Liang Sicheng and Viollet-le-Duc: a comparative study of architectural conservation traditions in China and Europe

To deepen the understanding of Liang Sicheng’s architectural conservation ideas and the history of Chinese architectural conservation in the 20th century, as well as to clarify to what extent and in which aspects Liang Sicheng might have drawn inspiration from Viollet-le-Duc’s theories and designs, this study takes the following approach. First, through a documentary analysis of the restoration of the Liuhe Pagoda, the rationale and methodology behind restoring the historic condition are clarified. Second, by focusing on the important concept of fashi in the theory of “Restoring the Historic Condition” and examining Liang Sicheng’s other writings and design works, its deeper implications are explored. And then the connections and differences between Restoring the Historic Condition and Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc’s “Stylistic Restoration” in Europe are compared. Finally, the inheritance and evolution of Restoring the Historic Condition by later generations are examined. Restoring the Historic Condition can be seen as an indigenized response to Stylistic Restoration in China and reflects Liang Sicheng’s dedication to and pursuit of the objective artistic ideal embodied in the fashi of Tang and Song architecture. Its underlying motivation stems from his cultural self-awareness and deep confidence in China’s architectural heritage.