The scope of traditional Chinese architecture

China is a vast country with a long history of architectural art. Different regions and nationalities have their own differences in architectural styles, but the traditional architecture of the group layout, space, structure, building materials and decorative arts and other aspects of the **** the same characteristics, different from the West, enjoying a global reputation. Emphasizing the unity of heaven and man, people-oriented.

The plane space of the courtyard

Western architecture is outside the courtyard, i.e., the courtyard surrounds the house, Chinese architecture is the opposite, the courtyard is inside and outside the house, i.e., the house surrounds the courtyard. Houses, walls and other enclosures into the courtyard, the courtyard as the center; or to the main unit (i.e., the main hall, the main hall) as the center, the second unit (i.e., two compartments) around the main unit, a positive two compartments, and connected by the coping corridor, composed of a building. Such as the residential space in various places in the courtyard. Characterized by the "courtyard" as part of the architectural plane, indoor and outdoor space into one, with the room as excessive space corridor, rich in the flavor of life. The buildings around the courtyard are not independent of each other, but are interconnected. But the courtyard building is not a group, but only "a" building.

From the courtyard houses to the Great Wall of China, although the spatial level is different, but all belong to the same spatial form - that is, inward closed space form, **** the same embodiment or service in a social system. State, ancient for the city of the broad name, that is, the political institutions, military power and the vast majority of the people's livelihood, are in a city. Outside the city is a natural wide river, you can live in villages and huts, making other businesses, but it is not independent. From the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, a city of one country or several cities of one country model, until the Qin unified China, still with the city for the "country", several "country" together as a large unified state. In the state, there is a family, so it is called the state. But the spatial pattern of the home is the same as the country, only the scope has been narrowed, so you can say that the home is a unit or cell of the country, or that the home is the country's microcosm, the country is the expansion of the home. The Great Wall was originally designed to protect the border, but in a sense, the Great Wall is like the wall of the big space of the "country". Whether it is the capital city of the dynasties, the palace, gardens and temples, temples, shrines and temples, or all over the residential and marketplace are characterized by this layout of the enclosure space.

This inward hierarchical architectural space pattern, especially in traditional gardens. It is not only the form, but also the mood. In the garden, surrounded by corridors, pavilions, Xuanxuan, halls and other buildings or whitewash walls, the courtyard within, with trees, rockeries, pools and water, walls or buildings to divide the space. "The courtyard is deep", which is refreshing.

Axis of space art

Chinese and foreign architectural monoliths pay attention to symmetry, but Chinese architecture, space layout, especially the axis of symmetry. This is mainly reflected in the Chinese "Zhou ritual" thought influenced by the building system. Ancient capital city planning, the main palace is located in the central axis, the palace as the main body, the secondary buildings are located on both sides, left and right symmetrical layout, "before and after the city", "left ancestor right community", such as the Tang Dynasty and the Ming and Qing Dynasty Beijing City planning layout. Again, as in ancient Chinese temples, emphasizing the axis of the spatial layout of the example is also a lot. Generally will be the main hall Maharishi treasure hall on the axis of the important position, with the hall in the front and back of the right and left. "left cabinet right Tibetan", "left bell right drum" and so on. Space layer by layer, courtyard Sen Sen. Typical of the layout of the Longxing Temple in Zhengding, Hebei. This temple was built in the Sui Dynasty, remodeled in the Song Dynasty, preserved to this day.

The formation of this space in traditional Chinese architecture, there are subjective and objective reasons. Objective such as natural, geographical, ecological reasons, etc., and subjective such as China's long-held mode of production, economic form and humanistic form and other reasons.

Honest structure

Traditional Chinese architecture, as far as its structure is concerned, whether it is the royal palaces and gardens, or various types of buildings scattered all over the world, including residential houses, its structural characteristics are unique in the world's ancient architectural history. Representative structural forms are mainly two:

1, lifting the beam type, that is, in the foundation of the house on the columns, columns on the beams, beams on the short columns, and then put on the beams, beams and purlins at both ends; so that cascade up, in the top beams in the center of the spine Guaizhu to bear the spine purlins. This structure of the building, the interior of less or no columns, more space, widely used in China, especially in the north with more.

