Architecture in ancient China
Characteristic forms and styles with aesthetic value in Chinese architecture. From the pre-Qin Dynasty to the mid-19th century, it was basically a closed and independent system. The style changed little in more than 2,000 years, and it is generally called ancient Chinese architectural art.
After the mid-19th century, with the changes in the nature of society and the large input of foreign architecture, especially Western architecture, Chinese architecture had more contact and exchanges with world architecture, and architectural styles changed dramatically. , commonly known as Chinese modern architectural art.
Ancient Chinese Architectural Art
Ancient Chinese architectural art developed maturely in feudal society. It is mainly composed of Han wooden structures and also includes outstanding buildings of various ethnic minorities. It is a unique art system with the longest history, the widest distribution area and a very obvious style. Ancient Chinese architecture had a direct influence on the ancient architecture of Japan, Korea and Vietnam. After the 17th century, it also had an influence on Europe.
Artistic Characteristics
Compared with ancient European architectural art, ancient Chinese architectural art has three most basic characteristics:
① The relationship between aesthetic value and political and ethical value unified. Architecture with high artistic value also plays a role in maintaining and strengthening social, political, ethical systems and ideology.
② Rooted in profound traditional culture, showing a distinctive humanistic spirit. All components of architectural art, such as scale, rhythm, composition, form, character, style, etc., are based on the aesthetic psychology of contemporary people and can be appreciated and understood by people. There are no ups and downs, weird or incomprehensible images.
③It is very comprehensive and comprehensive. Excellent architectural works in ancient times are almost all integrated into an overall image by mobilizing all factors and techniques that may constitute architectural art at that time, from the overall environment to a single house, from the exterior sequence to the interior space, from color decoration to ancillary art , every part is not dispensable, and removing one of them will damage the overall effect.
The specific manifestations of these basic characteristics are:
Attach importance to the overall management of the environment
Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, China has had the concept of integrated management of the built environment. Although the planning systems of Ye, Du, Bi, Xiang, Lu, Li, Yi, Qiu, Dian, etc. in "Zhou Li" may not all be true, it at least shows that there was a large-area planning concept for systematic planning at that time. "Guanzi·Chengma" advocates that "any capital must be established not under the mountains, but above Guangchuan", which shows that the environmental relationship must be taken into consideration when choosing a city location. China's Kanyu theory originated very early. Apart from the superstition, most of it focuses on the relationship between environment and architecture. Ancient cities focused on the unified management of the city itself and its surrounding environment. Qin Xianyang encompasses Beiban in the north, runs through the Weishui River in the middle, and reaches Nanshan Mountain in the south. At its peak, it reached two to three hundred miles from east to west, making it a super-scale urban environment. Famous capitals such as Chang'an (today's Xi'an, Shaanxi Province), Luoyang (Northern Wei Dynasty), Jiankang (today's Nanjing, Jiangsu Province), and Beijing (Ming and Qing Dynasties) all have their business scope far beyond the city walls; even ordinary prefectures, prefectures, and counties have Incorporate the suburbs into a unified layout within the overall urban environment. Important scenic spots, such as the Five Mountains and Five Towns, famous Buddhist and Taoist mountains, and suburban gardens, also put environmental management first; in the imperial mausoleum areas, Feng Shui geography is emphasized, and most of the buildings in these places It relies on the environment to show its artistic charm.
The single image is integrated into the group sequence
The form of single buildings in ancient China is relatively simple, and most of them are stereotyped styles. Isolated single buildings do not constitute a complete artistic image. , the artistic effect of architecture mainly relies on group sequence. When a palace is used as a foil in a sequence, its shape will not be too large and its image may be relatively plain. However, if it is used as the main body, it may be very tall. For example, there were not many styles of single buildings in the Beijing palaces of the Ming and Qing dynasties, but through different spatial sequence transformations, each single building showed its independent character in the whole.
The unity of structural technology and artistic image The wooden structure system of ancient Chinese architecture is highly adaptable. This system consists of four columns, two beams and two squares to form a basic frame called a room. The rooms can be connected left and right, front and back, stacked up and down, or combined at random, or modified to form octagonal, hexagonal, or circular , sector or other shapes.
