CHINESE ARCHITECTURE

Takla Makan Deser

one of the four largest deserts in China. А greenbelt along the Huang He borders its southern edge. More than onefifth of China's territory is desert

Agriculture

a vital industry in China, employing over 300 million farmers. China ranks first in worldwide farm output, primarily producing rice, wheat, potatoes, tomato, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed and soybeans.

holism

Chinese culture embodies the philosophy of ______. Ancient Chinese philosophers believed that all things are interrelated, and that Heaven, Earth, and Humanity form a unified whole

Pottery Culture

China‘s Stone Age lasted for at least one million years. The Chinese ancestors started to make pottery during the late Neolithic Period, around 5000 BC. This period is represented by Yangshao Culture, on the middle reaches of the Yellow River.

Jade Culture

The late Neolithic Age saw the advent of China's unique_______

Calligraphy

In China, a person who can produce beautiful ________ is considered to be highly cultured.

Traditional Chinese painting

uses brushes to apply ink and pigment to thin silk or paper, which is then mounted on scrolls. Great importance is placed on fluidity and expressiveness of line. Chinese painting holds that revealing essence is more important than representing form

Sculpture

This is the forerunner of all art.

SHIHUANGDI / HUANG DI

The Yellow Emperor

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

Known as chang cheng (long wall) of Shihuangdi

LEGALISM

Founded by Han FeiTzu

Traditional Chinese architecture

emphasizes harmony between structure and surroundings.

FORBIDDEN CITY, Beijing

CONFUCIANISM

emerged between the 6th through 5th century BC. Its founder, Confucius, expanded upon ancient Chinese concepts of humanism.

rén

Benevolence, showing humanity, mercy and kindness;

yì

Justness, to be righteous ;

lǐ

Rituals, custom and law, to be polite;

zhì

Wisdom, to be knowledgeable and well educated;

xìn

Royalty, faithful，reliable， accountable, responsible, creditable.

Lunyu

the most revered sacred scripture in the Confucian tradition, was probably compiled by the succeeding generations of Confucius' disciples.

DAOISM / TAOISM

teaches that although all things exist in a state of transformation, they also possess an underlying order. This constantly changing, self-balancing order is known as the Dao, or the Way

Integration of Heaven and Human

Heaven and Human are in a unity

Collectivism

The interests of a family, a group or a country are more important than those of an individual

Rule of virtue; rule of morals

“kingly way” vs. “hegemonical way”

Harmony

Chinese culture emphasizes

Foot binding

the custom of applying tight binding to the feet of young girls to modify the shape and size of their feet. Bound feet were at one time considered a status symbol as well as a mark of beauty. Yet, foot binding was a painful practice and significantly limited the mobility of women, resulting in lifelong disabilities for most of its subjects. Feet altered by binding were called lotus feet.

Chinese architecture

refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries.

Horizontal axis

The most important is the emphasis on the__________, in particular the construction of a heavy platform and a large roof that floats over this base, with the vertical walls not as well emphasized.

width of the buildings

Chinese architecture stresses the visual impact of the ________.

Forbidden City

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.

garden'scomposition

create enduring flow and also to emulate nature.

ZHUOZHENG GARDEN

wooden

may be built with either red or gray bricks, but ______ structures are the most common; these are more capable of withstanding earthquakes, but are vulnerable to fire.

Curve

Roof of a typical Chinese building

4 Classic Type of Chinese Roofs

Hip Roof
Hanging Hill Roof
Xie Shan Roof
Hard Hill Roof

The Hall of Supreme Harmony

Red

Joy, good, wealth, bright, summer, south

Yellow

Emperor, earth, middle and China

Blue

Algid, ill, immortality

Black

"Color of death", darkness, glory, winter, north

White

Mourning, bad luck, age, autumn, west

Brown

Misfortune

Grey

Cheap, dull

Gold

Glory, royal, wisdom, perfection

Green

Life, vitality, spring, east

Chinese Pagoda

begins in ancient India with the death of the Buddha in the 5th century BCE.

Pagoda at White Horse Temple,

LIUHE PAGODASS

literally Six Harmonies

Pagoda of Hangzhou, China, built in 1165 AD

during the Song Dynasty.

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

built in 652 during the Tang Dynasty.

A typical pagoda has four (4) major architectural components:

underground palace

base

Sbody

steeple

underground palace

was built first to enshrine the holy relics and any other precious items.

base

originally a simple, relatively low element that served to support the structure of the pagoda.

dougong

(interlocking wooden brackets,

used in clusters to support roofs)

lou (Multistory buildings)

means any building of two or more floors with a horizontal main ridge

tai

(terraces). is an elevated terrace with a flat top. Generally built of cement, stone and surfaced with brick, Tai were used as an open side gallery from where one can have a scenic view.

ting

(Chinese pavilions) were made either of wood, stone or bamboo. These were built in any shape such as hexagon, square, triangle, octagon etc.

ge

(Two-story pavilions) same as Lou means building of two or more storeys. The Ge had door and windows on the front side with the other three sides being walls.

ta

zaojing (Domed or coffered ceiling)

xuan

(Verandas with windows)

xie

(Pavilions or houses on terraces)

wu

(Rooms along roofed corridors)

Chinese gardens

In contrast to the buildings, ________ are a notable exception which tends to be asymmetrical.

Siheyuan

(Chinese house compound), which consists of an empty space surrounded by buildings connected with one another either directly or through verandas.

General Layout of Sihenyuan

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. It 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.

TRADITIONAL SIHEYUAN LAYOUTS

HALL OF THE SUPREME HARMONYS

Yingbi

Split screen

FU LU SHOU STATUE

Mortise and tenon

work of tie beams and cross beams, from Li Jie's building manual Yingzao Fashi, printed in 1103.

even, odd

Using ____ numbers of columns in a building structure to produce ____ numbers of bays (間). With the inclusion of a main door to a building in the centre bay, symmetry is maintained.

gabled roofs

are almost omnipresent in traditional Chinese architecture.

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.

SONGYUE PAGODA

GREAT WALL OF CHINA

The Ming dynasty

uses bright colors, painting detailed scenes, roof tiles, roof guardians, and many marble fence posts.

The Ming dynasty

Power is shown by space not height.

Forbidden City

was considered to be

the center of the world.

Emperor

was to be at the center of the cosmos, so the main axis of the city is North-South.

Hall of Supreme Harmony

the center of the city is where the Emperor held audiences.

Dragon Throne

(龙椅; Lóngyǐ), from which the emperor would preside over trembling officials.

Hall of Central Harmony,

which was used as the emperor’s transit lounge. Here he would make last-minute preparations, rehearse speeches and receive ministers.

Hall of Preserving Harmony

used for banquets and later for imperial examinations.

THREE GREAT HALLS

Hall of the Supreme Harmony

Hall of Central Harmony

Hall of the Preserving Harmony

Coal Hill

It must have a mountain at the back so they built an artificial one

MERIDIAN GATE

This is the grandest of all the palace gates. It is nearly 38m high. This marks the beginning of the palace complex.

Gate of Heavenly Peace

It was from here that Mao proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

dragon

represents the Emperor

phoenix

represents the Empress.

Yellow roof tiles

reserved only for the Imperial family.

green roof tiles

Prince(ss) can only use

grey roof tiles.

Ordinary people use

Nine

lucky number in China so the Emperor will have 9 roof guardians the color of a roof reflects the social status of the people living inside.

Roof Guardians

dragon

associated with the Emperor and is used extensively in the Forbidden City as a decorative element.

The Nine Dragon Wall

Emperor’s Dragon Way

Large pots

(menhai) are for fire prevention