Why are Chinese and Western architecture different?

As a kind of human activity involving geography, culture, resources, history and other disciplines, architecture is inevitably local and national. So there are obvious differences between Chinese and western architecture.

There are two main reasons for the differences between Chinese and western architecture.

The first is the difference in building materials. Throughout the architectural history of our country, no matter what dynasty or type of architecture, brick-wood structure is the main structure, which is undoubtedly related to China's rich forest resources and the climate suitable for wood structure preservation. In western classical architecture represented by ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and ancient Rome, stone has always been the master of building materials, and architecture is the history book of stone.

Second, cultural differences also bring great differences between Chinese and western architecture. Western civilization, which emphasizes individual and individuality, leads to the emphasis on individual architectural art in architecture, while China's group-oriented culture forms the traditional architectural aesthetics with group harmony as the beauty, which is reflected in both palace architecture and garden architecture.

In addition, there are many factors that lead to the differences between Chinese and western architecture, such as political system, customs, religion, climate and economic strength. With the development of society, Chinese and western architecture is constantly changing and innovating.

Hall of Prayer for the New Year [in Beijing]