Text | Laugh at Shi Yunyan
Edit | Laugh at Shi Yunyan
In 1922, Liang Qichao sent a book to his son.
This architectural classic written by Li Jie in the Ming Dynasty deeply inspired Liang Sicheng and strengthened his belief in learning the discipline of Xi architecture.
At first, Liang Sicheng regarded it as only an architectural reference book.
In the 30s of the 20th century, Liang Sicheng led Lin Huiyin and others to begin to sort out and annotate "Building the French Style".
Through the study of this book, they have a deeper understanding of the concepts of ancient Chinese architectural design.
In the "competition" with foreign architectural circles, "Constructing the French Style" provided a valuable reference for Liang Sicheng and others, so that the charm of ancient Chinese architecture could be displayed and disseminated.
01
The older generation believes that Lin Huiyin has all the temperament of an artist, and with her exquisite insight, she can leave her mark on any art.
Lin Huiyin's life is brilliant on the outside and lonely on the inside, but no matter what the outside, her pursuit of pure art has never changed.
Whether it is literature, art, architecture, or philosophy, she has a deep attainment.
In 1928, Lin Huiyin returned to China for development, and in 1931, she began to publish literary works, soberly seeing the problems that have arisen in the process of "breaking" the tradition and "attacking" Western studies in the new Chinese literature since the May Fourth Movement.
In the field of architecture, Liang Sicheng is another pioneer.
He pioneered the study of sculpture history and architectural history in mainland China, wrote the first survey report on ancient architecture in China, and compiled the first work on architectural history in mainland China.
He also discovered and mapped the earliest Tang Dynasty wooden Buddhist temple in the mainland, Foguang Temple, which can be said to be the first contributor to the study of ancient Chinese architecture.
He devoted his life to the research and protection of ancient Chinese architecture, laying the foundation for the study of ancient architecture in the mainland.
At the beginning of the 20th century, China was dismissive of traditional culture, and a large number of cultural heritage was severely damaged.
This saddened Liang Sicheng, who believed that only by studying cultural heritage in depth could we understand Chinese history and culture, so as to better build a modern city.
Therefore, he founded the first architecture department in China to cultivate architectural talents, and under his influence, the study of ancient Chinese architecture gradually deepened, forming a complete theoretical system.
02
In the 10th year after Liang Sicheng's birth, the Xinhai Revolution broke out in 1911, and the Liang family was forced to flee and return to Beiping.
Such a background has made Liang Sicheng show an extraordinary personality since he was a child.
He is not only diligent and studious, but also has outstanding performance in all aspects of morality, intellect and physique, and what is even more commendable is that he has a unique artistic talent and a firm patriotic heart.
During his studies at Tsinghua University, Liang Sicheng served as the art editor of the school magazine because of his expertise in art.
His pen drawings are both concise and dynamic, and are well received by his teachers, and such an outstanding artistic talent has laid the groundwork for him to shine in the field of architectural design in the future.
However, Liang Sicheng is not only good at art, he is also a leader in sports.
As the "Prince of High Jump", he won the high jump championship in the school games, and as a soccer player, he led the school team to numerous victories.
In rope climbing and gymnastics, he is even more stunning, and these rich sports training has laid the foundation for his future field surveys.
In addition, Liang Sicheng is also very passionate about music, he can not only play the violin, play the piano, but also play a variety of musical instruments.
He even completed the translation of an ancient book with his classmates, and such an all-round development is breathtaking.
But Liang was not just a versatile student leader and athlete, he was a staunch patriot during those turbulent times.
In the May Fourth Movement in 1919, he took the lead and contributed to the progress and development of the country.
With such an excellent Liang Sicheng, it is really hard to imagine what kind of family he will come from.
His father, Liang Qichao, has traveled overseas all his life and seems to be unable to afford such a good education, however, it is under his father's ardent expectations that Liang Sicheng has gradually grown into a person with all-round development of morality, intelligence, physical fitness, art and labor.
Liang Sicheng did not live up to his father's expectations, from a talented child, to a young man who loves the country and the people, and then to a master who has made great achievements in the field of architectural design, his life trajectory is full of legends.
03
Liang Sicheng's translation of "Constructing the French Style" was a sensation in the architectural world at that time.
Liang Sicheng finally deciphered the book after a difficult process, which not only preserved valuable historical materials for the academic community, but also won himself supreme honor.
It is said that when Liang Sicheng first saw the book, he was stumped by those obscure proper nouns.
He couldn't really understand the specifics of the book, but he had a gut feeling that some of the buildings described in the book might be real.