There are two types of roof structures: lifting beam type and bucket type. No matter which type, you can make a curve on the roof
without changing the structural system, and make warped cornices at the corners of the roof. You can also make Double eaves, hooks, intersperses, draping and other styles. The artistic shape of a single building mainly relies on the flexible arrangement of spaces and the various styles of curved roofs. In addition, the components of the wooden structure can be easily carved and painted to enhance the artistic expression of the building. Therefore, the modeling beauty of ancient Chinese architecture is also reflected in the structural beauty to a large extent.
Roof frame styles of ancient Chinese buildings
Standardization and diversification are unified. Chinese architecture is mainly based on wooden structures. In order to facilitate the production, installation and estimating of components, it is inevitable to move towards components. Standardization also promotes modular design. As early as the "Kao Gong Ji" in the Spring and Autumn Period, there were the seeds of standardization and modularization, and it was relatively mature in the Tang Dynasty.
By the third year of the Song and Yuan Dynasties (1100), the "Construction Code" was completely standardized. further simplification. The standardization of buildings promotes the unification of architectural styles and ensures that each building can reach a certain artistic level. Standardization does not limit the sequence composition too much, so the standardization of individual buildings and the diversification of group sequences can go hand in hand. As a kind of spatial art, it is obviously a mature phenomenon of progress. The individual buildings in ancient China seem to lack variety, but the group combinations are varied. The reason is the high degree of unity of standardization and diversification.
Roof structure style of ancient Chinese buildings
Poetic natural gardens
Chinese gardens are an outstanding achievement of ancient Chinese architectural art and are also the representative of all gardens in the world. important typical example.
Chinese gardens are based on nature, absorbing the essence of natural beauty and injecting the aesthetic taste of culturally literate people. They adopt architectural space composition techniques to typify natural beauty and turn it into garden beauty. The interest contained in it is poetic and picturesque; the spatial composition technique used is a sequence design with free flexibility and smooth movement. Chinese gardens pay attention to "the skill lies in the borrowing of causes, and the essence lies in the appropriateness of the body." It attaches great importance to the subtle calculation of the scenery and the scenery, so as to organize a rich viewing picture. At the same time, it also simulates natural mountains and rivers to create special techniques of stacking mountains and rivers. Whether it is earth, mountains, rocks, or connected mountains and rivers, it can make the poetry and painting more profound and interesting.
Attach importance to expressing the character and symbolic meaning of architecture
The political and ethical content of ancient Chinese architectural art requires it to show a distinctive character and specific symbolic meaning. The techniques used for this purpose a lot of. The most important thing is to use the environment to render different moods and atmospheres, so that people can get a variety of aesthetic feelings; secondly, to specify different architectural levels, including volume, color, style, decoration, etc., to express social systems and architectural content; At the same time, we also try to make use of many concrete ancillary arts, as well as the text on plaques and inscriptions, to reveal and explain the character and content of the building. Important buildings, such as palaces, altars, temples, etc., also have specific symbolic themes. For example, Qin Shihuang built Xianyang, using the palace to symbolize Ziwei, the Wei River to symbolize Tianhan, and the dug pond in Shanglin Garden to symbolize Penglai in the East China Sea. Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty built the Old Summer Palace, Summer Resort and Chengde
The Eight Outer Temples simulated important buildings and scenic spots across the country, symbolizing the unity of the inner and outer worlds. The upper and lower circles of the Mingtang have five chambers and twelve halls, symbolizing all things in the world. The composition of some temples symbolizes the Buddhist world of Mount Xumi and so on.
