Chinese Architecture - Hardcover

Fu Xinian; Guo Daiheng; Liu Xujie; Pan Guxi; Qiao Yun; Sun Dazhang; Nancy S. Steinhardt

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300095597 ISBN 13: 9780300095593

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2002

Synopsis

This lavishly illustrated book is a comprehensive and authoritative study of Chinese architecture from Neolithic times through the late nineteenth century. Six of China's greatest architectural historians have joined with a leading Western scholar to write this book, the first in-depth, collaborative history of Chinese architecture in more than fifty years.

Drawing on recent discoveries and current scholarly work inside China, this handsome volume recounts the story of China's architectural achievements, the forms they took, and the historical, political, cultural, and social factors that shaped them. Each chapter includes sections on cities, palatial architecture, religious architecture, tombs, and gardens as well as discussions of bridges, walls, fortifications, academies, and architectural writings.

Amply enhanced with color plates and line drawings-many of which are reproduced here for the first time-explanatory maps and charts, and an index that includes Chinese terms, the book will be an invaluable and accessible resource for both scholars of China and visitors to China alike.

About this title

About the Author

Nancy S. Steinhardt is a professor in the department of Asian and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Pennsylvania and curator of Chinese art at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Fu Xinian is professor of architecture at the Institute of Architectural History and the China Building Technology Development Center.

Reviews

This 10-year project, the third in a planned 75-volume tour of Chinese culture, is a formidable survey of 7,000 years of China's architectural heritage. Six Chinese scholars contribute learned perspectives on how the historic cycles of empire and culture, as well as regional, ethnic, religious, and natural diversity, helped to shape the built environment before the twentieth century. Timber framing, innovative joinery, upturned rooflines, bold color, and ornament are among the legacies of Chinese builders. And, yes, fengshui has historical roots, especially in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), when virtually no house or city was structured without careful consideration of the siting and potential for qi, or positive energy. Along with such well-known icons as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, this volume offers the fascination of many rarely seen structures: elegant pagodas, elaborate gardens, and such surprising sights as the strikingly rococo array of relief sculptures in a Buddhist cave at Yungang. Though rather bloodless for casual readers and mostly uninterested in modern trends, this is a fine foundation for understanding Chinese building traditions and achievements. Steve Paul
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Edition details

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300095597
• ISBN 13: 9780300095593
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384