Aurelia Campbell's What the Emperor Built is not only a sophisticated study of the larger architectural projects of Zhu Di, the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) Yongle emperor (r. 1402–24), but also a cultural history describing the materiality of important ritual spaces as understood in relation to empire building in China during the early fifteenth century. The work is organized around some of the most famous buildings in Chinese architectural history and shows Yongle's desire to display the support he enjoyed from the most powerful divinities overseeing his empire. Campbell's interest in the roles of individuals in the narrative, from the emperor himself to officials tasked with procuring exotic building materials, makes the book useful to historians of global architecture as well as to those interested in the art and material culture of China.
The topical organization of the chapters allows each to stand alone in support of a larger narrative. Chapter...
University of California Press