CHINESE ARCHITECTURE

 Palaces and temples are the chief building type.

 Diverse architecture caused by differences in geographic and climatic
conditions.
 System of wood frame construction.

RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES

TOWERS AND GATEWAYS

 PAILOU, monumental gateway to a palace, tomb, or sacred place.

 ZHONGLOU, bell tower or pavilion at the right side of a city gate, palace
entrance, or forecourt of a temple.
 GULOU, left side counterpart of a zhonglou,

MINGTANG

 Bright Hall
 Biyong, jade ring moat.
 A ritual structure that serves as the symbolic
center of imperial power.
 Designated as the intersection of heaven (circle)
and earth (square), oriented around the four cardinal
directions.

TA

 A Chinese pagoda.
 Pagoda, Buddhist temple, square or polygonal in plan, with roofs projecting
from each storey; erected as a memorial or to hold relics (derived from the
Indian stupa).

The Songyue Temple Ta, Dengfeng Henan Province.

(china’s oldest surviving ta.)
Fogong Pagoda. (200-foot-high tower built entirely out of wood.)

Temple of heaven. (circular wooden prayer hall, heaven. Rectangular

courtyards, earth.)

TEMPLE OF HEAVEN

 Circular Mound Altar, ritual platform

 Imperial Vault of Heaven
 Hall foe Prayer for Good Harvests
 Abstinence Palace

PALACES

Palace of Heavenly Purity, Beijing, China.

(Built by emperor Zhu Di, the best preserved
imperial palace in China.
 FORBIDDEN CITY

 A palace complex including temples,

reception halls, residences, and service building
 Palace of Heavenly Purity, the residence of
the son of heaven and the conceptual center of
the empire.
 Hall of Supreme Harmony, the emperor’s
throne room; also where he met daily with his
officials.

ARRANGEMENT OF BUILDINGS

 Buildings are dispersed around a courtyard.

 Entire grouping is organized around a central pathway or axis.
 Largest and most important building at the northernmost.
 Surrounding structures and courtyards increase in size as they get closer to
the main building.

FORTIFICATIONS

The Great Wall of China, built by Qin Shih Huang

Ti. (UNESCO)
 Great Wall of China

 Fortified wall to protect China against nomads from

the north.
 Also served as a means of communication.

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

YIN-YANG

 The interaction of two opposing and complementary

principles
 Yin: feminine, dark, and negative
 Yang: masculine, bright, and positive

FENG SHUI

 “wind water”
 Arranging architectural elements so that they
are in harmony with nature.
 Goal: to promote the optimal flow of positive
energy (chi’i) within the building.
 Most buildings face south or southeast to
take advantage of prevailing winds and
sunshine.

JIAN

 The basic measure in construction.

 Standard unit of space marked by adjacent frame supports.
 DOUGONG

 Interlocking bracket system used in traditional

Chinese construction to support roof beams.
 Has both structural and decorative purpose.

COLORS

Connotations of colors:

 Green, wood.
 Yellow, earth; spaces reserved for emperors.
 Blue and Black, water.
 White and Gray, metal.
 Red, Fire; hope and satisfaction.

JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE

 Characterized by a synthesis of seminal ideas from China and native

conditions producing a distinct style
 Light, delicate, and refined.

SHINTOISM

“Way of the Gods.” The natural physical and supernatural transcendent world
are both part of a single unified creation; holding the ideal of a life that is in
harmony with and united with nature.

SHINTO SHRINE

SHIMMEI-ZUKURI

 Style of Shinto shrine embodying the original style of Japanese building.

 Rectangular plan raised on posts, surrounded by a railed veranda, with a
free-standing post at each gable end.
 Shikinen sengu, the ritual process of rebuilding the Ise every twenty years.

ISE JINGU

The Ise Jingu consists of two shrines:

 Outer Shrine (Geku), which is dedicated to Toyouke, the Shinto deity of

clothing, food and housing.
 Inner Shrine (Naiku), which enshrines the most venerated deity Amaterasu,
the Sun Goddess.

Naiku, innermost shrine for Amaterasu.

(Rebuilt every 20 years; Unlike most other
Shinto shrines, the Ise Shrines are built in
a purely Japanese architecture style
which shows almost no influence from
the Asian mainland.)

A reconstruction of the shrine.

Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima Prefecture.

(UNESCO World Heritage Site.)

TORII

The torii of Itsukushima (Miyajima) Shrine.

  Monumental freestanding gateway on the approach to a Shinto shrine.
 Two pillars connected at the top by a horizontal crosspiece and a lintel
above it.

BUDDHIST TEMPLE

JAPANESE BUDDHIST TEMPLE

KODO, assembly hall for monks for reading sacred texts.

TO, Japanese pagoda enshrining Buddha relics.

KONDO, Golden Hall; sanctuary where the main image of worship is kept.

CHUMON, inner gateway to the precinct.

KAIRO, covered gallery surrounding the precinct.

SORIN, crowning spire on a Japanese pagoda.

Horyuji Temple, Nara. (One of the oldest

surviving wooden buildings in the world;
Oldest existing temple complex in Japan.
 TO.to

 Japanese pagoda, also butto or toba.

 Central structure of a Buddhist compound.

Horyuji Pagoda

DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE

SHOIN

 Meaning “writing hall.”

 A new type of residential; architecture during the Muromachi period (1338-
1573).
 Features the proportioning system of using tatami mats (about 1x2 yards in
size).
 Tokonoma, decorative alcove.
 Chigaidama, staggered shelves
 Shoji, paper-covered wooden lattice.

ZASHIKI, reception room. (Main room in a residential Japanese House for

receiving guests.)

Tana, a recess with built-in shelving.

Tatami, straw mats used as floor coverings (about 3’x6’)

Tokobashira, post marking the partition between the tokonoma and the tana.

Engawa, extension of the floor, usually facing a garden; serves as a passageway

or sitting place.

Kakemono, a vertical hanging scroll containing either text or a painting.

CHASHITSU

 Teahouses
 Venue for tea ceremony
 Roji, ornamental garden adjacent to the teahouse

PROPORTIONING SYSTEM

KEN

A linear unit for regulating column spacing in

traditional Japanese construction. Initially equal to 6
shaku (1.818 meters); later varied according to the
tatami mats (approximately 3’ x 6’).
KEN

The size of a room is designated by the number of its floor mats (tatami).