Art form
The art form of ancient Chinese architecture is composed of the following factors
:
The unfolding spatial sequence of Chinese architecture Art is mainly the art of group combinations. The connections, transitions, and transformations between groups constitute a rich spatial sequence. Most of the wooden structure houses are low-rise (mainly single-story), so the group sequence is basically laid out horizontally. The basic unit of space is the courtyard, which has three forms:
① Cross axis symmetry, with the main building in the center. This type of courtyard is mostly used for high-standard, highly commemorative ritual buildings. and religious buildings, the number is not large;
② The vertical axis is the main one, and the horizontal axis is the supplement. The main building is placed at the rear, forming a quadrangle or a triple courtyard, which is widely used in palaces and residences. Most;
③The axis is tortuous or has no obvious axis, and is mostly used in garden spaces. Sequences are divided into regular and free forms.
The most outstanding representative of the existing regular sequence is the Beijing Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
In the free-style sequence, some courtyards are integrated into the environment, and the rhythm of sequence change is relatively slow, such as the buildings in imperial cemeteries and natural scenic spots; there are also courtyards that are integrated into the landscape, flowers and trees, and the rhythm of sequence change is relatively slow. Tight, like an artificially managed garden. But no matter what kind of sequence, it is composed of a preface, transition, climax, and ending, with all the rhythms and ups and downs running smoothly.
Group types of ancient Chinese buildings
Single shapes with fixed specifications There are more than a dozen names for single buildings in ancient China, but most of the forms are not very different. The main ones are 3 Types:
① Hall, the basic plane is rectangular, there are also a small number of squares, perfect circles, rarely appear alone;
② Pavilion, the basic plane is square, perfect circle, hexagonal, Octagonal and other
shapes can be independent from the group;
③ Corridors are mainly used as connections between individual buildings. Halls or pavilions stacked one above the other are pavilions or towers. In the early days, there was also a kind of pavilion with a large rammed earth platform in the center and multi-story houses built along the platform. However, they were no longer built after the Eastern Han Dynasty. The size of the hall is distinguished by the number of rooms on the front and the number of purlins (or rafters) on the sides. Before the Han Dynasty, there were odd and even numbers in the rooms, but after that they were all odd numbers. By the Qing Dynasty, 11 rooms were the largest on the front, and 3 were the smallest. On the side, 13 purlins were the largest, and 5 purlins were the smallest. There are several levels of spacing between bays and purlins, and there are several stereotyped arrangements of the internal column grid. If the number of rooms on the front and sides is equal, it can be transformed into a square hall, and the rooms can also be arranged staggered left, right, front, and rear, resulting in many variations of the hall plane.
The single type of ancient Chinese architecture
Whether it is a hall, a pavilion or a corridor, it is composed of three parts: the base, the body and the roof, and there is a certain proportion between each part. The base of high-end buildings can be increased to 2 to 3 floors and have complex carvings. The house body is composed of pillars, beams, doors and windows. If it is a pavilion, horizontal flat seats (veranda) and flat seat railings are provided on the upper floor. Most of the roofs are in stereotyped styles, mainly including five types: hard mountain, hanging mountain, resting mountain, verandah hall and zanjian. Hard mountain is the lowest grade, veranda hall is the highest. Zanjing is mainly used on pavilions (see roofs of ancient Chinese buildings). structure). The corridor is simpler
It is basically a continuous repetition of one room. The standardization of single buildings reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty. The "Regulations on Engineering Practice of the Ministry of Industry" stipulated 27 stereotyped forms. The scale and proportion of each type were strictly regulated, ranging from palaces to residences and gardens. , many moving artistic images are composed of a small number of stereotyped buildings.
Outstanding curved roof The roof accounts for a large proportion of a single building, generally reaching about half of the facade height. The combination of beams and frames of ancient wooden structures can naturally form a curve on the slope top. Not only the slope surface can be curved, but the main ridge and eaves can also be curved. At the turning corners of the eaves, raised cornices can also be made. . The huge volume and gentle curves make the roof the most prominent image in Chinese architecture. The basic form of a roof
Although simple, it can have many variations. For example, gorgeous kissing beasts and carvings can be added to the roof ridge; the roof tiles can be made of gray clay tiles, colored glazed tiles, or even gold-plated copper tiles; the curve can be steep or gentle, the eaves can be short or long, and it can also be made into a double-layered eaves, Three-layer eaves; many styles can also be combined by interleaving, hooking and draping; skylights and volcanic walls can also be added, and the top and bottom, left and right, and front and back forms can also be different. The grade, character and style of a building are largely reflected in the volume, form, color, decoration and texture of the roof.
