Foreign Ancient Architecture: Twenty Lectures - Illustrated Treasure Edition

Author: Chen Zhihua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: This book is divided into two parts. The first part primarily covers Europe, while the second part focuses on Asia, with ancient Egypt in Africa included. Europe entered the Christian world after the late period of the Roman Empire, whereas Asia is the realm of Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Different civilizations across regions gave rise to distinct religions, and these differences further reinforced the distinctions between civilizations. In the regional and ethnic characteristics of architecture, religion plays a significant role. In many cases, religious architecture often represents the highest achievements of a nation's technology and art. Therefore, these two parts can almost be distinguished by different religious architectures. This book is presented in the form of lectures, primarily following the chronological order of history, introducing foreign architecture before the beginning of the 19th-century Modern Architecture Movement. The entire book consists of 20 lectures, divided into two parts. It is not a complete history of architecture but rather selects key points to discuss, offering a unique perspective that reveals the sociocultural background reflected in architecture through historical continuity.
Author Bio: Chen Zhihua was born in 1929, graduated from the Department of Architecture at Tsinghua University in 1952, and joined the faculty. He retired in 1994. His main works include A History of Foreign Architecture, Foreign Landscape Architecture, Notes on Ancient Italian Architecture, and International Documents on the Protection of Cultural Heritage and Historical Sites. He co-translated A Selection of Western Art Aesthetics: The Architecture Volume and compiled the collection North Window Collection. Since 1989, he has been engaged in the investigation and research of Chinese vernacular architecture. To date, he has published four books: Vernacular Architecture Along the Middle Course of Nanxi River, Vernacular Architecture in Zhuge Village, Vernacular Architecture in Xinye Village, and Vernacular Architecture in Wuyuan.
This book is divided into two parts. The first part primarily covers Europe, while the second part focuses on Asia, with ancient Egypt in Africa included. Europe entered the Christian world after the late period of the Roman Empire, whereas Asia is the realm of Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Different civilizations across regions gave rise to distinct religions, and these differences further reinforced the distinctions between civilizations. In the regional and ethnic characteristics of architecture, religion plays a significant role. In many cases, religious architecture often represents the highest achievements of a nation's technology and art. Therefore, these two parts can almost be distinguished by different religious architectures. This book is presented in the form of lectures, primarily following the chronological order of history, introducing foreign architecture before the beginning of the 19th-century Modern Architecture Movement. The entire book consists of 20 lectures, divided into two parts. It is not a complete history of architecture but rather selects key points to discuss, offering a unique perspective that reveals the sociocultural background reflected in architecture through historical continuity.