penetrate walls and pass through obstacles

This is an "anatomy book of ancient Chinese architecture" created for all those fascinated by ancient buildings. Since the 1980s, architectural scholar Li Qianlang has followed in Liang Sicheng's footsteps, visiting and investigating ancient buildings across China. With an X-ray-like penetrating gaze, he meticulously dissects each building through incredibly skillful hand-drawn illustrations, revealing the most exquisite parts of each structure.
This book compiles the author's research essence of over 30 years, using "190 architectural dissection diagrams + over 900 real-scene photos" to focus on interpreting 72 famous buildings, covering typical styles from the Tang Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. This includes China's oldest existing pagoda – the Songyue Temple Pagoda of the Northern Wei Dynasty; the earliest existing wooden structures – the Main Hall of Nanchan Temple and Foguang Temple in Mount Wutai, Shanxi; the Wanfo Hall of Zhenguo Temple in Pingyao from the Five Dynasties period; the oldest existing wooden Buddhist hall south of the Yangtze River – the Main Hall of Hualin Temple in Fuzhou; the "Five-Flower Grand Hall" of the Northern Song Dynasty – the Moni Hall of Longxing Temple; and four of the "Eight Great Liao Structures" – the Wooden Pagoda of Yingxian, the Guanyin Pavilion and Gate of Dule Temple in Jizhou, and the Bojia Sutra Library Hall of Huayan Temple in Datong. It spans from Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, Fujian, to Ta'er Monastery in Qinghai, from Jinci Temple to the Sugong Pagoda, from Jiayuguan Pass to the Temple of Confucius, from Pingyao Ancient City to Lugou Bridge... covering 17 types of architecture: Buddhist temples, pagodas, grottoes, Lamaist temples, Taoist temples, palaces, city walls, tombs, residential buildings, gardens, bridges, and so on.
Following some classic case studies, there are also "Extended Cases" and "Extended Topics" columns. The former provides extended interpretations of 34 architectural examples, while the latter, with concise text, detailed hand-drawn line diagrams, and numerous photographs, summarizes the essential knowledge for appreciating ancient Chinese architecture.
Through in-depth analysis of the historical background, planning layout, and beam-frame structure, Dougong layout, decorative painting, etc., you can not only experience the astonishing spatial beauty of ancient architecture but also master the basic language for reading architecture, and hear the echoes of history from these ancient structures.

2024-12-01

北京日报出版社

Ideal Country

544

9787547747797