很贫乏。最后，在植物造景的科学性和艺术性上也相差很远，我们不能满足于现有传统的植物种类及配植方式，应向植物分类、植物生态、地植物学等学科学习和借鉴，提高植物造景的科学性。三 植物造景的艺术美 （一）植物造景中艺术原理的应用植物本身就具有较高的观赏性，其次植物种类较多，容易产生百花齐放，四季如春的效果。一、群植 用数量较多的乔灌木（或加上地被植物）配植在一起，形成一个整体，称为群植。树群的灌木一般在20株以上。树群与树丛不仅在规格、颜色、姿态上有差别而且在表现的内容方面也有差异。树群表现的是整个植物体的群体美，观赏它的层次、外缘和林冠等。 树群是园林的骨干，用以组织空间层次，划分区域；根据需要，也可以一定的方式组成主景或配景，起隔离、屏障等作用。 树群内的植物栽植距离要有疏密变化，要构成不等边三角形，不能成排、成行、成带的等距离栽植。常绿、落叶、观叶、观花的树木，因面积不大，不能用带状混交，也不可用片状混交，应该用复合混交、小块混交与点状混交相结合形式。 当树群面积、株数都足够大时，它既构成森林景观又发挥特别的防护功能，这样的大树群则称之为林植或树林，它是成片成块大量栽植乔、灌木的一种园林绿地。树林在园林绿地面积较大的风景区中应用较多。二、列植 列植系指乔、灌木按一定的直线或缓弯线成排成行的栽植，行列栽植形成的景观比较单纯、整齐，它是规划式园林以及广场、道路、工厂、矿山、居住区、办公楼等绿化中广泛应用的一种形式。列植可以是单行，又可以是多行，其株行距的大小决定于树冠的成年冠径，期望在短期内产生绿化效果，株行距可适当小些、密些，待成年时间伐，来解决过密的问题。 列植的树种，从树冠形态看最好是比较整齐，如圆形、卵圆形、椭圆形、塔形的树冠。枝叶疏稀、树冠不整齐的树种不宜用。由于行列栽植的地点一般受外界环境的影响大，立地条件差，在树种的选择上，应尽可能采用生长健壮、耐修剪、树干高、抗病虫害的树种。 植物与景观搭配的艺术性三、植物与建筑结合造景园林植物与建筑的配植是自然美与人工美的结合，处理得当，二者关系可求得和谐一致。植物丰富的自然色彩、柔和多变的线茶、优美的姿态及风韵都能增添建筑的美感，使之产生出一种生动活泼而具有季节变化的感染力，一种动态的均衡构图，使建筑与周围的环境更为协调。因此，必须提高宾馆、办公大楼、超级市场、机场、车站、民居等处绿化水平，用多变的建筑空间留出庭院、天井、走廊、屋顶花园、底层花园、层间花园等进行美化，甚至将自然美引入卧室、书房、客厅等居住环境，已是目前面临解决的课题。园林建筑是构成园林的重要因素，但是要和构成园林的主要因素园林植物搭配起来，才能对景观产生很大影响。建筑与园林植物之间的关系应是相互补充、科学搭配，使景观具有画意 。如果处理不当，会得出相反的结果。同样，如果建筑师不顾及周围的园林景观，一意孤行地将其庞大的建筑作品拥塞到小巧的风景区或风景点上，就会导致周围的风景比例严重失调，甚至犹如模型，使景观受到野蛮的破坏。四、植物与水体结合造景园林植物与水体的景观关系园林水体给人以明净、清澈、近人、开怀的感受。主人称水为园林中的“血液”，“灵魂”，方今中外的园林，对于水体的运斥是非常重视的。众所周知，水是构成景观的重要因素。水中、水旁园林植物的姿态、色彩、所形成的倒影，均加强了水体的美感。有的绚丽夺目、五彩缤纷，有的则幽静含蓄，色调柔和。但是考虑与水体结合的植物时需要注意植物的正常生长环境，尽量选择喜湿润的植物，例如垂柳、鸢尾、水杉等。与水体结合时，既要考虑到水体的形状也要考虑整体效果，不能过密的栽植，阻挡水面的凸显力。植物也要考虑周围的地势环境，沿坡种植。同时，为了更好的把植物嵌入水体中，也要注意局部的造景，如水面中的荷花，水岸边的红石间的黄馨等点缀植物。沿水体分布植物就把握住了整体布局，水体贯穿整体，植物星罗密布。道路绿化作为城市设计中重要的一环，直接关系到城市的形象，通过带状或者块状的“线”性组合，使城市绿地连为一个整体，成为建筑景观、自然景观以及各种人工景观之间的“软”连接。（二）园林植物的观赏特性植物配置讲究乔、灌、草结合，并巧妙应用特色乔木、灌木和花卉，成功营造不少缤纷多彩、变化丰富的植物景观。科学合理的植物配置既要考虑到植物的生态习性；又要考虑到植物的观赏特性；既要考虑植物自身美(个体美)，又要考虑到植物之间的组合美(群体美)和植物与环境的协调美(整体美)，还要因地制宜、适地适树等。为此，只有根据道路绿化功能、植物生态习性和预期景观效果，遵循因地制宜的选择植物品种，并进行优化配置，才能使道路绿化向自然化、生态化、人文化发展。1植物的建造功能 植物可以用于空间中的任何一个平面,在地平面上,以不同高度和不同种类的地被植物或矮灌木来暗示空间的边界。在此情形中,植物虽不是以垂直面上的实体来限制着空间,但它确实在较低的水平面上筑起一道范围。在垂直面上,植物能通过几种方式影响着空间感。空间封闭程度随树干的大小、疏密以及种植形式而不同。树干越多,空间围合感越强。 植物同样能限制、改变一个空间的顶平面。植物的枝叶犹如室外空间的天花板,限制伸向天空的视线,并影响着垂直面上的尺度。地平面、垂直面、顶平面作为空间的3个构成界面,在室外环境中,以不同的方式变化组合,形成各种不同的空间类型。 由于植物具有屏蔽视线的作用,因而私密控制的程度,将直接受植物的影响。私密性控制就是利用高于人视线的植物对人们的视线进行阻挡,进行对明确的所限区域的围合。如果植物的高度高于2 m,则空间的私密感最强。与此同时,植物空间的私密性与植物枝叶的疏密、植物株距的大小等因素密切相关。 植物材料如一道屏障,能阻挡或者引导人们的视线。将所需的美景收于眼中,而将俗物障之于视线以外。正所谓“嘉则收之,俗则屏之”。障景的效果依景观的要求而定,若使用不通透植物,则能完全屏障视线通过。使用不同程度的通透植物,能达到不同的漏景效果。 按空间的围合程度不同将植物空间大致分为3类,分别是闭合空间、开敞空间及半封闭空间。 闭合空间是利用植物浓密的树冠封闭顶空间,利用灌木或小乔木封闭四周空间,地面覆盖地被而形成的完全封闭空间。覆盖面包括高大乔木的树冠、藤本植物的枝叶,因此,它有走廊式、廊架式空间和林下空间等形式。该类空间具有极强的隐密性和隔离感。 开敞空间没有覆盖面的限制,仅用低矮灌木或地被植物来限定空间或暗示空间边缘,形成空间完全通透。这种空间具有外向性、开敞性,无任何隐密性,完全暴露于天空和阳光之下,视线完全通透,即使远处的景观也可一览无遗。空间的私密感不强。 