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Yuan

Chinese Architecture in a Mongol Empire
  • and
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2023

About this book

A monumental illustrated survey of the architecture of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century China

The Yuan dynasty endured for a century, leaving behind an architectural legacy without equal, from palaces, temples, and pagodas to pavilions, tombs, and stages. With a history enlivened by the likes of Khubilai Khan and Marco Polo, this spectacular empire spanned the breadth of China and far, far beyond, but its rulers were Mongols. Yuan presents the first comprehensive study in English of the architecture of China under Mongol rule.

In this richly illustrated book, Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt looks at cities such as the legendary Shangdu—inspiration for Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Xanadu—as well as the architecture the Mongols encountered on their routes of conquest. She examines the buildings and monuments of diverse faiths in China during the period, from Buddhist and Daoist to Confucian, Islamic, and Christian, as well as unusual structures such as observatories, archways, stone and metal buildings, and sarcophaguses. Steinhardt dispels long-standing views of the Mongols as destroyers of cities and architecture across Asia, showing how the khans and their families built more than they tore down. She demonstrates that the stipulations of the Chinese building system were powerful and resilient enough to guide the architecture that rose under Mongolian rule.

Drawing on Steinhardt’s groundbreaking textual research in numerous languages as well as her pioneering fieldwork at sites across East Asia, Yuan will become the standard reference on this critical period of cultural and artistic exchange.

Author / Editor information

Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt is professor of East Asian art and curator of Chinese art at the University of Pennsylvania. Her many books include Chinese Architecture (Princeton), winner of the Alice Davis Hitchcock Book Award, and China’s Early Mosques.

Reviews

"Yuan: Chinese Architecture in a Mongol Empire is a monumental contribution to the study of Yuan architecture in the English language. This monograph on one of the most critical periods in the history of Asian architecture is richly layered, highly informative, and consistently rewarding for the reader. . . . [This] majestic survey. . . . will prevail as the first port of call for anyone interested in the architecture and material culture of the Mongol empire."---Jun Hu, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians --- "This groundbreaking survey provides a comprehensive and richly illustrated study of Chinese architecture from the 13th and 14th centuries, a period of Mongol rule. . . . [Yuan] is a rich repository of textual and visual sources, including maps, architectural plans, drawings, decorations, structures, mural paintings, and sculptures. It will serve as an indispensable reference for those researching and studying Yuan architecture and history." --- "Winner of the Architectural History Book Award, Booklaunch"

Topics

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    Frontmatter

    i
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    Contents

    vi
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    Preface

    viii
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    Family Tree of Chinggis Khan

    xi
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    Introduction: Mongol Lords, Chinese Architecture, Visions of Empire

    1
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    Chapter One: Wall-Enclosed Spaces

    10
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    Chapter Two: The Century before the Mongol Century

    66
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    Chapter Three: Official Yuan Construction

    104
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    Chapter Four: Halls to the Gods and of the Populace

    116
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    Chapter Five: Architecture of Death, Private Life, and Popular Life

    162
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    Chapter Six: Muslim, Tibetan Buddhist, Manichaean, and Christian Architecture

    188
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    2Chapter Seven: Rock-Carved Architecture and Freestanding Stone

    210
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    Chapter Eight: Yuan-Period Construction East of China

    224
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    Conclusion: A Revisionist History: Chinese Architecture, Mongol Patrons, European Observers, East Asian Archaeologists

    232
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    Notes

    236
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    Bibliography

    267
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    Character Glossary

    306
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    Photo and Illustration Credits

    315
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    Index

    316
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
February 14, 2024
eBook ISBN:
9780691253350
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
View content
https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691253350
eBook ISBN: 9780691253350
Keywords for this book
Spaces of the Empire; walled enclosures; Mongolia and eastern Russia; south of Mongolia; mongol century; tranquility hall; observatory in dengfeng; cloud terrace at juyong pass; three pavilions; two towers; yonglegong; guangsheng monastery; yuan buildings; north china; southeastern china; southwestern china; yuan wooden halls; stone; metal; brick; halls to the gods; architecture of death; china monasteries for muslim prayer; Muslim Burial; Tibetan Pagodas; Temple to Mani; rock-carved architecture; longshan; feilaifeng; arzhai; gansu; yuan-period; east of china; japan’s buddhist monasteries; mongol patrons; east Asian archaeologists; visons of empire; Confucian temple; daidu; Shangdu; Tugh Temur; Mongolian
Audience(s) for this book
For a non-specialist adult audience
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