Cultural reflection on traditional architecture in China?

Cultural Reflection on Traditional Architecture in China _ Ye Fang Ting _ Architectural Design _ Architectural Chinese Network Over the years, I have often thought about a question. We China people are no less than any other nation in the world in natural conditions, so we have created advanced civilization and splendid culture in the world and become one of the four ancient civilizations in the world. But in the five or six hundred years since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, we have fallen behind! It is from this period that Europe, the seat of another ancient civilization in the world, rose again from the Middle Ages and walked in front of us. What is the reason? I think this has something to do with our cultural traditions and our cultural mentality. Let's take our traditional architectural culture as an example and talk about it.

Over the years, I have often thought about a question: China people are no less qualified than any other nation in the world in terms of natural resources, so we have created an advanced civilization and splendid culture in the world and become one of the four ancient civilizations in the world. But in the five or six hundred years since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, we have fallen behind! It is from this period that Europe, the seat of another ancient civilization in the world, rose again from the Middle Ages and walked in front of us. What is the reason? I think this has something to do with our cultural traditions and our cultural mentality. Let's take our traditional architectural culture as an example to talk about my personal views.

There are basically two types of buildings in the world (here mainly refers to large-scale public buildings belonging to the art category): one is mainly composed of stones, called "stone buildings", which are popular in most parts of the world; A kind of building mainly made of wood, called "wooden structure building", is very popular in East Asia, mainly in China. These two architectural forms have profound cultural origins and different styles and artistic characteristics. As far as art is concerned, each has different value orientation and aesthetic orientation, and it is difficult to distinguish between high and low. This speech, only from the perspective of reflection, focuses on the negative phenomena in China's architectural culture that restrict our development and deserve our serious consideration and overcoming.

Vertical Genetic Inertia Thinking China people are always used to "touching ahead", while westerners are good at "exploring the unknown". Two different cultural mentalities lead to two different results: one is to repeat predecessors without thinking about breakthrough; One is continuous innovation and leaping forward.

Our wooden building has a history of at least 2000 years, as evidenced by Epang Palace, which covers an area of 300 miles. In this long process, from form to style, it is only a single development without qualitative change, which can be described as "two thousand years consistent system" However, since the ancient Greece and Rome period, stone buildings in Europe have updated at least a dozen styles: ancient Greek style, ancient Roman style, Byzantine style, Roman style, Gothic style, Renaissance style, melodramatic style, baroque style, classical style, romantic style, eclectic style, modernist style and "postmodern" style ... One of the reasons for this difference is that we are used to it. Take the level of predecessors as the coordinate, and take the achievements of predecessors as the glory. Europeans are not like this. No matter how great their predecessors have achieved, they have not stopped at heights, but strived to surpass and explore forward. As Lu Xun summed up in those years, we in China are always used to "exploring the unknown", while westerners are good at "exploring the unknown". Two different cultural mentalities lead to two different results: one is to repeat predecessors without thinking about breakthrough; One is continuous innovation and leaping forward.

An outstanding example of vertical inheritance thinking in recent years is that people are keen on antique buildings in various places, among which the voice of "Rebuilding Yuanmingyuan" is the highest. It is said that it is to "reproduce the glory of gardening art in the past", but as everyone knows, beauty cannot be repeated! If I could do it all over again, there would be no place to pile works of art in the world today. What's more, Yuanmingyuan is an extremely important memorial to national humiliation and a "crime scene" for robbers invading China. Reconstruction means the destruction of "scenes", that is, cultural relics.

As a branch of art and a carrier of aesthetics, architecture's life lies in constant innovation, because people's aesthetic consciousness is constantly changing, which is also the objective requirement of historical development.

From the second half of the19th century, from a global perspective, with the development of productive forces, the birth of new building theories and new building materials, architecture began a brand-new revolution. As a product of the farming era, the wooden structure buildings in China have gone through its historical process and are facing transformation. The development of China's history, on the whole, is much slower than that of the west, that is, it lacks an industrial age. As a strong culture, western ideas quickly poured into China. This means that the objective situation has not allowed China architecture to breed new embryos of its own nation from its mother's womb, and we accept them while parrying; If you don't have time to chew carefully, you will inevitably swallow it, which is simply imitation. This is inevitable in the early days. For the achievements of foreign human civilization, we must first "bring them" in order to identify, choose and learn from them. But if you just "bring it" or "take it" for too long, it is worth noting. Absorbing the strengths of others, after all, cannot replace your own creation. To learn from others, if you only learn the superficial, that is, the form and style, but not the essential, that is, the creative spirit, that is to give up the foundation. Throughout the 20th century, we failed to jump out of the pattern of western architecture in general, neither created anything belonging to our own national personality, nor achieved a significant position in the new world trend of thought. As a result, at the end of the century, when I saw what I lacked, I immediately turned to my ancestors for help without necessary reflection. I regarded the "big roof" style as the eternal architectural aesthetic law and artistic mode of the Chinese nation, and restored the ancients with reinforced concrete everywhere.

