Chinese architecture. Laurence G. Liu. Academy Editions. 1989. 30 cm. A color. Muy buen estado!!!

Chinese architecture

Autor: Laurence G. Liu

Academy Editions

1989

297 pág.

30 x 30 cm.

Tapa dura

Sobrecubierta

Papel de excelente calidad

Muy buen estado!!

Illustrations, text, and architectural plans contribute to a summation of the architectural wonders in China

From cave temples bedecked with intricate carvings and giant Buddhas, to Han wood-frame houses whose courtyard centers embody Confucian ethical principles, this magnificent volume gauges the breadth and depth of Chinese architecture over the past 2000 years. Liu, a Chinese professor of architecture, took the remarkable color photographs that accompany his absorbing text. He spotlights tracery windows, polychrome statues, pagodas, private and imperial gardens, Taoist frescoes, glittering Islamic mosques--a proliferation of forms and structures often overlooked by other scholars. Classical Chinese architecture has its own unit of spatial organization (the jian ) and its own symbolic vocabulary that expresses the harmony of humans with nature and the cosmos. Liu lucidly deciphers this vocabulary, whether he is discussing city planning, a Beijing gateway or the Potala Palace in Tibet.

This book, virtually the first complete study in English on the topic, is breathtaking both in physical beauty and in concept. Liu (Southeast Univ., People's Republic of China) discusses the architecture of China from its earliest prehistoric beginnings through the end of the 19th century, his major purpose being to explain the meaning and symbolism of Chinese architecture rather than just its physical characteristics. This meaning is expressed through the harmony of architecture with its environment and the use of specific plans and decorations to convey function. He also discusses the importance of Confucianism and other philosophical concepts to architecture and its assimilation of foreign influences. Keeping all this in mind, Liu deals with city planning, religious buildings, houses, ceremonial buildings, and gardens, all in excellent, clear prose that is extensively illustrated with over 300 color photographs, diagrams, line drawings, plans, and elevations.