Chinese Architecture Reviewer Part 1

Chinese Architecture

●      Only ancient civilization that has continued to this day.

Confucianism

code of social conduct and philosophy of life, family and ancestor worship

Taoism

universal love as the solution to social disorder

metals, trees, bamboo, clay

Materials used are

China

some of the world’s most enduring cultural traditions

dougong

a system of interlocking brackets between the ceiling’s column and crossbeam, also helped disperse the structure’s weight.

Dougong

translates to “cap and block”

Fengshui

______ or Chinese Geomancy is an ancient concept that focuses on creating harmony between people, structures and nature.

Yellow, Green and Blue

The color of clay roof tiles for the Imperial Palace

Red

The color of clay roof tiles for Mandarin (Bureaucrats)

Black or Gray

The color of clay roof tiles for the Citizens

overhanging gable roof

the most common residential roof type south of the Yangtze River where the climate is humid and warm. The wide eaves are designed to keep the upper parts of the timber structure from the rain.

flush gable roof

the most common residential roof style used north of Yangtze River where the climate is relatively cold and dry.

roof with high firewalls

Residential buildings with this type of roof are commonly seen in windy Anhui and Zhejiang provinces in Southern China.

single slope roof

This type of roof is often seen on residential buildings in Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces in northern China where the Climate condition is quite windy and cold with heavy snowfall in winter.

gable and single slope roof

Multi-gable roofs are commonly used on multi-story residential buildings in Zhejiang Province in China’s humid southeast coastal region where it rains frequently.

gable and single slope roof

This type of roof is quite common in residential buildings in southern China.

Multi-eave gable and hip roofs

are commonly seen on residential buildings in hot and humid southern china.

gable roofs with stilt houses

are usually seen in mountain areas in China’s subtropical southwest.

Gable and Hip roofs

were traditionally used on the less important palace, government and religious buildings.

intersecting gable and hip roofs

This is a building with overlaid gable and hip roofs in a Daoist temple in Zhengding County, Hebei Province.

hip roof

were reserved for public buildings of significance, such as meeting halls in royal palaces or the chief prayer hall in big temples.

Double-eave hip roofs

were in old days, exclusively reserved for major buildings in royal palaces such as the Hall of supreme Harmony in Beijing Forbidden City.

double eave hip and flat roof

This combination of roofs does not appear often.

SINGLE AND DOUBLE-EAVE GABLE AND HIP ROOFS WITH UPSWINGS AT THE ENDS

This is a set of roofs on a terrace building illustrated in a Song Dynasty painting

MULTI-LEVELED SINGLE-EAVE, DOUBLE-EAVE AND OVERLAID GABLE AND HIP ROOFS

This complicated roof set was for the ancient Tengwang Terrace building as illustrated in a Song Dynasty painting

COMBINATION OF MULTI-LEVELED CROSS GABLE AND HIP ROOFS AND ROUND RIDGE ROOFS

This set of L-shaped roofs is on the corner of watchtowers of Beijing Forbidden City.

COMBINATION OF DOUBLE-EAVE HIP ROOF AND DOUBLE-EAVE PYRAMID HIP ROOFS LINKED BY GABLE ROOFS

This set of roofs is on Beijing Forbidden City’s Meridian Gate for the receiving Hall, corner watchtowers and verandas

ROUND ROOF

most common roof style for garden pavilions.

TRIANGLE HIP ROOF

this type of roof allows the structure with three facades, normally used on a small garden pavilion built on a tiny plot of land with an awkward irregular shape.

OCTAGONAL HIP ROOF

a traditional Chinese roof with 8 facades, which could be either single or double eaves, is normally used on major pavilion structures in a big garden of a larger Buddhist pagoda.

FAN-SHAPED GABLE AND HIP ROOF WITH A ROUND RIDGE

type of roof normally used on a waterside garden structure.

SINGLE-EAVE AND DOUBLE EAVE GABLE AND HIP ROOFS

was used on a waterside terrace building as illustrated in a Song Dynasty painting.

DOUBLE-EAVE INTERSECTING GABLE AND HIP ROOFS

used in a garden structure.

horse head wall

It is an important feature of Huizhou architecture.

vermillion

represents nobility and authority

vermilion door

symbolizes dignity.