chinese ancient buildings

in retrospect of the publishing history of ancient architecture, last century, especially the 50 years after the founding of the new china, there are considerate accomplishments and development in the publishing industry of ancient architecture. from statistics, in 20th century, there were about 1200 kinds of books published on the topic of ancient architecture, with only 120 kinds in the first 50 years and over 1000 in the second 50 years. therefore we can conclude that there was much development in this area of publishing.

the content of the books covered various areas related to ancient architecture, such as research, reconnaissance, protection, maintenance, technology, art, culture, history, introduction, and tourism of ancient architecture. the forms covered joint publishing, picture books, topic research, technical books, and hundreds of common reading books. there are also digital books published related to the topic, with even more styles and contents. among those, a lot of the books worth passing down the century.

from just the comprehensive books, the “chinese architecture” published in 1957 had 175 sites of architecture as samples to introduce the development from before written history to qin dynasty. it is the first comprehensive book on the topic after the founding of new china. "chinese ancient architecture" published in 1982 has 150 sample sites, including projects with significant values and also sites with deep developmental meanings.

there were a large amount of pictures published with the book, along with essays describing the historical characteristics, history, technology and achievements of chinese ancient architecture. also attached was “list of events in the history of chinese ancient history”. the second edition of “chinese ancient architecture” published in 1984 was based on information and documents on archeology and actual examples. it systematically described the development and achievements of ancient architecture. it is the most systematic publication on the topic today. "history of chinese ancient architecture" was published in 1985.

it discussed the projects, technical experience, and achievements and described the development of chinese project technology. it is the most complete publication on ancient architecture and project technology today. "chinese art / art architecture" was published in 1988 with 6 volumes. it introduced the architecture with pictures. it is a picture volume never before seen. "department of chinese ancient architecture” was published in 1993 with 10 volumes. it included fine pictures and detailed introduction. it made introduction to different architecture kinds of different era and different locations.

it is the most scholarly publication of the kind today. “liang siwen series” published in 1982 to 1986 with 4 volumes, and “liu guochen series” published in 1982 to 1992 with 4 volumes, etc. are all great publications for experts in the area. in summary, the editing and publication of these books provided support and service to the development of ancient architecture. we should also realize that there are also problems not marching the project of ancient architecture while the achievements in the area is great. one of the things to ponder: there are lots of introductory pamphlets but no real research report or reconnaissance report.

among the books published now, most of them are introductory pamphlets related to ancient architecture, sometimes with many variations. these introductory books use one building or a set of buildings as topic, accompanying with mainly descriptions and pictures to introduce the history, current situation, structure, characteristics, arts and values. many readers like these publications with great influence in the society. "song mound" "zhao mount" "foguang temple" "baima temple","wuhou ancestral temple" and "dayang pagoda" were published in 1982 by the cultural relic publishing house. the “tour guide for ancient architecture”, three volumes, published in 1981 by chinese architecture publishing house, introduced 517 sites of famous site. it was also translated into japanese and published in japan. these publications have significant influence in spreading the knowledge and broadening influence of the topic. we should continue such acts and look for renovation of the style and contents. with sharp contrast from the introductory pamphlets, there are few research reports on the topic.

in actuality, these research literature were published as early as the 30’s, such as "datong research report on ancient architecture" published in 1933 by chinese construction publishing house, "summary and survey on jinfen ancient architecture by liang sichen and lin huiyin published in 1935 by chinese construction publishing house. there were also important publications since the 50’s, such as “yin xiang wood pagoda published in 1966 to 1988. the book used lots of real pictures and literature for research and report, with annual listing and related documents. “minxiao mount” was published in 1981, exhibiting the architecture of minxiao mount located at nanjing zijin mountain. “anyang xiudin temple and pagoda” was published in 1983, with research and report on the structure style, characteristics and history of the temple and pagoda. “daer temple architecture was published in 1986, with recording and introduction of the structure, details, technology and arts of the temple through literature and pictures. “architecture of confucius temple in qufu" was published in 1987. the book introduced the confucius temple, mansion, and several sets of architecture in the forms of pictures and literature.