The history of architecture

Overview of Chinese modern architecture

Chinese modern architecture generally refers to Chinese architecture since the mid-19th century.

From the outbreak of the Opium War in 1840 to the founding of New China in 1949, Chinese architecture showed the characteristics of the intersection of East and West and diverse styles. During this period, the traditional Chinese old building system still had a numerical advantage, but entertainment and service industry buildings such as theaters, restaurants, and inns, and commercial buildings such as department stores, shopping malls, and vegetable markets generally broke through the traditional architectural pattern. It expanded the space for interpersonal activities and established Western-style storefronts that combined Chinese and Western styles; Western architectural styles also appeared in China's architectural activities. In concession cities such as Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, and Harbin, foreign consulates, foreign companies, banks, restaurants, and clubs appeared. Waiting for foreign construction. During this period, modern national architecture also appeared. This type of architecture better achieved the unity of new functions, new technologies, new shapes and national styles.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Chinese architecture entered a new historical period. Large-scale and planned national economic construction promoted the vigorous development of the construction industry. Chinese modern architecture has broken through the limitations of modern times in terms of quantity, scale, type, regional distribution and modernization level, showing a brand-new attitude. Chinese architecture during this period experienced a retro style period characterized by the partial application of large roofs, a new socialist architectural style period represented by the 10 major buildings of the National Day Project, and a Guangzhou style period integrating modern design methods and national connotations. Since the 1980s, Chinese architecture has gradually become more open and inclusive, and Chinese modern architecture has begun to develop in a diversified way.

Ancient Chinese Architecture

Qing Dynasty Architecture

The Qing Dynasty (1616-1911 AD) was the last feudal dynasty in China. The architecture of this period was generally followed The Ming Dynasty was traditional, but there were also developments and innovations, and the buildings were more ingenious and gorgeous.

Beijing, the capital of the Qing Dynasty, has basically maintained its original state as it was during the Ming Dynasty. There are 20 tall and majestic gates in the city, the most majestic of which is the Zhengyang Gate in the inner city. Inheriting the imperial palaces of the Ming Dynasty, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty built large-scale royal gardens. These garden buildings are the essence of Qing Dynasty architecture, including the gorgeous Old Summer Palace and the Summer Palace.

In the examples of architectural groups in the Qing Dynasty, the level of group layout and decoration design has reached maturity. Especially garden architecture has a high level of processing and changing shapes based on terrain or space.

During this period, there were still innovations in architectural techniques, mainly in the introduction and use of glass and the advancement of masonry construction. During this period, China's residential buildings were rich and colorful, and there were many flexible and diverse free-style buildings.

Unique Tibetan Buddhist architecture flourished during this period. These Buddhist temples have various shapes, breaking the traditional single stylized treatment of original temple architecture and creating rich and colorful architectural forms, represented by a group of Tibetan Buddhist temples built in Beijing Lama Temple and Chengde.

In the late Qing Dynasty, some new architectural images that combined Chinese and Western styles appeared in China.

Architecture of the Yuan Dynasty

China in the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368 AD) was a vast military empire established by Mongol rulers. However, during this period, China’s economy, culture Development is slow, and architectural development is basically in a state of decline. Most buildings are simple and rough.

The capital of the Yuan Dynasty (today's northern Beijing) was large in scale and its shape continued. The scale of Beijing, the imperial city of the Ming and Qing dynasties, was created during this period. The Taiye Lake Long Live Mountain in the Yuan Dynasty (today's Qiongdao, Beihai, Beijing), which has been preserved to this day, was also a grand scene of the Yuan Dynasty.

Because the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty believed in religion, especially Tibetan Buddhism, religious buildings during this period were extremely prosperous. The White Pagoda of Miaoying Temple in Beijing is a Lama Pagoda designed and built by Nepalese craftsmen.

Tang Dynasty Architecture

The Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) was the climax of China's feudal social, economic and cultural development, and architectural technology and art also experienced tremendous development. The architectural style of the Tang Dynasty is characterized by grandeur, strictness and cheerfulness.

