City Chronicle (Illustrated Edition) (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Wang Jun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-10-01
Features: The last century, just passed, was a century of rapid transformation in Beijing. For this historic city with profound cultural heritage, it was merely a fleeting moment in its cycle of change. The force unleashed during this instant continues to maintain a historical momentum in the city, shaping its present and future form, tangibly influencing or determining the lives of every resident here. City Chronicle attempts to clarify the spatial evolution of Beijing over more than half a century, as well as the joys and sorrows behind the well-known architecture that remain largely unknown. The testimonies of historical witnesses bring the lost memories back to life, while the long-buried documents and over three hundred photographs make the past no longer just a legend. The lives of architects such as Liang Sicheng, Lin Huiyin, Chen Zhanshang, and Hua Lanhong unfold a never-ending drama. All of this originates from Beijing, this "greatest individual engineering project on the surface of the earth," which possesses an indelible legend. Over the 10 years it took to complete this book, the author interviewed over 50, collected, reviewed, and organized a vast amount of handwritten historical materials, conducted field investigations of important ancient architectural relics in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and Shanxi, and conducted in-depth research on topics such as Beijing's urban development model and cultural heritage protection. The book is divided into ten chapters, starting from the reality of Beijing and expanding its narrative around the main debates in Beijing's urban construction history over the past half-century, with a focus on the 1950s and 1960s. The life stories of architects and planners such as Liang Sicheng, Lin Huiyin, Chen Zhanshang, and Hua Lanhong are interwoven, attempting to clarify the causes and consequences of the proposal of the "Liang-Chen Plan" and the subsequent formation of urban planning. The book also covers the emergence of "large roof" architecture and the demolition of city walls in Beijing, as well as historical periods such as "transforming a consumer city into a production city," "criticizing retroatism," the "Great Leap Forward," the "Rectification Campaign," and the "Cultural Revolution." Equally important as the text are the over three hundred illustrations selected for the book, which include rare personal photographs and artworks, such as drawings from Liang Sicheng's work notes and the first published watercolor sketches by Liang Sicheng.