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Architecture Is One of the Most Easily Recognizable, Physical, Facets of A A MEAsuRE OF Act THINGS Traditional Chinese Architecture and Culture Adam Fong rchitecture is one of the most easily recognizable, physical, facets of a cul ture. With some cultures, architecture is merely a reflection of the geogra A phy and climate; with others, it is a strong symbol of the culture itself. In traditional China, architecture was used as a physical representation of the values and structure of traditional Chinese culture. This paper serves as an introduction to some aspects of traditional Chinese culture and to some of the ways that its values were transformed into physical realities. Traditional Chinese architecture repre sents and reinforces the main goals and values of traditional Chinese culture, in the domestic, religious and social/political spheres by physically emphasizing and sepa rating what was most important to the culture. Regional variations have occurred, either because of environment or economics, but these variations serve rather to enhance the culture rather than detract from it. Before discussing the symbolism of traditional Chinese architecture with re gards to traditional Chinese culture, the term “traditional,” a very flexible word, should be defined. “Traditional” in this paper refers to the native styles of architec ture that developed between the Qin dynasty, which started in 221 B.C.E., and the Qing dynasty, which ended in 1911 C.E., and were uninfluenced by Western models of the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. (See Figure 1) This contrasts with the architectural styles and models directly influenced by the West, here re ferred to as “modern” architecture, which gained popularity in the nineteenth cen tury, and which is currently the building style of choice all over the world. (See Fig. 2) In a similar fashion, “traditional” Chinese culture refers to the most important and enduring cultural norms that developed from the Spring and Autumn period (722-48 1 B.C.E.) and the Warring States period (403-221 B.C.E.), through the Han dynasty (202 B.C.E.-220 C.E.) and the Tang dynasty (618-907 C.E.), up through the changes of the Song (960-1279 C.E.) and Ming (1369-1644 C.E.) dynasties. Dur mg the early periods, key themes of Chinese culture developed, such as loyalty, filial piety, how to run a political state, the hierarchical—or non-hierarchical—na ture of society, and the relationship of man to nature. During the Han dynasty, these ideas were synthesized into an official orthodoxy, which emphasized Confucianism for personal relationships and Legalism for running the state. The Tang dynasty firmly added Buddhist philosophies into Chinese culture. During the Song dynasty, Neo-Confucianism,, which joined Buddhist mysticism to Confucian orthodoxy, was 9$ Ex POST FACTO Adam Fong formulated, and during the Ming, this became the state orthodoxy and the basis for imperial examinations. However, the key values mentioned before—loyalty, filial piety, the relationships within human society, etc—remained vitally important val ues throughout the entire period. Only in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries did Western philosophical values, as can be found in nationalism, democracy, existen tialism, and Marxism, enter into Chinese culture. A description of how that architecture existed in space follows, in order to better understand how the architecture reinforced the culture. first, traditional Chinese architecture has been based on a post and lintel concept. In this method, the main stress of the roof falls directly on the posts, freeing the walls from any structural importance, except for keeping out the wind and rain.1 (See fig. 3) Thus, in the event of a wall collapsing, the building can still be structurally sound, and the roof will not collapse, if the posts have not been damaged with the wall. As a contrast, ancient Roman architecture focused the stress of the building on the walls them selves. The Pantheon, for example, could not still remain a building if one of the walls was removed the dome would crash and destroy most of the structure. This is not a problem in traditional Chinese architecture. Second, traditional Chinese architecture has been organized around having a system of courtyards. (See Fig. 4) Traditional buildings are built around a court yard, with the buildings organized around the open space. This gave privacy to the people using the buildings, while still providing ample ventilation and natural light. Building complexes could be expanded in depth or width, by adding additional court yards and buildings.2 The largest complete expression of this organization is the forbidden City in Beijing. A boost to this courtyard system occurred during the Tang dynasty, with the walled and warded capital city of Chang’an (modern day Xi’an) as the model. Un der this system, the city looked like a giant chessboard, with the avenues of the city being