The buildings in the Tang Dynasty were large-scale and rigorously planned. The overall planning of Chinese architectural groups became increasingly mature during this period. Both Chang'an (today's Xi'an), the capital of the Tang Dynasty, and Luoyang, the eastern capital, built large-scale palaces, gardens, and official offices, and the layout of the buildings was more standardized and reasonable.

Chang'an was the largest city in the world at that time, and its planning was also the most rigorous among ancient Chinese capitals. The Daming Palace, the imperial palace in Chang'an City, was extremely majestic. Its ruins were equivalent to more than three times the total area of ??the Forbidden City of the Qingming Palace.

The wooden architecture of the Tang Dynasty achieved the unity of artistic processing and structural modeling. Building components including brackets, pillars, beams, etc. all reflected the perfect combination of strength and beauty. The architecture of the Tang Dynasty was simple and simple, solemn and generous, with simple and bright colors. The main hall of Foguang Temple in Mount Wutai, Shanxi Province is a typical Tang Dynasty building that embodies the above characteristics.

In addition, masonry architecture in the Tang Dynasty was further developed, and most pagodas were built with masonry. The existing Tang pagodas in China, including Xi'an's Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Small Wild Goose Pagoda and Dali Qianxun Pagoda, are all masonry pagodas.

Garden Architecture

Chinese garden architecture has a long history and enjoys a high reputation in the history of world gardens. In the Zhou Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago, China had its earliest palace gardens. Since then, all Chinese capitals and famous local cities have built gardens. Chinese urban gardens are rich and colorful and occupy a glorious position among the three major garden systems in the world.

Chinese gardens, which are dominated by mountains and rivers, have a unique style. Their layout is flexible and changeable, and they integrate artificial beauty and natural beauty to create a strange and ingenious effect. These garden buildings originate from nature but are higher than nature. They hide the buildings in the mountains and rivers and elevate the beauty of nature to a higher level.

Chinese garden architecture includes grand royal gardens and exquisite private gardens. These buildings are exquisitely arranged with landscapes, topography, flowers, trees, courtyards, covered bridges, couplets and plaques, etc., making the mountains, rocks and flowing water full of emotion and endless artistic conception. . The realm of Chinese gardens can be roughly divided into three realms: the realm of governance, the realm of gods, and the realm of nature.

Chinese Confucianism’s ideas of being practical, having a high sense of social responsibility, and emphasizing moral and ethical values ??and political significance are reflected in garden landscaping, which is the realm of governing the world. This realm is often seen in royal gardens, and the famous royal gardens About half of the scenic spots in the Old Summer Palace reflect this realm.

The realm of gods refers to the aesthetics of romanticism when building gardens, focusing on expressing the content of Chinese Taoism that emphasizes natural tranquility and cultivation of body and mind. This realm is found in both royal gardens and temple gardens. Reflections include Pengdao Yaotai in the Old Summer Palace, Guchang Taoist Temple in Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan, Nanyan Palace in Wudang Mountain in Hubei, etc.

The natural realm focuses on freehand brushwork and expresses the emotions of the garden owner. This realm is mostly reflected in literati gardens, such as Canglang Pavilion by Su Shunqin in the Song Dynasty and Duyuan Garden by Sima Guang.

The difference between Chinese and Western gardens is that Western gardens emphasize geometric and mathematical principles and focus on architecture; Chinese gardens focus on natural landscapes and the beautiful feelings of the viewer, and pay more attention to the unity of nature and man.

Suzhou Gardens

Suzhou classical gardens, which were included in the World Heritage List in 1997, embody the artistic characteristics of Chinese garden architecture. Suzhou gardens have a history of more than 2,000 years, and there are more than ten famous gardens in existence. Suzhou gardens mostly occupy a small area and adopt endlessly changing and eclectic artistic techniques. They use the interest of Chinese landscapes, flowers and birds, and the artistic conception of Tang poetry and Song poetry to embellish rockeries, trees, and arrange pavilions, pavilions, ponds, and bridges in a limited space. , to create an artistic effect where the small is seen as the big. Among them, the famous garden buildings include Canglang Pavilion, Lion Grove, Humble Administrator's Garden, Liuyuan Garden, etc.