Flexible indoor space makes a single building with simple specifications full of different personalities, mainly relying on flexible space processing indoors. For example, an ordinary small hall with three or five rooms can, through different processing techniques, become the gate of a mansion, the main hall of a temple, the main hall of a government office, a pavilion of a garden, a living room of a residence, a duty room for soldiers, etc. with completely different contents. architecture.
Indoor space management mainly relies on flexible space separation, that is, using board walls, □ fans (bisha cabinets), curtains and various forms of flower covers, flying covers, and ancient shelves in the middle of the neat column network Spaces of different sizes are separated, and some also add attics and corridors above the indoor part to vertically divide the space into multiple floors. Coupled with different decorations and furnishings, the character of the building is more distinct.
In addition, ceilings, caissons, paintings, plaques, niches, wall collections, fences, calligraphy and paintings, lamps, flags, furnaces, etc. also play an important role in creating indoor space
art. effect.
Brilliant Colors Chinese architecture uses bold and strong colors. Brilliant colors and paintings are, first of all, expressions of architectural grade and content. The color of the roof is the most important. Yellow (especially bright yellow) glazed tile roofs are the most noble. They are used exclusively by emperors and emperor-approved buildings (such as Confucius Temple). Except for a few special requirements, all buildings in the palace are used regardless of size. Yellow glazed tiles. Below the palace, altars, palaces, temples and temples are mixed with yellow-green
(cut edges), green, and green-grey according to grade; residential buildings are the lowest grade and can only use gray terracotta tiles. The temples and walls of the main buildings are all in red, the wooden structures of the secondary buildings are in green, and the residences and gardens are in red, green, brown, black and other colors. The beams, brackets, and rafter heads are mostly painted with colorful paintings. The colors are mainly blue and green, with gold, red, black and other colors in between. The presence or absence of gold and dragons is used to distinguish grades.
In Qingguan-style buildings, the golden dragon seal is the most honorable, and the realgar jade is the lowest. Folk houses generally do not have colorful paintings, or only "hoop heads" are painted at the junctions of beams and beams. Color painting of garden architecture is the most free, and can be used to paint figures, landscapes, flowers and birds. The platform base is generally made of masonry, and white marble is used for important buildings. Colors and paintings also reflect the nation's aesthetics, which is diversity in unity. The colors of a group of buildings, no matter how complex or gorgeous, always have a certain tone. For example, the palace is mainly red and yellow with warm colors, the Temple of Heaven is mainly blue and white with cold colors, and the garden is mainly gray, green, and brown. Secondly, contrast lies in harmony. Because the tone is unified, the overall effect is harmonious; although many complementary and contrasting colors are in the same building, the contrast is quite strong, but they only make the harmonious tone richer and more pleasing to the eye, but do not interfere with or replace the tone. Finally, artistic expression lies in content requirements. For example, palaces are the most important and have the strongest colors; followed by temples, mausoleums, and temples, the intensity of colors also decreases; residences are the most common and have the simplest colors.
Principles of Formal Beauty Ancient Chinese architecture is a very mature art system, so there is also a set of mature laws of formal beauty, including general laws with visual psychological requirements, and special laws with national aesthetic psychological requirements. , but there is still a lack of comprehensive and systematic summary so far. From a phenomenon perspective, there are generally four aspects:
① Symmetry and balance. Environments and large groups (such as palaces, scenic spots, etc.) are mostly vertical axis-type multi-directional balance; general groups are mostly mirror-type vertical axis symmetry; gardens are a combination of the two.
②Sequence and rhythm. All the general rules that constitute sequence transformation, such as succession, transition, access to barriers, cadences and fluctuations, and the alternation of virtuality and reality are all used. The rhythm is uniform for individual buildings, but changes greatly for groups.
