Chinese Architecture PDF

CHINESE ARCHITECTURE HISTORY SOCIETY Foreign trade by land and sea Theorists, schools of philosophy Confucius, Lao-Tzu Writing, calendar and money Arts, painting, calligraphy, architecture RELIGION Religious and ethical influences: Confucianism, code of social conduct and philosophy of...

CHINESE ARCHITECTURE HISTORY SOCIETY Foreign trade by land and sea Theorists, schools of philosophy Confucius, Lao-Tzu Writing, calendar and money Arts, painting, calligraphy, architecture RELIGION Religious and ethical influences: Confucianism, code of social conduct and philosophy of life, family and ancestor worship Taoism, universal love as solution to social disorder Buddhism GEOGRAPHY and GEOLOGY Larger than Europe in area, 1/13 of total land area of the world Mountainous with extensive fertile valleys, great plains and deserts, excellent harbors Metals, trees, bamboo, clay Characteristics of Chinese Architecture timber skeleton or framework standing on a masonry platform and covered by a pitched roof with overhanging eaves. The spaces between the posts and lintels of the framework may be built in with curtain walls, the solo function of which is to divide the space. the walls do not bear the weight of the upper roof and floors, which can be installed or omitted as required. Neolithic Period (Pre-1600 BC) Characteristic: crude and original two types of building predominated in Chinese architecture: Wooden frame and mud wall (Xi’an Banpo Site) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, circular buildings with conical roofs, built above ground, or square buildings with pyramidal roofs, which were semi-subterranean developed from cave dwellings. in the humid southern region, overhead stilt houses developed from nest dwellings. At that time, simple and rough pottery were created. (Hemudu Site in Yuyao City, Zhejiang Province) Pre-Qin Period (2070-221 B.C.E) Characteristic: the early time to explore the architecture forms The earliest timber-frame courtyard house on a rammed earth foundation (layers of earth pounded to stone-like hardness and durability) was constructed. roofs were made of thatch with clay. most of the buildings were semi-subterranean and cave dwellings, which meant the notion of hierarchy was already emergent. In the Shang Dynasty people lived in rectangular houses laid out in rows, built of wood and rammed earth, and with a grand palace in the city center. In the Zhou Dynasty, a large amount tiles and bricks had been used in palaces. These are the earliest integrated Siheyuan, the typical Chinese quadrangles. The Chinese brackets, also known as Dougong, are found on a column. The Spring and Autumn Warring Period, The large scale palace complex consisted of a raised platform with a timber skeleton, because of the fast development of manufacture processes and production. The Qin and the Han Dynasty Characteristic: The framework of wooden structure basically formed The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty in China. Construction during this time included not only the vast palace, but also built defensive system of the Great Wall, including hydraulic engineering, and unparalleled mausoleum of which the Terracotta Warriors. Bracket and beamed structure had been widely used until the Han Dynasty, as the basic system of traditional Chinese architecture was set up. Buddhism was introduced into China from India, and Buddhist architecture The Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties Characteristic: Buddhist architecture introduced Continuous war and an unstable political state led to society stagnation. Buddhism had grown rapidly under these circumstances. Buddhist architecture such as temples, pagodas, grottoes The Sui and the Tang Dynasties Characteristic: magnificent with elegant style During the Sui Dynasty, massive building projects Grand Canal was constructed, linking the north and south with waterways. Great Wall was also extended, but these grand programs exhausted the people and led to revolt. The following Tang Dynasty built a more enduring state on the foundations of the Sui rulers. Tang Dynasty were flourishing, and influenced Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, and the style of architecture there as well. Brick and stone architecture gradually became more common, The peak of Buddhism, with the temples as a landmark of Buddhism and a place for Buddhist activities, and Buddhist architecture rose in popularity. The features of wooden architecture were a plain color, a simple structure with axial symmetry, majestic outlook, and two layers of overhanging eaves supported by a large bracket. Foguang Temple: a Tang temple, built in 857 CE, near Wutai Shan, is the oldest wooden structure now known in China. Associated with it are examples of Tang sculpture, painting and calligraphy, a unique combination. The Song Dynasties , Liao and Jin Characteristic: the most refined and elaborate construction the scale of buildings is smaller in the Song Dynasty, and the overhanging eaves are more ethereal, giving the whole system something like gothic style.. On the foundation of mature architectural technique, are rich details on the beams and pillars, and doors and windows, which are characterized with wood carvings and colored glaze. The Liao and Jing Dynasty had taken the same layout and arrangements from the Song. The city was composed of streets with shops on each side, a water supply, transport, and bridges. The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368CE) Characteristic: simple and rough appearance Built by the Mongolian nomads, powerful cavalry, extended the territory of China in a way that was totally unprecedented. Although there was little advance in architecture, the colored glazes now included yellow, emerald, blue, cyan and white instead of just the brown and green in the Song Dynasty, which was widely used for decorating the roofs of palaces. The tiled ridge was replaced by a brick ridge. Due to the ruler’s respect for Tibetan Buddhism, religious buildings were very popular among the folk. The Ming Dynasty Characteristic: solemn with colossal scale followed the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty and was ruled by Han Chinese. the reconstruction of the imperial palaces gathered a lot of skilled craftsmen from north to south, to create the grand palace complex. The Temple of Heaven, first built in 1420, is a masterpiece in the art and planning arrangement. The ruler also rebuilt many important sections of the Great Wall and the gate of the city which was built with stone bricks. Western missionaries came to China and brought western natural science and architectural style into China. The Qing Dynasty (1636-1644) Characteristic: Concise shape and greatly exquisite details founded by the Manchu clan, an ethnic group in China. inherited the architectural style from the Ming Dynasty generally, but focused on details. It was the greatest achievement in Chinese wooden architecture, which was reflected in the construction of the Old Summer Palace, the Summer Palace, and Qianlong Garden in the Forbidden City. during the Opium Wars, China was semi-colonized and had frequent contact with Western countries. In the late Qing Dynasty, western building materials were introduced into China, such as bricks, cement, stone and glass, and shook the longstanding dominant position of the timber skeleton in Chinese architecture. the use of reinforced concrete almost changed the whole style of building material in China. The Republic China Era (1912-1949) Characteristic: A turning from tradition to modernity This was a period of stagnation in Chinese architecture. Affected by western culture, official and commercial architectural commissions in China were designed in the western style popularized by such treaty ports as Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, and Shanghai, and leaseholds such as Tianjin, Qingdao, Dalian and Harbin, much of which were designed by foreign architects. In 1925 a group of foreign-trained Chinese architects launched a renaissance movement to study and revive traditional Chinese architecture and to find ways of adapting it to modern needs and techniques.  PREPARED BY: AR.LADY DIANNE C. OCA,uap