Background
Knapp, Ronald Gary was born on August 15, 1940 in Pittsburgh. Son of William Harry and Thelma Ruth (Weber) Knapp.
(Featuring over 350 beautiful photographs, Chinese Houses ...)
Featuring over 350 beautiful photographs, Chinese Houses of Southeast Asia captures the architectural heritage of a vibrant community. The multiple Chinese migrations from southeastern China to Southeast Asia have had important implications for both regions. In Southeast Asia this influence can be seen in the architecturally eclectic homes these migrants and their descendants built as they became successful; homes that combined Chinese, European and local influences, especially during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Chinese Houses of Southeast Asia strives not only to be an informative but also an authoritative book on the subject of hybrid architecture—filled with stunning color photographs and essays on nearly thirty well-preserved homes. An introductory essay portrays the historical circumstances that gave rise to Chinese houses overseas, and includes historic images, color photographs, paintings and line drawings. At the core of the book is a comprehensive set of stunning color photographs of nearly thirty well-preserved homes built by Chinese immigrants and their descendants in various countries of Southeast Asia. Images and drawings from southeastern China help clarify similarities and differences. For each home, extensive captions accompany the photographs and the essay supplies background information concerning the individual and family who built and resided in each house. The historical context, nature of the building, and the restoration history of the home is included. Extensive information about the symbolism implicit in the decorative elements that make up each of the homes is presented. This includes an examination of ornamental elements that are Chinese in origin as well as those decorative components that are Western. Chinese Houses of Southeast Asia has been written in a nontechnical style, accessible to lay readers who are interested in the extraordinary architectural heritage of China, much of which is only now beginning to be appreciated.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804839565/?tag=2022091-20
(This pioneering work in Chinese domestic architecture exa...)
This pioneering work in Chinese domestic architecture examines for the first time the Chinese house from a cultural perspective. Knapp explores how the typical Chinese home reveals a long folk tradition of craft and symbolism, including the popular practices of fengshui. Extensively illustrated with wood block prints from traditional Chinese homes, original line drawings, and Knapp's own photographs, the book vividly portrays a living tradition of amazing resilience.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195851153/?tag=2022091-20
(Bridges are one of its most striking and resilient feats ...)
Bridges are one of its most striking and resilient feats of architectural prowess in ancient China. Chinese Bridges brings together a thorough look at the marvels of Chinese bridge design from one of the world's leading experts on Chinese culture and historical geography, Ronald G. Knapp. While many consider bridges to be merely utilitarian civil engineering, the bridges of China move beyond that stereotype, as many are undeniably dramatic, even majestic and daring. Chinese Bridges illustrates in detail 20 well-preserved ancient bridges, along with descriptions and essays on the distinctive architectural elements shared by the various designs. For the first time in an English-language book, Chinese Bridges records scores of newly discovered bridges across China's vast landscape, illustrated with over 400 color photographs, as well as woodblock prints, historic images, paintings and line drawings.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804838844/?tag=2022091-20
(Over a period of several years, noted Chinese cultural hi...)
Over a period of several years, noted Chinese cultural historian Ronald G. Knapp traveled throughout Southeast Asia, searching out homes built by the first generations of successful Chinese settlers during the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century. In Chinese Houses of Southeast Asia, Knapp presents an eye-opening account of how Chinese migration into Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam spawned a unique hybrid architectural style that combined Chinese, European, and local influences. Many of these overseas Chinese heritage homes are disappearing, but Knapp—along with renowned photographer A. Chester Ong—visited a number of the shophouses, bungalows, villas, and mansions that remain. More than three dozen of these elegant residences form the core of this book, and through essays, historic photographs, paintings, and line drawings, Knapp draws an illuminating portrait of each residence along with background information about the families who built and lived in them. These profiles reveal the entrepreneurial spirit of the Chinese as well as their social and economic circumstances. A stunning marriage of scholarship and photography, Chinese Houses of Southeast Asia explores a little known branch of Chinese architecture and provides a new perspective on Chinese migration, settlement, and identity in Southeast Asia.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804844798/?tag=2022091-20
(Winner of ForeWord Magazine's Architecture "Book of the Y...)
Winner of ForeWord Magazine's Architecture "Book of the Year" Award! Exquisite examples of traditional dwellings are scattered throughout modern-day China. Chinese Houses focuses on 20 well-preserved traditional Chinese homes, presenting examples from a range of rural and metropolitan areas throughout China. The photographs of each are accompanied by extensive background information and historical content. An introductory essay examines the different types of Chinese homes and provides an overview of the rich regional variety of Chinese dwelling forms. It also provides insights into little-known design concepts that emphasize the flexibility, adaptability, and versatility of traditional building forms and the work of traditional craftsmen. Richly illustrated with photographs, woodblock prints, historic images, and line drawings, Chinese Houses portrays an architectural tradition of amazing range and resilience.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804835373/?tag=2022091-20
Knapp, Ronald Gary was born on August 15, 1940 in Pittsburgh. Son of William Harry and Thelma Ruth (Weber) Knapp.
Bachelor, Stetson University, 1962. Doctor of Philosophy, University Pittsburgh, 1968.
Assistant professor, State University of New York, New Paltz, 1968-1971; associate professor, State University of New York, New Paltz, 1971-1978; professor department geography, State University of New York, New Paltz, 1978-1998; distinguished professor, State University of New York, New Paltz, since 1998. Director international education State University of New York, 1982-1983, chairman, since 1997.
(Winner of ForeWord Magazine's Architecture "Book of the Y...)
(Featuring over 350 beautiful photographs, Chinese Houses ...)
(This pioneering work in Chinese domestic architecture exa...)
(Bridges are one of its most striking and resilient feats ...)
(Over a period of several years, noted Chinese cultural hi...)
Board directors, Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz, since 1988, vice president, 1998-2005, president since 2005. Executive director New York Conference on Asian Studies, since 1999. Member of Association American Geographers, Association Asian Studies.
Married May Knapp, 1968. Children: Douglas Stewart, Larissa Lynn, Jeffrey Daniel.