Chinese Architecture : A History / Nancy Steinhardt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Steinhardt, Nancy, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Architecture--China--History.

Architecture.

China.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

An unprecedented survey of the origins and evolution of Chinese architecture, from the last millennia BCE to todayThroughout 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.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Chinese Dynasties

Map of China

Introduction: Beyond the Forbidden City

Chapter 1: Genesis of Chinese Buildings and Cities

Chapter 2: Architecture of the First Emperor and His Predecessors

Chapter 3: Han Architecture

Chapter 4: An Age of Turmoil: Three Kingdoms

Chapter 5: Northern Dynasties

Chapter 6: Sui and Tang: Architecture for Empires

Chapter 7: Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 8: Grandeur and Magnificence under Liao and Western Xia

Chapter 9: The Chinese Building Standards

Chapter 10: Song Elegance and Jin Opulence

Chapter 11: The Chinese City between Tang and Ming

Chapter 12: The Mongol Century

Chapter 13: The Chinese Imperial City and Its Architecture, Ming and Qing

Chapter 14: Late Imperial Architecture in Chinese Style

Chapter 15: Convergences: Lamaist, Dai, Islamic

Chapter 16: Garden and House

Chapter 17: China Comes to Europe, Europe Comes to China, Chinese Students Come to the United States

Conclusion: Resolving the Forbidden City The Counteraxis

Notes

Glossary

Selected Bibliography

Image Credits

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 06. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9781803162225

1803162228

9780691191973

0691191972

OCLC:

1089804685