2, through the bucket type, this structure is characterized by the column diameter is thin column distance is dense floor columns and short columns directly bearing purlins, columns without beams and a number of through the square connection, and to pick square support the eaves. This structure uses little material, but the indoor columns are dense, the space is not open enough, and it is very common in southern China. Because it is mainly wood frame, column load-bearing, the wall is not load-bearing, so doors and windows can be freely arranged, reflecting the unity of form and structure. In the royal building and important altar, temple buildings, but also to arch support in the column head, between the eaves, making the building out of the eaves far away, to protect the wooden structure of the roof body. Here, on the one hand, the arch is a structural component, on the other hand, also become architectural decorations, that is, structural components for the decorations, the form reflects the function, the structure is true, the function is reasonable, but also a kind of goodness and beauty of the unity. But no matter what kind of building, the structure of the foundation, columns, beams, purlins, rafters, diagonal braces and other parts are mostly exposed, the shape is also processed into decorative components, structure, components with mortise and tenon combination, without applying nails.

Like many buildings in other countries, the exterior is divided into three parts: the foundation, the body and the roof, but the roof of traditional Chinese buildings is especially large, sometimes almost as high as the body, and each part has a certain proportion and standard practice.

The built environment of "the unity of man and nature"

The reverence for nature and the love of nature have existed since ancient times. Ancestors have long been aware of the harmony and unity of "heaven and earth, man and time". Zhou Yi. Qian Gua": "The adults, and heaven and earth together *** Germany, and the sun and the moon together *** Ming, and the four times together *** order, and the ghosts and gods together *** good and bad. The first heaven and the sky is not contrary to, after the heaven and the time of heaven". Confucianism advocates "the unity of man and heaven", Taoism advocates "natural inaction". Heaven is also natural. Whether it is Confucianism's "up and down with the flow of heaven and earth" (Mencius. The Confucianism of "the up and down flow together with the heaven and earth" ("Mengzi. The theory of things"), are people and the world and all things are closely linked together, as an inseparable **** the same body, thus forming a subjective force, prompting people to explore nature, close to nature, the development of nature; on the other hand, the mountains and rivers are magnificent, the scenery of China's beautiful scenery and inspire people to love nature, eulogize the infinite passion of nature. The idea of "unity of man and nature" and the appreciation of natural beauty into the core of traditional aesthetics, accordingly produced a gorgeous landscape culture, landscape painting, landscape gardens, the emergence of scenic spots.

Under the influence of this aesthetic trend, people dealing with the relationship between architecture and the natural environment is not to hold an antagonistic attitude with nature, with the building to control the natural environment; on the contrary, it is to hold an affinity with the attitude, thus forming a building in harmony with the natural environment attitude. For example, Shi Chong, a great bureaucrat of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, built the Hanyang Villa (Jingu Garden) in the suburbs of Luoyang: "The system of the house side, but blocking the long embankment, in front of the clear canal, cypresses more than 10,000 trees, running water around the house" (Shi Chong, "Sijiuquan"); the Buddhist monk Huihui, a Buddhist monk, was a Buddhist monk, and he used the building to control the natural environment. Preface"); Buddhist monk Huiyuan in Mount Lu operating East Forest Temple: "but negative incense burner of the peak, alongside the waterfall of the ravine, still stone base, that is, pine planting ditch. Clear springs around the steps, white clouds in the room. In addition to the temple in a separate ink Zen forest, forest trees smoke condensation, stone runway moss born. Where in Zhan Cu, all the God clear and gas solemn焉"(《高僧传.... Huiyuan biography"). Such descriptions are common in the literature. Since then, those built in the landscape outside the city of Buddhist temples, Taoist temples, villas, villages, villages are very important to the site selection, the purpose is not only to meet the needs of their respective functions, but also in how to play the flexibility of the architectural group of horizontal spread of the mountains on the terrain, to achieve the local landscape, harmonize with the overall natural environment. They are the same as dyeing the earth's landscape to make it condensed and vivid, to achieve the painting of the "landscape architecture", which is the Chinese people in the relationship between architecture and nature on the handling of the unique environmental awareness, although not completely conscious, but very obvious. Historically, the landscape "painting" and geomancy, for this environmental awareness have been part of the aesthetics and scientific exposition.