To confirm his suspicions, Liang Sicheng visited a number of ancient architectural sites and found some buildings that were very similar to those depicted in the book.
This became the motivation for him to continue deciphering.
Through field investigation, Liang Sicheng finally understood the technical terminology in the book and was able to continue translating.
He was pleasantly surprised to find that many of the wooden buildings described in the book had been preserved to this day in the vicissitudes of a century, which strengthened Liang Sicheng's determination to translate.
Liang Sicheng found that these wooden buildings may seem simple, but they cleverly use the toughness of wood to support the roof, and even if they are hit by earthquakes, they can stand tall.
He was impressed by the wisdom of the ancients. By repeatedly comparing the existing buildings with the drawings in the book, Liang Sicheng finally deciphered the "Construction of the French Style".
During the translation process, Liang Sicheng and his assistant also spent time drawing a lot of detailed drawings to better understand the content of the book.
They compared the drawings with the real buildings, and finally basically reproduced the architectural appearance of the Northern Song Dynasty, which was also of great benefit to Liang Siben's own architectural research.
It can be said that if there is no Liang Sicheng, this "out-of-print" "Building French Style" will be difficult to see the light of day.
It is precisely because of this that Liang Sicheng's translation results shocked the academic circles at home and abroad, and a treasure trove of ancient civilization architecture was reopened, and all architectural scholars were excited about it.
04
Known as the "Treasure Book of Ancient Chinese Architecture", this treasure book has experienced a tortuous fate, and has returned to the public eye, and finally been interpreted.
Li Jie was a talented painter who was fluent in music, and also studied geography and history.
He had accumulated more than 10 years of architectural experience before compiling The French Style, and when compiling it, he consulted extensively with classics and personally interviewed construction workers, and finally succeeded in collating this masterpiece.
In the fourth year of Chongning (1105), "Constructing the French Style" was officially published, covering all aspects of architectural knowledge at that time, and can be called one of the best architectural works in ancient times.
In addition, Yu Hao's "Book of Wood" was also regarded as a construction classic at that time, recording the design and construction techniques of wooden buildings in the Song Dynasty.
However, due to the low level of culture of ancient builders, the Book of Wood has certain limitations.
On the basis of the Book of Wood, Li Jie compiled the Method of Construction, which more systematically and comprehensively recorded the technical standards and operating methods of ancient Chinese construction projects.
The book is carefully organized and rich in content, reflecting the superb level of ancient Chinese civil engineering and construction technology, and the book is divided into five parts: general interpretation, system, power limit, material example, and pattern.
In particular, it is worth mentioning that the modular design method of timber frame buildings proposed in the book, as well as the six volumes of drawings, are relatively rare in ancient Chinese architectural works.
It is said that Li Jie once taught his son to learn art, and the method was very similar to Yu Hao's godson.
Li Jie's son always wanted to find an easy job, and Li Jie's successively sent him to learn farm work and weaving, but his son did not persevere.
In the end, the son asked to learn Xi carpenter, and Li Jie handed him over to the apprentice for training, but the son was still tired of studying for a year.
At this time, Li Jie took out the old axe he had used and explained to his son that if he wanted to learn the craft well, he had to practice hard.
After Xi study, his son finally became an excellent carpenter.
But later, it was annihilated in the war with the Yongle Grand Ceremony, until in the 20s of the 20th century, a manuscript appeared in the United States, which excited Liang Sicheng, who was studying at that time.
He was determined to decipher this "book from heaven", and Lin Huiyin, who was at Penn in the United States with Liang Sicheng at the time, also participated.
In 1931, Liang Sicheng resigned from his teaching position and returned to China to found the China Construction Society, officially starting the road of research.
Although Liang Sicheng could not directly understand the "Construction of the French Style", some of the ancient buildings recorded in the book still exist in the world, and in order to decipher it, Liang and Lin carried out arduous investigations, raced against time, and finally found the way to interpret it.
Lin Huiyin wanted to enter the architecture department of the University of Pennsylvania, but the department refused to admit female students on the grounds that it was safe to return at night, so he had to study fine arts, and later took an architecture course.
Liang Sicheng was very excited when he got the manuscript of "Constructing the French Style", but he immediately realized that he could not directly comprehend the contents.
So he decided to return to China with Lin Huiyin, founded the Department of Architecture at Northeastern University, and personally cultivated architectural talents.
Why did a "Book from Heaven" manuscript appear in the United States?
At that time, a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty saw this rare book and asked for a copy of it, and it was printed in Shanghai.
Later, the printed copy was circulated to the United States, and finally obtained by Liang Sicheng, perhaps it was this coincidence that allowed this classic of Chinese architecture to circulate again.