Confucius courtyard : architecture philosophy and the good life in China For almost three thousand years Chinese life from the city and the imperial palace to the temple the market and the family home was configured around the courtyard as were the accomplishments of Chinas artistic philosophical and institutional elites. Confucius Courtyard tells the story of how this most singular and persistent architectural form holds the key to understanding even today much of Chinese society and culture. Part architectural history and part introduction to the cultural and philosophical history of China the book explores the Chinese view of the world and reveals the extent to which this is inextricably intertwined with the ancient concept of the courtyard an architectural element and a way of life which has been almost entirely overlooked in China since 1949 and in the West for centuries. Along the way it provides an accessible introduction to the Confucian doctrine of zhongyong (the Middle Way) and the Chinese principles of the virtuous good life and shows how these can only be fully understood through the humble courtyard a space which is grounded in the earth yet open to the heavens. Erudite and poetic Confucius Courtyard weaves together architecture philosophy and cultural history to explore what lies at the very heart of Chinese civilization