Features of Ancient Chinese Architecture
There are certain features common to Chinese architecture, regardless of specific region or use.
The most important is its emphasis on the horizontal, in particular a heavy platform and a large roof that floats over this base, with the vertical walls de-emphasised. Thus, in contrast to Western architecture, which tends to grow in height and in depth, Chinese architecture stresses on 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. This of course does not apply to pagodas, which in any case are relatively rare. These ideas have found their way into modern Western archietcture, for example through the work of Jørn Utzon (see page 221 of Weston (2002)).
Another important feature is its emphasis on symmetry, which connotes a sense of grandeur; this applies to everything from palaces to farmhouses. One notable exception is in the design of gardens, which tends to be as asymmetrical as possible. Like Chinese scroll paintings, the principle underlying the garden's composition is to create enduring flow, to let the patron wander and enjoy the garden without prescription, as in nature herself.
- Wooden Structure (Wooden Framework or Timer Framework)
Chinese buildings can be built with either red or grey bricks, but wooden structures are the most common; these are more capable of withstanding earthquakes, but vulnerable to fire.
Ancient Chinese architecture features unique timber framework that clearly identifies supporting structure and bonding structure. The top load of a structure will be transferred to its foundations through its posts, beams, lintels and joists. Walls bear no loading and separate space only so that windows and walls will not be restricted to certain locations on the walls.
Wooden frameworks for buildings appeared at a very early period of Chinese history. First, rows of woooden pillars are raised from the ground, on which horizontal wooden roof beams and crossbeams and crossbeams are placed. The roof timbers are laid on the beams, so that the weight of the roof is all transmitted to the ground by way of the beams and the upright pillars. The advantages of this from of structure are as follows: First, the wooden famework bears all the weight of the building, which makes the installation of both the outer and inner walls flexible and able to be placed in accordance with practical needs. For example, the outer walls can be substantial, thick and made of bricks or stones in the north, and thin, made of bamboo and wooden planks in the south. Doors and wondows can be installed between the erected pillars, or the pillars can be left open. Inside, the house can be divided into spaces with different purposes using wooden partitions and screens. Second, the wooden framework is shockresistant, because the parts are linked by mortise-and-tenon joints. So, when subjected to a violent shock such as that from an earthquale, a wooden framework is less likely to break or fall down than a brick or stone one. The wooden pagoda at Fogong Temple in Yingxian County, Shanxi Province, is a 67-m-high wooden structure. In its over 900 years of existence it has been jolted by several earthquakes, but it still stands erect and firm. Third, a wooden frmework is easy to construct. Wood is a natural material, not like bricks and tiles which are manufactured. Compared with stones which are also natural materials, wood is much easier to obtain, refine and work on. Covering an area of 720,000 sq m and with nearly 1,000 wooden-framework buildings totaling 160,000 sq m, the Forbidden City (the former Imperial Palace)in Beijing, built in its present form in the Ming Dynasty, took 13 years from the preparation of materals to total completion, in which almost ten years' time was for the preparation of materials, and the time for construction on the spot was no more than three to four years.
wooden strctures also have their disadvantages. Their durability is not as good as structures of brick or stone. Wood is vulnerable to fire and humidity,and attacks by insects. Thus, wooden structures tend to last to last a shorter time than brick or stone structures. For example, such an important building as the Taihedian (Hall of Supreme Harmony) in the Forbidden City had had to be rebuilt time and again after being destroyed by fire. Besides, wood grows very slowly and cannot be cut on a large scale recklessly.
Timber framework decides that colour is the main ornament used on ancient Chinese architecture. In the beginning, paint was used on wood for antisepsis while later painting became an architectural ornament. In the feudal society, the use of colour was restricted according to strict social status classification. Since yellow was deemed noblest colour and green the second, they were often applied on palace painting, which was called Hexicaihua (a kind of Chinese colour painting) in Chinese. Usually, dragon or phoenix was painted on green background with mass gold powder or gold foil. The painting will give the structure a clear-cut and a magnificent noble image under the background of white granite basement. It is unique that such sharp colour can achieve artistic effects.
The roof of Chinese buildings are usually curved; there are strict classfications on different types of gables, in the same vein as the classical orders of column designs of Europe.
The privileging of certain colours, numbers and cardinal directions in traditional Chinese Architecture reflected the belief in a type of immanence, where the nature of a thing could not be attributed to a transcendent God or pinciple but was irreducible from the thing itself. Although the Western tradition gradually developed a body of architectural literature, in China little was written, 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, so a reproduction of the "ideal" city never existed. Beijing as reconstructed throughout the 15th and 16th century remains the best example of traditional Chinese town planning.
The Number "Nine" and Imperial Buildings (Jiu yu Huangjia Jianzhu)
It may not be common knowledge among Western visitors that the number "nine" carried a special significance in old China. Ancient Chinese regarded odd numbers as being masculine and even numbers as being feminine. "Nine", which is the largest single ......
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Dragon and Phoenix (Long yu Feng)
The dragon and the phoenix are the principal motifs for decorative designs on buildings, clothing and articles of daily use in the imperial palace. The throne hall is supported by columns entwined by gilded dragons, the central ramps on marble steps were paved with huge slabs carved in relief with the dragon and phoenix, and the screen walls display dragons in brilliant colours. The names in the Chinese language for nearly all the things connected with the emperor or the empress were preceded by the epithet "dragon" or "phoenix" ......
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Roofs of Ancient Chinese Architecture
Even though it may not seem like roofs are an important part of Chinese architecture, they are very important. Roofs did not only protect residences from the elements, they also had a deeper meaning. For example, temple roofs were curved because the Buddhist believed that it helped ward off evil spirits which were believed to be straight lines. The temple's roof is also made of glazed ......
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Screen Wall
Liao Dynasty Street
Anecdotes about Huabiao
Archway ( Pailou )
Zoomorphic Ornaments
