Lin Huiyin's Land and River Years

Author: Lin Yu Zhou
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: He was an architect of the Creation Society, a lecturer in architectural history, a pioneer in the study and exploration of Chinese architectural history, and a leader in restoring and preserving the architectural heritage of the Chinese nation. In the twenty years before 1949, he expanded into nearly blank fields in Chinese architecture—from Western architectural studies to the study of ancient Chinese architecture, from field investigations to theoretical construction, from urban planning to architectural education theory. He became an undisputed master of modern architecture and an outstanding architect with global influence. He embodied the perfect integration of Eastern and Western refinement—generous, calm, concerned about the nation, and tireless, yet also polite, quiet, humorous, and considerate. His life and career once shone with that ordinary people could hardly attain—his boundless passion nearly alone faced the grand historical tide of "toppling feudal remnants." He rushed about, resisting, for the great ancient city of Beijing in his heart, for the "treasures" he cherished across the country. He wrote letters, campaigned, raged, accused, suffered, cried, but all in vain, except for the sole success in protecting the Beihai Tuancheng. He was repeatedly confiscated, extorted, forced to walk around his house wrapped in a blanket to confess "crimes," and even wore a black placard, received slaps, and endured brutal humiliation. He was once despised as the "number one reactionary academic authority," the "negative teacher," and the "representative of bourgeois aestheticist retrogressive architectural thought." Yet, there was no end to his solitude. A bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and academician—through hard work, you could achieve everything Liang Sicheng once had. But there was one thing you could never earn through effort: Liang Sicheng's "love for objects." Those who do not love themselves cannot truly love others, nor can those who do not love others truly love objects, nor can those who do not love objects truly love the world's suffering masses. Liang Sicheng's "love for objects" was so fierce that he said, "Tearing down one city tower in Beijing is like cutting off a piece of my flesh; removing a section of the city wall is like peeling off a layer of my skin." He viewed the remnants of the ancients with an "aesthetic eye," which did not align with the "immediate results and gains" trend of his time, so he ultimately ended up with the tragic fate of loving but being unable to possess. From his youth to the very end of his life, he never put down his triangle ruler and duckbill pen. He enjoyed drawing pen and ink sketches and watercolors, but most of what he drew were exquisite architectural plans and designs of ancient buildings. It was countless sleepless nights under the lamp, recording discoveries and creating after contemplation.
This book is written with delicate touches and is highly readable. The reason to read this book: On the walls of the Alhambra, the most beautiful city in Spain, Granada, is inscribed the following words: "There is no more tragic fate than being born in Granada and being blind." To live in beauty yet be unable to see it is indeed tragic. But to live in beauty, to witness it being destroyed before your eyes, might be even more tragic. Liang Sicheng was one who witnessed such destruction. The destruction of ugliness is not tragedy; the destruction of beauty that goes unseen is not tragedy; only the destruction of beauty witnessed and powerless to save is truly tragic.
Recommended for the following groups to read this book:
- Lovers or opponents of ancient Chinese architecture
- Lovers or haters of the ancient city of Beijing
- Lovers or opponents of Chinese culture
- Researchers or enthusiasts of modern Chinese education
- Researchers or despisers of Chinese intellectuals
- Undergraduates or high school students in arts, sciences, or engineering