③Contrast and difference. He attaches great importance to the contrast relationship in modeling. There is contrast in shape, color and quality, but contrast lies in unity. At the same time, we also attach great importance to the subtle changes in the shape, such as the curve of the roof, the side legs and rise of the roof body, the cutting of the ends of the components, the fading of the paintings, etc., all of which are in line with the subtle differences in visual psychology.
④Proportion and scale. The degree of modularization is very high, and the proportional relationship of formal beauty is also very mature. Regardless of urban composition, group sequence, single building, or even certain components and floral decorations, we strive to achieve neat and unified proportions. Proportion is combined with scale to stipulate a number of specific dimensions to ensure that all parts of the architectural form are harmonious and in line with normal people's aesthetic psychology.
Types and styles Although there are many types of ancient Chinese architecture, they can be summarized into 4 basic styles.
① Solemn and serious commemorative style. Most of them are reflected in ritual sacrificial buildings, mausoleum buildings and religious buildings with special meanings.
It is characterized by a relatively simple group composition, prominent main image, and rich symbolic meaning. There are some special regulations on the scale, shape, and meaning of the entire building. For example, ancient Mingtang Piyong, emperor's tomb, large altar, and Buddhist architecture such as diamond throne, ordination altar, and big Buddha pavilion.
② Graceful and gorgeous palace style. It is mostly reflected in palaces, mansions, government offices and general Buddhist and Taoist temples. It is characterized by rich sequence combinations and clear priorities. The size of each building in the group is appropriately matched and in line with people's normal aesthetic scale. The single building has strict proportions, appropriate scale and gorgeous decoration.
③Friendly and pleasant residential style.
It is mainly reflected in general residences, but also includes buildings that are most frequently used by people, such as halls and shops. Its characteristics are that the sequence combination is closely integrated with life, the scale is pleasant but not tortuous, the building is introverted, the shape is simple, and the decoration is exquisite.
④Free and euphemistic garden style. It is mainly reflected in private gardens, but also includes some royal gardens and mountain temples. It is characterized by rich spatial changes, eclectic scale and form of the building, elegant colors, and exquisite decoration; more importantly, the combination of architecture and flowers, trees and mountains and rivers, integrating natural scenery into the building. The above four styles are often intertwined in a certain group of buildings. For example, princes' mansions and some temples include three types: palace type, residential type and garden type. Imperial tombs include two types: commemorative type and palace type. .
Local Ethnic Styles China has a vast territory, great differences in natural conditions, and strong isolation between regions (especially ethnic minority settlements and mountainous areas), so the architecture of each place and ethnic group has some special features. The styles can generally be summarized into the following 8 categories:
①Northern style. Concentrated in the vast plain area from the north of the Huaihe River to the south of Heilongjiang. The grouping is square and regular, the courtyard is large, but the scale is reasonable; the architectural shape is not undulating, the house is low and flat, and the roof curve
is gentle; bricks and tiles are mostly used, the wooden structure uses larger materials, and the decoration is relatively simple . The general style is cheerful and generous.
②Northwestern style. Concentrated in the Loess Plateau region from the west of the Yellow River to Gansu and Ningxia. The courtyard is very closed, the house is low, the roof slope is gentle, and there are quite a few buildings with flat roofs. Bricks and tiles are rarely used, adobe or rammed earth walls are mostly used, and wooden decoration is simpler. Cave dwellings are often built in this area. In addition to cliff-cut kilns, there are also underground pit kilns and flat-ground kilns. The overall style is simple and honest. However, there are many mosques built in areas where the Hui people live. They are tall in size, with steep roofs, gorgeous decorations and rich colors, which are obviously different from ordinary folk buildings.
③Jiangnan style. Concentrated in the river network areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The groups are relatively dense and the courtyards are relatively narrow. There are many large groups (large residences, guild halls, shops, temples, ancestral halls, etc.) in cities and towns with buildings; small buildings (general residences, shops) are free and flexible. The roof has a steep slope, the wing angles are high, the decoration is exquisite and rich, and there are many carvings and paintings. The overall style is beautiful and smart.
