• A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture (English Edition): The 1984 Classic, with 220 Hand-Drawn Diagrams
  • A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture (English Edition): The 1984 Classic, with 220 Hand-Drawn Diagrams
  • A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture (English Edition): The 1984 Classic, with 220 Hand-Drawn Diagrams
  • A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture (English Edition): The 1984 Classic, with 220 Hand-Drawn Diagrams
  • A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture (English Edition): The 1984 Classic, with 220 Hand-Drawn Diagrams
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A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture (English Edition): The 1984 Classic, with 220 Hand-Drawn Diagrams

A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture (English Edition): The 1984 Classic, with 220 Hand-Drawn Diagrams

Liang Sicheng‘s Groundbreaking Book, Written for Western Readers and Edited by Wilma Fairbank — The 1984 MIT Press Edition That Changed How the World Saw Chinese Architecture
This is not a modern academic textbook, and it is not a travel guide. It is a book that was written, from the start, for people outside China who wanted to understand Chinese buildings but did not have the vocabulary or background to read a Chinese architectural history. Liang Sicheng drew the diagrams himself—over 220 of them—using a style that combines Western drafting precision with the linework of Chinese brush painting. You do not need to know what a dougong is before you open it. You look at the drawings, follow the short explanations, and begin to see how Chinese timber-frame buildings actually work, from the earliest caves to the Ming and Qing dynasties. If you want the classic visual introduction that assumes no prior knowledge—rather than a dense scholarly study or a picture book with no substance—this is it.
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Detail

Discover the Genius of Chinese Architecture Through the Eyes of a Master

In the 1930s and 1940s, Liang Sicheng — widely regarded as the founding father of modern Chinese architectural history — and his colleagues at the Society for the Study of Chinese Architecture undertook a remarkable journey. They surveyed thousands of ancient buildings across more than 200 cities and counties, conducting a rescue mission to document China’s architectural heritage before it was lost to time-1-4.

Using only the most basic drafting tools under extremely difficult conditions, Liang produced architectural drawings of extraordinary precision and beauty. Based on this monumental research, he wrote A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture in English, specifically for Western readers. The result is a clear, accessible introduction to the structural system of ancient Chinese architecture and the evolution of its building types-1-13.

What makes this book special:

  • Authoritative Scholarship: Written by Liang Sicheng, a legendary figure in Chinese architecture who also helped design the National Emblem and the Monument to the People‘s Heroes-1-4.

  • Visual Documentation: Features a wealth of rare photographs and meticulously drawn plates that reveal the inner logic and aesthetic brilliance of Chinese timber-frame construction-1.

  • A Work of Cultural Preservation: This English edition, published by China Intercontinental Press in 2024, makes Liang’s pioneering research accessible to a global audience

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