Aurelia Campbell - What the Emperor Built: Architecture and Empire in the Early Ming

WHAT THE EMPEROR BUILT

WHAT THE

EMPEROR

BUILT

Architecture and Empire in the Early Ming

AURELIA CAMPBELL

University of Washington Press

Seattle

What the Emperor Builtis made possible by a collaborative grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Millard Meiss Publication Fund of the College Art Association.

The Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, the James P. Geiss and Margaret Y. Hsu Foundation, the Metropolitan Center for Far Eastern Art Studies, and the offices of the Dean and Provost at Boston College also provided support for this book.

Copyright 2020 by the University of Washington Press

Design by Jeff Wincapaw, Tintype Studio

Composed in Calluna, typeface designed by Jos Buivenga

Maps and architectural drawings revised by Ani Rucki

24 23 22 21 20 5 4 3 2 1

Frontispiece: The Golden Hall (1418) atop Heavens Pillar Peak, Mount Wudang, Hubei.
Drone photograph courtesy of Zhang Jianwei.

Printed and bound in Korea

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS

uwapress.uw.edu

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Names: Campbell, Aurelia, author.

Title: What the emperor built : architecture and empire in the early Ming / Aurelia Campbell.

Description: Seattle : University of Washington Press, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Subjects: LCCN 2019038424 (print) | LCCN 2019038425 (ebook) | ISBN 9780295746883 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780295746890 (ebook)

LCSH : ArchitectureChinaHistoryMing-Qing dynasties, 13681912. | Architecture and stateChinaHistoryTo 1500. | Ming Chengzu, Emperor of China, 13601424Art patronage. | ChinaCivilization9601644.

Classification: LCC NA1543.5 .C36 2020 (print) | LCC NA1543.5 (ebook) | DDC 720.951/0902dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019038424

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019038425

The paper used in this publication is acid free and meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z 39.481984.

For my parents, Faith and Patrick

This book came together with the help of many people. I am thankful first and foremost to my teachers over the years who have provided me with the skills and knowledge to write this book. To Nancy Steinhardt I owe a special debt for cultivating a love of Chinese architectural history and for her constant support over the past decade and a half. If it were not for her, my life would surely have taken a much different path.

I wrote most of this book during my yearlong stay at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, during the 20162017 academic year. I am grateful to Dagmar Schfer for granting me a visiting fellowship that enabled this rewarding opportunity. Dagmars deep intellectual curiosity, strong work ethic, and kind support continue to serve as models for me.