100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

πŸŽ‰ Meet Toy Hero - our brand-new toy store, built by the team behind Book Hero

Once Upon a China

Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Once Upon a China offers an inventive architectural narrative inspired by four classic Chinese novels: Dream of the Red Mansion, Journey to the West, The Water Margin, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Each chapter explores themes central to Chinese identityβ€”domesticity, consumerism, democracy and adaptabilityβ€”through the lens of these seminal works. The book uses comic-style drawings to reinterpret architectural concepts, blending fragmented, sequential visuals with rich cultural stories to reimagine the built environment and its cultural significance.
Read More
Format: Hardback
$34100
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in arts and culture, particularly those curious about Chinese history, architectural theory, and innovative graphic storytelling techniques.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Once Upon a China is an unconventional architectural story of great beauty, empathy, honour and sadness. The chapters are ingenious re-imaginations of β€˜Dream of the Red Mansion’, β€˜Journey to the West ’, β€˜The Water Margin’, and β€˜Romance of the Three Kingdoms’, and are conceived as specific themes of Chinese identity.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Once Upon a China is an unconventional architectural story of great beauty, empathy, honour, and sadness. The chapters are ingenious reimaginations of Dream of the Red Mansion, Journey to the West, The Water Margin, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. They are conceived as specific themes of Chinese identity: domesticity, consumerism, democracy, and adaptability.

These four seminal pre-modern fictions contain diverse voices and philosophical perspectives on history, as well as satires that have defined past developments of Chinese societies, politics, and the built environment.

Comics is an unorthodox but extraordinary medium for architectural speculations. The eccentric characteristics of comic-inspired drawings in this book enrich the processes of conception and conceptualisation of design. Their fragmented yet sequential nature proves versatile in the imagination of spatial experiences, enabling the complex stories of place, brief, and building to materialise.

At the same time, the politicisation of architecture through comics engenders a sense of optimism to reappraise Chinese design futures and critical thinking beyond the exuberance of non-contextual Western capitalist models.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781138224414

Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 16 April 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Routledge

Illustration: 247 Line drawings, black and white; 247 Illustrations, black and white

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 123.0mm

Height: 186.0mm

Weight: 522g

Pages: 328

About the Author

CJ Lim is the Professor of Architecture and Urbanism at The Bartlett UCL and founder of Studio 8 Architects. He has held a long preoccupation with architectural storytelling, exploring how narratives from literature, history, politics and humanity can inform the innovation of resilient architecture and cities. His other authored books published by Routledge include β€˜Short Stories: London in two-and-a-half dimensions’ (2011), β€˜Food City’ (2014), β€˜Inhabitable Infrastructures: Science fiction or urban future?’ (2017) and β€˜Smartcities, Resilient Landscapes and Eco-warriors’ (2019).

Steve McCloy is a practicing architect based in London and co-founder of McCloy + Muchemwa. He has worked on a wide variety of projects from public installations and private homes to civic buildings, polar research stations and sustainable urban developments. He has a long-standing association with Studio 8 Architects.

Also by CJ Lim

View all
  • Once Upon a China
    Once Upon a China is an unconventional architectural story of great beauty, empathy, honour, and sadness. The chapters are ingenious reimaginations of Dream of the Red Mansion, Journey to the West, The Water Margin, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and are conceived as specific themes of Chinese identity: domesticity, consumerism, democracy, and adaptability. These four seminal pre-modern fictions contain...
    Paperback
    $6399
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Short Stories: London in Two-and-a-half Dimensions
    Combining place and fiction in an imaginative interpretation of ten sites in the city of London, CJ Lim and Ed Liu take well-known institutions, epochs, and lifestyles in the British capital and render them fantastic in a string of architectural short stories. The medium is an intersection of paper assemblages with short stories. The stories have been exhibited at the...
    By CJ Lim and Ed Liu
    Hardback
    $42300
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Short Stories: London in Two-and-a-half Dimensions
    Combining place and fiction in an imaginative interpretation of ten sites in the city of London, CJ Lim and Ed Liu take well-known institutions, epochs and lifestyles in the British capital and render them fantastic in a string of architectural short stories. The medium is an intersection of paper assemblages with short stories. The stories have been exhibited at the...
    By CJ Lim and Ed Liu
    Paperback
    $7999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Smartcities, Resilient Landscapes and Eco-Warriors
    Following on from the success of the first edition, Smartcities + Eco-Warriors (2010), this book is the latest innovative response on urban resilience from one of the world’s leading urban design and architectural thinkers. An ecological symbiosis between nature, society and the built form, the Smartcity cultivates new spatial practices and creates diverse forms of resilient landscapes including and beyond...
    By CJ Lim and Ed Liu
    Paperback
    $9899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

