The developing state of society with Chinese characteristics presents a unique environment for China’s contemporary architecture. Furthermore, by serving as one of China’s primary centers of design, Shanghai serves as an ideal entry point for understanding China’s contemporary architecture.
Architect Xing Ruan is the founding dean of the School of Design at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. Ruan left China for New Zealand and Australia in the early 1990s before returning in 2018 for his present post, giving him sharp insight into his role as scholar and practitioner situated in both East and West.
In the following excerpts from a conversation between Xing Ruan and the author, Ruan talks about means of communication, perspectives on architectural history, humanism, and more.
Here and Elsewhere
Yifan Zhang (YF): After you moved away from China in 1991, Chinese subjects were still a primary focus of your research. Similarly, it can be said that with participation in more projects abroad, many Chinese students and scholars still work on topics related to China.
Xing Ruan (XR): Many people tend to have a certain misunderstanding that if you are Chinese, and have grown up in this culture, then you certainly will understand China better than others. To speak frankly, the person whose understanding of Chinese culture I have the most respect for was a Belgian scholar who later lived for a long time in Australia. But why are there so few Chinese scholars researching other cultures? There must be some difficulties in doing so. The same predicament exists in the West, one related to the tendency for first impressions to remain deeply entrenched.