It should be said that as a national heritage, it is understandable to rebuild some ancient buildings properly and solidly. However, if all localities do this, it is against the historical law to even hang up "symbols of ancient buildings" in the name of "promotion".

Master students who lag behind in technical teaching generally have no relevant scientific common sense and necessary basic theoretical knowledge except pure technical knowledge directly related to architecture. The apprentices learned in this way can only be regarded as skilled craftsmen, but not as educated "intellectuals" or architectural artists.

Just as Aristotle, a Greek in the 4th century BC, became a theorist who ruled Europe for 2000 years on the basis of summing up ancient Greek dramas (tragedies and comedies), the Romans had Vitruwei's Ten Books on Architecture as early as 1 century BC, which not only recorded the architectural technology and art at that time in detail on the basis of rich architectural practice in Greece and Rome, but also carried forward the theory and became the first relatively complete architectural theory work in the world. During the Renaissance, Europeans included paladin's Four Books on Architecture, Albert's On Architecture (also known as Ten Articles on Architecture) and Wigneau's Five-Column Specification. According to the development of European architecture, they carefully combed and expounded European architectural theory from different aspects and degrees, which played an important role in later European and American architecture. As for the modern and post-modern, they also have various classic theoretical works widely circulated.

In contrast, as a country with the highest level of wood structure construction and the most experience, our achievements in this respect are much inferior. It was not until the Han Dynasty that we had a "textual research" of policies and regulations. After thousands of years, it was not until the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty that the Book of Wood Scriptures was published. There was a classic work and a suicide note by Zi Ren in Yuan Dynasty, but it was incomplete and many of them have been lost. The relatively complete works include "Building French Style" by Li Jie in the Song Dynasty and "Examples of Works by the Ministry of Industry" in the Qing Dynasty, which are the essence of China's architectural heritage, especially the former. However, they all focus on the description of building materials, construction technology and management, and theoretical sublimation and aesthetic exploration are still lacking.

The aesthetic concept of western architecture has always been based on modeling and decoration. With the birth of new building materials such as steel, cement and glass, people abandoned this tradition and turned to pay attention to structure in the trend of modernist architecture. At this time, many people found the advantages of China architecture, because the artistic mystery and aesthetic characteristics of China architecture are mainly reflected in the structure. As one of the leading figures in modern architecture, American architect Wright once praised China's architecture. Unfortunately, few of us find this opportunity. Only Liang Sicheng saw this opportunity between China traditional architecture and western modern architecture. However, due to well-known reasons, his grand plan came to nothing tragically.

The update and progress of knowledge and the perfection and development of technology all need a suitable environment, at least there must be channels for information transmission and exchange. It is especially necessary to impart knowledge and cultivate talents. The development of ancient Roman architecture is closely related to its leading position in this field. As early as the third century A.D., they had a school of architectural engineering technology and began to train talents in clusters and on a large scale. In China, the cultivation of talents in past dynasties was mainly through mentoring or family training. The narrowness and limitations of this method are obvious: there is no horizontal connection and lack of information exchange; It is easy to sit on a well and watch the sky, but it is difficult to have competitive ambitions; Can't see the gap, not ambitious; Even if you are a teacher, you should leave a "trick" in the end to prevent future generations from robbing you of your job. Under such closed conditions, it is difficult to produce talents. Even a genius, I'm afraid it's hard to become a climate. Because of narrow vision and closed mind, it is difficult to get the inspiration of whimsy. Even with this inspiration, it is difficult to show the courage to innovate, because the master generally forbids the apprentice to cross the line half a step, and he does not want to see him surpass himself. Why can't China's architectural art and style always be updated, but can only be gradually improved and improved on the original basis? I think this has a lot to do with the way we train talents.