④Lingnan style. Concentrated in the mountainous and hilly areas of the Pearl River Basin. The building plan is relatively regular, the courtyard is small, the house is tall, the doors and windows are narrow, many have volcanic walls, the roof slope is steep, and the wing angles are larger. The buildings in cities and villages are densely packed and closed. The decoration, carving and painting are rich and complex, and the techniques are exquisite. The general style is light and delicate.
⑤Southwestern style. Concentrated in the mountainous areas of southwestern China, a considerable part of the area is inhabited by Zhuang, Dai, Yao, Miao and other ethnic groups. Mountain slopes are often used to build houses, which are stilt-type buildings with an elevated lower floor. The plane and shape are quite free and rarely appear in groups. Structural components such as beams and columns are exposed, and only boards or mats are used as protective barriers. The roof has a soft curve, a long protrusion, and far-reaching eaves, and is covered with wooden tiles or straw. Not too particular about decoration. The general style is free and flexible. Among them, the Dai Buddhist temple in southern Yunnan has a huge space and rich decoration. The shape of the pagoda is similar to that of Myanmar, and the national style is very distinctive.
⑥Tibetan style. Concentrated in the vast grassland and mountainous areas where Tibetans live together, such as Tibet, Qinghai, southern Gansu, and northern Sichuan. Herdsmen mostly live in brown rectangular tents. Village residents live in watchtowers, mostly 2 to 3-story wooden structures with small patios, covered with stone walls, with large walls and flat roofs. The doors and windows on the stone wall are narrow, and the windows are painted with black trapezoidal window covers, and decorative lines are added to the top eaves, which is very expressive. □Ma
There are many temples, all built on high ground. They are tall in size and have strong colors. They also use thick walls and flat roofs, with a small amount of sloped roofs protruding in key parts. The overall style is solid and heavy.
⑦Mongolian style. Concentrated in the grassland areas where Mongolian people live. Herdsmen live in circular felt bags (yurts). The large felt bags of nobles can be more than 10 meters in diameter, with columns inside and gorgeous decorations. The □Ma temple embodies the style of Mongolian architecture. It is derived from the prototype of the Tibetan □Ma temple and absorbs the architectural art techniques of the Hui and Han people in nearby areas. It is both heavy and gorgeous.
⑧Uyghur style. Concentrated in Xinjiang Uighur residential areas. The exterior of the building is completely enclosed, with flat roofs. The interior courtyard has a friendly scale, a free layout, and is embellished with greenery.
There is a spacious verandah in front of the room, and there are detailed colorful wood carvings and plaster floral decorations both indoors and outdoors. The general style is simple and monotonous on the outside and flexible and refined on the inside. Uyghur mosques and imam cemeteries are places where architectural art is most concentrated. They are huge in size, with towering towers, and rich and exquisite brick carvings, wood carvings, and plaster decorations. Arch structures are also often used, which are full of curved rhythm.
Era Style Since the functions and material structures of ancient Chinese buildings have not changed much over a long period of time, the main factor forming the styles of different eras is the difference in aesthetic tendencies; at the same time, due to the many differences between various ethnic groups and regions in ancient society The strong closedness will also lead to changes in artistic style once it is impacted by foreign culture, or there is a rapid integration of cultures between ethnic groups in various regions. Based on these two points, the architectural art after the Shang and Zhou dynasties can be divided into three typical styles of the times:
① Qin and Han styles. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, some important artistic features of Chinese architecture have initially formed, such as square and regular courtyards, symmetrical layouts along the longitudinal axis, structural systems of wooden beams, and single shapes composed of roofs, body, and base. , the roof accounts for a large proportion of the facade. However, there are also regional and era differences in Shang and Zhou architecture. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the feudal vassals were divided. Each country had different cultures and architectural styles. Generally speaking, it can be summarized into two styles, namely the northern style of the Central Plains, dominated by Qi and Jin, and the Jianghuai style, dominated by Chu and Wu. Qin unified the country and concentrated the cultures of various countries in Guanzhong. The Han inherited Qin culture, and the architectural styles across the country tended to be unified. Representing the Qin and Han styles
mainly include capitals, palaces, mausoleums and ritual buildings. Its characteristics are that the capital is divided according to the rules, and the residential quarters and markets are enclosed by high walls; palaces and mausoleums are large groups, and their main bodies are tall, massive pavilion-style buildings; the important units are mostly cross axes. Symmetrical commemorative style, with huge scale and prominent image; the roof is large and the curve is not obvious, but the eaves have "anti-yu"; there are many carvings and color decorations, weird themes, exaggerated shapes, and strong tones; important buildings pursue symbolic meanings , although many of them contain religious content, they can all be understood by people. The architecture of the Qin and Han Dynasties laid the foundation of rationalism in Chinese architecture, with clear ethical content, laid out and stretched layout, neat and regular composition, and at the same time showed a simple, strong, clear and strong artistic style.
