China 1906-1909 Through the lens of A German Architect

Written by ernst boers ch mann( germany ), translated and edited byxuyu an and Zhao sh eng wei, published by Taihai publishing house, february 2017

Between 1906 and 1909, Professor Ernst Boerschmann (1873-1949), from the department of Chinese architecture of the Royal Berlin Institute of Technology, visited China on a field survey financed by the German Royal Fund. During his stay, Boerschmann took some 8,000 photos, drew 2,500 pictures, made 2,000 stone rubbings, and wrote 1,000 pages of survey records on the royal structures, temples, ancestral halls and dwellings of the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

In 1932, Boerschmann was hired as a corresponding researcher by the Society for the Study of Chinese Architecture, a private academic body founded in 1929. From 1933 to 1935, he was appointed consultant for the heritage of traditional Chinese architecture.

After returning to his homeland, Professor Boerschmann published six books including the three-volume Art and Religious Culture of Chinese Architecture and Chinese Architecture. “On this tract of sacred land, we were stunned by the uncanny natural workmanship and inspiring Chinese architecture,” he wrote. “I hope to accurately showcase authentic Chinese philosophy and culture and unveil the mystery of the Chinese nation through research of these ancient structures.”

On his achievements in the study of ancient Chinese architecture, Australian historian Sang Ye commented that Mr. Boerschmann was undoubtedly the first man to thoroughly investigate and record ancient Chinese architecture, leaving behind an unparalleled wealth of drawings and photos.

To commemorate Boerschmann’s work, Sang launched a special non-governmental online campaign tracking his footprints and taking new photos of the old sites in 2006. Well-known Chinese photographer Xu Yuan, his wife and his colleagues joined the team of volunteers who drove along the professor’s routes to take new photos of existing structures from the original angles.

Today, 42 such structures have been placed under state protection as cultural relics, some of which have been added to the lists of world cultural and natural heritage sites. More than 20 have been reconstructed or restored, but at least 60 are gone forever.

Of the book’s 426 pictures, 288 were taken by the professor himself or the Chinese photographers he hired, and the other 138 were selected from the non-governmental campaign jointly launched by Chinese and Australian volunteers.