This book covers not only the various types of bridges and their distinctive architectural elements but also focuses on bridges as "living architecture," including the rituals involved bridge construction and the use of bridges as the focus of life, The book is richly illustrated with specially commissioned photographs, historic images, woodblock prints, paintings, and line drawings.

Bridges, the least known of China's architectural wonders, are nonetheless a significant component of Cbina's world-class architectural, engineering, and aesthetic heritage. Long before engineers applied mathematics and science to bridge design, Chinese craftsmen found solutions that tested the nature of matter, especially stone and wood, to produce forms unknown in the West, including so-called "rainbow bridges"--ingenious arches made from "woven" timbers sheltered by intricate wooden structures. While at times merely utilitarian, many of China's bridges are undeniably dramatic, even majestic and daring, They combine "the rational with the romantic," the workaday with the ethereal in the reded and graceful use of stone and wood, in the shapes and configurations of their arches, and in their stunning settings as they span space. This book covers not only the various types of bridges and their distinctive architectural elements but also focuses on bridges as "living architecture," including the rituals involved bridge construction and the use of bridges as the focus of life, The book is richly illustrated with specially commissioned photographs, historic images, woodblock prints, paintings, and line drawings.

Foreword by Peter Bol

Part One

CHINA'S ANCIENT BRIDGE

BUILDING TRADITIONS

Part Two

CHINESE BRIDGES AS

LIVING ARCHITECTURE

Part Three

CHINA'S FINE

HERITAGE BRIDGES

Bridges of the Forbidden City

Beijing

Sea Palace Bridges

Beijing

"Garden of Gardens" Bridges

Beijing

Lugou Bridge

Wanping, Beijing

Zhaozhou Bridge

Zhaoxian, Hebei

Dulin Bridge and Shan Bridge

Cangzhou, Hebei

Jingxing Bridge

Cangyan Mountains, Hebei

Baling Bridge

Weiyuan, Gansu

Hongjun Bridge

Qinglinkou, Sichuan

liemei Bridges

Anxian, Sichuan

Anlan Suspension Bridge

Dujiangyan, Guanxian, and Sichuan

Bridges in the Lower Yangzi Watertowns

Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Zhejiang

Suzhou and Hangzhou Garden Bridges

Jiangsu and Zhejiang

Wuting Bridge

Yangzhou, Jiangsu

Baodai Bridge

Suzhou, Jiangsu

Huizhou Covered Bridges

Anhui and Jiangxi

Caihong Bridge

Wuyuan, Jiangxi

Bei'an Bridge

Shexian, Anhui

Megalithic Stone Beam Bridges

Quanzhou, Fujian

Covered Wooden Bridges

Southern Zhejiang and Northern Fujian

Dong "Wind-and-Rain" Bridges

Sanjiang, Guangxi

Bibliography

Index

Acknowledgments