Chinese architecture and metaphor : Song culture in the Yingzao fashi building manual

Author:

Feng, Jiren, 1963-

Format:

Online Resource

Language:

English

Imprint:

Honolulu : University of Hawaiʻi Press ; [Hong Kong] : Hong Kong University Press, ©2012 and ©2012

Subject:

Li, Jie, - 1035-1110. - Ying zao fa shi
Ying zao fa shi (Li, Jie)
Architecture, Chinese - Early works to 1800
Architecture - China - History - Song-Yuan dynasties, 960-1368
Architectural writing - China - History
ARCHITECTURE - Adaptive Reuse & Renovation
ARCHITECTURE - Buildings - Landmarks & Monuments
ARCHITECTURE - Professional Practice
ARCHITECTURE - Reference
ARCHITECTURE - History - General
Architectural writing
Architecture, Chinese
Architecture - Song-Yuan dynasties
China

ISBN:

9780824861162, 0824861167, 9789888139019, 9888139010, 9780824833633, and 0824833635

Series:

Spatial habitus (Series).

Description:

1 online resource

Bibliographic Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Contents:

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. The Historical Tradition of Writing on Architecture: From Antiquity to the Mid-Tenth Century -- 2. From the Mujing to the Yingzao Fashi: The Rise of Building Manuals and the Construction of Architectural Knowledge -- 3. The Yingzao Fashi: The Making of Widespread Legitimated Building Knowledge -- 4. The Yingzao Fashi Architectural Terminology (I) Bracketing Likened to Flowers, Branches, and Foliage: Architectural Metaphors and Conceptualization in Tenth to Twelfth Century China -- 5. The Yingzao Fashi Architectural Terminology (II): The Interplay of Literature, Arts, and Craftsmanship -- Conclusion -- Appendix 1. Previous Scholarship on the YZFS -- Appendix 2. Architectural Types Glossed in the Erya and in the Shiming -- Appendix 3. Structural Elements Glossed in the Erya and in the Shiming -- Appendix 4. Entries on Architecture in the Taiping Yulan -- Appendix 5. Quotations of Classical Texts for Gong in the Erya Shu, the YZFS, and the Taiping Yulan -- Appendix 6. Architectural Terms in the Terminology Section of the YZFS as Compared with the Taiping Yulan and the Yiwen Leiju -- Appendix 7. Classics and Historical Sources Cited in the YZFS -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author

Summary:

Investigating the historical tradition of Chinese architectural writing from antiquity to the twelfth century, Chinese Architecture and Metaphor reveals significant and fascinating social and cultural phenomena in the most important primary text for the study of the Chinese building tradition. Unlike previous scholarship, which has reviewed this imperially commissioned architectural manual largely as a technical work, this volume considers the Yingzao fashi's unique literary value and explores the rich cultural implications in and behind its technical content. Utilizing a philological approach, the author pays particular attention to the traditional and contemporary architectural terminology presented in the Yingzao fashi. In examining the semantic meaning of the architectural terms used in the manual, he uncovers a systematic architectural metaphor wherein bracketing elements are likened to flowers, flowering branches, and foliage: Thus pillars with bracketing above are compared to blossoming trees. More importantly, this intriguing imagery was shared by different social groups, in particular craftsmen and literati, and craftsmen themselves employed literary knowledge in naming architectural elements. Relating these phenomena to the unprecedented flourishing of literature, the literati's greater admiration of technical knowledge, and the higher intellectual capacity of craftsmen during the Song, Architecture and Metaphor demonstrates how the learned and "unlearned" cultures entangled in the construction of architectural knowledge in premodern China. It convincingly shows that technical language served as a faithful carrier of contemporary popular culture and aesthetic concepts. Chinese Architecture and Metaphor demonstrates a high level of engagement with a broad spectrum of sophisticated Chinese sources. It will become a classic work for all students and scholars of East Asian architecture

Call Number:

NA2540 .F38 2012