Harmony in the natural environment consciousness, more conscious and more profoundly embodied in the garden architecture. Broadly speaking, traditional Chinese architecture should include garden architecture. Inside the garden, the architecture need not be confined to one square and two compartments. Ethical symbols are more or less diluted or even completely disappeared, and the architectural layout is given the greatest freedom. Architecture and landscape, flowers and trees organically organized into a series of landscape images, making the garden in general to achieve a higher level of architectural beauty and natural beauty of the realm of mutual integration.

"People-oriented" architecture

In the West, the building is not only a sheltered place to live, but also a sheltered place for the soul, people from the early worship of the mountains and deserts to worship all kinds of natural gods. Buildings are tall and empty and endowed with divinity, and traditional architecture is dominated by the construction of various temples from the very beginning. In China, the beginning of the worship of ancestors, and then the worship of patriarchs, kings, emperors, etc., and in ancient China, the divine power has never been dependent on, subordinate to the imperial power. This determines that Chinese architecture through the ages is the residence of man, not the residence of God. This was true even of later religious buildings. Non-divinity is the foundation of traditional Chinese culture and one of its centers.

Throughout the ages, the Chinese have paid great attention to placing people and real life in the ideal real world. Traditional Chinese architecture takes into account the feelings of "people" in it, and emphasizes the self-expression of "things" themselves. This humanistic approach has deep cultural roots. For example, in terms of building materials, traditional Chinese buildings use wood, not to pursue its permanence, is the idea of non-permanence, is the Chinese cultural foundation of non-permanence decided. Whereas in the West, where it is the epic of stone, the pursuit of architectural permanence. In the building volume, Chinese architecture to the human scale as the principle, the requirements of the "big strong", but also to "appropriate shape". Building height and space are controlled within the scale suitable for human habitation, with the primary human scale ideas, even the Imperial Palace, temples can not be made too big. Modeling Chinese architecture pay attention to the aesthetic principles of peace and nature, smooth, focusing on horizontal lines. Even the upward development of the tower also added horizontal lines, combined with the Chinese pavilion architecture.

In the garden, the architecture is solidified Chinese painting and literature, which takes the mood as the core of creation, making the garden architectural space poetic and picturesque. At the same time, the freedom of the garden layout from a side of Confucianism, Taoism, two ideas in the Chinese cultural field of alternation and complementarity, but also enough to show that the art of gardening through the twists and turns of the obscure way to reflect the people want to get rid of the shackles of feudalism, longing for the return to the true will of the people. China's traditional gardening ideas, layout and techniques have been widely borrowed at home and abroad in modern architecture.

Especially worth mentioning is that, when it comes to the aesthetic behavior of Westerners favor realism, focusing on the shape of the form, the Chinese favor lyricism, focusing on the creation of the mood; Westerners favor the enjoyment of the reality of the United States, the Chinese favor the ideal beauty of the trust. This kind of ideal beauty, permeate all kinds of art, also permeate the architectural art. From the macro planning to the single building decoration, decoration, can be seen on the pursuit of ideal beauty. Such as the royal building of the dragon, phoenix carvings, as well as around the building to "good luck" as the theme of "fortune, fortune, longevity, happiness" and poetry and painting decorations, etc. are fully embodied in the Chinese architecture is centered on human beings, reflecting the people's longing for a better life.

The above only from the traditional Chinese architecture of the plane, space, structure, the relationship between man and nature and the relationship between architecture and people, etc. analyzed the characteristics of traditional Chinese architecture, which is not the whole of the characteristics of traditional Chinese architecture, but it has been involved in the traditional Chinese architecture of the layout, structure, decoration, decoration, culture and many other aspects. It can be said that from macro to micro, from material to spiritual, things are permeated with the unique personality of traditional Chinese architecture. It influences the development of Chinese architecture with its great infectious power all the time. This is the charm of traditional Chinese architecture.