This lavishly illustrated book is a comprehensive and authoritative study of Chinese architecture from Neolithic times through the late nineteenth century. Six of China’s greatest architectural historians have joined with a leading Western scholar to write this book, the first in-depth, collaborative history of Chinese architecture in more than fifty years.

Drawing on recent discoveries and current scholarly work inside China, this handsome volume recounts the story of China’s architectural achievements, the forms they took, and the historical, political, cultural, and social factors that shaped them. Each chapter includes sections on cities, palatial architecture, religious architecture, tombs, and gardens as well as discussions of bridges, walls, fortifications, academies, and architectural writings.

Amply enhanced with color plates and line drawings—many of which are reproduced here for the first time—explanatory maps and charts, and an index that includes Chinese terms, the book will be an invaluable and accessible resource for both scholars of China and visitors to China alike.

Nancy S. Steinhardt is a professor in the department of Asian and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Pennsylvania and curator of Chinese art at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Fu Xinian is professor of architecture at the Institute of Architectural History and the China Building Technology Development Center.