Fiction of Form: Beaux-Arts as Projective Grammar in Yang Tingbao’S Architecture (1930–1981)

Abstract

This article proposes “fiction of form” to examine how architectural form mediates ideological pressures from institutional mandates, state imperatives, and professional discourse while sustaining cultural resonance in China (1930–1981). Through a comparative reading of plans, elevations, and spatial sequences, the article traces how Yang’s Beaux-Arts–inspired design principles were adapted across three Chinese political regimes, as evidenced by Tsinghua University Library Extension (1930), Peace Hotel (Beijing, 1951), and Wuyi Hotel (Fujian, 1981). Respectively, these cases demonstrate institutional legibility achieved through axial order and hierarchical sequencing in the Republican Period (1912–1949); functional alignment via compositional neutrality and façade discipline under early PRC state imperatives (1950s–1960s); and cultural resonance achieved through courtyard sequencing and calibrated thresholds in the Reform era (after 1978). The study situates Yang’s work within debates on non-Western modernism and reframes formalism as rhetorical instrumentation rather than aesthetic autonomy. It argues for further research into how architectural form—particularly when derived from Beaux-Arts traditions—can function rhetorically in shaping meaning across diverse geopolitical contexts.