Why are all the modern buildings in China so ugly?

Wen Yingli: Emperor, vassal, doctor, scholar. Dan Ying, indecent assault.

From Biography of Guliang in the Spring and Autumn Period

The layout of ancient buildings in China is based on the Confucian rites of going up and down and the rites of men and women, so-called "sleeping from front to back" and "front hall and back room". The regulations on the ritual system in the past dynasties have been constantly quoted and enriched, thus embodying the unified pursuit of "ritual" and truth, goodness and beauty in many aspects. Specific analysis, the impact is in the following aspects.

Grade and order of residential space of ancient buildings in China. The relationship between single buildings in ancient buildings has not only functional requirements, but also specific visual requirements, which are designed according to the ancient etiquette of China. On this point, there are many records in China's Book of Rites. For example, the hierarchy of ancient buildings: the first grade: the roof of double-eaves palace; The second level: resting on the top of the mountain with double eaves.

Level 3: hard peak. In addition, there is a hierarchy, "the emperor's hall is nine feet, the vassal is seven feet, the doctor is five feet, and the scholar is three feet", and so on. So that the building group can ideally reflect the political order and ethical norms. In this way, in the whole building combination, the difference between the main building and the auxiliary building is more clear, emphasizing the sense of order in one direction. Because of this, all levels of residence have the same standards and basis, and they all want to express the content of hierarchical residence with the same etiquette, so they are "isomorphic". For example, the spatial structure of quadrangles is isomorphic with Beijing. This isomorphism is also reflected in the same living level in different regions.

The hierarchy of ancient buildings in this respect is the most detailed, and there are clear and detailed regulations on roof truss, caisson, bucket arch, door and decoration. For example, as stipulated in the Six Codes of the Tang Dynasty, "The house below the vassal should not be re-arched, and the hall above the third class should not have five rooms and nine frames. At both ends of the hall house, the gatehouse should not have five rooms and five frames; No hall with more than five products is willing to have three rooms and five shelves, while the hall house has two ends, and the gatehouse is not allowed to have three rooms and five shelves, which is still the door of Aconitum ... "The implementation of this standardization makes all levels of houses look the same or similar as long as they have different scales and spatial volumes, thus enhancing the versatility of architectural space.