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China's Sacred Sites
Nan Shunxun & Beverly Foit-Albert
*China's Sacred Sites* is a large, richly illustrated exploration of Chinese religious architecture by Professor Nan Shunxun, an architectural theorist, and Beverly Foit-Albert, an American architect. Published by the Himalayan Institute Press in 2007, it argues that Chinese sacred building differs fundamentally from its Western counterpart: rather than dominating a site, these temples, cave shrines, and cliffside halls dissolve into the landscape. The first part introduces "mountainscape feng shui," the traditional design science rooted in Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism; the second presents dozens of remote sites tucked into valleys, perched on high cliffs, or set beside placid lakes. The book won several awards for its beauty and scholarship. For readers drawn to Chinese thought, architecture, or the idea of building in harmony with nature, it is a sumptuous and thoughtful guide.
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The authors
Nan Shunxun is a professor of architectural design theory who has taught in both China and the United States, long based at the Beijing Institute for Civil Engineering and Architecture. Beverly Foit-Albert is an American architect and academic, founder of a Buffalo, New York firm and a professor at SUNY Buffalo.
The book
China's Sacred Sites explains the philosophy and practice behind Chinese religious architecture - especially "mountainscape feng shui" - and profiles more than forty sites that embody the integration of building and nature, from cave temples to lakeside halls.
How to read it
It works both as an illustrated survey and as an argument about a different way of building. The photographs carry much of the meaning, so it rewards slow, attentive looking.
For more context
Pair it with introductions to Taoist and Buddhist thought, or with broader studies of Chinese gardens and landscape aesthetics.
Sources
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- Nan Shunxun & Beverly Foit-Albert
- Publisher
- Himalayan Institute Press
- Year
- 2007
- ISBN
- None
- Shelf
- Spirituality & Philosophy
- Location
- Colorado