半封闭空间与开敞植物空间相似,该空间由基面、竖向分隔面共同组成,但它的空间一面和多面部分受到较高植物的封闭,或者其封闭面较多,但由于植物材料稀疏而导致整体封闭性较差。该空间的开敞程度比开敞植物空间小,导向性强,指向开敞面。这种空间类型因其多变性而在园林中应用较多 ,特别适宜创造一些优美的小尺度空间。 五、植物景观的空间组织与营造 （三）植物景观的意境美园林植物的组合以上述3类空间为基本空间组成形式,3类空间各具特色。将这3类空间通过一定手法经过一系列的串联、组合构成相互联系的空间序列,能够产生多种多样的整体效果。植物对园林空间的景观组织及艺术塑造的影响主要表现在植物空间的分隔、对比与渗透这3个方面。 四 植物造景在我国园林景观设计中的现状新中国成立以来,重视园林建设,尤其是在党的十一届三中全会以来,由于改革开放的深入及市场经济的建立,人民生活水平不断提高,人们对环境的要求也愈来愈高,运用种种园林植物创造优美舒适的生活环境,建设生态园林,改善环境质量,创可持续发展的环境是时代的召唤,历史的潮流。建国以来有很多以植物景观著称的公园,如早期的杭州花港观鱼公园6,突出“花”和“鱼”的主题,全园面积18hm2,草坪就占了40%左右,尤其是雪松草坪区,以雪松与广玉兰树群组合为背景,构成空阔景面,气势豪迈;还有柳林草坪区与合欢草坪区,配植以四时花木。全园观赏植物共采用157个树种,以传统名花中牡丹、海棠、樱花为主调。另外,成都望江楼公园是我国最大的以竹景为主的公园。 植物景观不仅能创造优美、舒适的人居环境,且还能改善我们的生存环境。现在,由于环境恶化,人类愈来愈渴望回归大自然。我国的园林建设也以植物景观为主,建设生态园林满足各方面的需要。此外,近年来各地积极营建森林公园,相关部门也纷纷成立自然保护区、风景区。据统计7,截止1990年底,我国共建立了480个自然保护区,其中陆地生物群落保护区438个,面积32151978hm2,占国土面积的2.98%。在城市园林植配置上,不仅注重植物的造景功能,更注重植物的抗污功能。众所周知,我国素有“园林之母”的美称,但对园林植物的利用却很少,我国目前大多数园林中,作为园林绿地种植的植物不超过200种,用于绿地常见的园林树种仅有雪松、悬铃木、香樟、龙柏、大叶黄杨、海桐等十几种,草本观赏植物更为贫乏,全国各地几乎千篇一律:一串红、三色堇、金盏菊、鸡冠花、万寿菊、百日草等十几种,且大多数的园林植物从国外引种,我国特有的观赏植物栽培不多。其次,在选种育种培育优良及新品种上水平较落后。在植物造景上,除少数大城市如杭州的园林植物造景的科学性及艺术性的水平较突出外,大部分还与国际水平相差甚远。再者,受市场经济的冲击及传统的古典造园理论的影响,在园林建设中人文景观投资大,占地多,植物造景用的植物种类仍局限在传统的种类及配置方式上。植物在景观中的建造功能像建筑物的地面、天花板、围墙、门窗一样。在园林中常用建筑物、构筑物来分隔空间,同时利用植物分隔园林空间是园林中重要的手法。在自然式园林中,利用植物分隔空间可不受任何几何图形的约束 ,具有较大的随意性。若干个大小不同的空间可通过成丛、成片的乔灌木相互隔离,使空间层次深邃,意味无穷。如杭州花港观鱼公园的新花港区,沿着小路的绿地上分别用广玉兰、雪松及其他乔木将该区分隔成大小不同、各具形貌的若干空间,使得花港和小路两边的景色富于变化而不单调,十分幽美。在规则式园林中则常见植物按几何图形划分空间,使空间显得整洁明朗。其中绿篱在分隔空间中的应用最为广泛,不同形式、高度的绿篱可以达到多样的空间分隔效果在中国古典园林空间营造中,对比手法的应用极为普遍。对比手法运用于园林植物空间营造中,同样富有成效。通过空间的形体变化、明暗虚实等的对比 ,常能产生多变而富有感染力的艺术效果,使空间富有吸引力。植物按整齐规则的形状围合出的空间与自然、曲折、富于变化的植物空间之间气氛迥然不同,产生强烈的对比。尤其对经过修剪后的植物形成的空间来说,人工味道与自然的空间对比更为强烈。勒诺特的福勒维贡特,垂直的林墙与水平铺展的刺花草坪、大草坪等相互对比,从而勾勒出花园独立的空间和宏伟的轴线。植物亦能形成空间明暗的对比,如枝繁叶茂的空间显得幽暗,而一片开阔的草坪则显得明朗,二者通过对比能使各自的空间特征得到加强。总之,对植物空间组合进行一系列的对比手法处理能够显著增强植物景观的艺术感染力。 植物空间的渗透与层次变化,主要通过处理空间的划分与空间的联系两者之间的关系所取得。2个相邻的植物空间如果没有明确的划分界线,则缺乏层次变化,而完全隔绝的2个植物空间也不会产生空间的相互渗透,只有相邻空间之间呈半敞半合、半掩半映的状态,以及空间的连续和流通等,才能使空间的整体富有层次感和深度感。选用通透的植物可以使视线流通,但空间仍被阻隔。如使远景从树木枝叶的缝隙里透漏过来形成漏景;或利用乔木的树冠、枝干与另一空间中的景观共同形成框景;又或者利用竖向植物空间形成夹景,甚至可以直接将其他空间中的植物景观引入到本空间中来形成借景。在园林植物空间中,漏景、框景、夹景和借景的运用,使空间之间产生流动感,增加景深,丰富空间的层次。游人在某一植物空间中游赏时,空间之外的景观时隐时现,画面断续地在人们面前展开,达到“步移景异”的效果,也引发了游人进一步探求的欲望。 小结 植物造景的空间组成是在遵循自然群落生长规律的基础上,使用植物群落围合场所,以某种方式衔接在一起营造出的空间形式。植物景观的空间形式是种植规划首要考虑的因素,对营造优美的园林景观具有决定性作用5。值得一提的是,植物所构成的空间除现实中的立体三维空间外,还包括时间这一不可或缺的维度,统称四维空间。随着时间的改变,空间的大小、形状、色彩、质感等也会相应地发生变化。 在现实工作实践中,设计师除了要对植物的空间特性、构成属性、组织方式等作为艺术表现的多方面特性了然于胸外,营造植物空间时,还需要具备植物在分布、习性、花期、体量、形态、色彩等方面的知识,完美地将艺术性与科学性有机结合在一起,共同致力于营造生态效应良好、景观视觉优美、空间特性鲜明、变化丰富多样的植物景观。致谢 本毕业论文在整个完成过程中得到了郭老师的悉心指导，从开始论文选题到最后论文的定稿，其中每一个细节郭老师都认真检查并在每一个阶段对我的论文提出宝贵的建议，在论文初期，出现论文题目不合适论文结构不清晰、用词不当等问题，是郭老师一步步的指导和帮我分析，让我的毕业论文才能顺利完成，特别是在论文结构上，郭老师通过形象生动的表达，让我从开始对论文结构模糊到后来对论文结构有了清晰的了解。