What are the characteristics of ancient architecture in China ~

Compared with the masonry structure system of western ancient buildings, China's ancient buildings are independent institutional systems, and their greatest features are as follows:

1. The wood structure system is dominant. There are many advantages of wood structure system: for example, the maintenance structure is separated from the support structure, and the seismic performance is high; Convenient materials, fast construction speed and so on. At the same time, wood structure also has many shortcomings: it is easy to be corroded by fire, termites and rain, and its duration is shorter than that of masonry; Due to the increase in construction volume, the demand for finished wood is in short supply; Beam-frame system is difficult to realize complex building space. However, there are also a few masonry and metal buildings in the ancient buildings in China. For example, "Historical Records" said: "Stone chambers are all the locations of the National Library." ; For example, there are many records in Shui Jing Zhu, and there are also records in Wei Shui Pian: "There are stone chambers beside the Panxi River to build the residence of the squire". Masonry structures are mostly used in tower buildings. Metal buildings are mainly made of copper. Famous bronze buildings include Baoyun Pavilion in the Summer Palace in Beijing, Jin Dian in Wudang Mountain in Hubei and Jin Dian in Taihe Palace in Kunming.

2. China's wood structure system has always adopted the structural principle of frame system: adding four columns, beams and vertical purlins to form a "room", and the general building consists of odd rooms, such as three, five, seven and nine rooms. The more rooms, the higher the grade. The Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City has eleven rooms, which is the highest grade wooden ancient building in existence. The facade is divided into three parts: abutment, main building and roof. Among them, the roof of the official building is the most important part of architectural modeling, with huge scale and far-reaching influence. Roof forms are divided into single slope, flat roof, hard mountain, suspended mountain, circular hall, inclined mountain, rolled shed, cushion roof, double eaves and helmet roof, with double eaves and circular hall as the highest level.

3. Bucket is a key component in China wood structure building, and its function is to support the weight of eaves by projecting cantilever beams from columns.

4. Unique external contour: multi-layer abutment, colorful curved sloping roof and courtyard-style buildings show a vast space. The quadrangle building appeared on the brick of the Han tomb more than 2,000 years ago, and the Forbidden City, the largest architectural complex in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, also adopted a complex enclosure form.

In terms of architectural thought, China's ancient architecture embodies clear etiquette thought, and pays attention to hierarchy: there are strict regulations on shape, color, scale, structure and components, which improves the architectural form to some extent, but also limits the development of architecture. At the same time, the idea of harmony between man and nature is also reflected in the development of ancient buildings in China, which promotes the coordination and integration between architecture and nature. Pay attention to the location of buildings and cities; When it was built according to local conditions, it was built on the mountain, and the garden was particularly obvious, emphasizing Feng Shui.

Ancient buildings, carved beams and painted buildings, and walls are often painted. Painting was quite prosperous during the Warring States period; In the imperial palace of the Han Dynasty, there were also many stories of characters, and good and evil were recited to serve as a warning. Later generations painted many landscapes.

There are many famous architectural works in China, among which urban works include Kao Gong Ji, and architectural laws and regulations works include Li Jie's French Architecture in Song Dynasty and Qing Dynasty's Qing Dynasty's Example of Qing Dynasty's Project. ",garden works include" Garden Metallurgy ". Famous craftsmen include Yuwen Kai in Sui Dynasty, Li Jie in Song Dynasty, Kuaixiang in Ming Dynasty and Shi Lei in Qing Dynasty.

Integral modeling

The monomer of ancient buildings in China can be roughly divided into three parts: foundation, roof and roof. All important buildings are built on the pedestal, which is usually one floor. Large halls, such as the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, are built on tall triple bases. The plane forms of single buildings are mostly rectangular, square, hexagonal, octagonal and circular. These different plane forms play an important role in the facade image of the building. Because of the wooden frame structure, the treatment of the house is very flexible, and the door and window column walls are often treated and decorated according to the different materials and parts, which greatly enriches the image of the house.

The roof forms of ancient buildings in China are rich and colorful. As early as the Han dynasty, there were several basic forms, such as fairy hall, resting mountain, hanging mountain, pier top and sharp point, and there were double eaves. Later, various forms such as hook, single slope top, cross slope top, tank top, arch ticket top and vault appeared. In order to protect the wooden frame, the roof often adopts large eaves. However, the eaves block the lighting, and the rainwater on the roof is easy to wash away the foundation. Therefore, later, the curved roof or roof was lifted and tilted to the corner, so the roof and corner were lighter and more lively.

The founder is strict.

