Research Catalog

Title

Confucius' courtyard : architecture, philosophy and the good life in China / Xing Ruan.

Author

Ruan, Xing, 1965-

Publication

London ; New York : Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2022.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xlv, 320 pages : illustrations; 22 cm

Summary

"For almost three thousand years, Chinese life - from the city and the imperial palace, to the temple, the market, and the family home - was configured around the courtyard, as were the accomplishments of China's artistic, philosophical, and institutional elites. Confucius' Courtyard tells the story of how this most singular and persistent architectural form holds the key to understanding, even today, much of Chinese society and culture. Part architectural history, and part introduction to the cultural and philosophical history of China, the book explores the Chinese view of the world, and reveals the extent to which this is inextricably intertwined with the ancient concept of the courtyard, an architectural element and a way of life which has been almost entirely overlooked in China since 1949, and in the West for centuries. Along the way, it provides an accessible introduction to the Confucian doctrine of zhongyong ('the Middle Way'), and the Chinese principles of the virtuous good life, and shows how these can only be fully understood through the humble courtyard - a space which is grounded in the earth, yet open to the heavens. Erudite and poetic, Confucius' Courtyard weaves together architecture, philosophy, and cultural history to explore what lies at the very heart of Chinese civilization"--

Subject

• Architecture and society > China
• Courtyard houses > China
• Architecture and society
• Civilization > Philosophy
• Courtyard houses
• China > Philosophy
• China

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN

• 9781350217621
• 135021762X
• 9781350217614
• 1350217611
• 9781350217638 (canceled/invalid)
• 9781350217645 (canceled/invalid)
• 9781350217652 (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

• 2021011461
• 60002452042

OCLC

• on1242017973
• 1242017973

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries