History of Architecture
Reading:
Edmund Bacon, “Peking” in Design of Cities (New York: Penguin, 1974), 244-251
Paul Wheatley, “The Ancient Chinese City as a Cosmological Symbol,” Ekistics 39 (1975), 147-58. [C]
*Note: This essay is wide-ranging and may seem a bit dense. To help you focus on the relevant sections,
you may skim p. 147 and from the second half of p. 153 to the top of p. 155. Pay attention to the role of
cosmology in the planning of Chinese (and other) cities.
Assignment: Edmund Bacon writes of Beijing (Peking) that: “This Chinese city, designed as the domicile of the
Emperor, was intended to mark the center of the universe” (244). Drawing on information contained in both of
the assigned readings, write a brief essay that describes the ways in which architecture and urban space were
used to express this intention. What spatial and visual conceptions – e.g. axiality, color, cosmology, etc. – are used
to mark this imperial city as the “center of the universe,” and how do they do so? Be as specific as possible and
cite the relevant authors (in parentheses).
Format: Hard copy text of 275-300 words, double-spaced, Times New Roman font. Your name, course and section
number, date, and total word count should appear in the top left corner of the page.
