The Cultural Gene of Ancient Chinese Space

This groundbreaking monograph offers a systematic and interdisciplinary exploration of the origins, concepts, and inherent logic of spatial culture in ancient China. Moving beyond mere historic narrative, Professor Zhang Jie investigates the cultural roots and governing principles that shaped pre-modern Chinese architecture and urban form. Drawing on remarkable rich resources related to the material culture of the ancient civilization, including astronomy, geography and landscapes, spatial archaeology of artifacts, ritual and geomancy theory, the book unravels core theoretical issues in architecture and urbanism. Through case studies such as the morphological evolution of historic Beijing, it elucidates the design logic of settlement placement, spatial composition, and perspective integration, establishing a new research paradigm for understanding China's millennia-old spatial wisdom and its enduring relevance to contemporary urban regeneration.