Chinese Architecture Notes
Six Periods of Chinese Architecture
- Ancient/Primitive Period:
- Corresponds to Ancient Crete, Mycenae, and Ancient Greece in Europe.
- Timeline: 200 BC.
- Example: Zhouyuan site.
- Han Dynasty:
- Timeline: 204 BC - 220 AD.
- Corresponds to Ancient Rome in Europe.
- Surviving architecture includes ruins of brick and rammed earth walls (city walls and tomb walls).
- Rammed earth platforms for terraced altars and halls.
- Funerary stone or brick pillar-gates.
- Scattered ceramic roof tiles.
- Timber was the chief building material, used for palaces, multi-story towers and residential halls, and humble abodes.
- Three Kingdoms, Two Jins, Northern and Southern Dynasties:
- Timeline: 220-590 AD.
- Corresponds to the Early Christian period in Europe.
- Examples: Tianglongshan Grottoes and Longmen.
- Sui, Tang, Zhou Dynasties:
- Timeline: 581-906 AD.
- Corresponds to Early Christian to Romanesque periods in Europe.
- Five Dynasties Period, Song, Liao, Jin Dynasties:
- Timeline: 906-1280 AD.
- Corresponds to Romanesque to Gothic periods in Europe.
- Ming and Qing Dynasties:
- Timeline: 1279-1911 AD.
- Corresponds to Gothic to Renaissance periods in Europe.
Chinese Buildings/Structures
Temple (Si, Ta, and Shiku):
Most representative example of Chinese ritual architecture.
Emperors worshiped the god of heaven for good harvests.
People worshiped "Heaven" due to a lack of scientific understanding of natural phenomena.
Chief feature: the roof.
Roofs supported on timber uprights, independent of walls.
Placing roofs one over the other signifies dignity.
Up-tilted angles with dragons and grotesque ornaments.
Temple of Heaven History:
- Initially built in 1420.
- Located south of the Forbidden City.
- Area: Approximately (1.05 sq mi).
- Similar size to Central Park in New York, or twice the size of Hyde Park.
- Design combines circles and squares, symbolizing Heaven (round) and Earth (square).
Imperial Palace:
- Built to satisfy emperors' lifestyles and protect their reign.
- Venue for public affairs and royal family residence.
- Emphasized splendorous appearance and regular layout.
- Building regulations:
- Emperor: 9 bays
- Prince: 7 bays
- Mandarin: 5 bays
- Ordinary citizen: 3 bays
- Axial symmetrical layout.
- Yellow-glazed tiles on roofs: identifies Imperial buildings.
- Yellow reminiscent of the Huang He (Yellow River), origin of Chinese civilization.
- Represents the element of earth, at the center of the universe.
- Forbidden City:
- Largest medieval palace architecture in the world.
- Main imperial palace of the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties.
- South-north axis is a key feature.
- Buildings based on the Book of Changes and Confucianism.
- Emperors held supreme power from Heaven.
Residential Houses:
Reflect national culture, regional sub-culture, and ethnic group culture.
- Seven major styles:
- Beijing’s Hutong and Courtyard
- Si he yuan in northern China– Courtyard House
- Shikumen - a type of tenement housing unique to Shanghai
- Yaodong in north China
- Seal-like Compound (Yi Ke Yin)
- The earthen buildings (tu lou) of Hakkas
- Miao-style house / the stilt house Diaojiulou.
- Seven major styles:
Beijing’s Hutong and Courtyard:
- Hutong: small street or lane between courtyards, a community within the city.
- Named by various means.
- Smaller hutongs formed inside bigger ones.
Si he yuan in northern China–Courtyard House:
- Traditional courtyard-style residence of Beijing.
- Houses (zhengfang, xiangfang, and daozuo) connected with walls, creating an enclosed square courtyard.
Shikumen - a type of tenement unique to Shanghai:
- Combination of Eastern and Western architectural styles.
- Eastern grey brick door lintels with Western-style decorative engraving.
Yaodong in north China:
- Dugout used as an abode or shelter.
- Common on the Loess Plateau.
- Long history, continuing today.
- Cool in summer, warm in winter.
Seal-like Compound (Yi Ke Yin):
- Found in Kunming, Yunnan Province.
- Variation of Siheyuan.
- Layout resembles the shape of a square seal.
The earthen buildings (tu lou):
- Built from sand, earth, mud, and pebbles bound with glutinous rice and brown sugar.
- Rural dwellings of Hakka and Minnan people.
- Fortified houses for defense against bandits and wild animals.
Miao-style house / the stilt house Diaojiulou:
- Diaojiaolou: residential house with dense architectural flavor.
- Located in southwestern Yunnan Province.
- Built close to the mountain or above the river with an extended floor space.
- Built on slopes with support poles, no foundations, and entirely made of wood.
Fortifications:
Siege warfare and sacking of cities were regular features of ancient Chinese warfare.
Earth walls with towers and moats were common for defense.
Defensive walls became more solid over time.
Made from pounded and compressed earth, using wooden beams and flat tools.
Great Wall of China:
- Sections of earlier fortifications joined in 220 B.C. under Qin Shi Huang.
- United defense system against invasions from the north.
- Construction continued up to the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).
- World's largest military structure.
- Significant historical, strategic, and architectural importance.
Pai-lous:
- Paifang or Pailou: traditional Chinese memorial archway.
- Made of wood, brick, stone, or glaze.
- Built to commemorate achievements or loftiness of ancestors.
- Located in front of tombs, temples, bridges, and ancestral halls or along roads.
- Related to the Indian torana and Japanese torii.
- Trabeated form, in stone or wood.
- Bold projecting roofs.
- 1, 3, or 5 openings.
Chinese Architecture & Feng Shui
- Principles of Feng Shui:
- Ancient Chinese art of arranging buildings, objects, and space for harmony, balance, peace, and prosperity.
- Qin had feng shui books burned.
- Most authoritative work: “Qing Nang Jing”.
- Tang Dynasty: Yang Yun Song and his disciples wrote authoritative books.
- "Feng" and "shui" translate to “wind” and “water.