Liu Xianjue (; 12 December 1931 – 16 May 2019) was a Chinese

architectural historian An architectural historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture, and is regarded as an authority on it. Professional requirements As many architectural historians are employed at universities and other facilities ...

and educator. He studied under all "Four Modern Masters in Architecture" of China and taught at

Southeast University Southeast University (SEU) is a public university in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. Its precursor, ...

for more than 50 years. He advocated for the protection of architectural heritage in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

and advised the government of

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

in its successful application for

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

status for the

Historic Centre of Macau The Historic Centre of Macao (, ) is a collection of over twenty locations that witness the unique assimilation and co-existence of Chinese and Portuguese cultures in Macau, a former Portuguese colony. It represents the architectural legacies of ...

Early life and education

Liu was born on 12 December 1931 in

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

, Republic of China, with his ancestral home in

Hefei Hefei is the Capital city, capital of Anhui, China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census. Its built-up (or ''metro'') area is made up of four u ...

. During the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

, his family took refuge in Ningdu,

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

, where he attended middle school and learned to speak English from Christian missionaries. Liu entered the Department of Architecture of

Hangchow University Hangchow University (), also spelled as Zhijiang University and formerly known as Hangchow Christian College, Hangchow College, and Hangchow Presbyterian College, is a defunct Protestantism, Protestant Christian college, missionary universit ...

in 1949, before transferring to

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU) is a public university in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. It is affiliated and sponsored by the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. The univers ...

the following year. In 1952, the architecture program of Nanjing University became part of Nanjing Institute of Technology (now

), where he studied under Yang Tingbao and graduated in 1953. In 1953, Liu began his graduate studies at

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

, where he was supervised by

Liang Sicheng Liang Sicheng ( zh, c=梁思成; 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 scholar ...

. His thesis, ''Chinese Architecture of the Recent 100 Years'', was one of the earliest works on the history of modern Chinese architecture. Besides Yang Tingbao and Liang Sicheng, he was also taught by the other two of China's "Four Modern Masters in Architecture": Liu Dunzhen and

Tung Chuin Tung may refer to: People * Madison Tung, a U.S. Air Force Officer, wrestler, and Rhodes Scholar * Ho-Pin Tung, a dutch race car driver of Chinese descent. * Lola Tung, an actress known for her acting debut on drama series ''The Summer I Turned ...

Career

After graduating in 1956, Liu spent half a century teaching and researching at the

Southeast University School of Architecture The Southeast University School of Architecture (SEU Arch, ) is one of the professional schools of Southeast University in Nanjing, China. Founded in 1927, SEU School of Architecture is the oldest school of architecture in China and one of the mo ...

. In 1981, he was a visiting scholar at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in the United States. He published 30 books and more than 100 papers. He advised 26 doctoral students, 50 master's students, and three postdoctoral researchers. He was conferred the special education prize by the Chinese Architectural Society and awarded a special pension by the National Government of China. Liu was a strong advocate for the protection of the

Republican era Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

architecture of

. In 1988, he surveyed Nanjing's architecture and chose about 200 valuable buildings for conservation. However, more than 40 of the buildings were demolished during the urban renewal of the city by 2002. Liu lobbied the media and the government for protection of Nanjing's architectural heritage, and the municipal government eventually designated the remaining buildings as protected architecture. Starting in 2000, Liu advised the government of

in its application for

status for the

. After more than three years of research, he published ''The Architectural Heritage in Macau'' in January 2005. The book was submitted as academic evidence for the application, and the Historic Centre of Macau was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage List in 2005. Liu died in Nanjing on 16 May 2019, at the age of 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Xianjue 1931 births 2019 deaths Chinese architectural historians Nanjing University alumni Southeast University alumni Tsinghua University alumni Academic staff of Southeast University Writers from Fuzhou Historians from Fujian Educators from Fujian