The ancient buildings in China are composed of many single buildings, ranging from palaces to houses. Its layout is strictly directional, usually north-south. Only a few buildings adopt flexible forms due to the limitation of topography, and some buildings have changed their directions due to the influence of religious beliefs or geomantic thoughts. Founder's rigorous layout thought mainly stems from the geographical position of the middle reaches of the Yellow River in ancient China and the influence of Confucianism.

The layout of ancient buildings in China is always based on a main longitudinal axis. The main buildings are arranged on the main axis, and the secondary buildings are arranged on both sides in front of the main buildings, facing east and west, forming a square or rectangular courtyard. This courtyard layout not only meets the needs of safe living and facing the sun, but also conforms to the patriarchal clan system and ethical code system in ancient China. When a group of courtyards can't meet the needs, multiple courtyards can be arranged before and after the main building, and cross courtyards (secondary axes) can be arranged on both sides of the main axis. The Confucius Temple in Qufu has ten courtyards arranged on the main axis, and there are many courtyards on both sides of the main axis. There is an axis in front of Kuiwen Pavilion and three parallel axes behind Kuiwen Pavilion. As for the layout of ritual buildings such as temples and tombs, it is more rigorous. This neat layout is not rigid, but arranges multi-entrance and multi-courtyard spaces into a series of varied personalized spaces. Just like the quadrangle in Beijing, its four courtyards are different. The first entrance is a horizontally long inverted courtyard, the second is a rectangular courtyard, the third is a square courtyard, and the fourth is a horizontally long covered courtyard. Jin Si courtyards have different planes and different building facades. Plants and trees are planted in the courtyard, and rock bonsai is placed to make the space environment fresh, bright, quiet and pleasant.

Landscape landscape

An important feature of China classical gardens is artistic conception, which, like China's classical poetry, painting and music, pays attention to freehand brushwork. Landscape designers use landscapes, rocks, flowers, trees and buildings to express a certain artistic realm, so China classical gardens are called freehand landscape gardens. As far as the artistic creation of landscaping is concerned, it absorbs all kinds of things, shapes models, supports itself, sublimates natural beauty into artistic beauty through observation and refining, and expresses its feelings. Appreciation of scenery evokes some feelings in the trigger of scenery, and then sublimates into an artistic conception, so appreciation of scenery is also an artistic re-creation. The re-creation of this art is a process of self-expression, and the viewer expresses his feelings and feelings through the scenery. This is also a spiritual sublimation, which purifies people's thoughts and reaches a higher ideological level.

In China classical gardens, the artistic conception of scenery can be roughly divided into: the realm of governing the world, the realm of immortals and the realm of nature. Confucianism emphasizes reality, has a high sense of social responsibility, cares about social life and interpersonal relationships, attaches importance to moral and ethical values and the political significance of governing the country. This kind of thinking is embodied in landscaping as the realm of governing the world. Laozi and Zhuangzi's thoughts emphasize natural calmness and physical and mental cultivation, take contemplation and intuition as services, take romanticism as aesthetics, and express the natural realm in art. Buddhism and Taoism pursue nirvana and fantasy immortality, which is reflected in the immortal landscape. The realm of ruling the world is more common in royal gardens. For example, about half of the 40 scenic spots in Yuanmingyuan belong to the field of governing the world, which contains almost all the contents of Confucian philosophy, politics, economy, morality and ethics. Most natural states are reflected in literati gardens, such as Canglang Pavilion in Su Shunqin and Sima Guang's paradise in Song Dynasty. The realm of immortals is embodied in royal gardens and temple gardens, such as Pengdao Yaotai in Yuanmingyuan, Fanghu Scenic Area, Huixian Bridge in Qingcheng Mountain Ancient Road, and Feishengyan in Nanyan Palace in Wudang Mountain.

The spiritual connotation of China's ancient architectural art has three characteristics. First of all, buildings with high artistic value also play a role in maintaining and strengthening social, political and ethical systems and ideology. Second, it is rooted in profound traditional culture and shows a distinct humanistic spirit. The third is comprehensive integration. All factors and techniques are often used to synthesize a whole image, from space combination to color decoration, which is an organic part of the whole. Demolition of any one of them will affect the overall effect of the building.

Wood structure is the main structure.

The ancient buildings in China used wooden structures as the load-bearing structures. The wooden beam-column system was initially complete and widely used in the Spring and Autumn Period of BC, and became more mature in the Han Dynasty. Wood structures can generally be divided into beam-lifting type, cross-bucket type and well type, among which beam-lifting type is the most common. Hanging beam structure is a set of roof truss, which is built on the column base along the depth direction of the house, and the beam is placed on the column. Several layers of melon columns and beams are overlapped on the beams, and then the melon columns are erected on the top beams. Two groups of parallel frames are connected to the upper ends of columns with transverse purlins, which are placed on the beam heads and ridge melon columns of each floor to connect the frames with the load-bearing roof. The rafters between purlins form the skeleton of the roof. In this way, two groups of frames can form a room, and a house can be a room or multiple rooms.

