China architecture Terms Midterm

axial/axiality

— One of the 8+1 spatial principles from your intro deck; buildings/cities organized along a central (usually north-south) line, with structures and gates arranged symmetrically around it.

bay

— The space between two posts/pillars in timber-frame construction; the basic repeating unit of a Chinese building.

barrel vault

— A ceiling/roof technique (tomb construction) using a continuous semi-circular arch shape; listed among tomb construction methods alongside the domical vault.

beam

— Horizontal timber member in post-and-beam construction; works with pillars to carry the structure's load.

Buddha

— The "awakened one"; the Seated Buddha images (e.g., Mahao cliff tomb) mark Buddhism's entry into the Chinese material/architectural record in the Eastern Han.

brick construction

— Building using fired or sun-dried brick; seen in Han tomb construction, often imitating timber forms.

cassion/lantern ceiling

— A ceiling made of superimposed, often-rotated quadrilaterals, carved to imitate timber or plaster construction even when cut into rock (as in the Balinpo cliff tombs).

chiwei (owl's tail)

— The decorative ornament at the ends of a roof's main ridge, literally "owl's tail" (鴟尾).

column

— Synonym for pillar; the vertical support member bearing the building's weight.

Confucius (Kongzi)/Confucianism

— Philosopher (551–479 BCE); his teachings emphasize social harmony and filial obligation.

dharma (Buddhism)

— The Buddhist law/teaching; per the Four Noble Truths, following the dharma is the way to end suffering.

domical vault

— A dome-shaped vault technique; your Han Dynasty summary notes the "rise of the domical vault" as tombs became more architecturally elaborate.

fengshui

— "Wind and water"; one of the 8+1 spatial principles, the practice of siting/orienting buildings according to natural forces.

five phases (wuxing)

— Referenced in course discussion of Mingtang numerology — the five elemental phases (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) used to organize cosmological room groupings.

Four Noble Truths

— Buddhist teaching: suffering is inherent to life, caused by desire/attachment, can be ended, and the way to end it is following the dharma.

gable

— The triangular wall section at the end of a pitched roof; part of roof-type vocabulary (hip-gable roofs).

hangtu (rammed earth)

— Construction technique building up earth in layers within a wooden frame, achieving concrete-like hardness; seen at Shimao.

hip roof

— Roof type where all sides slope downward to the walls (no vertical gable ends); one of the six common Chinese roof types.

hip-and-gable roof

— Combines a hip roof's sloped ends with a gable's vertical triangular section; another of the six common roof types.

karma

— "Action/function" (業, ye); in Buddhism, one's current rebirth is determined by past karma.

Liang Sicheng

— "Father of Modern Chinese Architecture"; practitioner/historian, founded the 1931 Society for Research in Chinese Architecture, developed a "grammar" of Chinese architecture through extensive fieldwork.

Magic square

— A numerical grid (e.g., 9×9) where rows/columns sum equally; connected to Chinese cosmological number symbolism and the design logic behind structures like the Mingtang.

mingqi ("spirit articles")

— Burial goods/figurines (明器) made specifically for the tomb, including architectural models like the hunping.

Mingtang ("bright hall")

— Ritual structure described as "a building imitating the structure of the cosmos"; its exact meaning/form is debated by scholars.

modular/modularity

— Construction (and even Chinese script) built from repeating standardized units — bays, brackets, etc. — one of the core principles from your intro lecture.

mother-and-child que

— Style of que (gate/pillar-tower) with a larger main tower and a smaller attached one, as seen at the tomb of Gao Yi.

necropolis

— A "city of the dead"; large burial ground, as at Anyang (Shang royal necropolis).

nirvana/Parinirvana (Buddhism)

— The state of liberation from suffering and the cycle of rebirth; Buddhahood/awakening.

oracle bones

— Inscribed bones (often from Anyang) used in Shang divination rituals; a major source of early Chinese writing.

pagoda

— East Asian tower-form structure derived from the stupa, associated with Buddhist architecture.

pillar

— Vertical structural member bearing a building's load (works with beams/purlins); walls in Chinese timber construction are non-structural.

plank-beam ceiling

— A ceiling construction type using flat plank-beams; listed among Han tomb ceiling construction methods.

portrait/portraiture

— Not explicitly detailed in your uploaded decks — the artistic representation of a specific individual's likeness.

post-and-beam architecture

— The core Chinese timber structural system: vertical posts/pillars plus horizontal beams carry the load, not the walls.

provincial-level division

— China's top-tier administrative unit; currently 33 such divisions (5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, 2 special administrative regions).

purlin

— Horizontal roof member running perpendicular to the beams, supporting the roof covering.

qi (ch'i)

— Referenced in course cosmology discussion — vital energy/life force in Chinese philosophy, relevant to fengshui siting principles.

Qin Shihuangdi

— First Emperor of Qin (unified China 221 BCE); built the massive tomb complex at Lintong with the Terracotta Army.

Que (gate- or pillar-tower)

— Freestanding gate/pillar towers (闕); the earliest surviving freestanding above-ground structures in China, ~30 survive with dates from 36–220 CE.

rebirth (Buddhism)

— Samsara; the cycle of death and rebirth (zhuansheng 轉生) that Buddhist practice seeks to escape.

ritual architecture

— Buildings constructed specifically for ceremonial/religious use rather than residence, e.g., the Mingtang or ancestral temples.

sacrificial burial

— The ritual killing and burial of servants/slaves alongside a ruler, noted as a practice of the Mid-Zhou period.

samsara

— The Buddhist cycle of rebirth (轉生, zhuansheng), determined by past karma.

Shakyamuni/Siddhartha Gautama

— Not explicitly named in your uploaded decks, though "Seated Buddha" images are discussed — the historical Buddha.

Shangdi (high god)

— The high god (上帝) worshipped by the Shang alongside ancestors, per your Early Bronze Age summary slide.

Springs and Autumns period

— Earlier phase of Eastern Zhou (770–476 BCE), preceding the Warring States period.

stupa

— A mound/heap-form Buddhist structure; the Buddha reportedly instructed followers to build stupas "so that the hearts of many shall be made calm and glad."

timber-frame architecture

— The dominant Chinese construction method: a frame of wooden pillars, beams, and purlins carrying the roof load, with non-structural walls.

Terra-Cotta Warriors

— ~8,000 lifesize earthenware soldier sculptures in 3 pits at Qin Shihuangdi's tomb; notably, never mentioned in historical sources before their 1974 discovery.

tumulus

— An earthen burial mound; Qin Shihuangdi's tomb mound is described as a tumulus, originally ~115m tall (now ~76m).

Wangcheng (King's City)

— The idealized square ruler's-city plan from the Kaogongji, organized around a central south-facing palace city.

Warring States Period

— Later phase of Eastern Zhou (475–221 BCE), following the Springs and Autumns period, ending with Qin unification.

yin-yang

— Not explicitly in your uploaded decks — the Chinese cosmological concept of complementary opposing forces.

Yangshao culture

— Early/Middle Neolithic culture (associated with Banpo), predating and geographically overlapping with Longshan culture.

Yangzi River

— Major river defining the "Southwest/Upper Yangzi" and "Lower Yangzi" regions of China on your course's regional map.

Yellow River

— Major river running through the Central Plains region, historically central to early Chinese civilization's development.