Geo-Architecture and Landscape in China's Geographic and Historic Context

This book approaches the concept of geo-architecture from the perspective of functions of architectures by analyzing the cases of traditional Chinese houses and tombs as well as palaces and places of worship. Houses and tombs, the ‘Yang’ dwellings and ‘Yin’ dwellings of human beings in traditional Chinese interpretation, are the two types of architectures that reveal the wisdom with which different ethnic groups adapted to different geographic environments at different times throughout the long history. Palaces are connected with various religious architectures throughout the Chinese history.  The connection between imperial power and religion, along with its geographic and cultural connotations, are implicated in the pattern and layout of religious and imperial architectures. This book is the second of a 4-volume book series. The series develops the innovative concept of “geo-architecture” by exploring the myriad influences of natural, human and historical factors upon architecture. These influences are considered in three categories, namely, interaction between architecture and nature, interaction between architecture and its human users and change in architecture over time--each category serves as a lens. Augmenting these lenses is the Time-Person-Place concept applied different geographic. The analysis ultimately focuses on two aspects: geographic influence on architecture and architectural response to geography. The over 1000 pictures of case architectures enriches the study with stunning and unique visual angles.