Chen Chan-siang (; 13 June 1916 - 12 March 2001) was an urban planner and architect. Chen was a member of Five United, a firm which pioneered modernist architecture in China in the 1940s.
Other members of Five United included
Huang Zuo-shen,
Wang Da-hong
Wang Da-hong (; 6 July 1917 – 28 May 2018) was a Chinese-born Taiwanese architect. Regarded as one of the pioneers of modernist architecture in Taiwan, his architectural philosophy, whilst very modern in its application, was informed by both th ...
and
Luke Him Sau
Luke Him Sau (Chinese: 陸謙受, Pinyin: Lù Qiānshòu; 29 July 1904 - 23 January 1991; also known as Luk Tsang Shau, 陸增壽) was a Chinese architect who practiced in the early and mid twentieth century. During the late 1920s, Luke was one ...
. He is also known as Charles Chen, Chi Ziang Chen, Chen Zhangxiang.
Biography
Chen studied in England in the early 1940s, where he was the first foreign student to chair the Students' Union at the Architecture School of
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
. As a student, he also published several papers on Chinese architectural traditions and practices, under the guidance of Sir
Nicholas Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, '' The Buildings of England'' ( ...
.
In October 1949, he went to
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
to work. There, he was co-publisher, with
Liang Sicheng
Liang Sicheng (; 20 April 1901 – 9 January 1972) was a Chinese architect and architectural historian, known as the father of modern Chinese architecture. His father, Liang Qichao, was one of the most prominent Chinese scholars of the early ...
, of the
Liang-Chen Proposal, which applied Western concepts and techniques to the planning and modernisation of Beijing. The proposal included suggestions for protecting some of the ancient parts of the city. Chen was one of several architects persecuted by the government in the early days of
Communist China.
In January 1988, he was invited to give lectures in the United States. He taught at the
University of California at Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...
,
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to ...
and others. Chen returned to China in 1989, and died in Beijing on 12 March 2001.
Chen has been described as 'one of the foremost architects and city planners in modern Chinese history' by Professor Marwyn Samuels of Syracuse University.
References
External links
*Liang-Chen Proposal for protection of the ancient city of Beijing (in Chinese
*Chen Zhanxiang's life (in Chinese
{{authority control
Chinese architects
1916 births
2001 deaths
Alumni of the University of Liverpool
Alumni of University College London
University of California, Berkeley faculty
Cornell University faculty
Chinese expatriates in the United Kingdom
Chinese expatriates in the United States