② Sui and Tang style. The Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were a period of major changes in Chinese architectural style. The Central Plains nobles moved south, and the northern minorities entered the Central Plains. With the great integration of ethnic groups, the profound Central Plains culture was introduced to the south, and also affected the north and northwest. Buddhism achieved unprecedented development during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The subsequently imported Buddhist culture had a major impact on almost all traditional literature and art, increasing the categories and expression methods of traditional art and changing the original style. At the same time, the life interest of literati and officials retreating to the mountains and forests, the emergence of pastoral landscape poetry, and the development of beautiful scenic spots in the south of the Yangtze River formally formed the aesthetic ideas and basic style of Chinese gardens, which also led to the romantic sentiment.
The national unity in the Sui and Tang Dynasties and the frequent exchanges with the Western Regions further promoted cultural and artistic exchanges among multiple ethnic groups. The traditional rational spirit since the Qin and Han Dynasties has been blended with the exotic flavor of Buddhism and the Western Regions, as well as the romantic sentiment since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, finally forming the style of the Tang Dynasty where rationality and romance are intertwined. Its characteristics are that the capital is majestic, square and regular; the palaces, temples and other large groups are vast and stretched, with large spatial scales; the architectural shapes are strong, the outlines are uneven, and the decorations are gorgeous; Buddhist temples, The scale, form and color tone of the pagodas and cave temples are extremely rich and colorful, showing the fresh style of the close intersection of Chinese and foreign cultures.
③Ming and Qing style. From the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty, the urban commodity economy in China's feudal society developed tremendously, and the content of urban life and people's aesthetic tendencies also underwent significant changes, which also changed the style of art. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and the Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan dynasties, the culture and art of various ethnic groups and regions in the country were once again exchanged and integrated; the Yuan Dynasty's development of Tibet and Mongolia, as well as the absorption of Arab culture, added freshness to traditional culture blood. In the Ming Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty once again unified the country, and in the Qing Dynasty, a unified multi-ethnic country was finally formed. Chinese architecture finally formed its last mature style during the heyday of the Qing Dynasty (18th century).
Its characteristic is that the city is still neat and tidy, but the closed lanes and markets in the city have been transformed into open streets and alleys, with shops facing the streets and lively markets; there are many scenic spots in the city or in the suburbs, and there are more places for public and tourist activities. ; Important buildings are completely finalized and standardized, but there are many forms of group sequences and rich techniques; the quality and artistic level of folk buildings and buildings in minority areas have generally improved, forming a variety of styles for various regions and ethnic groups; private and royal Gardens appeared in large numbers, the art of gardening flourished unprecedentedly, and gardening techniques finally matured. In short, Shengqing architecture inherited the rational spirit and romantic sentiment of the previous generation. According to the unique laws of architectural art, it finally formed a mature typical style of Chinese architectural art - graceful and magnanimous, rigorous and elegant, clear in mechanism, and rich in richness. In terms of human interest.
The three periods of Qin and Han, Sui and Tang, and Ming and Qing are basically equal in time. They are the three eras of national unification and national integration. They are also the representative dynasties of the first, middle and last periods of feudal society. As architectural art that positively and comprehensively reflects life, the content contained in these three era styles obviously goes far beyond the scope of pure art; the typical significance of architectural art styles and their reflective functions obviously also go far beyond The art of architecture itself.