Old Summer Palace

The most famous royal garden in China, the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, known as the "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens", integrates different styles of garden art from all over China, and draws on some Western architectural style, the buildings in the park are ingenious, with different shapes and endless interest. The gorgeous Old Summer Palace was burned down by the British and French forces that invaded China in 1860. Now, people can only imagine the former splendor of this famous garden on the ruins.

The ruins of the Old Summer Palace are in the northwest suburbs of Beijing. The Old Summer Palace, as it is generally called, also includes its two attached gardens, Changchun Garden and Qichun Garden (Wanchun Garden), so it is also called the "Three Gardens of the Old Summer Palace". It is the largest of the five villa gardens in the northwest suburbs of Beijing in the Qing Dynasty, namely the "Three Mountains and Five Gardens" (Jingyi Garden on Xiangshan Mountain, Jingming Garden on Yuquan Mountain, Qingyi Garden on Wanshou Mountain, Old Summer Palace, and Changchun Garden). 347 hectares.

Not only was the Old Summer Palace the most outstanding palace in China at that time, it was praised by Emperor Qianlong as "a heavenly treasure and a spiritual place, and no place in the emperor's travels could surpass it." He became famous in Europe through his letters and reports, which had a certain influence on the development of European natural landscape gardens in the 18th century.

Palace Buildings

Palace buildings, also known as palace buildings, are large-scale, large-scale buildings built by emperors in order to consolidate their rule, highlight the majesty of imperial power, and satisfy the enjoyment of spiritual and material life. A majestic building. Most of these buildings are magnificent and magnificent.

Since the Qin Dynasty, the "palace" has become the place where the emperor and the royal family live, and the palace has become the place where the emperor handles government affairs. The scale of Chinese palace buildings continued to increase in the following years. Its typical features are huge brackets, golden glazed tile roofs, gorgeous colorful paintings, exquisitely carved ceiling caissons, white marble platforms, railings, and beams. columns, and surrounding architectural sketches. The Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing is a typical palace building.

In order to reflect the supremacy of imperial power and the hierarchical concept with imperial power as the core, ancient Chinese palace buildings adopt a strict axial symmetry layout: the buildings on the central axis are tall and gorgeous, and the buildings on both sides of the axis are opposite. Low and simple. Since Chinese etiquette thoughts include respecting ancestors, advocating filial piety, attaching importance to grains, and worshiping earth gods, the ancestral temple (also called the Taimiao) is usually set up on the left front of Chinese palaces for emperors to worship their ancestors, and the Sheji Altar is set up on the right front. It was used for emperors to offer sacrifices to the gods of land and food (she means land and Ji means food). This pattern is called "Left Ancestor and Right She". The ancient palace buildings themselves were also divided into two parts, namely the "front dynasty" and the "back bedchamber": the "front dynasty" was where the emperor went to court and held ceremonies, and the "back bedchamber" was where the emperor and his concubines lived.

Chinese palace architecture is represented by the Forbidden City in Beijing. The Forbidden City, also known as the Forbidden City, was the palace of the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. 24 emperors lived here. The Forbidden City covers an area of ??720,000 square meters and has more than 9,000 houses. The Forbidden City is surrounded by a red wall several meters high with a circumference of more than 3,400 meters. Outside the wall is a moat. The scale of the Forbidden City, its unique style, the gorgeous furnishings, and the splendor of its architecture are extremely rare among palace buildings in the world.

The Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The former part is where the emperor held major ceremonies and issued orders. The main buildings are the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Zhonghe, and the Hall of Baohe. These buildings are built on an 8-meter-high platform made of white marble. From a distance, they look like the mythical Qiong Palace. The architectural image is serious, solemn, magnificent and majestic. The interiors of the three halls are all decorated with splendor. The latter part of the Forbidden City, the "Inner Court", is where the emperor handles government affairs and where the concubines live. The main buildings in this part are the Qianqing Palace, Kunning Palace, and the Imperial Garden, all of which are full of life. Most of the buildings include gardens, studies, and museums. Pavilions, rocks, etc., all form their own courtyards.

Due to the changes of dynasties and wars, not many ancient palace buildings in China have survived. In addition to the Forbidden City in Beijing, there is also the Forbidden City in Shenyang. In addition, there are still several palace ruins from the Han and Tang dynasties in Xi'an.

