The Grand Documentation: Ernst Boerschmann and Chinese Religious Architecture

摘要

Anyone who entered the Chinese architecture field in North America or Europe in the last century has known the name Ernst Boerschmann. Few, however, have read more than one of his books; and there are more than ten, some of them multi-volume. In part this is because he wrote almost exclusively in German; but it is also because Boershmann's writings had such limited circulation. Edouard Koegcl's book does much to right this situation. This 592-page, beautifully produced book tells the story of Ernst Boerschmann—military official, architect, citizen of Germany, and a man as passionate about Chinese architecture as about any other aspect of life. It also tells the story of his struggle to see, measure, and draw Chinese architecture, and then to publish his results during the challenging first three decades of the twentieth century. The 575 illustrations are primarily Boerschmann's photographs and drawings, supplemented in a few places by the author's.