The Specter of Style: Shifting Understandings in Twentieth-Century Architectural Discourse in China

Unlike in Europe, the concept of style only entered Chinese people’s vision as a new term when the modern discipline of architecture was established in the early twentieth century. Thereafter, for much of the rest of the century, Chinese architects faced the conundrum: "In what style should we build?" This dissertation examines the discussions of style within architectural discourse, and considers (a) the shifting understandings of style in the context of Chinese architecture; and (b) the reasons why the discourse of style haunted China for almost the whole century.

This study concentrates on three successive waves of discussion of style. In the early twentieth century, the notion of historical style and the possibility of choice among various styles emerged in China with the establishment of the new discipline of architecture. Style, as a new concept, was first translated as shiyang (式样), a word invented by combining the traditional terms shi (式) and yang (样). The translation of “style” as shiyang made that the understanding of style was initially characterized by the separation of architectural structure and appearance in design. In the 1950s, the understanding of style changed when fengge (风格), a term from the policy on literature and art, replaced shiyang as the normal term for “style.” Influenced by the principle “Socialist Content and National Form” (社会主义内容民族形式) from the Soviet Union and by Mao Zedong’s (毛泽东, 1893-1976) revolutionary discourses, discussion of style, content and form left the realms of academic theory and became politically charged. The politicization of architectural discourse of this period was manifested in two aspects: first, Mao's political vocabulary entered into professional discussions, second, the professional discussion in itself took over features of political discussions. In the 1980s, following the relaxation of ideological control and the opening-up to the West, the discussion of style became a part of the grand social project of modernization. Postmodernism, which seemed to resolve the dilemma between Modernism and Revivalism and also involved an understanding of style as symbols and meanings, became a favored alternative solution for design. Since the 1990s, the marketization, internationalization, and the opening of the profession of architecture to the rest of the world have shifted the focus of Chinese architects from the pursuit of style to a broader professional horizon.

This dissertation argues that “style” has not always been understood in the same way, and that its connotations and functions are variable. The discourse of style has proven its historicity in that the debate over style has emerged and ebbed in changing historical circumstances with different motivations and significance. The study reveals the different layers of dimensions of discussion in twentieth-century Chinese architectural discourses in different social, political, and disciplinary contexts.