Abstract:

The relationship novels, flourishing in the middle of Ming dynasty, have a distinctive element in common: private garden as space for interactions among figures, which thus produces unique aesthetic charm and artistic effect, and gradually evolves into a kind of narrative expression. Garden and novel are
two types of art: space and time, whereas the merger of two forms a more primitive but aesthetic contrast: the “reality” of relationship vs. the “fantasy” of garden, the “mundanity” of relationship vs. the “elegance”of garden, and the “ethics” of relationship vs. the “lust” of garden.

Key words: Garden, Relationship fiction, Aesthetic implication