在论文的用词上，郭老师也是十分细心，只要用词不当的地方，她都用红笔勾出，并在旁边提出了建议供我参考，在写毕业论文的全过程中，我很感谢郭琛老师，是她认真负责的态度让我的毕业论文顺利完成，让我为我的大学生活交上了一份满意的答卷。同时也感谢其他老师在论文审核过程中给予我的指导和宝贵的建议，我谨在此对他们致以衷心的感谢。 参考文献 1 苏雪痕.植物造景M.北京:中国林业出版社,1994. 2 诺曼K布思.风景园林设计要素M.曹礼昆,曹德鲲,译.北京:中国林业出版社,1989. 3 赵爱华,李冬梅,胡海燕,等.园林植物与园林空间景观的营造J.西北林学院学报,2004,19(3):136-138. 4 李伟强.园林植物空间营造研究D.杭州:浙江大学,2007. 5 马娱,于宗顺.园林植物造景的空间组成分析与研究J.山西建筑,2008,34(36). 您好，为你提供优秀的毕业论文参考资料，请您删除以下内容，O(_)O谢谢！A large group of tea merchants on camels and horses from Northwest Chinas Shaanxi province pass through a stop on the ancient Silk Road, Gansus Zhangye city during their journey to Kazakhstan, May 5, 2015. The caravan, consisting of more than 100 camels, three horse-drawn carriages and four support vehicles, started the trip from Jingyang county in Shaanxi on Sept 19, 2014. It will pass through Gansu province and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and finally arrive in Almaty, formerly known as Alma-Ata, the largest city in Kazakhstan, and Dungan in Zhambyl province. The trip will cover about 15,000 kilometers and take the caravan more than one year to complete. The caravan is expected to return to Jingyang in March 2016. Then they will come back, carrying specialty products from Kazakhstan A small art troupe founded six decades ago has grown into a household name in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. In the 1950s, Ulan Muqir Art Troupe was created by nine young musicians, who toured remote villages on horses and performed traditional Mongolian music and dances for nomadic families. The 54-year-old was born in Tongliao, in eastern Inner Mongolia and joined the troupe in 1975.He says there are 74 branch troupes across Inner Mongolia and actors give around 100 shows every year to local nomadic people. I can still recall the days when I toured with the troupe in the early 80s. We sat on the back of pickup trucks for hours. The sky was blue, and we couldnt help but sing the folk songs, Nasun says. The vastness of Inner Mongolia and the lack of entertainment options for people living there, made their lives lonely. The nomadic people were very excited about our visits, Nasun recalls. We didnt have a formal stage. The audience just sat on the grass. Usually, the performances became a big party with local people joining in. For him, the rewarding part about touring isnt just about sharing art with nomadic families but also about gaining inspiration for the music and dance. Ulan Muqir literally translates as red burgeon, and todays performers of the troupe still tour the regions villages and entertain nomadic families, but their fame has spread around the world. On May 16 and 17, nearly 100 singers and dancers from the