Also by Steve McCloy

View all
  • Once Upon a China
    Once Upon a China is an unconventional architectural story of great beauty, empathy, honour, and sadness. The chapters are ingenious reimaginations of Dream of the Red Mansion, Journey to the West, The Water Margin, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and are conceived as specific themes of Chinese identity: domesticity, consumerism, democracy, and adaptability. These four seminal pre-modern fictions contain...
    Paperback
    $6399
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from Arts & Culture

View all
  • Dylan's Pick
    Bold Types
    A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...
    Hardback
    $5999
    Elsewhere:
    $7000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    New Release
    Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $5299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    Hardback
    $7299
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • They Bloom Because of You
    Bestselling author and Instagram sensation Jessica Urlichs returns with a new collection of beautifully observed poems about the ever-evolving journey of motherhood - the hard, the magic and the fleeting. β€˜A raw and honest read that makes you feel seen and understood in a way that will bring you to tears.’ - Hilary Swank β€˜A book to keep close and...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3600
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Leaves of Grass
    A collectible new Penguin Classics series offers beautiful, slim, clothbound editions of ten favourite poets. In 1855, Walt Whitman published his first collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass. The volume received great praise from leading Transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. This encouragement led to what would become a lifelong project, as Whitman expanded and rewrote the volume until his death...
    Hardback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Great Writers and the Cats who Owned Them
    Throughout history, cats and writers have bonded together in a magical combination of comfort, companionship and inspiration. The famous authors featured here range from Samuel Johnson, whose cat Hodge dined on oysters, and Edward Lear, whose charismatic cat Foss was missing half his tail, to Margaret Mitchell, L. M. Montgomery and Dorothy L. Sayers, who rescued her kitten Blitz from...
    Hardback
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Beautiful Chaos
    The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller Selected poems from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'These words awaken the magic of life by celebrating the ordinary.' - Giovanna Fletcher Motherhood is messy and beautiful, and hard and humbling. We adore our children and sometimes we miss ourselves. Beautiful Chaos is a collection of raw, honest poems about motherhood, capturing everything...
    Paperback
    $2900
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • To the Women - The New Collection of Wise Words Every Woman Needs
    THE COMPLETELY UPDATED COLLECTION WITH OVER 70 BRAND NEW POEMS, FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WILD HOPE AND WORDS TO LIVE BY 'Amazing . . . Donna's words speak to my heart' Davina McCall To the Women is a celebration of the beauty, strength, and joy of being a woman. A love letter to our deep capacity...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Odyssey
    Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3599
    Backorder
    Ships late August
  • Wreck This Journal: Now in Colour
    The creative journey continues with Wreck This Journal: Now in Colour by Keri Smith, the latest and most vibrant edition of the groundbreaking series that redefined journaling. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, this edition brings the playful destructiveness of the original to life in dazzling full colour, adding a dynamic new dimension to the beloved prompts. Whether you're a seasoned Wreck-er,...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Did I Ever Tell You This?
    In this unexpected memoir, written in a creative burst of just a few months in 2022, Sam Neill tells the story of how he became one of the world’s most celebrated actors, who has worked with everyone from Meryl Streep to Isabel Adjani, from Jeff Goldblum to Sean Connery, from Steven Spielberg to Jane Campion. By his own account, his...
    Paperback
    $3799
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    Backorder
    Ships 1 Week
  • A Thousand Feasts
    THE INSTANT #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER From award-winning writer Nigel Slater, comes a new and exquisitely written collection of notes, memoir, stories and small moments of joy. 'Nigel Slater’s prose is the rarest delicacy of all: exquisite yet effortless, filled with heart, tenderness, yearning and humour' ELIZABETH DAY For years, Nigel Slater has kept notebooks of curiosities and wonderings, penned...
    Paperback
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.