TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE IN CHINA Temple of Heaven in BeijingTraditional Chinese buildings and structures include pavilions, high-arched stone bridges, and multi-storied pagodas. Some Chinese architecture seem intent on overpowering nature with symmetry and concentric rectangles. Good Websites and Sources: Wikipedia article Wikipedia ; Asian Historical Architectureorientalarchitecture.com ; Oriental Style /www.ourorient.com ; Articles on Chinese Architecture china- window.com ; More Articles on Chinese Architecturechinaetravel.com ; Chinatown Connection chinatownconnection.com ; China Vista Articles on Architecturechinavista.com ; Asian Historical Architecture orientalarchitecture.com ; Home Architecture Book: Houses of China by Bonne Shemie ; Yin Yu Tang pem.org ; House Architecure washington.edu ; House Interiors washington.edu : Link in this Website:HOMES IN CHINA Factsanddetails.com/China ; Mao-Era Architecture See Wikipedia article on Mao Mausoleum Wikipedia ; Oriental Architecture Forbidden City: Book:Forbidden City by Frances Wood, a British Sinologist. Web SitesWikipedia ; Virtual Forbidden City ; China Vista ; UNESCO World Heritage Site Sites (click 1001wonders.org at the bottom): UNESCO World Heritage Site Map UNESCO World Heritage Site Web site (click the site you want) World Heritage Site ; Maps China Map Guide Link in this Website: FORBIDDEN CITY factsanddetails.com/china ; Temple of Heaven: Wikipedia UNESCO World Heritage Site (click 1001wonders.org at the bottom):UNESCO World
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TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE IN CHINA
Temple of Heaven in BeijingTraditional Chinese buildings and structures include pavilions, high-
arched stone bridges, and multi-storied pagodas. Some Chinese architecture seem intent on
overpowering nature with symmetry and concentric rectangles.
Good Websites and Sources: Wikipedia article Wikipedia ; Asian Historical
Architectureorientalarchitecture.com ; Oriental Style /www.ourorient.com ; Articles on Chinese
Architecture china-window.com ; More Articles on Chinese Architecturechinaetravel.com ;
Chinatown Connection chinatownconnection.com ; China Vista Articles on
Architecturechinavista.com ; Asian Historical Architecture orientalarchitecture.com ; Home
Architecture Book: Houses of China by Bonne Shemie ; Yin Yu Tang pem.org ; House
Architecure washington.edu ; House Interiors washington.edu : Link in this Website:HOMES IN
CHINA Factsanddetails.com/China ; Mao-Era Architecture See Wikipedia article on Mao
Mausoleum Wikipedia ; Oriental Architecture
Forbidden City: Book:Forbidden City by Frances Wood, a British Sinologist. Web
SitesWikipedia ; Virtual Forbidden City ; China Vista ; UNESCO World Heritage Site Sites (click
1001wonders.org at the bottom): UNESCO World Heritage Site Map UNESCO World Heritage
Site Web site (click the site you want) World Heritage Site ; Maps China Map Guide Link in this
Website: FORBIDDEN CITY factsanddetails.com/china ; Temple of
Heaven: Wikipedia UNESCO World Heritage Site (click 1001wonders.org at the
bottom):UNESCO World Heritage Site Map Also try the UNESCO World Heritage Site Web site
(click the site you want) World Heritage Site ; Map on China Map Guide China Map Guide ; Link
in this Website: Temple of Heaven Factsanddetails.com/China
Important buildings have traditionally been built on a platform or terrace of pounded earth
covered by brick or stone. The terraces are reached by a dozen or more steps and are adorned
with stone balustrades and sculptures.
Traditional Chinese buildings have tile roofs with swooping eaves. Walls are usually made of
brick or wood. The tile roofs are gray for ordinary buildings, yellow for imperial palaces and blue
or green for other important structures. The upturned eaves are elaborately carved with
extraordinary detail and are works of art in their own right. Sometimes bells hang from the eaves.
Traditional arch gate features include carved flowering trees, peacocks and lucky bats. Painted
red and gold, they are placed at city gates and in stores and restaurants. Not merely decorative,
they were strategically placed to ward off evil spirits. The carvings, spirals and swirls are meant
to confuse them further.