Mausoleum Architecture

Mausoleum architecture is an important part of ancient Chinese architecture. Based on the concept that people die but the soul is immortal, the ancient Chinese generally attached great importance to funerals. Therefore, no matter what class is interested in mausoleums All carefully constructed. In the long historical process, Chinese mausoleum architecture has made great progress, producing a rare and huge group of ancient emperors and empresses' tombs. In the process of historical evolution, mausoleum architecture has gradually become more closely related to painting, calligraphy, sculpture and other arts. The sects merge into one, becoming a complex reflecting various artistic achievements.

The mausoleum building is one of the most magnificent and largest building complexes in ancient Chinese architecture. These mausoleum buildings are generally built against mountains using natural terrain; a few are also built on plains. Most of the layouts of Chinese cemeteries are built with walls on all sides, doors on all sides, and turrets on the four corners. There is a corridor in front of the mausoleum, with statues of stone figures and stone animals on both sides of the corridor. The green pines and cypresses and dense trees in the cemetery give people a sense of solemnity and tranquility.

Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin

The Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin located at the northern foot of Lishan Mountain in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province is the most famous mausoleum in China and was built more than 2,000 years ago. The Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World", are the "troops" guarding this mausoleum. The Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang are magnificent, with superb sculptures and production techniques. They were included in the World Heritage List in 1987. The World Heritage Committee once commented: The famous pottery figurines of various shapes surrounding the tomb of Qin Shihuang, together with their horses, chariots and weapons, are perfect masterpieces of realism, while also retaining extremely high historical value.

The Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang

The vicinity of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province is where the tombs of Chinese emperors are concentrated. In addition to the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, there are also the tombs of 11 emperors of the Western Han Dynasty and 18 emperors of the Tang Dynasty. Among them, the Maoling of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che is the largest of the Western Han Dynasty imperial tombs and contains the most buried treasures; the Zhaoling is the tomb of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty. The cemetery is very large and there are 17 accompanying tombs of heroes and nobles in the park. There are precious cultural relics on the ground and underground of Zhaoling. The most famous one is the "Six Horses", a fine sculpture from the Tang Dynasty.

The Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties

The imperial tombs of the Ming and Qing dynasties are the most complete preserved among the tombs of Chinese emperors.

The tombs of the Ming Dynasty emperors are mainly located in Changping, Beijing, known as the Ming Tombs. They are the tombs of the 13 emperors after the Ming Dynasty established Beijing as its capital. They are located under Tianshou Mountain in the north of Changping County, Beijing, surrounded by mountains on three sides. In the small basin opening to the south. The tombs of these emperors are scattered on the hillside in the small basin, covering an area of ??40 square kilometers. There are 13 emperors, 23 queens and numerous concubines, princes, princesses and maids buried in the mausoleum area.

The Ming Tombs are magnificent in scale, with beautiful scenery and majestic momentum. They are the most concentrated and complete group of cemetery buildings in China. Among them, the most magnificent ones are Changling (Zhu Di, Emperor Chengzu of Ming Dynasty) and Dingling (Zhu Yijun, Emperor Shenzong of Ming Dynasty). After excavation, it was found that the stone arches of the Dingling Underground Palace have a solid structure, good drainage equipment around them, very little water accumulation, and none of the stone arches collapsed. This fully demonstrates the superb technology of ancient Chinese people in constructing underground buildings.

The Eastern Qing Mausoleum, the largest royal mausoleum with the most complete architectural system among the existing mausoleum buildings in China, covers an area of ??78 square kilometers, in which 5 emperors, 14 queens and more than 100 concubines of the Qing Dynasty are buried. Concubine. The main mausoleum buildings in the Eastern Tombs of the Qing Dynasty are exquisite, spectacular and extremely sophisticated.

Architecture of the Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) was a relatively declining dynasty politically and militarily in ancient China, but it developed in economy, handicrafts and commerce, and science and technology There was also great progress, which brought the architectural level of the Song Dynasty to a new height. The architecture of this period changed from the majestic characteristics of the Tang Dynasty to become delicate, beautiful and focused on decoration.

