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"Architecture China."
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Ultra-Modernism
The first half of the twentieth century was fraught with global tensions and political machinations. However, for all the destruction in that period, these geopolitical conditions in Manchuria cultivated an extraordinary variety of architecture and urban planning, which has completely escaped international attention until now. With over forty carefully chosen images, Ultra-Modernism: Architecture and Modernity in Manchuria is the first book in English that illustrates Manchuria’s encounter with modernity through its built environment. Edward Denison and Guangyu Ren take readers through Russia’s early territorial claims, Japan’s construction of the South Manchuria Railway (SMR), and the establishment of Manchukuo in 1932. The book examines in detail the creation of modern cities along the SMR and focuses on three of the most important modern urban centres in Manchuria: the Russian-dominated city of Harbin, the port of Dalian, and the new capital of Manchukuo, Hsinking (Changchun). Like so much of the world outside ‘the West’ during the twentieth century, Manchuria’s encounter with modernity is merely a faint whisper drowned out by the deafening master narrative of Western-centric modernism. This book attempts to redress an imbalance in the modern history of China by studying the impact of Japan on architecture and planning beyond the depredations of the Sino-Japanese War.
eBook
Chinese architecture : a history
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.
Book
Chinese Spatial Strategies
Chinese Spatial Strategies presents a study of social spaces of the capital of Ming Qing China (1420-1911). Focusing on early Ming and early and middle Qing, it explores architectural, urban and geographical space of Beijing, in relation to issues of history, geopolitics, urban social structure, imperial rule and authority, symbolism, and aesthetic and existential experience. At once historical and theoretical, the work argues that there is a Chinese approach to spatial disposition which is strategic and holistic.
eBook
Chang'an Avenue and the Modernization of Chinese Architecture
In this interdisciplinary narrative, the never-ending \"completion\" of China's most important street offers a broad view of the relationship between art and ideology in modern China. Chang'an Avenue, named after China's ancient capital (whose name means \"Eternal Peace\"), is supremely symbolic. Running east-west through the centuries-old heart of Beijing, it intersects the powerful north-south axis that links the traditional centers of political and spiritual legitimacy (the imperial Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven). Among its best-known features are Tiananmen Square and the Great Hall of the People, as well as numerous other monuments and prominent political, cultural, financial, and travel-related institutions. Drawing on Chang'an Avenue's historic ties and modern transformations, this study explores the deep structure of the Chinese modernization project, providing both a big picture of Beijing's urban texture alteration and details in the design process of individual buildings.
Political winds shift, architectural styles change, and technological innovations influence waves of demolition and reconstruction in this analysis of Chang'an Avenue's metamorphosis. During collective design processes, architects, urban planners, and politicians argue about form, function, and theory, and about Chinese vs. Western and traditional vs. modern style. Every decision is fraught with political significance, from the 1950s debate over whether Tiananmen Square should be open or partially closed; to the 1970s discussion of the proper location, scale, and design of the Mao Memorial/Mausoleum; to the more recent controversy over whether the egg-shaped National Theater, designed by the French architect Paul Andreu, is an affront to Chinese national pride.
For more information: http://arthistorypi.org/books/chang-an
eBook
Beautiful villages : rural construction practice in contemporary China
'Beautiful Villages' gives a comprehensive review of rural construction practices in contemporary China through a number of projects, such as the intervention of artists and art exhibitions, industrialisation efforts, and the creation of new social landscapes. In order to explore the social and historical significance of recent architectural work in rural areas, the book presents around 40 projects, most of which are the works of some of the most influential architects in China. The perspective of 'Beautiful Villages' on rural development provides valuable insight for both government officials and architects alike.
Book
Constructing the Colonized Land
Despite the precipitous rise of East Asia as a center of architectural production since the Second World War, informed studies remain lacking. The lacuna is particularly conspicuous in terms of regional, cross-national studies, documenting the close ties and parallels between China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea during this period.
Examining colonized cities in East Asia, this book brings together a range of different perspectives across both space and time. European, Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean and Japanese discourses are examined, with a range of complementary and conflicting views on the design of urban and architectural forms; the political, institutional, religious and economical contexts of urban planning; the role played by various media; and the influence of various geographical, social and anthropological research methods.
The diversity and plurality of these perspectives in this book provides an entwined architectural, urban and social history of East Asia, which offers insights into the cultural systems and the historical and spatial meanings of these colonized cities. It concludes that the difficulties in the historical study of East Asia's colonial cities do not so much indicate cultural difference as the potentiality for multiple readings of the past toward the future.
eBook