Chinese architecture refers to a style of
architecture that has taken shape in
Asia over many centuries.
The structural
principles of Chinese
architecture have remained largely unchanged,
the main changes being only the decorative details.
Since the
Tang Dynasty, Chinese architecture has
had a major influence on the architectural styles of Korea
, Vietnam
and Japan
.
The architecture of China is as old as Chinese
civilization. From every source of information - literary, graphic,
exemplary - there is strong evidence testifying to the fact that
the Chinese have always employed an indigenous system of
construction that has retained its principal characteristics from
prehistoric times to the present day. Over the vast area from
Chinese Turkistan to Japan, from Manchuria to the northern half of
French Indochina, the same system of construction is prevalent; and
this was the area of Chinese cultural influence. That this system
of construction could perpetuate itself for more than four thousand
years over such a vast territory and still remain a living
architecture, retaining its principal characteristics in spite of
repeated foreign invasions - military, intellectual, and spiritual
- is a phenomenon comparable only to the continuity of the
civilization of which it is an integral part.
The following article gives a cursory explanation of traditional
Chinese architecture, before the introduction of Western building
methods during the early 20th century. Throughout the 20th Century,
however, Western-trained Chinese architects have attempted to
combine traditional Chinese designs into modern (usually
government) buildings, with only limited success.
Moreover, the pressure
for urban development throughout contemporary China required
higher speed of construction and higher floor area ratio, which means that in the
great cities the demand for traditional Chinese buildings, which
are normally less than 3 levels, has declined in favor of modern
architecture. However, the traditional skills of Chinese
architecture, including
major carpentry,
minor carpentry,
masonry, and
stone
masonry, are still applied to the construction of vernacular
architecture in the vast rural area in China.
Features
Architectural Bilateral symmetry
An important feature in Chinese architecture is its emphasis on
articulation and
bilateral symmetry, which signifies balance. Bilateral symmetry and
the articulation of buildings are found everywhere in Chinese
architecture, from palace complexes to humble farmhouses. When
possible, plans for renovation and extension of a house will often
try to maintain this symmetry provided that there is enough capital
to do so. Secondary elements are positioned either side of main
structures as two wings to maintain overall bilateral
symmetry.
In contrast to the buildings, Chinese gardens are a notable
exception which tends to be asymmetrical. The principle underlying
the garden's composition is to create enduring flow.
Enclosure
Contemporary Western architectural practices typically involve
surrounding a building by an open yard on the property. This
contrasts with much of traditional Chinese architecture, which
involves constructing buildings or building complexes that take up
an entire property but encloses open spaces within itself. These
enclosed spaces come in two forms: the open courtyard (院) and the
"sky well" (天井).
The use of open courtyards is a common feature in many types of
Chinese architectures. This is best exemplified in the
Siheyuan, which consists of an empty space
surrounded by buildings connected with one another either directly
or through verandas.
Although large open courtyards are less commonly found in southern
Chinese architecture, the concept of a "open space" surrounded by
buildings, which is seen in northern courtyard complexes, can be
seen in the southern building structure known as the "sky well".
This structure is essentially a relatively enclosed courtyard
formed from the intersections of closely spaced buildings and offer
small opening to the sky through the roof space from the floor
up.
These enclosures serve in temperature regulation and in venting the
building complexes. Northern courtyards are typically open and
facing the south to allow the maximum exposure of the building
windows and walls to the sun while keeping the cold northern winds
out. Southern sky wells are relatively small and serves to collect
rain water from the roof tops while restricting the amount of
sunlight that enters the building. Sky wells also serve as vents
for rising hot air, which draws cool air from the lowers stories of
the house and allows for exchange of cool air with the
outside.
Hierarchical
The projected hierarchy and importance and uses of buildings in
traditional Chinese architecture are based on the strict placement
of buildings in a property/complex. Buildings with doors facing the
front of the property are considered more important than those
faces the sides. Building facing away from the front of the
property are the least important.
As well, building in the rear and more private parts of the
property are held in higher esteem and reserve for elder members of
the family or ancestral plaques than buildings near the front,
which are typically for servants and hired help.Front facing
buildings in the back of properties are used particularly for rooms
of celebratory rites and for the placement of ancestral halls and
plaques. In multiple courtyard complexes, Central courtyard and
their buildings are considered more important than peripheral ones,
the latter which are typically used as storage or servant's rooms
or kitchens.
Horizontal emphasis
Classical Chinese buildings, especially those of the wealthy are
built with an emphasis on breadth and less on height, with close
heavy platform and a large roof that floats over this base, with
the vertical walls not well emphasized. This contrasts Western
architecture, which tends to grow in height and depth. Chinese
architecture stresses the visual impact of the width of the
buildings.
