Chinese Bridges: Living Architecture from China's Past

Yet Knapp does not emphasize the development of building technology over time, a typical focus for works on bridges in the Western context as well as in the history of science in China (see Joseph Needham et al., Science and Civilization in China, Vol. 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part III, C...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of Asian studies 2010, Vol.69 (3), p.882-883
Main Author: Miller, Tracy
Format: Review
Language:English
Subjects:
Aesthetics
Architecture
Asian studies
Bridges
CHINA
Chinese languages
Cultural history
Design
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Yet Knapp does not emphasize the development of building technology over time, a typical focus for works on bridges in the Western context as well as in the history of science in China (see Joseph Needham et al., Science and Civilization in China, Vol. 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part III, Civil Engineering and Nautics [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971], 145-210). Sui-period (581-618) builders were advanced enough to produce the world's first known segmented arch bridge (Anji Bridge, Zhaozhou, Hubei, pp. 123-27), and Song-period (960-1279) builders were able to manipulate individual stones measuring 11 meters in length and weighing more than 150 metric tons to construct megalithic beam bridges (Luoyang Bridge, Quanzhou, Fujian, pp. 212-17). [...]we might conclude that the technological problems of spanning rivers and ravines were solved so early that they ceased to be an important factor in bridge aesthetics. [...]by eschewing chronology, the author runs the risk of (unintentionally) presenting Chinese bridges as unchanging in time, if not space, and traditional builders as lacking any interest in technological innovation--a common misperception of all Chinese architectural studies.
ISSN:0021-9118
1752-0401
DOI:10.1017/S002191181000166X