From the Astor Court to Liu Fang Yuan: Exhibiting ‘Chinese-ness’ in America

Diasporic Chinese gardens are both aesthetic spaces showcasing Chinese artistic and cultural expressions and social spaces reflecting the social, economic and institutional circumstances of different historical eras. This article examines two Chinese gardens in the United States – the Astor Court at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1981) and Liu Fang Yuan (‘Garden of Flowing Fragrance’) in the Huntington Library, California (2008). By looking into the construction, exhibition and interpretation of these two garden spaces, this examination will explore the sociocultural politics behind three decades of exhibiting ‘Chinese-ness’ in America and how it is contextual and continuously changing.