An Analysis of Yingzao fashi in Shape Grammar

Shen Weizhen
1010153Digital Design Frontiers

Abstract: This paper attempts to investigate the feasibility and shortcomings of

studying traditional Chinese building codes, Yingzao fashi , with digital design
methods, in dialogue with scholar Andrew I-kang Li’s research on shape
grammar. Firstly, this paper points out that the rule of ts’ai-fen (材分制) implies
an algorithmic gene in traditional Chinese building design. Secondly, the design
steps are decomposed and digitally translated. Finally, the paper analysis the
shortcomings of shape grammar that it fails to classify different design logic, to
match the regulations with actual construction, or to reflect the influence of social
culture on architecture.
Keywords: Yingzao fashi ; shape grammar; design thinking.

Digital design is regarded as one of the most cutting-edge directions in the

field of architectural design, and parametric design is particularly interesting,
which is widely used in the design of large-span buildings, abnormal forms,
and high-rise building skins. However, digital design contains much more
categories than parametric design, whose excessive emphasis on shape and
form may cause people to misinterpret computer-aided architectural
design (CAAD). Digital design aims at the study and practice of
architectural generation strategies, which include, in addition to
parametric generation, rule-based design generation, such as shape
grammar; and artificial intelligence-based generation, which uses machine
learning techniques such as Artificial Neural Networks to train computers for
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automatic generation and optimization of architectural space layout. The
latter two strategies use machine language to understand the underlying
logic of architectural design thinking and describe the process and principles
of each step of generation, which are new developments of computer-aided
architectural design.

There are already scholars who focus on the unique formal language of China's
architectural space, and interpret information such as spatial combination and
architectural design specifications into mathematical language for computer
storage and processing. My research area is traditional Chinese architecture, and
I notice that the norms and specifications are also adopted in traditional
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architectural design, so I wonder to what extent can they be interpreted into

digital language. Andrew I-kang Li, teaching in the Department of Architecture
in The Chinese University of Hong Kong, used shape grammar to teach the
construction method of Yingzao fashi and wrote his doctoral dissertation on it,
which aroused my interest. In this paper, I hope to respond to this series of
papers by pointing out the feasibility and possible problems of interpreting
traditional construction logic digitally.

1. Yingzao fashi, a parametric tradition

The extant traditional Chinese high-style architecture can still be seen as a
deformation of certain prototypes, although significantly different according to
time and geographical changes. This is because buildings around the world in
the pre-industrial era were conservative and repelled sudden changes. Limited
by technology, economy, and materials, once the most appropriate built
volumes and forms were established, they remained relatively stable and have
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kept in harmony with social culture and ethic .

The Yingzao fashi and the Qing Gongbu gongcheng zuofa zeli were the general
building codes of the Song and Qing dynasties respectively. Although there is
still no accurate conclusion on the scope of their dissemination and
implementation, they were no doubt the summary of official and regional
practices at that time, and their regulation on structural design, dimensions, and
materials can be proved by the extant buildings to some extent. Therefore,
studying the grammar of Yingzao Fashi has universal value for our present-day
understanding of traditional construction ideas.

In the case of the Yingzao fashi, that tradition was rule-based and parametric.
The rules for structural carpentry (大木作制度) set up 8 classes for the scale of
constructive elements, with the modular unit of ts’ai (材) and fen (分，即份), and
1 ts’ai=15 fen(Fig.1). The choice of grade was closely related to the scale, function,
and structural form of the building, and so the module system is considered one
of the main features of traditional Chinese high-style architecture. One problem
is that the text of Yingzao fashi sometimes uses ts’ai and fen as units and
sometimes use foot and inches(尺与寸). Chen Mingda restated the Yingzao fashi
in a consistently parametric way by studying extant buildings, and concluding
that the sixth class was where the equivalence meets, at which 60 inches = 150
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fen. According to his method, all structural timber elements can be measured
and processed in units of ts’ai and fen, providing us with a possibility to
understand the overall design approach of the historical buildings (Fig.2).
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Fig.1. Eight Classes of Ts’ai and Fen

Fig.2. A section of Dian Hall (unit: fen)

2. Shape grammar for Yingzao fashi by Andrew I-kang Li

2.1 A generative definition of design language
Andrew I-kang Li presented a shape grammar for teaching undergraduate
students the language of designs described in Yingzao fashi. The advantage of
his grammar was that he considered process as well as products. Firstly, Li
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interpreted the manual by using generative definition. There used to be three
methods in defining design languages. A complete definition specifies all and
only the designs in the language. A generative definition specifies the member
designs by generating them; this contrasts with an enumerative definition, which
lists the member designs. Stiny and Mitchell (1978) propose three criteria for
evaluating a characterization of a language of designs:
1）It should specify new designs in the language;
2）It should evaluate whether a newly obtained design is a member of the
language; and
3）It should explain the perceived likeness of the designs. It generated all
and more than the designs in the language.
Since the principles in Yingzao fashi are sometimes vague and the extant
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buildings show great flexibility in practice, Li’s approach seems to be reasonable

and suitable.

Secondly, Li considered explicitly what the user decided and when he decided it,
and organized the grammar accordingly. It was the student who evaluated the
designs – did this design belong to the language? – and adjusted the grammar
accordingly. Thus the student participated actively in defining the language of
designs, and learned that style was eventually determined by human rather than
by parameterization.

