via: wikipedia & various sources (cf. Borrowed_scenery)

Shakkei (借景 C:jie jing, J:shakkei) was originally codified in the oldest extant Japanese garden manual, the Sakuteiki (作庭記, Sakuteiki “Records of Garden Making”). This text, which is attributed to Tachibana Toshitsuna (橘俊綱, 1028-1094 CE), a son of the Byodoin's designer Fujiwara no Yorimichi (藤原頼通, 990-1074 CE), records the Heian period’s attention to a concept called “mono no aware” (物の哀れ) “the pathos of things”.

These four principle tenets guiding Japanese garden organization are,

• shotoku no sansui (生得の山水, shotoku no sansui “natural mountain river”) intending to create in the likeness of nature
• kōhan no shitagau (湖畔に従う, kōhan no shitagau “follow the lakeshore”) planning in accordance with the site topography
• suchigaete (数値違えて, suchigaete “irregular numerical value”) designing with asymmetrical elements　
• fuzei (風情, fuzei “feeling of wind”) capturing and presenting the ambience

Best known (still existing) shakkei gardens in Japan:

Kyoto:

• Entsuuji 円通寺 and Mt. Hiei 比叡
• Murin'an 無隣庵 and Higashiyama 東山

Nara:

• Jikouin 慈光院 and the Tomio 富雄 River
• Isuien 依水園 and the Great South Gate, Nandaimon,南大門 at Todaiji 東大寺

Kanagawa prefecture:

• Koki'an 古稀庵 and Sagami 相模 Bay

The Chinese counterpart of shakkei (借景) is jiejing (借景) “borrow/lend scenery”. According to the 1635 CE Chinese garden manual Yuanye (園冶), there are four categories of “borrowing”,

• yuanjie (遠借 “distant borrowing”, e.g., mountains, lakes)
• linjie (隣借 “adjacent borrowing”, neighboring buildings and features)
• yangjie (仰借 “upward borrowing”, clouds, stars)
• fujie (俯借 “downward borrowing”, rocks, ponds); respectively Japanese enshaku, rinshaku, gyōshaku, and fushaku.

Penjing (Chinese: 盆景; pinyin: pén jǐng; literally “tray scenery”> Penjing

Four guiding concepts:

• gugao – aloofness
• jianjie – sparseness
• ya – elegance
• pingdan - plainness

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