Architecture article

Architecture article

Liang Sicheng

Early Years

Liang Sicheng was born on April 20th 1901 in Tokyo, Japan, to Liang Qichao (1873 – 1929) and his wife Li Huixian (1869 – 1924). Liang Qichao, a prominent scholar of the reformed Confucian tradition, "had leapt into fame as a leader of the reform movement of 1898," but had to leave China for Japan that same year following a conservative coup d'etat led by Empress Dowager Cixi (1835 – 1908) and the later Chinese "President-Emperor" Yuan Shikai (1859 – 1916). In Japan, he co-founded the Baohuang Hui (the Society for the Protection of the Emperor) with his mentor and teacher Kang Youwei. The family of Liang Sicheng eventually stayed in Japan for 14 years, where he thusly lived for most of his childhood, until they returned to China in 1912, enabled by the new permissive political climate that accompanied the anti-monarchist, republican Xinhai Revolution, first settling in Tianjin. Liang Sicheng is considered the favorite son of his father. According to an article of his, his memories of the time in Japan are fond, generally defined by familial peace, care by Japanese servants, attending a Chinese school and playing with his siblings. While living in their Tianjin-based Western-style two-story mansion, located in the Italian concession, Liang Sicheng adopted his pen name, as was common for academics or those who aspire to be at the time: "Ice-drinking Elder". Following the appointment of his father as Minister of Justice of the recently founded Chinese Republic in September 1913, the family prepared for a necessary move to Beijing. There, Liang Sicheng and his brother attended an esteemed Anglican school in the years 1913 to 1915, whereafter Liang attended the Tsinghua College (which would later become today's Tsinghua University) for 8 years, until 1923. At college, he excelled in "scholarship and artistry" and autodidactically picked up sketching skills, which would later prove to be quite important.

Liang Qichao attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1918, spending the following year there as well, returning to China thereafter. By his arrival, he had noticed the strong focus on the "fruits of Western civilization" that Tsinghua College was teaching his sons. This resulted in the elder Liang's decision to hold lectures for three years – 1921 to 1923 – in what is essentially Chinese Studies for his sons, their cousins and a small select amount of others at his home in Tianjin. These lectures strongly impacted Liang Sicheng and can certainly be considered indicative of what "road of scholarship" he was going to take later on. In Liang Sicheng's final year at Tsinghua College, he eventually decided on enrolling at the University of Pennsylvania to study architecture. In 1923, Liang Sicheng suffered a thigh fracture during a car crash in Beijing that would render one of his legs noticably shorter, resulting in a limp, and requiring a back brace for the rest of his life – a handicap considered remarkable, given the nature of his later occupation that necessitated climbing on roofs and walking long distances in the countryside.

In 1924, Liang Sicheng left China for the United States, to actually enroll at the University of Pennsylvania in fall, after a brief stay at Cornell University during the summer. He did so together with his future wife, Lin "Phyllis" Huiyin and his roommate from Tsinghua University Chen "Benjamin" Zhi. In September 1924, Liang's mother died of cancer. Liang Sicheng was considered "very formal and dour," "serious and concentrated," a strong contrast to the lively, "vivacious and quick-witted" Lin Huiyin or the "most Westernized of the bunch" Chen Zhi. Fairbank further notes that "[d]uring his student years, Sicheng's abilities were recognized by the award of two medals and other honors for his designs," yielding respect from his father. Liang finished his studies together with Lin in 1927, him graduating as Master of Architecture, her with an Honors Bachelor of the Fine Arts, allowing them to finalize their engagement. He left Pennsylvania for Harvard in September 1927, where he was invited to "research Oriental architecture." During his stay in the United States, Liang Sicheng received various reprints of historical documents with architectural content from his father, which he studied meticulously. In February 1928, Liang finished his "preparatory" work in Harvard. In March 1928, Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin married in Ottawa, at the Chinese Consulate, which they left for Europe right after the wedding.

Liang and Lin toured Europe as part of a half-honeymoon, half-study trip for the rest of that year. Hurrying from place to place, trying to find a proper balance between enjoyment and conducting "field research", they eventually visited France, England, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Germany. At the end of the summer 1928, they arrived back in China, where Liang immediately re-united with his sick father. Liang Qichao died on January 1929, apparently following a butched operation the aforegoing year.