Customer Reviews

Chinese Houses: The Architectural Heritage of a Nation

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China has seen many social, political and economic changes over the centuries, yet surprisingly, has managed to preserve excellent examples of changing architectural home styles throughout these years, as Chinese Houses: The Architectural Heritage Of A Nation presents. Packed with color photos of both interior and exterior décor, Chinese Houses also presents an in-depth survey of the rituals, culture, ornamentation influences, and floor plans of homes across China, from urban to rural dwellings. If it's a strong in-depth history of Chinese home architecture which is desired, look no further than the gorgeous Chinese Houses: it's much more than the coffee table picturebook it appears a first glance.

I can't imagine there being a better book out there on Chinese houses as this book has history and expert photographs. What's more it also has well-drawn sections and plans. Most books on this subject will use old diagrams or ancient drawings that are a hassle to decipher. Here the diagrams are purpose-drawn, clean, and add a great deal to the understanding. About a third is dedicated to a general history of the form, construction methods, social life, and geographical variety; and about two-thirds to about 8 pages each on specific houses. Just enough info on each.

The one gripe I would have is that, in the part of the book where he gives a general introduction of the elements and history of Chinese houses, he uses photos from the twenty or so houses that he discusses individually. It would have given a bit more breadth (and reduced a bit of redundancy later on) if he had used that opportunity for photos of houses that were not given an individual focus.

The amount of detail and research that's in this book is astounding. This is not another coffee table picture book. Its filled with beautiful pictures, and an equal amount of readable, scholarly writing about a culture thats slowly getting lost to the west.

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Fascinating book about old Chinese houses. The pictures are great and the text is in depth. Too bad that most Chinese don't appreciate these houses anymore. If you are interested in the topic I can also recommend Chinese Houses of Southeast Asia: The Eclectic Architecture of Sojourners and Settlers

This book exceeded my expectations. It has informative text and abundant photographs including many vintage images. For anyone interested in Chinese architecture, this is the book for you.