What are the characteristics of ancient Chinese architecture?
Dougong
Compared with the masonry structural system of Western ancient buildings, Chinese ancient buildings are independent institutional systems, and their biggest characteristics are four:
1. Mainly based on wooden structure system. The wooden structure system has many advantages: such as the separation of the maintenance structure and the supporting structure, high seismic resistance, easy access to materials, fast construction, etc. At the same time, wooden structures also have many shortcomings: they are susceptible to fire, termite erosion, and rain corrosion, and do not last as long as masonry buildings; finished wood is in short supply due to the increase in construction volume; it is difficult for the beam frame system to realize complex building spaces, etc. However, there are also a small number of masonry buildings and metal buildings in ancient Chinese architecture. For example, "Historical Records Suoyin" states: "Stone chambers and gold chambers are all the national book collection places."; For example, there are many records in "Shui Jing Zhu", "Weishui Chapter": "There is a stone room next to the Feng River, which was built as the residence of the Taigong." Masonry structures are mostly used in tower buildings. Metal buildings are mainly made of copper. Famous examples of copper buildings include Baoyun Pavilion in the Summer Palace in Beijing, the Golden Palace of Wudang Mountain in Hubei, and the Golden Palace of Taihe Palace in Kunming.
2. The Chinese wooden structure system has always adopted the structural principle of the frame system: four columns, plus cross beams and vertical beams to form a "room". Generally, buildings are composed of an odd number of rooms, such as three, five, and Seven or nine rooms. The more bays there are, the higher the level. The Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City has eleven bays and is the highest-level ancient wooden building in existence. The facade is divided into three parts: base, body and roof. Among them, the large roofs of official-style buildings with far-reaching overhangs are the most important part of the architectural shape. According to the grade, the roof forms are divided into: single slope, flat roof, hard hill, hanging hill, verandah, resting hill, rolled shed, piled peak, double eaves, helmet top and other styles, with double eaves verandah being the highest. grade.
3. Dougong is a key component in the Chinese wooden structure. Its function is to extend the cantilever beam on the column to support the weight of the eaves.
4. Unique exterior outline: multi-layer platform, brightly colored curved sloped roof, courtyard-style building complex, showing a vast sky. Brick paintings of Han tombs more than 2,000 years ago already showed courtyard buildings, and the Forbidden City, the largest architectural complex in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, also adopted complex enclosure forms.
In terms of architectural ideas, ancient Chinese architecture embodies clear etiquette ideas and pays attention to hierarchy: there are strict regulations on shape, color, scale, structure, components, etc., which perfects the architectural form to a certain extent. , but it also limits the development of architecture. At the same time, the idea of the unity of nature and man is also reflected in the development process of ancient Chinese architecture, promoting the mutual coordination and integration of architecture and nature. Pay attention to architecture and city site selection; adapt to local conditions when building, and take advantage of the mountains and terrain, especially in gardens, which emphasize Feng Shui.
Ancient buildings have carved beams and painted walls, and the walls are often painted with paintings. During the Warring States Period, painting flourished; during the Han Dynasty, many palaces and palaces were painted with stories of characters, with good and bad deeds clearly narrated, to serve as a warning; in later generations, many paintings were made of landscapes.
There are many famous architectural works in China, including urban works such as "Kao Gong Ji", and construction regulations such as "Building Methods" by Li Jie of the Song Dynasty, and "Engineering Practice Codes of the Ministry of Works of the Qing Dynasty?" of the Qing Dynasty. His garden works include "Yuan Ye". Famous craftsmen include Yu Wenkai of the Sui Dynasty, Li Jie of the Song Dynasty, Kuai Xiang of the Ming Dynasty, and Shi Shao Lei of the Qing Dynasty.
Single shape
The single body of ancient Chinese architecture can be roughly divided into three parts: the foundation, the body and the roof. All important buildings are built on pedestals, which are generally one-story. Large palaces, such as the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing, are built on tall triple pedestals. The plane forms of single buildings are mostly rectangular, square, hexagonal, octagonal, and circular. These different plane forms play an important role in composing the facade image of a single building. Due to the use of wooden frame structure, the processing of the house body can be very flexible. Doors, windows, pillars and walls are often processed and decorated according to the different materials and parts, which greatly enriches the image of the house body.
The roof forms of ancient Chinese buildings are rich and colorful. As early as the Han Dynasty, there were several basic forms: veranda, resting mountain, hanging mountain, storing roof, and collecting roof, as well as double eaves roof. Later, many forms such as hook-and-loop roof, single-slope roof, cross-slope roof, bowl roof, arch roof, and dome roof appeared. In order to protect the wooden frame, larger eaves are often used on the roof.
