Architecture, Ritual and Cosmology in China - The Buildings of the Order of the Dong

Drawing on the author's extensive fieldwork in the Dong areas in southwest China, this book presents a detailed picture of the Dong's buildings and techniques, with new insights into the Dong's cosmology and rituals of everyday life meshed with the architecture, and the symbolic meanings.

List of contents

Preface Acknowledgement 1.The Geography of the Dong 2.The Cosmology of Separation and Reunion of the Dong 3.The Drum Tower as the Cosmological Centre of Separation and Reunion 4.Wind and Water (fengshui 风水) in Shaping the Dong Villages 5.The Traditional Building Techniques of the Dong 6.The Rituals which Accompany the Construction of Dong House 7.Conclusion: Symbolic Meaning, Ritual and Architectural Order Bibliography Index

About the author

Xuemei Li holds a PhD in Architectural History and History from the Architectural School at Sheffield University. Her research on the vernacular architecture and traditional techniques of the Dong community has been published in the Journal of Landscape Research, the Journal of Architecture, the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians and the Journal of Architectural Research Quarterly. She has taught Architectural History and Theory, and Architectural Structure courses in the universities of America, Canada and China. She was Visiting Scholar in Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, at Columbia University, and Associate Professor in He Xiangning College of Art and Design at Zhongkai Agricultural University.

Summary

Drawing on the author’s extensive fieldwork in the Dong areas in southwest China, this book presents a detailed picture of the Dong’s buildings and techniques, with new insights into the Dong’s cosmology and rituals of everyday life meshed with the architecture, and the symbolic meanings.

Product details

• Authors: Xuemei Li
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.05.2023
• EAN: 9781032133553
• ISBN: 978-1-0-3213355-3
• No. of pages: 274
• Series: Routledge Research in Architecture
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Architecture; China, RELIGION / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology of Religion, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Construction / General, ARCHITECTURE / History / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography, Social groups, Religion: general, History of Architecture, Social and cultural anthropology, Conservation of buildings & building materials, Conservation of buildings and building materials, Southwest China, Social groups, communities and identities