A History of Chinese Architecture

From Booklist
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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Library Journal
Lavishly illustrated...Clearly translated and edited, the text will appeal to academics,...[and] visuals will be accessible to...general reader[s].


Book Description
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.


From the Publisher
The Culture & Civilization of China series is a joint publishing venture of Yale University Press and the China International Publishing Group in Beijing


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.


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Yale University has cooperated with scholars in China to produce this volume, one of a series titled "Culture and Civilization of China" that appears in both English and Chinese. The English-language version has been expanded to provide a more general background for readers who are not familiar with Chinese architectural history. Lavishly illustrated with color photographs and line drawings, the well-printed book proceeds step by step through 4000 years of Chinese architecture, with an emphasis on temples, palaces, and grand public works rather than dwellings. Clearly translated and edited, the text will appeal to academics, while the visuals will be accessible to the general reader. A helpful bibliography provides a starting point for academic research in Chinese sources. Recommended for academic libraries.-David McClelland, Philadelphia


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