Description
Book SynopsisXing Ruan is Dean and Guangqi Chair Professor of Architecture at the School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China.
Trade Review[
Confucius’ Courtyard] is a delightful reflection on and exposition of the significance of the courtyard to the Chinese conceptualization of the cosmos and way of life … Ruan elegantly weaves together literary, philosophical, artistic and architectural musings. The book is both learned and readable. * Times Literary Supplement *
What can I say? This is a truly magnificent work of scholarship for the understanding of China, one that I have been waiting for – China as a civilization at the centre of which is the courtyard: an architectural feature that embodies the doctrine of the mean set in a material world, compact enough to be readily accessible to reason and lived with due deference to the social rites and rules under Heaven’s benign patronage, a world that modern society has vigorously transgressed in recent decades, leading us to wonder, what follows? Unlike many scholarly books Xing Ruan’s comes to life, almost jumps off the page, because it draws not only on traditional sources in history and philosophy, but also on charming narratives of how the Chinese people actually lived. It is a book for the scholar’s study and for the hammock by the seashore. It is a triumph that I envy! * Yi-Fu Tuan, J.K. Wright and Vilas Professor Emeritus of Geography, University of Wisconsin *
An enchanting story paradoxically woven round a void – the courtyard – it offers a fresh account of the transformations of the Chinese city. * Joseph Rykwert, Paul Philippe Cret Professor Emeritus of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania *
Xing Ruan grasps a fundamental architectural element as an insightful window for understanding broader issues of society and history. Ruan’s elegant prose soars as he weaves nuanced observations, classical Chinese writings, and buildings throughout the world into a cohesive narrative. * Ronald G. Knapp, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus, State University of New York New Paltz *
This humane and intelligent study compares courtyard buildings of widely different ages and geographies. Deep insight into architectural world-building is the result. Apparently empty, the courtyard is full of potential, actualized historically in ways that still make sense, even today. * David Leatherbarrow, Professor of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania *
Table of ContentsPrologue Part One: Heaven A Panacea from the Courtyard 1. What Makes the Chinese House I. The Conceptual
Parti II. Confucius’ Courtyard III. From Object to Void 2. Heaven and What is Below I. The Chinese
Tian II. The King’s City III. The Built World and the Literary World
Part Two: Heaven and Earth Equilibrium in the Courtyard 3. The Divergent Tower I. The Emergence of the Individual and Metaphysics II. Immortality and Freedom Imagined 4. Secluded World and Floating Life I. The Middling Hermit II. The Artful Transition 5. A Deceiving Symbol I. The Travelling Merchant and the Oddity of their Courtyard II. Women in Chinese Marriage and Household III. Behind Good Taste and Refinement 6. Literary Enchantment and the Garden House I. Li Yü’s World II. Internalized Garden and the “Horizon” beyond III. Courtyard and Decorum 7. The Golden Mean Finely Tuned I. The Anatomy of a Beijing Quadrangle II. Life and Ambience in the Hutong III. The City as a Large Quadrangle IV. Distinctive Character versus Uniformity 8. Living like the Chinese I. The “Guest” Chinese and their Chinese Courtyards II. Chinese Form and Exotic Meaning
Part Three: Earth The Emancipation of Desire and the Loss of Courtyard 9. The Irresistible Metropolis I. Modern City Born of Refugee Crisis II. From Diminishing Courtyard to Porous House 10. The Assault of Modernity I. Quadrangle without the Confucian World II. The Lingering Courtyard III. Nothingness, Horizon and Discreet Pleasure
Epilogue The Four or the Five Bibliography Index
