本論文以描述「空庭」的審美意境作為切入點，進而延伸探討在中日庭園藝術中所聚焦的禪宗精神，特別像是「空無」、「空寂」、「幽玄」等概念。並結合了精神分析學的學理，討論在審美心理中時常被提到的「主客體融合」、「物我合一」等意識狀態，以及它們如何被東西方的不同觀點陳述。特別是關於如何映現心靈「真實」的意識狀態與時間感受。
此外，在透過梳理繪畫藝術中，有形與無形之間的生成關係，藉以對照出筆者以庭園作為創作主題的精神性象徵。同時，並根據創作手法之延義、心理學圖像挪用…等，以作為作品論述的相關內容。
本論文架構分成六個章節。第一章為緒論，首先說明本文撰寫緣由，以及研究題材的選擇動機與目的、研究範圍限制和文獻資料。
第二章以東方意境的審美觀切入，探討空庭意境的意涵、意境與禪的關係、意境的抽象性概念、禪與庭園藝術的發展。再來介紹空庭意境的社會性象徵，「幽玄」思想與庭園意境之關係。
第三章以精神分析學的角度，透過佛洛依德的「心智模型」概念了解無意識的結構之後，再延伸討論榮格的「原型情境」、「集體無意識」、「共時性」等概念，最後總結出中日庭園中的常見的原型象徵。
第四章則針對個人的創作形式及內容理念，分成創作思想圖式和創作媒材技法兩個部分作為探討。並將筆者作品裡空庭意象及精神分析學的符號挪用、媒材延義等概念提出說明。
第五章則是將博士班階段所完成的創作，分別進行作品系列分析。並分成「共同的旅程」、「沿途的風景」、「意識的投影」、「凝想瞬間」等，共四個系列。
最後一章結論，則將以上主題總結，並結合博士班時期的創作研究心得，希望透過本論文的書寫後，得以梳理自身在東西方不同論述的影響下，對心靈意識、主客合一的創作探索。

Based on the aesthetic imagery of the “empty courtyard,” this paper explores the Zen philosophies that are prominent in Chinese and Japanese garden art, especially those concepts such as “void,” “silence,” and “mysterious profundity.” By combining the concepts with psychoanalysis, this paper focuses on states of the consciousnesses, including “integration between subject and object” and “oneness between the object and the self,” which are often mentioned in aesthetic psychology, and the ways those concepts are approached differently between the East and the West. In addition, the paper puts a particular emphasis on how the concepts reflect the consciousness of “reality” and the perception of time.
This paper also reflect on such Eastern concepts, as “the complementary nature between reality and illusion,” “negative space,” and “imagery beyond imageries.” The analysis combs through the relationships and principles between the tangible and intangible throughout the art of painting to feature spiritual symbols of gardens as a creative subject matter. In addition, discussions will also extend to the creative methods and the appropriations of psychological images as discourses on the works.
This paper is structured with six chapters. The first chapter is the introduction, which will give an overall account of the motivation, research topic, and goal of writing this paper, as well as the limitations of the research and literature. The second chapter adopts the aesthetic perspective of eastern imageries and explores the meaning of the empty courtyard, the connection between imagery and Zen, the abstract concept of imagery, and the development of Zen and garden art. The discourse is followed by the social symbolism of the empty courtyard and the connection between “mysterious profundity” and the courtyard imagery. The third chapter approaches the topic through psychoanalysis. The study first interprets the structure of the unconscious through Freud’s “models of the mind” and then extends the discussion to include Carl Jung’s idea of the “situational archetypes,” “collective unconsciousness,” and “synchronicity,” finally concluding with archetypes that frequently appear in Chinese and Japanese gardens. The fourth chapter focuses on my work and artistic concepts through my creative thought pattern, artistic medium, and techniques. This chapter also explains concepts such as the appropriation of symbols from the image of the empty courtyard and psychoanalysis, and the extended meaning of mediums in my works. The fifth chapter elaborates on works that were completed during my doctorate studies and the analysis of the works. The chapter is separated into four series: “shared journey,” “scenes along the way,” “projections of the consciousness,” and “moment of thought.” The final chapter concludes the topic and research I conducted during my doctorate studies. I hope this paper will be able to elaborate on my creative explorations under the varying influences of eastern and western contexts, inspections of the mind and soul, and the creative integration between subject and object.