From Paradise to Garden: The Construction of Penglai and Xuanpu1

This paper examines the two lines of development Daoist paradises took as they were recreated as gardens in ancient and medieval China. It problematizes contrasting differences between Penglai (Immortals’ Isles) and Xuanpu (Hanging Garden) by analyzing a selection of mythological, historical, and literary texts. It concludes that they were founded on the two different Daoist desires, one secular and the other transcendental.

Penglai and other islands developed into a formula of three islands in one pond beginning in the Qin-Han epoch (221 B.C.E.–220 C.E.). They then came to play an integral role in imperial garden culture both in China and neighboring countries. Emperors saw the active incorporation of otherworldly island paradises as an effective way to enhance prestige or a sublimation of their desire for eternal life. In contrast, the Hanging Garden was created for crown princes mainly during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Prince Zhaoming (501–531) transformed it from a pleasure garden into a natural park in concert with aristocratic eremitism.