Cities in the Song Dynasty formed a layout of shops facing the streets and streets formed by rows. Urban fire protection, transportation, shops, bridges and other buildings all had new developments. Bianliang (now Kaifeng, Henan), the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, completely presented the appearance of a commercial city. During this period, large-scale buildings were no longer built in various parts of China. In terms of architectural composition, the spatial hierarchy in the depth direction was only strengthened to set off the main building, and architectural decoration and color were vigorously developed. The main hall and fish pond flying beams located in Jinci Temple in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province are typical Song Dynasty buildings.

The level of masonry construction in the Song Dynasty continued to improve. The masonry buildings at this time were mainly pagodas and bridges. Lingyin Temple Tower in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, Fan Tower in Kaifeng, Henan Province, and Yongtong Bridge in Zhao County, Hebei Province are all examples of masonry architecture in the Song Dynasty.

In the Song Dynasty, China's economy and society developed to a certain extent, and gardens that focused on artistic conception began to rise during this period. Chinese classical gardens focus on freehand brushwork, integrating natural beauty and artificial beauty, and expressing a certain artistic realm through architectural and artificial domestic landscapes, rocks, ravines, flowers and trees, etc. The more representative gardens of the Song Dynasty include Su Shunqin's Canglang Pavilion and Sima Guang's Duyuan Garden.

The Song Dynasty promulgated the specification book "Building Methods" on architectural design and construction, which is a complete monograph on architectural technology. The issuance of this book reflects that during this period, Chinese architecture has reached a new level in terms of engineering technology and construction management.

Architecture of the Ming Dynasty

Beginning in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), China entered the late feudal society. Most of the architectural styles of this period were inherited from the Song Dynasty without significant changes, but the architectural design and planning were characterized by grand scale and majesty.

The urban planning and palace architecture of this period were used by later generations: the capital Beijing and Nanjing, the largest existing ancient city in China, both benefited from the planning and management of the Ming Dynasty. The palaces of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty were also built in the Ming Dynasty. It was continuously expanded and improved on the basis of the palace. Beijing, the capital of this period, was rebuilt on the original basis and was divided into three parts: the outer city, the inner city and the imperial city.

The Ming Dynasty continued to vigorously build the Great Wall, a magnificent defensive building. Many important sections of the walls and gates and fortresses of the Great Wall were built with bricks, and the construction level reached the highest level. The Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty started from the Yalu River in the east and ended at Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu Province in the west, with a length of 5,660 kilometers.

Famous Guancheng cities such as Shanhaiguan and Jiayuguan are unique masterpieces of Chinese architectural art; the Badaling section of the Great Wall in Beijing and the Simatai section of the Great Wall also have high artistic value.

The Great Wall

During this period, the art and technology of wooden frames were further developed in architecture. The image of official-style architecture was more rigorous and steady, and its decoration, paintings, and decorations became increasingly stereotyped; There are also many works of different materials such as masonry, colored glaze, and hardwood left in the furnishings. Bricks have been widely used in building walls in residential buildings.

In the Ming Dynasty, the layout of Chinese architectural complexes became more mature. The Xiaoling Tombs of the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing and the Ming Tombs in Beijing are outstanding examples of making use of terrain and environment to create a solemn atmosphere in the tombs.

In addition, at this time, the private garden construction of Jiangnan bureaucratic landlords was very developed, and Ming-style furniture was also famous around the world.

It is worth mentioning that Feng Shui reached its peak in the Ming Dynasty. This unique ancient cultural phenomenon in the history of Chinese architecture has continued to influence modern times.

Temple Architecture

Temple is one of the Buddhist buildings in China. Temple architecture originated in India and flourished in China since the Northern Wei Dynasty. These buildings record the development of China's feudal social culture and the rise and fall of religion, and have important historical and artistic value.

The ancient Chinese had a profound yin-yang cosmology in architectural patterns and an aesthetic psychology that advocated symmetry, order, and stability. Therefore, Chinese Buddhist temples integrate the unique Chinese functions of worshiping ancestors and worshiping heaven and earth. They are still architectural groups with a square plan, a north-south central axis layout, symmetry, stability, and rigorous ordering. In addition, Buddhist temples with garden-style architectural patterns are also common in China. These two artistic patterns give Chinese temples an elegant and solemn temple atmosphere, as well as natural interest and profound artistic conception.

