China Institute invites you to an evening conversation with Zhang Qin, author of A Solitary Traveler in the Long Night, an intimate portrait of Tong Jun, a pioneering architect and architectural educator whose work helped shape the intellectual foundations of modern Chinese architecture. Blending architectural history, personal reflection, and cultural analysis, the book reveals the inner world of a master architect whose influence far exceeded the limited records of his life. The conversation will be moderated by Susan Yuqing Feng, Director of Programs at China Institute, and followed by an audience Q&A and a book signing.
Schedule
5:30–6:00 pm | Audience check-in
6:00–6:45 pm | Conversation with Qin Zhang, moderated by Susan Yuqing Feng
6:45–7:00 pm | Audience Q&A
7:00–7:30 pm | Book sale and signing
About the Book
A Solitary Traveler in the Long Night revisits the life and legacy of Tong Jun, an outstanding architect and architectural educator in contemporary China. Widely regarded as an all-around talent, Tong Jun made lasting contributions as a theorist, designer, writer, and painter. Deeply grounded in ancient Chinese literature, he studied classical poetry from an early age and later received formal architectural training in both China and the United States, earning multiple awards while studying at the University of Pennsylvania.
Tong Jun left behind an extensive body of work and manuscripts on architecture, landscape, architectural history, sculpture, and painting that have profoundly influenced generations of architects and scholars. Yet despite his intellectual impact, records of his personal life remain scarce. Focusing on the final twenty years of Tong Jun’s life, this book brings forward a vivid and human portrait of a solitary thinker and practitioner navigating tradition, modernity, and artistic conviction.