This teaching method also determines the one-sidedness and limitation of the teaching content: apart from the pure technical knowledge directly related to architecture, the master teaches his disciples generally without relevant scientific common sense and necessary basic theoretical knowledge. The apprentices learned in this way can only be regarded as skilled craftsmen, but not as educated "intellectuals" or architectural artists. The talent system in the history of our country is basically a system for cultivating bureaucrats, that is, the so-called "learning to be excellent is to be an official." Only when you are on the official career can you have a future. In the final analysis, learning technology is still a manual worker, a craftsman and a "craftsman", not an architectural engineer or an architectural artist. It should be noted that the habit of artisans is repetition, while the nature of artists is creation! It is not difficult to imagine that this educational system determines the fate of China architecture. It makes the form and style of China architecture change from generation to generation, staying in a single situation for a long time, and forming an "ultra-stable structure".

Ignoring the artistic attribute of architecture, judging from the status and influence of architects, our ancient architects were placed in the position of "craftsmen" no matter how great their achievements were, so they were rarely recorded in history, and even fewer could be named by ordinary people.

Since architecture got rid of the most basic primitive function of shelter from wind and rain, it has formed an indissoluble bond with aesthetics. On the premise of ensuring functional requirements, how to build a better house has become the main pursuit of architects. The basic feature of architectural aesthetics lies in the combination of technology and art, so the artistic attribute of architecture has already formed a public opinion in the world. In Europe, the concept of "art" or "fine arts" has always included painting, sculpture and architecture. However, architecture has always been excluded from art in ancient China, and many people, including a few architects, still hold this view.

The artistic attributes of architecture at least include the following five aspects: architecture has rhythmic beauty. It is both the art of space and the art of time, so it is called "solidified music". Architecture has the beauty of sculpture. This is not only reflected in the rich relief and sculpture exhibits attached to the building, but also in the outline and shape of the building itself, which has its own aesthetic value. Architecture has the beauty of structure. The beauty of architecture is not only manifested in the external shape, but also in the internal space. Here, mechanics and aesthetics are inextricably linked. Buildings have the beauty of decoration. The decoration of buildings is like people's clothes. "Clothes make a man depend on his horse and saddle", and so does architecture. Architecture has poetic beauty. This is mainly reflected in the relationship between architecture and environment. Heidegger's so-called "poetic dwelling" has almost become the motto of "postmodern" architecture.

The above-mentioned artistic attributes of architecture are natural at all times and in all countries, but only in different degrees. The problem is that for more than two thousand years, our architecture has only pursued one form and style, and made it to the extreme. However, we are not as good as westerners in perseverance and wisdom.

First of all, judging from the time and energy invested in architecture, our large-scale buildings usually took only a few years or even longer in ancient times, while others usually took decades or even hundreds of years. One of them is as famous as a saint. Peter Cathedral used 12 1 year before and after; Notre Dame de Paris has experienced 139 years; Koren Cathedral has even been running intermittently for more than 600 years! The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona designed by modern Gaudi has a history of 123 years, accompanied by scaffolding. That is to say, judging from the recently completed Berlin Railway Station, the leading railway station in Europe, with the economic and technical strength of Germany, used 1 1 year!

Secondly, judging from the status and influence of architects, no matter how great their achievements are, architects in ancient China are placed in the position of "craftsmen", so few of them go down in history, and even fewer ordinary people can name them. Ordinary people in Europe, who doesn't know Michelangelo, bernini, Sinkel, Wright, Gropius ... these familiar names? There were only 16 China architects in the Encyclopedia of China written by ourselves 20 years ago, and 8 of them were ancient architects. Of these 8 people, only 1 has the year of birth and death, and 2 people have the year of birth but no year of death. But these two people are the authors of China's important architectural theory works "Building French Style" and "Wood Classics" respectively! The other five years of birth and death are unknown! Most of these five people were in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. About 1050 ancient writers in China are listed as entries separately. There are more than 300 ancient artists in China who are paid separately.

Thirdly, judging from the summary, construction and influence of architectural theory, as mentioned above, the west is ahead of us.

Fourthly, judging from the intention of the rulers, they always emphasize function and neglect art. The emperors of China need magnificent palaces and luxurious gardens to gain power and enjoyment, but few people show special interest in the architecture itself, unlike foreign emperors who often take architecture as their priority and pride. The ancient Roman emperor Augustus once proudly said, "I inherited a brick Rome, and I left a marble Rome." As for Louis XIV, the first builder of Versailles in France, he devoted his life to the pursuit of architecture. This tradition can still be seen in contemporary French presidents such as Pompidou and Mitterrand.

Fifthly, from the comparison between religious architecture and secular architecture, in the west, churches and temples are the most brilliant artistic achievements, while in China, the most brilliant buildings are the imperial palace and the imperial tomb. Intriguingly, all countries in the world where the royal architecture for people far exceeds the religious architecture for gods have declined.