2.2 The process of designing a traditional architecture

Li divided the whole designing process into 7 steps: plan diagram (records only
the numbers of bays and rafters but not their lengths); section diagram; plan
(records both the diagram and the scale of length and width); partial elevation
(records the heights of columns); roof section; section; and complete elevation.
Then, 9 descriptions are used to mark the dimension of the drawings above,
which are number of bays (=width of diagram, in bays); number of rafters (depth
of diagram, in rafters); number of storeys (=height of diagram, in stories);
disposition of beams; number of columns in depth; width (in fen) of bays; length
of rafters; height of columns; and elevation of purlins. The seven steps are
marked by A-G, and the descriptions input in the previous step will also directly
result in the later steps. (Fig.3.)

Fig.3. The Derivation of the Sample Design.

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The design consists of 16 elements (separated vertically): 7 drawings and 9 descriptions.

These are grouped in 7 subdesigns. The computation has 7 stages (separated
horizontally). Each stage involves a different combination of elements. The principal
elements are shown in light grey; the secondary elements in medium grey.

Although this grammar thinks about traditional architecture in a modern

cartographic way, its sequence does conform to the construction process of
traditional architecture. In construction, the column bases are often laid out first
to determine the plan diagram, then the columns and beams are erected to
complete the section, where the height of the columns in the section is limited
by the width of the middle bay, and the height of the roof is determined by the
width of the plan. Thus, the plan is the basis of all drawings, and the section
reflects the structural design, their importance cannot be overstated. This can be
verified in the existing drawings and sites, for example, site maps account for a
large proportion of the Style Ray’s (样式雷) manuscripts, mainly showing the
landscape and the arrangement of the building plans.

2.3 Computing the Yingzao fashi

On the one hand, the Yingzao fashi makes strict regulations on class and size;
on the other hand, each step of the is related to one another, but not in one-
to-one correspondence. The design of traditional architecture is a combination
of technical specifications and artistic choices. For example, when the plan
diagram of a Ting Hall (厅堂) is four-rafters wide, there can be at least four
sectional forms (Fig.4.). The choice of their specific structural forms may be
related to the way the space is used, the sculptural arrangement, etc.

Fig.4. Sections of 4-rafter Buildings

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Li took the generation of the Ting Hall’s section as an example for his grammar
design. His shape grammar consisted of four initial shape, which were sections
of 4,6,8, and 10 rafters, each consisting of a ground line, two columns, and purlins.
Rule A adds no columns to the section. Rule B adds a central column below the
ridge purlin. Rule C contains two subrules, C1 and C2. C1 adds one column and
one beam spanning between that column and the front column, and the length
of beam varies from one-rafter long to six-rafter long. Subrule C2 is like C1 but
acts from the back of the ting hall. Displayed as character strings the following
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sequences are possible: A, B, BC, BCC, C, CC (Fig.5.). The algorithm is able to
numerate all results, and the user then removes incorrect results according to
other rules, such as the ratio of plan width to length.

Fig.5. The Rules of Grammar of Ting Hall Sections

3. Weakness of the Shape Grammar

First of all, the algorithm above was unable to cover the design grammar of
Yingzao fashi. Shape grammar aims to describe the spatial elements and
components of architecture, which should be defined as comprehensively and
precisely as possible, and different design logics seem to require multiple sets of
digital grammar to define. The Yingzao fashi divided houses into different
categories, including dian hall (殿堂), ting hall and other house (余屋), which
adopt different structures, classes of ts’ai, and scales of elements. In most cases,
Dian Halls are built with raised-beam structure (抬梁结构）and the columns do
not directly support the purlins, thus the algorithm for ting halls cannot be
applied to dian halls, and is even more difficult to apply to pavilions.
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Another problem in Yingzao fashi’s shape grammar is its difficulty in evaluating

the rationality of extant historical buildings. As mentioned earlier, one of the
criterions of design language is that it should evaluate whether a newly obtained
design is a member of the language. The manual showed 4 plan diagrams of
dian hall, including golden box groove (金箱斗底槽), double groove (双槽),
single groove ( 单 槽 ), and distraction groove ( 分 心 斗 底 槽 ), but in many
conditions people may reduce or move columns in pursuit of more space. Before
and after the enactment of the manual, there are also significant differences in
local practices. The surviving Tang, Liao, Song, and Jin buildings show a huge
disconnect between the provisions of the legal form and the actual local
implementation, which also poses a challenge to the legitimacy of this language.
It also seems that the shape grammar places more emphasis on the presentation
of the building’s form and style, and is unable to think about the geographical
environment and socio-cultural factors that influenced the generation of the
building.

In conclusion, shape grammar is difficult to interpret or simulate pre-industrial

designs, although it can be helpful in parametrically deciding dimensions
elements and processing the materials. It’s doubtful that students can really
understand the logic of traditional architectural design in this way or design a
Song-style building on their own. The computer-aided architectural generation
should not be limited to forms and images, in contrast, we need to establish
generation methods oriented towards both design thinking mind and machine
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learning through the process of dimension reduction and increase. I believe
that the goal of digital design is to find optimal solutions to technical problems,
freeing the designer's energies to work on the creation relying on cultural context;
or to generate multiple possible solutions based on certain dominant factors,
allowing the architect to decide and optimize.
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