The halls
and palaces in the Forbidden
City
, for example, have rather low ceilings when
compared to equivalent stately buildings in the West, but their
external appearances suggest the all-embracing nature of imperial
China. These ideas have found their way into modern Western
architecture, for example through the work of
Jørn Utzon. This of course does not apply to
pagodas, which are and limited to religious
building complexes.
Mythical concepts
Concepts from
feng shui geomancy and
mythic elements of
daoism are usually present
in the construction and layout of Chinese architecture, from common
residences to imperial and religious structures. This includes the
use of:
- Screen walls to face the main entrance of the house, which
stems from the belief that evil things travel on straight
lines.
- Talismans and fortuitous imagery:
- Door gods displayed on doorways to ward
evil and encourage the flow of good fortune
- Three anthropomorphic figures representing Fu Lu Shou (福祿壽) stars are prominently displayed,
sometimes with the proclamation "the threes star are
present"(三星在)
- Fruits and animals that symboliz good fortune and prosperity,
such as bats and pomegranates, respecitively. The association is
often done through rebuses.
- Orienting the structure with its back to elevated landscape and
ensuring that there is water in the front. Considerations are also
made such that the generally windowless back of the structure faces
the north, where the wind is coldest in the winter
- Ponds, pools, wells, and other water sources are usually built
into the structure
The use of certain colors, numbers and the cardinal directions in
traditional Chinese architecture reflected the belief in a type of
immanence, where the nature of a thing
could be wholly contained in its own form. Although the Western
tradition gradually developed a body of architectural literature,
little was written on the subject in China, and the earliest text,
the
Kaogongji, was never disputed.
However, ideas about cosmic harmony and the order of the city were
usually interpreted at their most basic level, so a reproduction of
the "ideal" city never existed.
Beijing as
reconstructed throughout the 15th and 16th century remains one of
the best examples of traditional Chinese
town planning.
Construction
Structure
- Use of large structural timbers for primary support of the roof
of a building. Wooden timber, usually large trimmed logs, are used
as load-bearing columns and lateral beams for framing buildings and
supporting the roofs. These structural timbers are prominently
displayed in finished structures. However, it is not known how the
ancient builders raised the huge wooden load bearing columns into
position.
Although, structural walls are also commonly found in Chinese
architecture, most timber framed architecture are preferred when
economically feasible.
- Timber frames are typically constructed with jointnary and
doweling alone, seldom with the use of glue or nails. Structural
stability is further ensured through the use of heavy beams and
roofs, which weighs the structure down.
- Using even numbers of columns in a building structure to
produce odd numbers of bays (間). With the inclusion of a main door
to a building in the centre bay, symmetry is maintained
- The common use of curtain walls or door panels to delineate
rooms or enclose a building, with the general deemphasis of
load-bearing walls in most higher class construction
- Flat roofs are uncommon while gabled roofs
almost omnipresent in traditional Chinese architecture. Three main
types of roofs are found
- Straight inclined: Roofs with a single incline. These
are the most economical type of roofing and are most prevalent in
commoner architectures
- Multi-inclined: Roofs with 2 or more sections of
incline. These roofs are used in higher class constructions, from
the dwellings of wealthy commoners to palaces
- Sweeping: Roofs with a sweeping curvature that rises
at the corners of the roof. The types of roof construction are
usually reserved for temples and palaces although it may also be
found in the homes of the wealthy. In the former cases, the ridges
of the roof are usually highly decorated with ceramic
figurines.
- The roof apex of large hall are usually topped with a ridge of
tiles for both decorative purposes but also to weight down the
layers of roofing tiles for stability. These ridges are often well
decorated, especially for religious or palatial structures. In some
regions of China, the ridges are sometimes extended or incorporated
from the walls of the building to form matouqiang (horse-head
walls), which serve as a fire deterrent from drifting embers.
Materials and history
Unlike other building construction materials, old wooden structures
often do not survive because they are more vulnerable to weathering
and fires and are naturally subjected to rotting over time.
Although now nonexistent wooden residential towers, watchtowers,
and pagodas predated it by centuries, the
Songyue Pagoda built in 523 is the oldest
extant
pagoda in China; its use of
brick instead of wood had much to do with its
endurance throughout the centuries. From the
Tang Dynasty (618–907) onwards, brick and stone
architecture gradually became more common and replaced wooden
edifices.
The earliest of this transition can be seen
in building projects such as the Zhaozhou Bridge
completed in 605 or the Xumi
Pagoda built in 636, yet stone and brick architecture is known
to have been used in subterranean tomb architecture of earlier
dynasties.
In the early 20th century, there were no known fully
wood-constructed Tang Dynasty buildings that still existed; the
oldest so far discovered was the 1931 find of Guanyin Pavilion at
Dule Monastery, dated 984 during the Song. This was until the
architectural historians
Liang Sicheng
(1901–1972), Lin Huiyin (1904–1955), Mo Zongjiang (1916–1999), and
Ji Yutang (1902–c.