The "wall" culture worthy of reflection. We were building city walls in almost all dynasties. We have been "defending" for a long time, but in the end it is impossible to prevent.

Since the era of slavery, the self-awareness of China rulers has been very strong. This supreme authority needs a symbol, it needs a carrier, and the best carrier is architecture. Just as Xiao He, who was ordered to build Weiyang Palace in the early Han Dynasty, said, "The son of heaven takes the four seas as his home, which is beyond grandeur." So we have the most magnificent palace and the most spectacular mausoleum in the world. Ordinary people's houses are low and dark. This huge contrast will inevitably have a negative impact on people's psychology, that is, a sense of oppression and suffocation. In recent years, government buildings in many places have been built more and more brilliantly, often occupying the "commanding heights" of the city, making the people daunting. This situation deserves reflection.

China has the most walls in the world. You see: the country has the Great Wall of Wan Li, the city has walls, the unit has walls, and the family has quadrangles. Now, almost every household has a security door. Surrounded by so many layers, it is really a miracle of the world. Associated with the wall is the door. Although the facade of our building looks big, there are few doors that allow you to walk. The reason is "for the convenience of management", not "for the convenience of the masses". This is the inversion of "official standard" and "people standard".

The negative effects of this "wall culture" characterized by "prevention" are obvious: firstly, it reflects the idea of "once and for all" of China rulers. In order to "sit on the top of the mountain" safely for generations, they blindly carry out passive material defense at all costs, regardless of people's life and death, instead of cultivating people's sense of resistance and the will to fight spiritually and actively defend themselves.

Second, it has caused the purely defensive nature of national psychology. We were building city walls in almost all dynasties. We "defended" for a long time, but in the end we couldn't defend it: everything we wanted to call in came in. A citizen who hides when he sees a murderer, a solid defense wall, security door and security fence can fundamentally solve the problem?

Third, it causes self-isolation of national psychology. We have been surrounded by countless walls for generations, and our vision has become narrower and narrower, so that we sit in the well and watch the sky, thinking that we are the "central country" of the world and blindly rejecting others. A closed environment is not convenient for horizontal contact, it can block the news of ordinary people, keep their place, and it is difficult to accept foreign "dangerous ideas." A closed environment can create a closed psychology, which is conducive to developing the habit of taming rulers and adapting to the relaxed and stable rule of feudalism.

Nevertheless, we should distinguish the "wall" built at a high price from the "wall" as a historical relic. Using huge manpower and material resources to build large-scale national walls and city walls may play a temporary defensive role in the military, but it is undoubtedly a hindrance or inhibition to the development of productive forces at that time. In practice, all the city walls failed to play a basic role in defending the city and national defense. However, as the way of thinking and behavior of ancient China people, these "walls" are an extremely important historical evidence, which finally proves what China people can do with their will and strength. Therefore, we should fully respect and cherish these heritages as national treasures. This was bought by our ancestors with great blood and sweat.

Getting out of the misunderstanding of "inheriting tradition" has become a shield against innovation, especially against the requirements and efforts of "anti-tradition". As we all know, anti-tradition is the propeller of artistic innovation.

Due to the thinking inertia of "vertical inheritance", the slogans of "inheriting tradition" or "carrying forward tradition" appear very frequently here, almost as loud as the slogans of "anti-tradition" in the west. The problem is that tradition is dual, with both positive and negative aspects. However, some people often hide negative things behind the inheritance because of the "past" complex. In architecture, the main performance is that "inheritance" has become a simple imitation and repetition of the forms and styles of predecessors. In recent 20 years, the emergence of a large number of antique buildings is a powerful explanation. This "fake antique" of "suit and melon hat" has turned many of our towns into a hodgepodge full of "construction waste".

"Inheritance" has become a shield against the requirements and efforts of innovation, especially against "anti-tradition". As we all know, anti-tradition is the propeller of artistic innovation. An anti-traditional person doesn't want to be traditional, he just doesn't want to repeat what his predecessors have done. Lu Xun is a great warrior who is good at inheriting tradition and dares to oppose it.

The essence of inheriting tradition is to learn from the creative spirit of predecessors. All artists with modern consciousness are ashamed of repetition: that is, they do not repeat what their predecessors have done, what others have done, or even what they have done. Because "imitation is the most hopeless literary dogmatism and artistic dogmatism" (Mao Zedong). Art pays attention to originality, and originality is one-off.

In short, whether it is inheriting tradition or anti-tradition, the result should be to develop and enrich tradition, and then promote the faster and better development of today's construction industry. !

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