What are the formal characteristics of ancient architectural art in China?

China's ancient architectural art has accumulated rich and mature experience.

The ancient architectural art in China produced its own diverse architectural types: single-storey or multi-storey halls, halls, buildings, pavilions, pavilions, terraces, gardens, temples, tombs, bridges, archways, etc. It has also produced practical experience and laws of architectural modeling and decoration that people love to see and hear. In terms of building materials, it shows the familiarity with various materials, as well as the richness and ingenuity of construction.

China ancient architecture has some basic features in style. These characteristics are actually the concrete application of architectural art modeling skills.

(1) The layout of ancient buildings in China is based on courtyards. As a complete building complex, the courtyard, which is composed of the main building "main room" and "side seat" and the ancillary buildings "cloister" and "wing room", is a place for living activities and a unified architectural image.

This complex follows two formal principles when combining. One is to take the central line of the main building as the axis, and the whole building complex is balanced and symmetrical. The other is to take the height of the main building as the standard, and get the ups and downs of each building, showing a certain rhythm continuity.

The balance, symmetry and continuity of rhythm pursued by ancient architecture in China have also been used to form larger architectural groups, such as mansions, palaces, temples and even the whole city. This form adapts to the needs of patriarchal clan system, political system and ethical thought, and may also adapt to the new needs of the new society under certain conditions, and be transformed and creatively used.

The purpose of creating this form by ancient architectural artists in China is to highlight the main buildings where the theme of architectural creation lies. In order to achieve this goal and produce the greatest artistic power, outstanding craftsmen in different regions of each era have accumulated countless specific modeling techniques, including specific provisions on scale and proportion.

(2) Every other building is generally composed of three main parts: the roof, the main building and the abutment. Although these three parts are all for structural needs, they also meet the aesthetic requirements with distinctive images.

The huge volume of the roof, the roof and abutment create a magnificent impression. In ancient times, it was a direct boast of the "dignity" and "prestige" of the ruling class. Therefore, aesthetic requirements must obey the realistic political requirements under specific historical conditions.

Realistic architecture is based on the progress of the times and the material conditions of building materials. The combination and visualization of roof, house body and abutment are closely related to the long-term use of "frame structure" made of wood in ancient buildings in China.

"Frame structure": the main body of the house takes wood as columns and beams to form a beam frame. Each beam frame has two rows and more than two layers of beams. Every two beams are strung together with squares, purlins, etc., which becomes the main framework of the "house" and supports the weight on it.

The beams on the beam frame are multi-layered: the upper beam is always shorter than the lower beam; According to the traditional method, the short column between two floors always rises gradually, which is called "lifting frame". The slope of the roof varies with the ratio of the height of the lifting frame.

The practical purpose of the roof is to facilitate the rain to flow down. For the same purpose, there is an "eaves" in front of the house.

Structurally, the structure of "bucket" is often used to support the weight of "eaves", and a layer is added at the head of the junction of vertical column and horizontal column beam: the arched short wood called "bucket" is gradually picked out, and the bucket-shaped square wood block called "bucket" is used as a buffer between the two layers. This unit consisting of bucket and bucket is called "bucket", which is used to reduce the shear force at the connection between column and beam, thus reducing the possibility of beam fracture. Bucket arch is the most distinctive part of the ancient architectural structure in China, and it also concentrates the creativity of ancient craftsmen to solve the material performance limitation. Because of the frame structure, the wall between the two columns of the building is not load-bearing, and the position and size of doors and windows can be handled freely.

We can see all kinds of things derived from the frame structure, such as the slope of the roof rising and falling with the frame, the bucket arch to reduce the shear force, the free treatment of doors and windows under no load and so on. , has become a decisive part of the architectural art image.

The ancient architecture in China is divided into three parts: roof, roof and abutment, which shows that the following scientific principles have been noticed in the ancient realistic architectural art: the characteristics of building materials and structures are the material conditions for the creation of architectural art, and the architectural art and engineering technology are linked in each link.

(3) The decoration and processing of Chinese architecture have not completely deviated from this scientific principle.

The decoration of China's architecture is rich, but the gorgeous and exquisite decoration is unified with the complete and spectacular shape. This unity is related to the decoration method adopted, and the decoration parts are often the parts where components are connected, such as the roof, column head, railing, knocker, etc., which belong to structural nodes. Therefore, the edges of many planes, especially the corners, are also densely decorated and prominent parts. This has created a complex and unified artistic effect without confusion.

In the layout of the whole building complex, as affiliated art, murals and sculptures also appear in the positions needed to express the purpose of unity.

Therefore, all architectural decoration is to achieve the purpose of strengthening artistic expression, not dispersion.

Under that social condition, in order to meet the requirements of the masses, the tendency of excessive pursuit of gorgeous effects and a large number of decorations in ancient architectural art is the characteristic of the development of feudal times. However, the methods of decoration, the theme and treatment of patterns, and the coordination of colors all profoundly show people's artistic talent, which is an important part of China's decorative art treasure house.

The purpose of listing the above three points is to point out that on the basis of application and construction, China's ancient architectural art pursues perfect architectural image according to the requirements of the times, which can be summarized as these three aspects. Its further concrete content needs special scientific analysis.