Chinese modern architectural art
Chinese modern architectural art was formed with the disintegration of feudal society and the input of Western architecture. Its development is closely related to the social system at each stage. , production, lifestyle and aesthetic taste are directly related. The main manifestations are:
① Traditional buildings still dominate in quantity, but due to the emergence of new aesthetic tastes
the architectural style and certain artistic techniques have changed. .
② Modern industrial production and new social life dominated by public activities
have produced new types of buildings.
③New materials, new structures, and new processes also require corresponding new forms.
④The abolition of the feudal hierarchy and the transformation of the social system have fundamentally shaken many important aesthetic values on which traditional architectural art depends. The social function of architectural art has changed, requiring the creation of products that can reflect New aesthetic value, new form adapted to new social functions.
⑤ Traditional aesthetic psychology and new aesthetic values and new social functions have created new contradictions. Whether and how to embody traditional forms in new buildings has become a question. Core issues in modern architectural aesthetics and artistic creation.
Faced with the complex background of the above-mentioned social changes and architectural changes, modern Chinese architecture has shown some new artistic characteristics:
New styles have emerged in the gardens and decorative arts of traditional buildings. Style In traditional architecture, gardens and decoration are the most sensitive parts to changes due to changes in aesthetic taste. After the mid-19th century, most of the gardens in the south of the Yangtze River represented by Suzhou and the gardens in the north represented by Beijing have been renovated and rebuilt. Their common tendency is that the proportion of the buildings has greatly increased, the space is twists and turns, and the decorations are complicated and delicate. , The rockeries are full of twists and turns, and quite a few of them are cumbersome and artificial. Architectural decoration generally tends towards large-scale carvings, with gorgeous colors, expensive materials, expanded subject matter, and very detailed techniques. There are also some Western Baroque and Rococo techniques mixed in, and some compositional craftsmen are also affected by them.
Highlighting the types and styles of buildings. Most of the new types of buildings that appeared in modern times were directly copied from similar Western buildings, and most of the various Western buildings had a set of basic stereotypes. The common ones at that time were colonial, Classical revival style, Gothic revival style, eclectic style, etc., from Harbin to Hong Kong, from Qingdao to Kashgar, every government agency, bank, shopping mall, auditorium, apartment, residence, school, etc., each has its own style in a basically stereotyped form. The content, while the form of the same type is similar, rarely showing unique local ethnic characteristics, and there is even a phenomenon of northern buildings using deep arcade shutters (colonial style) and southern buildings equipped with fireplaces (classical revival style). After the creation of national forms emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, most of them copied the official architectural styles of a certain period of ancient times (mainly the Qing Dynasty). As a result, the national form architecture in Guangzhou is not much different from that in Beijing. Only after the 1980s did more attention be paid to local characteristics, the so-called vernacular architectural style.
Single buildings focus on the expression of appearance. Modern architecture breaks the closed and introverted aesthetic concept of traditional buildings, focusing on expressing spatial artistic conception, and highlights the public and open viewing functions. This It is consistent with the aesthetic concept of Western architecture that attaches great importance to the expression of solid shapes imported at the same time. The art form of modern Chinese architecture contains two types of content. First, some large-scale, monumental buildings still attach great importance to the social value of plastic arts. The aesthetic function requires strong political and ethical content, that is, to express certain specific elements in a specific form. spiritual meaning. For example, banks and customs often adopt solemn and luxurious Western classical forms to show their solid financial resources; some government agencies and memorial buildings often adopt traditional forms to show the inheritance of traditional culture and the spirit of carrying forward the quintessence of the Chinese nation. Second, most civil buildings generally only start from aesthetic taste. On the one hand, they pursue fashion and novelty, but at the same time they are still influenced by traditional aesthetic taste. The Western-style storefronts, Western schools, Western theaters and urban lane houses that were popular from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century were all the so-called combination of Chinese and Western styles. Later, more popular Western styles were directly adopted. After the 1980s, the pursuit of local flavor emerged. The forms are consistent with the aesthetic taste of the contemporary public.