Most of the layouts of ancient Chinese temples have a mountain gate in the middle of the front. There are bell towers and drum towers on the left and right of the mountain gate. The front is the Heavenly King's Hall, with four Vajra statues in the hall. Behind it are the Mahavira Hall, the Sutra Collection Building, and the monk's room. , Zhaitang is divided into the left and right sides of Zhengzhong Road. The Mahavira Hall is the most important and largest building in the Buddhist temple, and the "Mahatma" is the Buddha Sakyamuni. Before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Buddhist temples usually built pagodas in front of the temples or in the center of the houses. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Buddhist temples generally replaced pagodas, and most temples had separate pagoda courtyards.

Luoyang White Horse Temple

The White Horse Temple in Luoyang, Henan, was built in the Han Dynasty. It is the earliest Buddhist temple built by Chinese officials. The temple is rectangular in shape and covers an area of ??about 40,000 square meters. The construction of White Horse Temple has effectively promoted the development of Buddhism in China, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Therefore, White Horse Temple is still a holy place for Buddhists in many countries to worship.

Buddhist Architecture in Mount Wutai

Mount Wutai in Shanxi Province is a famous Buddhist holy place in China. There are as many as 58 ancient Buddhist buildings preserved on the mountain. Among them, the more famous temple buildings include the Tang Dynasty Nanzen Temple and Foguang Temple. Nanchan Temple is the earliest existing wooden temple building in China; Foguang Temple is a collection of architectural forms from various periods in China. The architecture, statues, murals and ink ink in the temple are known as the "Four Wonders".

Hengshan Xuankong Temple

It is also worth mentioning the Hengshan Xuankong Temple in Beiyue, Shanxi Province. This is a temple raised in the air, with dangerous rocks on top and deep valleys on the bottom. Unique and extremely rare building. The Hanging Temple is located on the mountainside of the cliff on the west side of the Jinlong Canyon, 3.5 kilometers south of Hunyuan County. It is the only existing wooden building built on a cliff in China. It was first built in the Northern Wei Dynasty and was repaired in the Tang, Jin, Ming and Qing dynasties. The entire building faces Hengshan Mountain, with a green screen at its back, stepless rock walls, and high-rise buildings. It is the most spectacular sight of Hengshan Mountain in Beiyue.

Potala Palace

Lamaism is a sect of Chinese Buddhism. The characteristics of Lamaism temple architecture are large Buddhist halls, high sutra halls, and most of the buildings are built according to the mountains. The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet is a typical Lamaist temple building. The Potala Palace, first built in the Tang Dynasty, has been repaired and expanded over the years, forming a huge complex of buildings. The entire palace building is stacked on top of the mountain and is magnificent and magnificent. It has a construction area of ??more than 20,000 square meters and more than 20 halls. The main hall enshrines the precious gilded bronze statue of Sakyamuni when he was 12 years old. The Potala Palace has a typical Tang Dynasty architectural style and also draws on the architectural art features of Nepal and India.

In addition, the "Eight Outer Temples" in Chengde and the Yonghe Temple in Beijing are also famous Lamaist buildings.

Chinese folk houses

The residential buildings in various parts of China are also called folk houses. Residential buildings are the most basic building type. They appear earliest, are most widely distributed, and have the largest number.

Due to the different natural environment and humanistic conditions in various regions of China, residential buildings in various regions also show a diverse appearance.

The mainstream of traditional residences in Han Chinese areas is regular residences, with the Beijing courtyard house, which is laid out in a central axis symmetry, as a typical representative. Beijing's courtyard houses are divided into front and back courtyards. The main house in the middle has the most respected structure. It is the place where family rituals are held and distinguished guests are received. The houses face the courtyard and are connected by verandas. Although the courtyard house in Beijing is a concrete expression of the patriarchal concept and family system in Chinese feudal society in residential architecture, the courtyard is wide, well-sized, quiet and friendly, and has well-organized flowers and trees, making it an ideal outdoor living space. Most of the residential buildings in North and Northeast China have this kind of spacious courtyard.

