Traditional Cultural Architecture in China

Architecture is known as "the history book of stone" and "the history of solidification", and it is an all-encompassing space art. Through mottled masonry, people can interpret extremely rich historical and cultural connotations. China traditional architecture is the historical accumulation of Chinese civilization and the carrier of China traditional culture. In traditional culture, the ritual system, clan family concept and the spirit of "harmony between man and nature" all affect the layout of buildings, the design of architectural environment and the decorative style, thus forming a unique historical and cultural meaning.

A building refers to a house or place for people to carry out production, life or other activities. It not only has certain practical value, but also reflects the culture of a certain historical period and has unique aesthetic value. The cultural nature of architecture is mainly manifested in two aspects. From a vertical perspective, there are differences in architecture in the times; Horizontally, there are ethnic and regional differences in architecture. The differences in historical origins and geographical environment of different countries and nationalities lead to the diversity of architectural styles.

China is one of the ancient civilizations in the world. Compared with the masonry structure system of western ancient buildings, the biggest feature of ancient buildings in China is the adoption of civil structure system. The characteristic of this system is that the frame of the house is made of wood. First, wooden posts are erected from the ground, beams are erected on the wooden posts, and then roofs are laid on these beams. The weight at the top of all houses is transferred from the beam to the post, and then to the ground through the post. A wall made of earth, brick, stone or other materials only serves as a partition and does not bear the weight of the house.

There are two main types of ancient architecture in China. One is a palace building that shows the activities and life of emperors. The second is the residential buildings that show people's lives and activities. These two kinds of buildings have a direct and close relationship with the traditional culture of China, which makes the ancient buildings in China have a unique charm.

This paper discusses the traditional culture embodied in China traditional architecture from three aspects.

First, "ritual system" and traditional architecture in China

Absolute monarchy was a form of government in ancient China. "Ritual system" is very important in our feudal society. The so-called "ceremony" is the feudal order of "Jun Jun, ministers, father and son" and the hierarchical system of maintaining feudal ethics. Confucius is a loyal defender of the "ritual system", and his thought of "self-denial and courtesy" embodies the importance of etiquette. In the traditional architecture of China, there are also strict checkpoints. From the layout, modeling, structure and decoration design of buildings, there are strong political and ethical norms everywhere to show the difference of order and etiquette system from top to bottom. This is the "ceremony" in architecture. In palace architecture, the place where the emperor handles government affairs is the "temple" and the place where he lives with his family is the "palace". Therefore, the area and components of the "Temple" are very beautiful, showing the supremacy of imperial power with its grand scale and majestic momentum. The building scale of "Palace" depends on the identity of the owner. The palace where the emperor lives is the largest, followed by the palace where the queen and concubines live. In the Forbidden City in Ming and Qing Dynasties, the three halls (Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Zhonghe and Hall of Baohe) are the most magnificent parts of the whole building complex, standing in the center, commanding the overall situation and symbolizing the supremacy of imperial power. In the harem, Gan Qing Palace, where the emperor lives, is the largest, followed by Kunning Palace, where the queen lives, and Sixth Palace, where the concubines live. The nobility and inferiority within the royal family are obvious.

The hierarchical restrictions of residential buildings are also extremely strict, and the rulers of various dynasties even regulate them in the form of laws. Officials at all levels have strict requirements and regulations on luxury buildings. The level of architectural decoration is very obvious. For example, the pedestal is a common decorative technique in traditional buildings in China. Ordinary pedestals can only be used in ordinary houses, and higher pedestals can be used in luxury houses with higher official products. Only royal buildings and Buddhist temples can be used as "friends". This kind of seat is originally the base of the Buddha statue, which means to express the sublimity and greatness of the Buddha with the height of Mount Sumi. Royal architecture borrows "Sumitomo" to imply the supremacy of imperial power. Different roof styles also represent different levels of residential buildings. Most of the slopes on all sides are reserved for the royal family and temples, while the rest of the hills are mostly residences of dignitaries, and the rooms of ordinary people are mostly hard peaks. In addition, the ceiling and painting commonly used in interior decoration are also divided into different grades, and illegal use is strictly prohibited.

