2015 China Prize
The Classical Spirit and Contemporary Architecture of Cities

“Seeking for continuation of the local culture and classical aesthetic in Japan and India.”

Lu Xun described his first feeling about Japan: a vigorous sense of cleanliness. In contrast to Japan, I would like to describe India as a prosperous sense of chaos.

In my view, Japan, India, and China have a lot in common. The three countries have their own unique ancient civilization and architecture. At the same time, they are all facing challenges from modernism, globalization, and the information age. Now, just like Japan in the 1960s, China and India have a great quantity of current construction. In this way, will China be like Japan after the 1960s? Will the construction and economy of China decline while the cultural awareness in architecture grows?

Japan and India started the systematic study of Western architecture much earlier than China. There are also so many masterpieces of early modernism in the two countries. Because of this, there are many native architects who have a great knowledge of both local culture and modernist thinking. They get inspiration from the local culture and find a unique way to express classical spirit.

In my view, there is a continuation of classical spirit in the ancient and modern architecture of Japan and India. For example, the traditional Japanese aesthetic of living space is often reflected in contemporary architectural space. As for India, the outstanding architectural works in India are always in response to the climate. In my travel, I will observe the cities in Japan and India to figure out how local architects deal with the collision between new buildings and old ones, as well as how they balance modern and classical culture. Furthermore, I will try to figure out the similarities between classical and contemporary architectural spirit.

Fellow Experience

It was a great honor for me to receive the SOM Foundation China Prize. It was my first time to travel abroad. In the twenty-five days of travel, there were many touching moments, which will benefit me for the rest of my life. Before traveling, I thought I had a good understanding of several spots in my travel plan, which proved to be superficial or even totally wrong after. I think one of my biggest gains was to keep the awe and humility about things that I have not experienced. Information from the Internet and books can never take place of personal experience.

India

Japan