From ruined gardens to Yan Yuan — A transformed vision of the ‘hinese Garde’: a discussion of Henry K. Murphy's Yenching University campus planning

Abstract

In 1919, Henry K. Murphy, a graduate of Yale University and architect based in New York, took charge of the new campus plan of Yenching University (Yanjing Daxue), a Chinese missionary university established by the United Board and located at Haidian, Beijing.1 His plan, after discussions and large-scale revisions, was carried out and partially completed for use in 1926. Murphy's design attracted much attention at the time not only because he chose a ‘Chinese style’2 for campus buildings with modern functions and structures, but also because his ground plan organised those buildings in a ‘Chinese-style’ landscape inspired by a neglected Ming/Qing garden cluster originally on the site (figure 1). Believed to have taken both the ‘new efficiency’ of a modern campus and the ‘old beauty’ of Chinese architecture into consideration, Murphy's plan was widely praised as a successful and significant attempt to adapt traditional Chinese architectural culture to modern life.3 It is also noteworthy that since its completion, the campus has always enjoyed fame, especially for its picturesque landscaping. In this respect, the campus is also known as ‘Yan Yuan’ (Yan Garden, literally the garden of Yenching University) even today when the ownership of it has changed.4 ‘Yuan’, a name usually given to Chinese gardens, relates the campus to the auspicious history of its site and to traditional Chinese garden culture.