Some Chinese buildings feature balconies covered with elaborate iron and woodwork. They are
often painted bright red, gold and green, colors associated with good luck, and hung with signs,
tasseled lanterns, and silk banners.
The entrance to palace often had a large water tower. Palaces of the Machu emperors at
Chengte featured exposed unadorned cedarwood beams which gave of a fragrant scent that is
also a natural insect repellant.
Feng Shui and Homes
A hall in the Forbidden CityMany buildings are laid out with the principals of feng shui in mind.Feng
shui is the practice of bringing about good fortune among the living, the dead and the spiritual
world by making sure objects placed in a landscape or space are in harmony with the universe in
such a way that they optimally draw on sources of qi (cosmic energy or life force). Also known as
geomancy, ifeng shui is often expressed in terms of Chinese and Taoist cosmology and is said to
be over 3,500 years old.
The five directions of Chinese cosmology and feng shui are north, south, east, west and center.
South represents light and brings good luck. North represents darkness and brings bad luck.
Accordingly, doors of houses should not face north of northwest: they should face south. The
entire house should be oriented towards the south with mountains to the north to block the bad
luck from entering and keep good luck from escaping. The best location is at the foot of a
mountain, facing a river. Waters helps attract qi. Buildings with a square plan help hold it firmly.
The location of the family alter, the orientation of the house and the arrangement of the furniture
should be in harmony. Bedrooms should face the sun and stairway should't be visible from the
front entrance. Qi is believed to enter through the front door and exit through the toilet.
Walls can be constructed at certain angles to attract positive energy. Doors can be adorned with
coins bearing the names of famous emperors to attract good luck. Fountains in corners are
sometimes used to deflect bad energy from the sharp angles of nearby buildings. Mirrors are
also used to deflect bad energy. Cell phones are believed to disrupt feng shui. Thriving plants are
signs that qi is plentiful.
Feng Shui, Buildings and Cities
Entire cities have been laid out
according to feng shui principals. In the old days many buildings in Beijing were oriented with the
feng shui in mind, namely with their backs towards the north and the mountains and the their
fronts facing towards water and the south.
Ideally, feng shui masters are consulted before building are built and designs are drawn up. It is
not unheard of for recently constructed buildings to be torn down, or for people to refuse to
occupy them, because they are out of harmony or face the wrong direction. Sometimes the
buildings can be saved if certain countermeasures are taken, such as locating mirrors at key
areas. Other times people are undeterred and move in anyway.
Chinese Temple Architecture
Chinese temples—whether they be Taoist, Buddhist or Confucian—have a similar lay out, with
features found in traditional Chinese courtyard houses and elements intended to confuse or repel
evil spirits. Temples are usually surrounded by a wall and face south in accordance with feng
shui principals. The gates usually contain paintings, reliefs or statues of warrior deities intended
to keep evil spirits away. Through the gates is a large courtyard, which is often protected by a
spirit wall, a another layer of protection intended to keep evil spirits at bay. The halls of the
temple are arranged around the courtyard with the least important being near the entrance in
case evil spirits do get in.
Chinese temples are often comprised of many buildings, halls and shrines. They tend to be
situated in the middle of towns and have north-south axises. Large halls, shrines and important
temple buildings have traditionally been dominated by tiled roofs, which are usually green or
yellow and sit atop eaves decorated with religious figures and good luck symbols. The roofs are
often supported on magnificently carved and decorated beams, which in turn are supported by
intricately carved stone dragon pillars. Many temples are entered through the left door and exited
through the right.
Pagodas are towers generally found in conjunction with temples or viewed as temples
themselves. Some can be entered; others can not. The Chinese have traditionally believed that
the heavens were round and the earth was square. This concept is reflected in the fact that
pagodas have square bases rooted to the earth but have a circular or octagonal plans so they
look round when viewed by the gods above in the sky.
Early Chinese-style pagodas were modeled after Indian stupas. Pagoda architecture arrived with
Buddhism but over the centuries developed a distinctly Chinese characteristics that influenced
the architecture in Japan and Korea and other places.