Second, "clan concept" and China traditional architecture

The concept of patriarchal clan system is an extremely important content in China's traditional culture, especially after the patriarchal clan ethics advocated by Confucianism occupied the dominant position in feudal society, the influence of this concept is even more ubiquitous. China's traditional architecture also embodies clan concepts and thoughts everywhere.

The traditional bedroom building in China is the most vivid and vivid exposition of clan family ethics. As far as the plane layout is concerned, the distribution of residential buildings is mostly composed of several single buildings, and then the courtyard forms a village. Courtyard is the place where people of the same clan and family live, and village is the place where people of the same surname and family associate. This layout, with the blood relationship as the link, emphasizes the ethnic group and downplays the individual, which enhances the cohesion of the family. It fully embodies the patriarchal characteristics of traditional families. The internal layout of residential courtyards is also rich in connotation. In order to show that the father is superior to the son and the children are orderly, the main room where parents live is generally arranged directly above, and there are also places for ancestor worship or family gatherings. Two rooms, east and west, are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the "hall" for children to live in. Compared with the "hall", the house is subordinate, which is consistent with the status of the residents in the family. At the same time, because the hall is the most distinguished place in the family room and represents the same family gathering place, people are used to calling it paternal relatives. Maternal relatives are not cousins, so they are called cousins. Because the concept of the first room is biased, people call the married wife the "first room" and the concubine the "second room" at the same time. In order to limit and standardize women's freedom of movement, women's bedrooms are generally installed behind a deep and closed courtyard, so the traditional society is used to calling the wife the "inner room". Under normal circumstances, women can't leave the hospital without authorization, and outsiders can't easily enter the inner courtyard. The ancients called women's houses "boudoir".

Three, "harmony between man and nature" and China traditional architecture.

"Harmony between man and nature" is one of the most important thoughts in China's tradition, which emphasizes the harmony between man and nature and people's concern and dedication to the real world. Traditional architecture in China pays attention to the harmony between man-made and nature. Emphasize the mutual influence and contrast between architecture and environment, pursue the coexistence of reality and reality, set each other off and become interesting, with twists and turns, with the intention of returning to the environment and reaching the realm of harmony between man and nature.

The location, layout, structure and color style of residential houses distributed all over the country show strong regional characteristics, which are in harmony with the natural environment of each region. Southwest China is hot and humid, infested with snakes and insects, the living room is built in vain, and the bamboo building is hidden in the bamboo forest, which is simple and elegant; The northwest loess plateau is dry and rainy, with long loess, and its bedroom is a kiln, which is vast and simple; In the south of the Yangtze River, lakes are criss-crossed and dotted, so the rooms are built by water, with small bridges and flowing water, quiet and gentle; Northeast Plain, Yuan Ye is vast, cold and dry, so the rooms are carved and painted, dignified and heavy. In the application of color, the natural color in the north is monotonous, so the decorative color of the building is strong and warm, and the red wall, red door, yellow tile and green window are warm and bright. South China is rich in vegetation and natural colors, so buildings mostly use natural primary colors, such as white walls and tiles, brown columns and blue bricks, which are elegant and natural.

It is worth mentioning that the landscape architecture in China is the representative of natural landscape. The so-called "artificial, natural" means that the architectural design in the garden eliminates the traces of artificial carving as much as possible, follows the laws of natural landscape, imitates nature and renders wild interest. In order to coordinate with the surrounding environment, buildings often have to change some inherent characteristics. For example, as an artificial creation, a straight line is a symbol of its human beauty, while the natural landscape is mostly a soft and smooth curve.

As the carrier of China's material civilization and spiritual civilization, China traditional architecture contains extremely rich historical and cultural connotations. Unique architectural layout, elegant and beautiful architectural decoration and colorful architectural colors all make people feel the ultimate beauty of China traditional architecture. At the same time, China's traditional architecture, with its profound cultural heritage, can arouse people's infinite understanding of history, nature and life. Let people accept the influence of traditional culture.