A
lthough the basic unit of Chinese architecture, the rectangular
hall with columns supporting a roof, was common in many
ancient civilizations, Chinese buildings are distinguished by the
curving silhouettes of their roofs and by their method of construc-
tion. The Chinese, like other ancient peoples, used wood to con-
struct their earliest buildings. Although those structures do not sur-
vive, scholars believe many of the features giving East Asian
architecture its specific character may date to the Zhou dynasty.
Even the simple buildings reproduced on Han stone carvings (FIG.
7-8) and in clay models (FIG. 7-9) reveal a style and a method of con-
struction long basic to China.
The typical Chinese hall has a pitched roof with projecting
eaves. Wooden columns, lintels, and brackets provide the support.
The walls serve no weight-bearing function. They act only as screens
separating inside from outside and room from room. The colors of
Chinese buildings, predominantly red, black, yellow, and white, are
also distinctive. Chinese timber architecture is customarily multi-colored throughout, save for certain parts left in natural color, such
as railings made of white marble. The builders usually painted the
screen walls and the columns red. Chinese designers often chose daz-
zling combinations of colors and elaborate patterns for the beams,
brackets, eaves, rafters, and ceilings. The builders painted or lac-
quered the surfaces to protect the timber from rot and wood para-
sites, as well as to produce an arresting aesthetic effect.
FIG. 7-10shows the basic construction method of Chinese ar-
chitecture, with the major components of a Chinese building la-
beled. The builders laid beams (no. 1) between columns, decreasing
the length of the beams as the structure rose. The beams supported
vertical struts (no. 2), which in turn supported higher beams and
eventually the purlins (no. 3) running the length of the building and
carrying the roof ’s sloping rafters (no. 4). Unlike the rigid elements
of the triangular trussed timber roof common in the West, which
produce flat sloping rooflines, the varying lengths of the Chinese
structure’s cross beams and the variously placed purlins can create
curved profiles. Early Chinese roofs have flat profiles (FIGS. 7-8and
7-9), but curving rafters (FIGS. 7-10and 7-23) later became the
norm, not only in China but throughout East Asia. The interlocking
clusters of brackets were capable of supporting roofs with broad
overhanging eaves (no. 5), another typical feature of Chinese archi-
tecture. Multiplication of the bays (spaces between the columns)
could extend the building’s length to any dimension desired, al-
though each bay could be no wider or longer than the length of a
single tree trunk. The proportions of the structural elements could
be fixed into modules, allowing for standardization of parts. This en-
abled rapid construction of a building. Remarkably, the highly
skilled Chinese workers fit the parts together without using any ad-
hesive substance, such as mortar or glue.Chinese Wooden Construction
ARCHITECTURAL BASICS7-9Model of a house, Han dynasty, first century ce.Painted
earthenware, 4 4 high. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City.
This model of a Han house provides invaluable information about the
form, coloration, and construction methods of Chinese architecture.
The flat profile of the rooflines is typical of earlier Chinese buildings.7-10Chinese raised-beam construction (after L. Liu).
Chinese walls serve no weight-bearing function. They act only as
screens separating inside from outside and room from room. Tang
dynasty and later buildings usually have curved rafters and eaves.BeamStrutPurlinRaftersEaves1 ft.
China 189