Why the Chinese and Western ancient building materials a love "wood", a like "stone"?

China's ancient buildings are mostly wooden structures, while the Western ancient buildings with stone construction, analysis of the reasons, I think there are the following three reasons: the first is the purpose of their respective building design is different, the choice of materials are not the same; the second is the respective cultural orientation to create; the third is to uphold the architectural concepts of the different, so there is a gap in the selection of materials. However, it is important to mention that both Chinese and Western ancient architecture have their rare and valuable advantages, and there is no higher or lower.

First, let's take a look at the design purpose of Chinese and Western ancient architecture. Chinese ancient architecture that the building is built for the present people live, focusing on the present world, and the long-term and future considerations of the component less, such as palaces, government offices at all levels, so most of the wooden materials for the building; and the West is more faith in God, that people can live forever, and therefore the construction of the building to pay attention to the eternal and long-lasting. Therefore, the Western ancient buildings are usually built after decades or even hundreds of years, and are mostly built with solid and reliable stones.

Secondly, the cultural orientation of the two sides is not the same, so the selection of materials in the building is also different. In the history of the West, there has always been a deep preference for stone. In the Western culture, from the ancient Greek myths and legends, the stone is considered the material basis for the creation of mankind. Therefore, in the history of Western culture, stones have a supreme status and are mostly found in temples and altars. However, the history and culture of China is very different. The ancient Chinese people emphasized the five elements of yin and yang. Wood, gold, water, fire and earth, wood symbolizes the vigorous life force, representing the east and the vitality of spring. Of these five elements, the Chinese most highly prized earth and wood as materials for building houses. Even now, we still use the term ? Civil engineering? This call.

Finally, the differences in ancient building materials are also due to differences in the architectural philosophies that were upheld. As early as 2000 years ago, the Western architectural community has three principles of architecture, namely? Aesthetics, practicality, and sturdiness? Sturdy is the most important, so stone became the most appropriate material. The Chinese are different, we do not only require the sturdiness of the building, nor do we simply require the aesthetics, our house is for living, so we have to pursue the comfort of the space and the combination of yin and yang. Therefore, it will choose the original wood materials that are not polluted.