troupe performed at Beijings Poly Theater. Their show, titled Ulan Muqir on the Grassland, depicted the history and development of the art troupe. Being from the region allowed me to embrace the culture of Inner Mongolia and being a member of the troupe showed me where I belonged, Nasun, the art troupes president, who is also a renowned tenor, tells China Daily. During a tour in 1985, he went to a village and met an elderly local man, who told him a story about his friendship with a solider from Shenyang, capital of Northeast Chinas Liaoning province, decades ago. The solider gave the old man a handmade saddle when they bid farewell. The story inspired Nasun to write Carved Saddle, a song that later became one of his most popular numbers. Now, every year, Nasun recruits young singers and dancers for the troupe. The troupe has also designed a new repertoire, which is mostly based on the daily lives of Mongolian people, especially the lives of nomadic families, and has combined contemporary musical elements with folk songs of the region. Haimu, a 25-year-old khoomei (a local variant of overtone singing) singer, joined the troupe three years ago. Along with a six-member band, he performs fast songs and soft ones that he writesall while playing the horse-head fiddle.Although I learned the piano since childhood and grew up listening to various kinds of music, to me, the folk music of Inner Mongolia is the root, he says. Performing in remote villages is pleasant. I feel at home on the boundless grasslands, and the warm people there make me feel fulfilled. The first round of spring auction season in Beijing ended last week, but it failed to create much spring in the art market. Although two pieces of Chinese painting fetched more than 100 million yuan, the decline in trading volume and sale rate showed a downturn this year. In the “Grand View: Chinese Painting Highlight” session at China Guardian 2015 spring auctions, Pan Tianshous representative work Eagle, Rock and Flora hit a record auction price of 279 million yuan, while Li Kerans masterwork Jinggang Mountain fetched 126.5 million yuan, an unexpected high in recent years. However, the trading volume fells to 1.87 billion yuan from 2.22 billion yuan in the same period the year before. The Huangchen 2015 Spring Auctions, which recorded 42.5 million yuan in total sales, experienced the same. The section number went down to 5 from 12 compared to last year. According to expert Shao Jianwu, the art market did not attract much excitement this year due to the booming stock market and the persistent problems of forgery and fake deals. The two pieces of Chinese painting notched up high price this spring due to their own value