ABSTRACT
The grove is both a strange and a familiar concept in China. The grove on the other hand is a familiar concept, especially in gardens. There are several terms meaning 'garden' in ancient Chinese, some of which include lin, such as yuan lin, lin quan, and lin ting. Looking at English writing about Chinese gardens and landscapes, one finds that 'grove' is a familiar term. This chapter looks at lin both in and out of gardens. Various lin have been selected from the rich sources in ancient Chinese literature and are grouped into seven sections, based on their type and location. It discusses lin in un-walled landscapes, roughly arranged in chronological order but with some overlapping of time period. The chapter talks about lin in relation to Buddhism, both in and outside the walled landscape and discusses lin in gardens.
