
Chinese Architecture
A History
Nancy Steinhardt(Author)
Princeton University Press
Published on 14. May 2019
Book
Hardback
400 pages
978-0-691-16998-9 (ISBN)
Description
An unprecedented survey of the origins and evolution of Chinese architecture, from the last millennia BCE to today
Throughout history, China has maintained one of the world's richest built civilizations. The nation's architectural achievements range from its earliest walled cities and the First Emperor's vision of city and empire, to bridges, pagodas, and the twentieth-century constructions of the Socialist state. In this beautifully illustrated book, Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt presents the first fully comprehensive survey of Chinese architecture in any language. With rich political and historical context, Steinhardt covers forty centuries of architecture, from the genesis of Chinese building through to the twenty-first century and the challenges of urban expansion and globalism.
Steinhardt follows the extraordinary breadth of China's architectural legacy-including excavation sites, gardens, guild halls, and relief sculpture-and considers the influence of Chinese architecture on Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Tibet. Architectural examples from Chinese ethnic populations and various religions are examined, such as monasteries, mosques, observatories, and tombs. Steinhardt also shows that Chinese architecture is united by a standardized system of construction, applicable whether buildings are temples, imperial palaces, or shrines. Every architectural type is based on the models that came before it, and principles established centuries earlier dictate building practices. China's unique system has allowed its built environment to stand as a profound symbol of Chinese culture.
With unprecedented breadth united by a continuous chronological narrative, Chinese Architecture offers the best scholarship available on this remarkable subject for scholars, students, and general readers.
Throughout history, China has maintained one of the world's richest built civilizations. The nation's architectural achievements range from its earliest walled cities and the First Emperor's vision of city and empire, to bridges, pagodas, and the twentieth-century constructions of the Socialist state. In this beautifully illustrated book, Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt presents the first fully comprehensive survey of Chinese architecture in any language. With rich political and historical context, Steinhardt covers forty centuries of architecture, from the genesis of Chinese building through to the twenty-first century and the challenges of urban expansion and globalism.
Steinhardt follows the extraordinary breadth of China's architectural legacy-including excavation sites, gardens, guild halls, and relief sculpture-and considers the influence of Chinese architecture on Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Tibet. Architectural examples from Chinese ethnic populations and various religions are examined, such as monasteries, mosques, observatories, and tombs. Steinhardt also shows that Chinese architecture is united by a standardized system of construction, applicable whether buildings are temples, imperial palaces, or shrines. Every architectural type is based on the models that came before it, and principles established centuries earlier dictate building practices. China's unique system has allowed its built environment to stand as a profound symbol of Chinese culture.
With unprecedented breadth united by a continuous chronological narrative, Chinese Architecture offers the best scholarship available on this remarkable subject for scholars, students, and general readers.
Reviews / Votes
"Winner of the Alice Davis Hitchcock Book Award, Society of Architectural Historians"More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
253 color + 110 b/w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 299 mm
Width: 228 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
1995 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-16998-9 (9780691169989)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2019
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
from
€106.95
Available for download
Person
Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt is professor of East Asian art and curator of Chinese art at the University of Pennsylvania. She has written, edited, or translated ten books, including China's Early Mosques and Traditional Chinese Architecture: Twelve Essays (Princeton).