the lines that separate the wards, or squares on a chessboard, from each other. An individual house, temple or palace would have to fit within one of these wards, which were further subdivided inside into squares. These wards “were provided with four gates—one on each side” and were locked up at sunset.3 Courtyard style houses fit very neatly into this pattern, and gave city residents sunlight and open-air spaces within their homes. Third, traditional Chinese architecture was made of wood. Evidence for this lies not only in existing structures, but also in the fact that no structures survive that are over a thousand years old. Wood is a very impressionable material and is relatively durable, but “is highly perishable, subject to natural decay from the elements and from pests. It is highly flammable, and, when used for a religious building, is con stantly exposed to the danger of fire from the incense and candles of the worship pers.”4 Wooden structures are also quite vulnerable to man-made upheavals, such as pillaging and vandalism. In modern times, from around the beginning of China’s continual contact with the West in the eighteenth century, brick and especially con crete have replaced wood in some structures built on traditional models, but some of the traditional forms and elegance have been sacrificed with the change in medi ums.5 Fourth, traditional Chinese architecture has been extremely creative and elabo rate with roofs. One of the most easily recognizable features of Chinese architec ture is the broad, sweeping roofs. There are four distinct styles of roofs: pyramidal, hip, gable and hip and gable. (See Figs. 5-7) A roof could also have double eaves, to increase its stature and emphasize the importance of the building.6 Another no SPRING 2003 VoLuME XII c 99 A MFASURF OF All THINGS ticeable feature of traditional Chinese architecture connected with the roofs are the brackets. The brackets helped to redistribute the weight of the roof additional can tilevers were added to help with the weight. There are several other distinguishing features of traditional Chinese architec ture. There are roof decorations, such as the roof guardians on the edges of the eaves. Theoretically to keep away evil spirits, the roof guardians were also an addi tional mark of the status and importance of the building—the more guardians there were, the more important the building was. There were also spirit screens, put di rectly in front of the entrance, which was supposed to prevent ghosts from entering the house.7 The practical side to the spirit screen was “to provide privacy for mem bers of the household” because “passers-by could not even catch a glimpse of the buildings within the walls.”8 If the building complex was particularly important, there would also be a pair of guardian lions outside of the entrance, one male and one female, which were also traditionally to ward off evil spirits, but socially signi fied a higher rank. The color of the roof tiles was also significant. Yellow tradition ally signified the emperor. Green was allowed for high ranking officials and impe rial princes. Blue represented heaven. Ordinary citizens were to use gray tiles. In religious architecture, yellow represents power; green stands for longevity; red de notes joy; and blue symbolizes heavenly blessings.9 Also, the entire structure was usually built upon a platform “of hard rammed earth for humble buildings, or brick or stone for grander ones,” which originally might have served to separate the build ing from the damp ground and later added to the grandeur and harmony of the struc tures.10 These are the principal elements which coalesce into the traditional Chinese build ing. As mentioned, traditional Chinese architecture was organized in a courtyard system. The traditional format was as follows: several buildings [were] arranged along the sides of the lot [to] create within them a courtyard. Most courtyards are north-south oriented, with the most important building, called zhengfang or the main building, situated at center- north, facing south. In front of the main building, on the eastern and western sides of the lot, are built lesser buildings that face each other; they are called xiangfang or wing buildings. Along the southern edge of the lot is the nanfang or southern building, facing north, as well as the damen or main gate. Except for the main gate, which faces the street, the rest of the buildings are closed to the public, their doors and windows opening on the courtyard.11 The courtyard format was very important in traditional Chinese architecture. This format was used as the pattern for domestic architecture, religious institutions and public institutions, including imperial palaces. Important buildings were not just composed of a single courtyard complex however: Larger complexes may be formed by joining together several courtyards along the north-south axis; each group of buildings is then called ajin or enclosure.
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