Primarily wooden frames
In ancient Chinese architecture, wooden frames were commonly used as the load-bearing structure of houses. The wooden beam and column system was initially completed and widely used in the Spring and Autumn Period before the Christian era, and became more mature in the Han Dynasty. Timber structures can be roughly divided into beam-lifting type, bucket-through type, and well-dry type. The beam-lifting type is the most commonly used. The raised beam structure is to erect columns on the column base along the depth of the house, and frame beams on top of the columns. Several layers of columns and beams are overlapped on the beams, and then ridge columns are erected on the uppermost beams to form a set of roof trusses. The two parallel groups of frames are connected to the upper ends of the columns with transverse beams, and purlins are placed on the beam heads and spine columns of each layer to connect the frames with the load-bearing roof. The rafters are placed between the purlins to form the skeleton of the roof. In this way, a house can be composed of two sets of structures, and a house can have one room or multiple rooms.
Dougong is the most special component in Chinese wooden frame buildings. The bucket is a bucket-shaped pad of wood, and the gong is a short bow-shaped wood. They are crisscrossed and stacked layer by layer to form a set of brackets with large upper and smaller brackets, which are placed on the column heads to support the load of the beam frame and the projecting eaves. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, Dougong reached its peak development, from simple bolsters and eaves components to a circle of "well"-shaped composite beams connected with beams and placed on a grid of columns. In addition to projecting eaves outwards and supporting the ceiling inward, its main function is to maintain the integrity of the wooden frame and become an indispensable part of large buildings. After the Song Dynasty, the bays of the wooden frame were enlarged, the columns were heightened, and the number of dougongs used at the nodes of the wooden frame gradually decreased. In the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, frontal beams and suiliang beams were used between the column heads. The integrity of the structure was strengthened, and the shape of the Dougong became smaller and no longer played a structural role. The arrangement was more dense than in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and its decorative role was It became more and more strengthened and became an accessory that showed the difference in grade.
The advantages of the wooden frame are: first, the load-bearing structure and the maintenance structure are separated. The weight of the building is entirely supported by the wooden frame, and the walls only play the role of maintenance and space separation. Second, it is easy to adapt to different climatic conditions. The height of the house, the thickness of the walls, the materials to be selected, and the location and size of doors and windows can be determined according to the differences in cold and warmth in the region. Third, due to the unique properties of wood and the flexibility of structural nodes, even if the wall collapses, the house will not collapse, which is beneficial to reducing earthquake damage. Fourth, it is easy to obtain local materials and process them. In ancient times, the middle reaches of the Yellow River were densely forested, and wood was easier to process than masonry.
Decoration and Decoration
Ancient Chinese architecture is particularly particular about decoration and decoration. All building parts or components must be beautified. The image and color selected depend on the location and the nature of the components. Different and different.
The platform base and steps are originally the base of the house and the steps into the house, but with carvings and railings, they look particularly solemn and majestic. Roof decoration can make the outline of the roof more beautiful. For example, in the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, the roof of the verandah with double eaves has five ridges and four slopes. Each end of the main ridge is decorated with a dragon-shaped kiss. The mouth is open to swallow the ridge, and the tail is rolled up. The eaves and corners of the four vertical ridges are each decorated with nine colored glazes. The little beast adds to the artistic appeal of the roof image.
Doors, windows, and partitions are exterior eaves decorations. They are partitions that separate indoor and outdoor spaces, but they are particularly decorative. Doors and windows enhance the artistic effect of building facades with their various images, patterns, and colors. Inner eaves decoration is a device used to divide the internal space of a house. Partition doors, board walls, double boxes, bookcases, etc. are commonly used. They can make the indoor space both separated and connected. Another device for dividing indoor space is various covers, such as leg covers, floor covers, round light covers, flower covers, railing covers, etc. Some also need to install glass or gauze, and paint flowers or inscriptions to make the room full of color. The smell of books.
The ceiling is the ceiling of the room and is a kind of decoration above the room. Generally, the construction of residential houses is relatively simple. They usually use wooden strips to make a grid, nail it to the beams, and then paste it with paper, which is called "Haiyuan ceiling". For important buildings such as palaces, wooden supports are used to build a square grid between the beams. The grids are filled with wooden boards and painted with colorful paintings, which is called "wellhead ceiling". The caisson is a kind of interior roof decoration that is more decorative than the ceiling. It has a complex structure, with a rounded bottom and a three-layer wooden frame that forms a well-shaped ceiling that rises upward. It is often used in the upper center of palaces and Buddhist altars. , the intersection of trees is like a well, and it is painted with algae patterns, so it is called an algae well.
Painting on buildings is an important feature of ancient Chinese architecture and an indispensable decorative art for buildings. It was originally a paint applied to wooden components such as beams, columns, doors, and windows to prevent corrosion and beetles. Later, it gradually developed and evolved into color painting. In ancient times, there were strict hierarchical distinctions in the use of color paintings on buildings. People's houses were not allowed to be painted with color paintings. Even in the Forbidden City, there were strict distinctions in the painting of buildings of different natures. Among them, the Hexi color painting belongs to the highest level, with the dragon as the theme. It is used in the main halls of the outer court and the inner court, with a luxurious style. Xuanzi color painting is a patterned color painting with simple, elegant and flexible layout, rich in changes, and is often used in secondary palaces, auxiliary halls, verandas and other buildings. The other type is Su-style color painting, which uses landscapes, figures, grass, insects, and flowers as its content, and is mostly used on pavilions and pavilions in gardens.