"If you can learn Chinese, then you can engage with the arts of China or architecture." Nancy S. Steinhardt, a professor of East Asian Art and Curator of Chinese Art at the University of Pennsylvania shared her experience learning and teaching Chinese art and architecture during an interview with CGTN in Beijing.
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Since 1982, Steinhardt has been teaching East Asian art at the University of Pennsylvania. Nowadays, as more students in the U.S. show passion for studying more about China, Steinhardt recommends her students be able to learn Chinese. "By studying Chinese architecture, I could really come closer to the Chinese people," she added.
Professor Steinhardt has done extensive fieldwork in China, South Korea and Japan, and is curator of Chinese art at the Penn Museum. Her research on the interaction of religions and architecture shows that mosques have developed and been preserved well in China, mainly because the Chinese architectural system is adaptable, allowing for the convergence of China's building tradition and religious building systems.