The Functional and Managerial Network of the Imperial Parks (Yuyuan) in the Southern Song Capital Lin’an (Hangzhou)

Abstract

As Hangzhou became the capital of the Southern Song Empire, new villas and palaces with parks were built for the imperial family in the city and on the shores of the West Lake. Emperors bestowed the parks and villas on important politicians, some related to the imperial family or to the empresses’ families. When politicians were downgraded or died, the emperors confiscated the parks and retransferred them to members of the imperial family. Apart from this political function, parks were assigned to specific uses, be it recreation and amusement or ceremonial purposes. Some parks came to be neglected or rededicated as nurseries to provide other parks with plants or timber. Yet most were famous not only for their horticultural accessories but also for their rock arrangements and artificial lakes, which imitated in miniature the West Lake scenery, requiring adequate management of their water supply system.