Confucius' courtyard : architecture, philosophy and the good life in China / Xing Ruan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ruan, Xing, 1965- author.

Series:

Bloomsbury visual arts.

Bloomsbury Visual Arts

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Architecture and society--China.

Architecture and society.

Courtyard houses--China.

Courtyard houses.

China--Civilization--Philosophy.

China.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (369 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.

London ; New York : Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2022.

Summary:

"For almost three thousand years, Chinese life - from the city and the imperial palace, to the temple, the market, and the family home - was configured around the courtyard, as were the accomplishments of China's artistic, philosophical, and institutional elites. Confucius' Courtyard tells the story of how this most singular and persistent architectural form holds the key to understanding, even today, much of Chinese society and culture. Part architectural history, and part introduction to the cultural and philosophical history of China, the book explores the Chinese view of the world, and reveals the extent to which this is inextricably intertwined with the ancient concept of the courtyard, an architectural element and a way of life which has been almost entirely overlooked in China since 1949, and in the West for centuries. Along the way, it provides an accessible introduction to the Confucian doctrine of zhongyong ('the Middle Way'), and the Chinese principles of the virtuous good life, and shows how these can only be fully understood through the humble courtyard - a space which is grounded in the earth, yet open to the heavens. Erudite and poetic, Confucius' Courtyard weaves together architecture, philosophy, and cultural history to explore what lies at the very heart of Chinese civilization"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Prologue

Part One: Heaven A Panacea from the Courtyard

1. What Makes the Chinese House I. The Conceptual Parti II. Confucius' Courtyard III. From Object to Void

2. Heaven and What is Below

I. The Chinese Tian

II. The King's City III. The Built World and the Literary World

Part Two: Heaven and Earth

Equilibrium in the Courtyard

3. The Divergent Tower I. The Emergence of the Individual and Metaphysics II. Immortality and Freedom Imagined

4. Secluded World and Floating Life I. The Middling Hermit

II. The Artful Transition

5. A Deceiving Symbol I. The Travelling Merchant and the Oddity of their Courtyard II. Women in Chinese Marriage and Household III. Behind Good Taste and Refinement

6. Literary Enchantment and the Garden House

I. Li Yü's World

II. Internalized Garden and the ?Horizon? beyond III. Courtyard and Decorum

7. The Golden Mean Finely Tuned I. The Anatomy of a Beijing Quadrangle

II. Life and Ambience in the Hutong III. The City as a Large Quadrangle IV. Distinctive Character versus Uniformity

8. Living like the Chinese I. The ?Guest? Chinese and their Chinese Courtyards II. Chinese Form and Exotic Meaning

Part Three: Earth

The Emancipation of Desire and the Loss of Courtyard

9. The Irresistible Metropolis I. Modern City Born of Refugee Crisis II. From Diminishing Courtyard to Porous House

10. The Assault of Modernity I. Quadrangle without the Confucian World

II. The Lingering Courtyard III. Nothingness, Horizon and Discreet Pleasure

Epilogue

The Four or the Five

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on October 30, 2021).

ISBN:

9781350217652

1350217654

9781350217638

1350217638

OCLC:

1273977985