1960s) discovered that the East Hall of
Foguang Temple on Mount Wutai
in Shanxi
was reliably
dated to the year 857 in June 1937. The groundfloor
dimensions for this monastic hall measures 34 by 17.66 m (111 ft by
57 ft). A year after the discovery at Foguang, the much smaller
main hall of nearby
Nanchan Temple on
Mount Wutai was reliably dated to the year 782, while a total of
six Tang era wooden buildings have been found by the 21st century.
The oldest existent multistory wooden pagoda that has survived
intact is the
Pagoda of Fogong
Temple of the
Liao Dynasty, located
in Ying County of Shanxi. While the East Hall of Foguang Temple
features only seven types of
bracket arms in
its construction, the 11th century Pagoda of Fogong Temple features
a total of fifty-four.
The earliest walls and platforms in China were of
rammed earth construction, and over time, brick
and stone became more frequently used.
This can be seen in
ancient sections of the Great Wall
of China, while the brick and stone Great Wall seen today is a
renovation of the Ming
Dynasty
(1368–1644).
Classification by structure
Chinese classifications for
architecture include:
- 軒 (轩) xuan
- 塔 ta (Chinese
pagodas)
- 榭 xie (Pavilions or houses on terraces)
- 屋 wu (Rooms along roofed corridors)
- 斗拱( ) dougong interlocking
wooden brackets, often used
in clusters to support roofs and add ornamentation.
- 藻井 Caisson
domed or coffered ceiling
Architectural types
Commoner
As for the commoners, be they bureaucrats, merchants or farmers,
their houses tended to follow a set pattern: the center of the
building would be a shrine for the deities and the ancestors, which
would also be used during festivities. On its two sides were
bedrooms for the elders; the two wings of the building (known as
"guardian dragons" by the Chinese) were for the junior members of
the family, as well as the living room, the dining room, and the
kitchen, although sometimes the living room could be very close to
the center.
Sometimes the extended families became so large that one or even
two extra pairs of "wings" had to be built. This resulted in a
U-shaped building, with a courtyard suitable for farm work;
merchants and bureaucrats, however, preferred to close off the
front with an imposing front gate. All buildings were legally
regulated, and the law held that the number of storeys, the length
of the building and the colours used depended on the owner's class.
Some
commoners living in areas plagued by bandits built communal
fortresses called Tulou
for
protection.
Imperial
There were certain architectural features that were reserved solely
for buildings built for the
Emperor of
China.
One example is the use of yellow roof tiles;
yellow having been the Imperial color, yellow roof tiles still
adorn most of the buildings within the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven
, however, uses blue roof tiles to symbolize the
sky. The roofs are almost invariably supported by
bracket ("
dougong"), a feature shared only with the
largest of religious buildings. The wooden columns of the
buildings, as well as the surface of the walls, tend to be red in
color. Black is also a famous color often used in pagodas. They
believe the gods are inspired by the black color to descend on to
the earth.
The Chinese five-clawed dragon, adopted by the first Ming emperor
for his personal use, was used as decoration on the beams, pillars,
and on the doors on Imperial architecture. Curiously, the dragon
was never used on roofs of imperial buildings.
Only the buildings used by the imperial family were allowed to have
nine
jian (間, space between two columns); only the gates
used by the
Emperor could have five
arches, with the centre one, of course, being reserved for the
Emperor himself. The ancient Chinese favored the color
red. The buildings faced south because the north had a
cold wind.
Beijing became the capital of China after the Mongol invasion of the 13th century, completing the
easterly migration of the Chinese capital begun since the Jin dynasty, the Ming uprising in 1368 reasserted Chinese authority and
fixed Beijing as the seat of imperial power for the next five
centuries. The Emperor and the Empress lived in palaces
on the central axis of the Forbidden City, the Crown Prince at
the eastern side, and the concubines at the back (therefore the
numerous imperial concubines were often referred to as "The Back
Palace Three Thousand"). However, during the mid-Qing Dynasty
, the Emperor's residence was moved to the western
side of the complex. It is misleading to speak of an axis in
the Western sense of a visual
perspective ordering facades, rather
the Chinese axis is a line of privilege, usually built upon,
regulating access - there are no vistas, but a series of gates and
pavilions.
Numerology heavily influenced Imperial
Architecture, hence the use of nine in much of construction (nine
being the greatest single digit number) and reason why The
Forbidden City in Beijing is said to have 9,999.9 rooms - just
short of the mythical 10,000 rooms in heaven. The importance of the
East (the direction of the rising sun) in orienting and siting
Imperial buildings is a form of solar worship found in many ancient
cultures, where the notion of Ruler is affiliated with the
Sun.
