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Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Ting or Chinese pavilion

榭), “square pavilion” for fangting (方亭), “pointed-roofed
pavilion” for doujian tingxie (斗尖亭榭), and “bridge
with one or more pavilions” for tingqiao (亭桥) (Fu, 2017,
p. 368, 354, 378, 368).
Synthesizing these examples, “pavilion” is clearly the
most widely employed translation of ting today. However,
this translation is not without its issues. One significant
problem lies in the existing connotations of “pavilions” as
a distinct architectural form within European architecture
and gardening. According to the Oxford English Dictionary,
the primary definition of “pavilion” is “[a] tent or tent-like
building,” commonly “[a] large, stately, or ornamental
tent, usually rising to a central point rather than a ridge”
(Oxford English Dictionary, 2023, https://www.oed.com/
dictionary/pavilion_n?tl=true). This definition introduces Figure 11. Guanyinge (观音阁), Dulesi, Jizhou district, Tianjin, China.
an inaccurate connotation of a soft, temporary, pointed Built in 984. Source: Photo by the authors (2024)
structure, in contrast to the permanent, meticulously
designed architectural nature of ting in Chinese gardens.
Furthermore, in Harry Inigo Triggs’s 1913 book Garden (Keswick & Jencks, 1978, p. 216). Similarly, in Paolillo’s
Craft in Europe, “pavilion” is synonymous with structures 2003 article about Yuanye, “gazebo” is used to translate xie,
such as summer houses, arbors, banqueting houses, garden differentiating it from ting (Paolillo, 2003, p. 229). Adding
houses, and gazebos (Triggs, 1913, pp. 329-331). Although further to the conflation, the term “kiosk” is also used to
this interchangeability underscores the flexibility of the translate xie (Van Hecken & Grootaers, 1959, p. 374). Even
term in European contexts, it can lead to further misleading in Alison Hardie’s 1988 translation of Yuanye, English
connotations of a multi-story inhabitable building when terminology is often interchangeable. For instance, in the
used as a translation for ting. entry on tingxie in chapter two, which discusses the layout
of a garden, it states:
The second problem with the term “pavilion” is its
use in English literature to translate another type of “5. Pavilion [ting xie]
building known as ge. Structurally, however, ge is distinct A shady gazebo among the flowers, a quiet
from ting. Although ge can be found in gardens, it is also pavilion on the edge of the water—these are
commonly built within Buddhist temples, where it serves the quintessence of garden design…There is no
as a space for housing Buddhist statues or storing sutras. set formula for pavilions nor any rule for their
A representative example is the Guanyin ge at Dule Temple layout.” (Ji, 1988, p. 61)
(独乐寺), a Liao-dynasty (916 – 1125) multi-storied
building enclosed by walls on all sides (Figure 11). In Nancy In her translation, “pavilion” is used to refer to both ting
Steinhardt’s Chinese Architecture: A History, Guanyin ge is and tingxie, while “gazebo” is employed interchangeably
translated as “Guanyin Pavilion” (Steinhardt, 2019, p. 139). with “pavilion.” This flexibility undermines Hardie’s
Moreover, “pavilion” is the designated English term for ge efforts to assign distinct single-world translations to each
in the glossary, while ting is entirely omitted as an entry architectural type, as outlined in chapter five. The near
(Steinhardt, 2019, p. 384). cross-referencing of “pavilion,” “kiosk,” and “gazebo” in
translating ting, xie, and other similar architectural types
This inconsistency in the use of translations in Western illustrates how these terms are conflated, even in Chinese
literature contributes to inaccurate conceptualizations of texts.
Chinese architectural types in transcultural scholarship.
Rather than consistently assigning one English term to 8. Toward a thick translation:
a specific Chinese architectural term, these translations Contextualization and visualization
are often used interchangeably throughout individual through translation
works. A prominent example is Maggie Keswick’s 1978
The Chinese Garden: History, Art & Architecture, which Research into the history of traditional Chinese architecture
groups all instances of ting, xie, and tai under the index requires a competent understanding of and proficiency in
entry “pavilions, gazebos, etc.,” obscuring the distinctions translating complex texts from the source language. From
between these architectural types in their original contexts its origins and development to its cultural agency in the

Volume 7 Issue 2 (2025) 10 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.4107