Ernst Boerschmann (1873-1949) was a German architect who researched ancient architecture through China in the early twentieth century. He first visited China in 1902 under the aegis of the German Imperial Colonial Office, the Reichs-Kolonial-Amt. He was based in Qingdao, Shandong province, the major German concession which had been ceded by the Chinese government in 1897. His interest in religious architecture allowed him to organise travel around the religious/spiritual geography of the country.
After returning to Germany, the Foreign Office continued to support his studies until 1914. He was able to publish two big books in the series The Architecture and Religious Culture of the Chinese. The first volume, which appeared in 1911, was devoted to the Buddhist temple island of Putuo Shan. The second work, which was published in 1914, was on the architecture 'of the old Chinese cultural circle' (that is buildings from the pre-Buddhist era of China), which complemented the previous volume. His many photographs serve as an important reference of historical Chinese architecture from that period.
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