Tangwu and Tulou

Residences in southern China are more compact and have multiple buildings. The typical residence is a mainstay with a small rectangular patio as the center. This kind of house has a square appearance and is simple and simple. It is widely distributed in the southern provinces.

The Hakka people in southern Fujian, northern Guangdong and northern Guangxi often live in large-scale group housing. Their floor plan is round and square, consisting of a single-story building hall in the center and surrounding four or five-story buildings. This type of building is highly defensive, represented by Hakka earth buildings in Yongding County, Fujian. Among traditional Chinese residences, the Hakka earth buildings in Yongding are unique. There are more than 8,000 earth buildings in square, round, octagonal and oval shapes. They are large in scale and beautiful in shape. They are both scientific and practical. Characteristics constitute a wonderful world of residential buildings.

Fujian Tulou uses local raw soil, sand, gravel, and wood chips to build single houses, and then connect them into large houses, and then build thick and enclosed "resistant" castle-like residential buildings - Tulou. Earth buildings are solid, safe, closed and have strong clan characteristics. There is a well drilled in the building and a granary is prepared. In case of war or banditry, the door can be closed and it becomes a self-contained building. Even if it is surrounded, food and water can be supplied for several months. Coupled with the characteristics of being warm in winter and cool in summer, and resistant to earthquakes and winds, earth buildings have become a residence where the Hakka people have inherited and thrived from generation to generation.

Residential buildings of ethnic minorities

There are also many kinds of residential buildings in China's ethnic minority areas. For example, the Uyghur houses in northwest Xinjiang are mostly flat-roofed, with earthen walls, one to three stories, and outside walls. There are courtyards; the typical Tibetan dwellings "diaofang" have outer walls made of stones and a wooden structure with a flat roof inside; Mongolians usually live in movable yurts; and ethnic minorities in southwest China often build wooden structures near mountains and rivers The stilt-style buildings have an open space downstairs and people living upstairs. Among them, the bamboo buildings of the Dai people in Yunnan are the most distinctive. The stilted houses of the Miao and Tujia ethnic groups are the most distinctive folk houses in southwest China. A stilted building is usually built on a slope without a foundation. The building is supported by pillars. The building is divided into two or three floors. The upper floor is very short, only food is stored and no one can live there. Sundries are piled downstairs or livestock are kept.

Northern cave dwellings and ancient city dwellings

China has a vast territory and many ethnic groups, and the forms, structures, decorative arts, and colors of the dwellings in each region have their own characteristics. Here, we mainly introduce the distinctive northern cave dwellings and folk houses in the ancient city.

There are many cave dwellings in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River in northern China. In loess areas such as Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan, and Shanxi, local residents dig horizontal holes in the natural earth walls and often connect several holes. Bricks and stones were added to the cave to build a cave dwelling. Cave dwellings are fire-proof and noise-proof, warm in winter and cool in summer, saving land, economical and labor-saving, and organically combining natural scenes with life scenes. It is a perfect architectural form adapted to local conditions, permeating people's love and attachment to the loess.

In addition, China also has relatively well-preserved ancient cities, which contain a large number of ancient residences. Among them, the ancient city of Pingyao in Shanxi and the ancient city of Lijiang in Yunnan were both included in the World Heritage List in 1998.

The ancient city of Pingyao is the most complete existing ancient county town of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and a typical representative of the ancient county town in the Central Plains of China's Han ethnic group. So far, the city's city walls, streets, residences, shops, temples and other buildings are still basically intact, and its architectural pattern and style characteristics have remained largely unchanged. Pingyao is a living specimen for studying the historical development of China's politics, economy, culture, military, architecture, art and other aspects.

The Old Town of Lijiang, built in the Southern Song Dynasty, is the only town that combines traditional Naxi architecture with foreign architectural features. The ancient city of Lijiang has not been affected by the architectural etiquette of cities in the Central Plains. The road network in the city is irregular and there are no strict city walls. Black Dragon Pond is the main water source of the ancient city. The water from the pond flows into the walls and houses in thin strips, forming a water network. You can see gurgling water in canals and weeping willows on the riverbanks everywhere in the ancient city.