In 1937, Danish architect Johannes Prip-Møller (1889-1943) published his grand monograph Chinese Buddhist Monasteries: Their Plan and Function as a Setting for Buddhist Monastic Life. After thoroughly investigating and surveying dozens of temples along the Yangtze River, Prip-Møller devoted half of his book to Huiju si on Mount Baohua near Nanjing (now known as Longchang si)—a temple that had received little attention from architectural scholars until now. What captured his attention, and what made his research perspective so distinct that it was unfairly criticized by his Chinese contemporaries and remains underestimated to this day?

From today’s academic perspective, Prip-Møller’s research is recognized as the first architectural anthropology study on Chinese architecture. Chinese Buddhist Monasteries provides a methodological and literary model that deserves our renewed attention. Today, a complete translation and re-publication of this book would further uncover its academic value, allowing us to conduct an in-depth examination of Chinese architecture in the context of cross-cultural research, writing, and translation.

Dr. Liu Yan is an architectural historian. He has received his Dr.-Ing. on Bauforschung (building archaeology) at Technical University of Munich, Germany. Specialized on traditional timber construction and Chinese religious architecture. He is the author of the book ‘Woven Arch Bridge: Histories of Constructional Thoughts’ (Routledge, 2021), translator of Prip-Møller’s Chinese Buddhist Monasteries (forthcoming). He works now as an associate professor at Kunming University of Science and Technology (Kunming, Yunnan).

Introduction by Lala Zuo, Director of Digital Heritage Lab, Area Head of Global China Studies, Associate Professor of Art History, NYU Shanghai.

Commentator: Lin Chen, Area Head of the Writing Program, Clinical Associate Professor, Writing Program, NYU Shanghai