Chinese Temple Features
Temple under construction Many temples have courtyards. Often, in the middle of the courtyard is a
small bowl where incense and paper money are burnt. Offerings of fruit and flowers are left in a
main hall at the intricately-carved altars, often decorated with red brocade embroidery with gilded
characters.
Traditional Chinese temples contain wall paintings, carved tile walls and shrines to gods and
ancestors that in turn are wonderfully decorated with wood carvings, murals, ceramic figures and
plaster moldings with motifs that the Chinese regard as auspicious.
On the outside of temples there are often stone walls with simple carvings; gates with statues of
fanged, bug-eyed goblins, intended to keep evil spirits away; and monuments of children who
displayed filial piety to their parents and virgins who lost their fiances before marriage but
remained pure their entire life.
Wealthy Chinese temples often contain gongs, bells, drums, side altars, adjoining rooms,
accommodation for the temple keepers, chapels for praying and shrines devoted to certain
deities. There is generally no set time for praying or making offerings—people visit whenever
they feel like it—and the only communal services are funerals.
At Chinese temples orange and red signifies happiness and joy; white represents purity and
death; green symbolizes harmony; yellow and gold represents heaven; and grey and black
symbolize death and misfortune. Swastikas are often seen on Chinese temples. The Chinese
word for swastika (wan) is a homonym of the word for "ten thousand," and is often used in the
lucky phrase "chi-hsiang wan-fu chih suo chü" meaning "the coming of great fortune and
happiness." See Hinduism, Buddhism
Architectural bilateral symmetry[edit]
An important feature in Chinese architecture is its emphasis on articulation and bilateral symmetry,
which signifies balance. Bilateral symmetry and the articulation of buildings are found everywhere in
Chinese architecture, from palace complexes to humble farmhouses. When possible, plans for
renovation and extension of a house will often try to maintain this symmetry provided that there is
enough capital to do so.[2] Secondary elements are positioned either side of main structures as two
wings to maintain overall bilateral symmetry. The buildings are typically planned to contain an even numbers of columns in a structure to produce odd numbers of bays (間). With the inclusion of a main
door to a building in the centre bay, symmetry is maintained
In contrast to the buildings, Chinese gardens are a notable exception which tends to be asymmetrical.
The principle underlying the garden's composition is to create enduring flow.[3]
Enclosure[edit]
Contemporary Western architectural practices typically involve surrounding a building by an open yard
on the property. This contrasts with much of traditional Chinese architecture, which involves
constructing buildings or building complexes that take up an entire property but encloses open spaces
within itself. These enclosed spaces come in two forms, the:[2]
Courtyard (院): The use of open courtyards is a common feature in many types of Chinese
architectures. This is best exemplified in the Siheyuan, which consists of an empty space
surrounded by buildings connected with one another either directly or through verandas.
"Sky well" (天井): Although large open courtyards are less commonly found in southern
Chinese architecture, the concept of a "open space" surrounded by buildings, which is seen in
northern courtyard complexes, can be seen in the southern building structure known as the "sky
well". This structure is essentially a relatively enclosed courtyard formed from the intersections of
closely spaced buildings and offer small opening to the sky through the roof space from the floor
up.
These enclosures serve in temperature regulation and in venting the building complexes. 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; performing the same duties as Roman impluviums, while restricting the amount of sunlight that enters the building. Sky wells 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.
raised stone paved rammed earth or stone foundations with ornately carved heavy stone
pedestals for supporting large vertical structural beams.[6] The vertical beams rest and remain on
their pedestals solely by friction and the pressure exerted by the building structure.[13]
Structural beams: Use of large structural timbers for primary support of the roof of a building.
Wooden timber, usually large trimmed logs, are used as load-bearing columns and lateral beams
for framing buildings and supporting the roofs. These beams are connected to each other directly
or in larger and higher class structures, tied indirectly together through the use of brackets. These
structural timbers are prominently displayed in finished structures. It is not definitively known how
the ancient builders raised the huge wooden load bearing columns into position.