not due to a revival in the market. The successful transaction of two works with a hammer price of more than 100 million yuan once again confirms that valuable and rare works of high quality always earn the long-lasting high price. Chinese painting and calligraphy is still the pillar of the market. However, the overall sales rate has dropped slightly, which reflects the demand for the ordinary auction goods has weakened,” said the president of China Guardians Hu Yanyan. Besides, the entry of new buyers also makes certain changes to the direction of purchasing. In a word, the overall market trend is very unpredictable. Although China Guardian 2015 Spring Auctions has achieved remarkable results, it does not mean that the market has walked out of the predicament. We still have to wait for the big economic boom to invigorate the art market.” Even so, the hot pursuit of some special items appeared this spring. A special session of China Guardian Spring Auctions titled “Fine GiltBronze Buddhist Images” achieved a great deal with total sales volume of 41.89 million yuan and 92 percent sale rate. The 5th Shamar Rinpoche Statue from 16-17th century of Tibet was sold for 5.06 million yuan. The Beijing Chengxuan Auctions featured almost 2,800 items of coins and stamps in three sessions with good sale rate. The Huachen Auctions also set a special session of photographs under the condition of large-scale decline of auction sessions. There was a palpable dull thud of disappointment that accompanied the return of the imperial entourage of Zhen Huan to her homeland. It followed a couple years of hushed excitement as Chinese fans were fed tidbits about their proud concubine who was supposed to conquer the high ground of the North American market. Zhen Huan is, of course, the title character of The Legend of Zhen Huan, a 2011 television series that swept China off its feet and later took other Asian countries by storm. Two years ago, it was reported that HBO, a premium cable service headquartered in the United States, was going to air it in North America after some modification. Now, a condensed version that provides English subtitles but no dubbing has finally been made available on Netflix for online streaming. This version, highly anticipated as a milestone in Chinas cultural foray overseas, has been widely panned by its home audience. Retitled Empresses in the Palace, the American version has been shortened from its original 76 episodes at 45 minutes each, to six 90-minute episodes. The quick pacing threw off many native viewers, who are accustomed to a more leisurely daytime-soap-style narrative rhythm. (Chinese TV stations would run two or three episodes every day.) I did not