The tombs
and mausoleums of imperial family members, such as the 8th century
Tang Dynasty tombs at the Qianling
Mausoleum
, can also be counted as part of the imperial
tradition in architecture. These above-ground earthen mounds
and pyramids had subterranean shaft-and-vault structures that were
lined with brick walls since at least the
Warring States (481–221 BCE).
Religious
Generally speaking,
Buddhist architecture
follow the imperial style. A large Buddhist monastery normally has
a front hall, housing the statue of a
Bodhisattva, followed by a great hall, housing
the statues of the
Buddhas.
Accommodations for the monks and the nuns are located at the two
sides.
Some of the greatest examples of this come
from the 18th century temples of the Puning Temple
and the Putuo
Zongcheng Temple. Buddhist monasteries sometimes also
have
pagodas, which may house the relics of
the
Gautama Buddha; older pagodas
tend to be four-sided, while later pagodas usually have
eight-sides.
Daoist architecture, on the other hand,
usually follow the commoners' style. The main entrance is, however,
usually at the side, out of
superstition about
demons
which might try to enter the premise. (See
feng shui.) In contrast to the Buddhists, in a
Daoist temple the main deity is located at
the main hall at the front, the lesser deities at the back hall and
at the sides.
The tallest pre-modern building in China was built for both
religious and martial purposes.
The Liaodi
Pagoda of 1055 AD stands at a height of 84 m (275 ft), and
although it served as the crowning pagoda of the Kaiyuan monastery in old Dingzhou, Hebei
, it was also
used as a military watchtower for
Song Dynasty soldiers to observe
potential Liao Dynasty enemy
movements.
The architecture of the
mosques and
gongbei tomb shrines of
China's Muslims often combines
traditional Chinese styles with Middle Eastern influences.
Urban planning
Chinese urban planning is based on
fengshui
geomancy and the field-well system of land division both used since
the Neolithic age. The basic field-well diagram is overlaid with
the luoshu, a
magic square divided into
9 sub-squares, and linked with Chinese numerology.
Miniature models
Although mostly only ruins of
brick and
rammed earth walls and towers from
ancient China (i.e. before the 6th century AD) have survived,
information on ancient Chinese architecture (especially wooden
architecture) can be discerned from more or less realistic clay
models of buildings created by the
ancient Chinese as funerary items. This is similar to the paper
joss houses burned in some modern Chinese
funerals. The following models were made during the
Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE):
See also
Note
- Liang, Ssu-ch'eng 1984, A pictorial history of Chinese
architecture : a study of the development of its structural system
and the evolution of its types, ed. by Wilma Fairbank,
Cambridge (Mass.): MIT
Press.
- Liu, Xujie (2002). "The Qin and Han Dynasties" in Chinese
Architecture, 33–60. Edited by Nancy S. Steinhardt. New Haven:
Yale University Press. ISBN 0300095597. Page 55.
- Steinhardt, Nancy N. (2005). "Pleasure tower model," in
Recarving China's Past: Art, Archaeology, and Architecture of the
'Wu Family Shrines', 275–281. Edited by Naomi Noble Richard. New
Haven and London: Yale University Press and Princeton University
Art Museum. ISBN 0300107978. Pages 279–280.
- Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. "The Tang Architectural Icon and
the Politics of Chinese Architectural History," The Art
Bulletin (Volume 86, Number 2, 2004): 228–254. Page 228.
- Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. "The Tang Architectural Icon and
the Politics of Chinese Architectural History," The Art
Bulletin (Volume 86, Number 2, 2004): 228–254. Page 233.
- Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. "The Tang Architectural Icon and
the Politics of Chinese Architectural History," The Art
Bulletin (Volume 86, Number 2, 2004): 228–254. Page
228–229.
- Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. "The Tang Architectural Icon and
the Politics of Chinese Architectural History," The Art
Bulletin (Volume 86, Number 2, 2004): 228–254. Page 238.
- Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. "Liao: An Architectural Tradition
in the Making," Artibus Asiae (Volume 54, Number 1/2, 1994): 5–39.
Page 13.
- Guo, Qinghua. "Tomb Architecture of Dynastic China: Old and New
Questions," Architectural History (Volume 47, 2004): 1–24.
Page 12.
- Schinz, 1996
References
- Liang, Ssu-ch'eng 1984, A pictorial history of Chinese
architecture : a study of the development of its structural system
and the evolution of its types, ed. by Wilma Fairbanks,
Cambridge (Mass.): MIT Press
- Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. "Liao: An Architectural Tradition
in the Making," Artibus Asiae (Volume 54, Number 1/2,
1994): 5–39.
- Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. "The Tang Architectural Icon and
the Politics of Chinese Architectural History," The Art
Bulletin (Volume 86, Number 2, 2004): 228–254.
- Weston, Richard. 2002. Utzon : inspiration, vision,
architecture. Hellerup: Blondal.
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