Structural connections: Timber frames are typically constructed with joinery and doweling
alone, seldom with the use of glue or nails. These types of semi-rigid structural joints allow the
timber structure to resist bending and torsion while under high compression.[6] Structural stability
is further ensured through the use of heavy beams and roofs, which weighs the structure down.[13] The lack of glue or nails in joinery, the use of non-rigid support such asdougong, and the used
of wood as structural members allow the buildings to slide, flex, and hinged while absorbing
shock, vibration, and groundshift from earthquakes without significant damage to its structure.[6]
Walls: The common use of curtain walls or door panels to delineate rooms or enclose a
building, with the general deemphasis of load-bearing walls in most higher class construction.
However, with the reduction in availability of trees in the later dynasties for building structures, the
use of load-bearing walls in non-governmental or religious construction increased, with brick and
stone being commonly used.
Roofs: Flat roofs are uncommon while gabled roofs are almost omnipresent in traditional
Chinese architecture. Roofs are either built on roof cross-beams rests directly on vertical
structural beams. In higher class construction, roof supporting beams are support through
complex dougong bracketing systems that indirectly connect them to the primary structural
beams.[6] Three main types of roofs are found:
1. Straight inclined: Roofs with a single incline. These are the most economical type of
roofing and are most prevalent in commoner architectures
2. Multi-inclined: Roofs with 2 or more sections of incline. These roofs are used in higher
class constructions, from the dwellings of wealthy commoners to palaces.
3. Sweeping: Roofs with a sweeping curvature that rises at the corners of the roof. The
types of roof construction are usually reserved for temples and palaces although it may
also be found in the homes of the wealthy. In the former cases, the ridges of the roof are
usually highly decorated with ceramic figurines.
Roof apex: The roof apex of a large hall is usually topped with a ridge of tiles and statues for
both decorative purposes but also to weight down the layers of roofing tiles for stability. These
ridges are often well decorated, especially for religious or palatial structures. In some regions of
China, the ridges are sometimes extended or incorporated from the walls of the building to form
matouqiang (horse-head walls), which serve as a fire deterrent from drifting embers.
Juntian Terrace built in the Qing Dynasty (18th century), the Dougong is very decorative.
When the Dougong was smaller, people were aware of the spirit of their times and wanted to express that architecturally. They didn't repeat the context with huge Tang/Song Dougong system. When we are building now, why do we just fake antiques by imitating the way old buildings look, but not learn from the way our ancestors think?
Maybe the question is what is a contemporary Buddhist temple? What are the transcendental aspects of Buddhism? The spirit of Zen? The pursuit of balance and harmony? In the Western world, a lot of contemporary churches are being built, with modern designs of architecture all the way down to objects like candle holders and chalices. Maybe for a contemporary temple, we should start with a new design of the incense burner. at 7:22 AM No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest Labels: arch/design, general thinking
Of wood and brick
Once upon a time, China was an empire of wooden structures. A trip to Shangxi Province made me extremely proud of my ancestors because of their superb techniques of engineering and construction.
One of the oldest preserved wooden structures is Foguang Temple, near Wutai. Its Great East Hall was constructed in 857 during the Tang Dynasty. (That was 1,153 years ago!) This is how it works structurally: the hipped roof frame sits on top of a series of columns with complex sets of brackets (called Dougong). The walls are not loading-bearing and there are large doors and windows. (Le Maison Domino??) The huge wooden bracket sets jump out four layers of arms, allowing the eaves to project almost 4 meters beyond the side of the walls. These brackets are fit together by joinery, without any glue or fasteners. Amazing precision and quality of carpentry!
The Manjusri Hall, another historic wooden structure in Foguang Temple, was constructed in 1137 during the Jin Dynasty. Without the "dropped ceiling" (Zaojing), we can see perfectly the structure of the roof frame.
100 kilometers away from Foguang Temple, stands the oldest wooden pergola in China - the Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple in Ying County. It was built in 1056 during the Liao Dynasty. This 67-meter-tall fully wooden structure features 54 different types of Dougong, again, assembled with joinery, no glue or nails used. What a giant piece of 3D puzzle!
The most spectacular would be the Hanging Temple near Mount Heng. It was built 60 meters above the ground into a cliff. Seen from afar, it's like a rel