Tsinghua exhibition memorializes architectural legend

By Lin Qi | chinadaily.com.cn
Updated: Aug 11, 2021
A drawing made by Liang Sicheng in 1925, during his studies at the University of Pennsylvania. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Born to Liang Qichao, one of the preeminent scholars of early-20th-century China, Liang Sicheng carved a niche for himself in architecture. The architect, architectural historian and educator is hailed as the "father of modern Chinese architecture".

Liang: the Overreaching, an exhibition now on at the Tsinghua University Art Museum until Oct 20, commemorates the 120th anniversary of Liang Sicheng's birth by gathering more than 300 photos, videos, drawings, models, letters, manuscripts and installations from several institutions.

The exhibition traces back to Liang's early years, during which he not only was trained to be an architect but also became knowledgeable in Chinese history and studies. Documents related to his architecture studies at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1920s are on show.

The exhibition then moves into his extensive field research of Chinese architecture in the 1930s and '40s, displaying photos and drawings of Yingxian Timber Pagoda, the largest and oldest surviving pagoda constructed entirely of wood in China.

The exhibition also reviews Liang's contributions to the protection of cultural heritage, city planning and the establishment of the architectural education system.

A watercolor by Liang Sicheng in 1932 which depicts the Guanyin Pavilion at Dule Temple in Jixian County. [Photo provided to China Daily]
A self-portrait taken by Liang Sicheng in the early 1920s. [Photo provided to China Daily]
A photo taken in 1928 showing Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng during honeymoon in Europe. [Photo provided to China Daily]
A photo taken in 1933 showing Liang Sicheng while doing surveying and mapping at Puhua Temple, in Shanxi province. [Photo provided to China Daily]
A photo taken in 1939 showing Liang Sicheng surveying Gaoyi Que, a stone-carved pillar-gate, in Sichuan province. [Photo provided to China Daily]
A photo taken in 1947 showing Liang Sicheng (fourth from left) as the Chinese representative in the Design Board which designed the United Nations headquarters in New York. [Photo provided to China Daily]
A photo taken in 1962 showing Liang Sicheng at home in Tsinghua University, by Zhang Shuicheng. [Photo provided to China Daily]
A photo taken in 1916 showing Lin Huiyin (R) and her cousins. [Photo provided to China Daily]

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