finish the full-length version and found the truncated one not difficult to follow. Whats lost, I believe, are the interesting setups and pauses that illuminate the Chinese art of storytelling. Much of the plot is still there. It is the flavor that was sacrificed. The American edition uses the framework of the Empress Dowager in her senior years reminiscing at the beginning and the end of each episode, hinting at whats to come and recapping the key points. This device, not used in the original, is culturally understandable but artistically mediocre. What puzzles me is the two new songs for the opening and end credits. They were written in English, but sung by Chinese with an uncomfortable accent. They were obviously designed to appeal to an English-speaking base, but do not jibe with the Chinese dialogue. Speaking of the dialogue, the English translation, picked apart by some Chinese, is too literal for my taste. I can imagine a typical American hit by a flurry of royal ranks, addresses and greetings, even multiple names and titles for the same person. The first half hour must be a swamp to wade through, very much like my experience of getting through a Tolstoy tome with its endless inflections of names transliterated into lengthy Chinese. I see the choice of verbatim translation as an effort for conveying exotica. It is fairly competent, with no error that I could detect, but fails to rise above words or capture the essence of the language. A cultural product usually crosses over to a foreign territory first by an emphasis on the commonalities. But whether inside or outside China, the temptation to sell it for the differences is just too great. Sure, the sumptuous sets and costumes are a big attraction, but the narrative technique has becomehow shall I put it?a bit anglicized, which is necessary for cultural export. Judging by the responses, this legend, which, contrary to the claim of the English trailer, is totally fictitious, has departed from China but not yet landed on American shores. I am a big fan of Ralph Waldo Emersons essay titled Self-Reliance. If youve not yet read it, I strongly encourage you to do so. In this essay, the venerable Emerson talks about eschewing the trappings of society and finding ones own path. He urges the reader to find rectitude and lead a moral life. He professes that, only by being self reliant, as opposed to relying on the government and being dictated to by society, can one begin leading a decent and purposeful life. He avers that such a life is the only life worth living. I agree with him. This essay was written during a time of social upheaval in America, and it is rather odd that Emerson authored it, as he was a part of the upper