Baroque architectural style in China

At the beginning of the 20th century, with the prosperity of national industry and commerce and the infiltration of foreign culture, a number of new buildings-"China Baroque" buildings influenced by western architectural culture appeared. This quadrangle-style commercial and residential building with "front shop and back house" has traditional ethnic layout and functions, while the facade is "Baroque" style, and the facade is decorated with bats, pomegranates, trays, golden toads and peonies. The working people here used their intelligence to integrate the style of "Baroque" architecture into the national tradition and created a valuable and unique building-"China Baroque".

Baroque architecture in China remains in Harbin, Wuhan, Peking and many other cities. At present, the largest and most complete Baroque complex in China is located in Daowai District of Harbin.

Fu Shuo, doctoral supervisor of the School of Architecture of Harbin Institute of Technology, the name "China Baroque" was originally put forward by Japanese scholar Nishizawa Tehiko. Baroque architectural art is an artistic style that rose in Italy in the17th century. It is characterized by free appearance, strong colors, rich decoration, meticulous carving, and often interspersed with curved surfaces and oval spaces. In short, "China Baroque" is China's "Baroque", that is, the China architecture with baroque style formed in China.

At No.3 Nantoudao Street11on the side of Jingyu Street in Daowai District, a building that is now a purification hospital is a typical representative of China Baroque style. The building, built in 1920, is a brick-concrete structure, and the whole body is covered with relief decoration made of gypsum. The building adopts L-shaped plane, the main entrance is located at the intersection of Jingyu Street and Nantoudao Street, and there are two double inclined columns on both sides, which is the combination of western Ionian stigma and Chinese drum base column foundation. In the forehead square directly above the entrance, the patterns of bats and auspicious clouds are lifelike. Further up, two monoclinic columns decorated with Chinese knot patterns extend to the arch ticket. In the area surrounded by single inclined columns and arch coupons, the plaque of the Purification Institute is surrounded by finely carved chrysanthemum reliefs.

Baroque architecture in Fu Shuo and China has three characteristics in decoration. First of all, the arches, steps and railings of China buildings are intertwined with the columns and flowers of western buildings. For example, the west column of the purification hospital, coupled with the bucket arch in China, deformed the classical columns in the west. The pillars are western, but the decoration is China, which is not available in western architecture. Secondly, the relief decoration uses plants and flowers to express the cultural connotation of auspiciousness, wealth and fertility. For example, grapes and pomegranates symbolize many children (species), peonies, plum blossoms, lotus flowers and begonia symbolize wealth and good luck, and large flower baskets with various plants symbolize harvest. A baroque building in China even used a tree root to grow two branches on the relief of the wall, and at the same time produced pomegranates and peaches, which fully reflected the simple desire of the people at that time to have many children and live a long life. Third, use animal patterns that symbolize Fulu's happiness, such as bats, deer and cranes. The relief pattern we can see on our daughter's wall is a sika deer standing under a pine tree, symbolizing Fulu's longevity. In addition, some decorations even use copper coins directly, expressing the landlord's wish of looking forward to rolling in financial resources.

On the other hand, in terms of structure, these baroque buildings in China are behind the facades of western buildings, and almost all of them adopt quadrangles in China. Often several buildings form an independent courtyard with doorways. To enter or enter is to enter the suddenly enlightened courtyard through the doorway. In the courtyard, the veranda railings and beautifully carved lintels give people a unique feeling of opening holes. Groups of courtyards often form a block together.

Now walking in Jingyu Street, Daowai District, Harbin, seems to have entered a concentrated display window of China Baroque architecture. Xing Daxing Supermarket, Jingyu Pawnshop, Hendry Optical Shop, Xiaoyue, New Generation Optical Shop, Yinjin Old Photo Studio, Laodingfeng, Luoda Old and New Market, Ma Kewei Commercial Building ... After years of erosion, many buildings are "old", but through their damaged appearance, it is not difficult to imagine their nobility and brilliance.