Bucket arch is the most special component in China wood structure building. The bucket is a bucket-shaped cushion block, and the chestnut is an arched short wood. They are staggered and stacked layer by layer to form a group of brackets, which are placed on the column heads to support the load of the beam frame and the picked eaves. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, Dougong reached its peak, from simple cushions and hanging members to a circle of "well"-shaped lattice composite beams, and connecting beams were placed on the column network. In addition to projecting the eaves outwards and supporting the ceiling inwards, its main function is to maintain the integrity of wooden frames and become an indispensable part of large buildings. After the Song Dynasty, the width of the wooden frame was enlarged, the column body was raised, and the buckets used at the joint of the wooden frame were gradually reduced. In the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, forehead beams were used between the capitals, which strengthened the integrity of the frame and made the shape of the bucket smaller, which no longer played a structural role. The arrangement is denser than that in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and the decorative function is strengthened, forming an ornament showing the difference of grades.

The advantages of wooden frame are: first, the load-bearing structure is separated from the maintenance structure, the weight of the building is supported by wooden frame, and the wall only plays the role of maintaining and separating the space. Second, it is convenient to adapt to different climatic conditions. The height of the house, the thickness of the wall, the materials to be selected, and the positions and sizes of doors and windows can be determined according to the differences in cold and warm areas. Thirdly, due to the unique properties of wood and the flexibility of structural joints, even if the walls fall, the houses will not collapse, which is conducive to reducing earthquake damage. Fourth, it is convenient for local materials and processing. In ancient times, the middle reaches of the Yellow River were densely forested, and wood was easier to process and make than masonry.

Decoration and fitment

The ancient buildings in China pay special attention to decoration, and all building parts or components should be beautified. Because of the different properties of parts and assemblies, the images and colors selected are different.

Abutment and steps are the base of the house and the steps into the house, but they are carved and decorated with railings, which are particularly solemn and majestic. Roof decoration can make the outline image of the roof more beautiful. For example, the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City has double eaves, five ridges and four slopes, and the two ends of the main ridge are decorated with dragon-shaped kisses of the Yi people, and the tail is rolled up. The eaves with four vertical ridges are decorated with nine small glazed animals, which increases the artistic appeal of the roof image.

Doors, windows and partitions belong to eaves decoration, which is a spacer to separate indoor and outdoor space, but they are especially decorative. Doors and windows enhance the artistic effect of building facade with their various images, patterns and colors. Interior eaves decoration is a device used to divide the interior space of a house, such as partition doors, partitions, multi-storey shelves, bookcases and so on. It can separate and communicate indoor space. Another device for dividing indoor space is various covers, such as leg covers, floor covers, round lamp covers, flower covers, railing covers, etc. Some people have to install glass or paste yarn and draw flowers or inscriptions to make the room full of books.

Smallpox is an indoor ceiling, which is a decoration above the room. Generally, the production of residential buildings is relatively simple, and wooden strips are often used to make grid frames, which are nailed to beams and then pasted with paper, which is called "ridge ceiling". Important buildings, such as palaces, are called "wellhead ceilings", in which wooden poles are used to build a square grid between beams, wooden boards are installed in the grid, and colorful paintings are drawn. Caisson is a kind of roof interior decoration which is more decorative than ceiling. Its structure is complex and its lower part is round. It consists of three wooden frames, rising upward like a well. Mostly used at the top of the hall and in the middle of the Buddhist altar. It is called caisson.

Architectural painting is an important feature of ancient Chinese architecture and an indispensable decorative art of architecture. It was originally a kind of paint applied to beams, columns, doors, windows and other wooden components to prevent corrosion and moths, and later it gradually evolved into a color painting. In ancient times, the application of color painting in buildings was strictly graded, and color painting was not allowed in ordinary people's houses. Even in the Forbidden City, there are strict distinctions between different buildings. Among them, Hexi printed color painting is the highest level, with dragon as the theme, which is applied to the main hall of foreign dynasties and courts with luxurious style. Rotary color painting is a kind of patterned color painting with elegant and flexible picture layout, which is often used in secondary palaces, annex halls, gates and other buildings. The other is Soviet-style color painting, which is mainly about landscapes, figures, insects and flowers, and is mostly used in pavilions in gardens.