Liang Sicheng ( 梁思成) was the Father of Architecture in China. During the 1930s and 1940s, he and his wife travelled to more than 200 counties in the interior and found 2,738 ancient buildings.

The two discovered the richness and diversity of China’s architectural heritage and, through their books and drawings, made them available to the world, both Chinese and non-Chinese.

In the 1950s, he pleaded with the new Communist government to preserve the historic city of Beijing. He designed a new administrative centre in the west of the city. But his demand was rejected by Chairman Mao who wanted to live next to China’s emperors. The ancient walls of Beijing were demolished — Liang and his wife were devastated.

Joint Publishing of Hong Kong has published “The Guardian of China’s Architectural History”. It is the story of a remarkable man and his wife, who lived through wars, revolution and persecution but maintained their work and their ideals.