International Journal of Architectural Heritage

Conservation, Analysis, and Restoration

ISSN: 1558-3058 (Print) 1558-3066 (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/uarc20

Structural Design Innovation and Building

Technology Progress Represented by a Hybrid
Strategy: Case Study of the “Wartime Architecture”
in China’s Rear Area during World War II

Haiqing Li & Denghu Jing

To cite this article: Haiqing Li & Denghu Jing (2020) Structural Design Innovation and
Building Technology Progress Represented by a Hybrid Strategy: Case Study of the “Wartime
Architecture” in China’s Rear Area during World War II, International Journal of Architectural
Heritage, 14:5, 711-728, DOI: 10.1080/15583058.2018.1564802

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/15583058.2018.1564802

Published online: 28 Jan 2019.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 420

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=uarc20
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE
2020, VOL. 14, NO. 5, 711–728
https://doi.org/10.1080/15583058.2018.1564802

Structural Design Innovation and Building Technology Progress Represented by

a Hybrid Strategy: Case Study of the “Wartime Architecture” in China’s Rear Area
during World War II
a b
Haiqing Li and Denghu Jing
a
School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing, China; bSchool of Civil Engineering, Southeast University

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The “wartime architecture” in China’s rear area during World War II is a long-neglected subject, Received 25 September 2018
and its historical significance has probably been underestimated. In fact, its remarkable building Accepted 28 December 2018
technology and design thinking are still of significance and a valuable reference for developing KEYWORDS
countries today. This study focuses on “wartime architecture” and its “simple building technology” Column and tie
in China’s rear area during World War II. It concentrates on the Chongqing area and pays special construction; hybrid
attention to structural design with the aim of verifying the scientific significance and practical strategy; official
value of hybrid strategy. Based on literature, archives and field investigation, the article describes standardized building;
the materials, structures, and construction techniques generally used in “wartime architecture”; structural design; triangle
the case study focuses on buildings of two universities. The results of the analysis of mechanical roof truss; vernacular
properties and buildability show that the hybrid strategy represents the structural design innova- building; wartime
architecture; World War II
tion and building technology progress induced by environmental adaptability.

1. Introduction fact, still instructive and valuable for the mass low-cost
construction activities in developing countries today.
The second Sino-Japanese War broke out in the summer
As far as Chinese architecture during World War II is
of 1937. As a large number of government agencies,
concerned, little attention has been paid to it, and the
enterprises, and schools moved to central and western
research that exists has been mainly divided between the
regions in China, the population in the area increased
fields of architecture and civil engineering. Although the
rapidly and a large number of new buildings were urgently
former mentioned “wartime architecture,” it has been gen-
needed. Many efforts were made in various regions and
erally believed that Chinese modern architectural activities
the building modes were significantly different from the
tended to fade away during World War II (CABRMW
previous ones. “Wartime architecture” in this research
1962; Yang 1993). Not only was it difficult to provide
refers to those buildings in the central and western regions
good examples in practice, but there was also a lack of
of China which comprised the strategic rear area during
insight into its theoretical significance. However, the ana-
World War II. Restricted by the specific natural geogra-
lysis of the “empirical rationality” of traditional Chinese
phical and human geographical conditions, the buildings
architecture has been related research, although it has
mostly used the vernacular building technology of China
focused on the technical thought (Wang and Guo 2013).
for reference, but could not directly adopt the more mod-
Moreover, there have only been a few observations, descrip-
ern building technology. Especially in structural design,
tions, and judgments about “simple building technology”
since the supply of steel, cement, and other modern build-
(Guo 2013; Li 2004). The research in civil engineering has
ing materials was severely restricted by wartime economic
focused on the timber of ancient Chinese or Japanese
conditions, they could rarely use, or even did not use,
architecture (Chen, Zhu, and Pan 2012; Tanahashi and
reinforced concrete structures and steel structures.
Suzuki 2010), so they were just related studies, which had
Instead, they learned from the “simple building technol-
a certain reference value on mechanical performances of
ogy” based on local building materials to meet urgent
wood, mechanical mechanism of key joints (Dou-gong
practical needs. With time, the historical significance
bracket system, beam-column joints, and column-base
and value of “wartime architecture” were easily under-
joints) (Chun et al. 2015; Li, Qu, and Li 2008; Shiratori,
estimated and even forgotten. Wartime architecture is, in
Komatsu, and Leijten 2008), and overall mechanical

CONTACT Haiqing Li jianzhu_shi@sina.com School of Architecture, Southeast University

Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/uarc.
© 2019 Taylor & Francis
712 H. LI AND D. JING
behavior of wooden frames (Kataoka, Itoh, and Inoue 2000;
Maeda 2008). It was not difficult to realize that “wartime
architecture” and its simple building technology have been
ignored for a long time. The writings about this period of
history are minimal and the description of the history
during this period has been inadequate, due to the lack of
in-depth investigation and specific analysis—the studies
from architecture lacked scientific analysis, and the meth-
ods applied were relatively crude. However, the research
from civil engineering lacked specific reference value for
today’s relevant practice as it did not focus on “wartime
architecture” and its simple building technology.
This study focuses on the design practice of “wartime
architecture” in China’s rear area during World War II,
and aims to use the interdisciplinary approach of archi-
tecture and civil engineering. Based on a literature review,
archive investigation and field investigation, “wartime
architecture” of different functions and its simple building
technology will be observed in the long term development
of Chinese modern architecture. The case studies were
mainly conducted in Chongqing, where relatively rich
research resources can be found, and paid special atten-
tion to structural designs. The study aims to clarify the
following two issues step by step. First, it describes the
materials, texture, structure and construction technology
generally used by “wartime architecture” to clarify that the
general characteristics of these extraordinary measures
use the buildability of traditional Chinese vernacular
building technology for reference. Second, based on the
architectural design of two universities in Chongqing, it
describes a case study carried out on the lateral resistant
capacity of the structural system from the perspective of
comparison between China and the West. Through the
comparative analysis of structural rationality, spatial com-
patibility, and buildability, this study reveals that instead
of simply adopting traditional Chinese vernacular build-
ing technology or copying western building technology in
structural design, it selectively combines their respective
technical advantages. In general, this means adopting
a “hybrid” strategy, rather than the single Chinese or the
single Western one, while this strategy promotes the for-
mer to a certain extent when it comes to scientificity, the
latter completes the process of environmental adaptation.
2. Summary of design practice of “wartime
architecture”
2.1. A brief review of “wartime architecture”
The second Sino-Japanese War broke out on July 7, 1937,
and the Japanese army attacked Shanghai on August 13,
endangering Nanjing, the capital of China at the time. On
November 20, the Nationalist Government released the
statement about moving the capital to Chongqing. The
Chinese Communist Party, on the other hand, reached
consensus with the Nationalist Government on “internal
unity before external danger,” and established a relatively
stable base in northern Shanxi. These two political forces
moved westward and northward, rapidly changing the
regional characteristics of industrialization and moderni-
zation in China. Since the capital moved to Chongqing,
many military and political organs, government and pri-
vate enterprises, and educational institutions were moved
to Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and other provinces. The
population in the rear area increased rapidly and a large
number of new buildings were urgently needed. However,
southwest provinces were quite remote areas where mod-
ern building materials were in a primary production
stage; therefore, it was difficult to obtain steel, cement
and other modern building materials in large quantities.
Moreover, the Nationalist Government implemented the
“wartime economy” (Chen 2007), which made it difficult
to invest adequate funds in civil buildings. As a result,
builders in every place had to use the traditional Chinese
vernacular building technology for reference to solve the
housing shortage, with many rapidly built and low-cost
buildings that use little steel or cement. An overview is
presented below.
First of all, in terms of residential buildings, around
1939, Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin, famous architects,
designed and built a new house in Longtou Village,
Kunming by themselves (Lin 1996). The house was
completely built of timber, rammed earth walls and
a tile roof, which were commonly used in local dwell-
ings. Although at that time, most of the communist
party leaders based in Northern Shaanxi had to live in
cave dwellings.
In terms of office buildings, the governments of
Yidun and Ganzi counties in Xikang province all
adopted earth technology. The former adopted
masonry structures of large earth blocks, while the
latter adopted rammed earth, multi-ribbed wooden
beams and flat roofs. The governments of Leibo and
Daofu counties adopted timber and tile roofs; the office
building of the Transport Department of Xikang pro-
vince adopted masonry structure of stone; and the
office building of the CCP central committee in
Yan’an in the remote northern Shaanxi adopted the
same method (He 2006).
In terms of theatrical buildings, the Great Hall of the
Nationalist Party in Chongqing (designed by Ha
Xiongwen) adopted wooden trusses and earth walls
(Yang et al. 1993); Chongqing Youth Cinema (designed
by Kwan, Chu, and Yang Architects & Engineers)
adopted brick columns, rammed earth walls, dual-
layer bamboo fence walls, and hollow brick walls (IA
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE 713

and NIT 1983); and the Central Hall of CCP in Yan’an
adopted masonry walls, stone half-round arches and
wooden herringbone trusses (He 2006).
In terms of education buildings, Dege Primary School
in Xikang province was made of rammed earth, multi-
ribbed wooden beam and flat roof, exactly the same as
the civilian blockhouse, while Wasigou Primary School
of Kangding adopted column and tie construction and
wooden partition (Sun and Sun 2010). Even if buildings
were specially designed and well documented, many also
adopted or used vernacular building technology. For
example, the National Women’ Teachers College in
Chongqing (Figures 1–2), designed by the prestigious
“Kwan, Chu, and Yang Architects & Engineers” (here-
inafter referred to as KCY), and the Baixi campus of the
National Central University (Figures 3–4), designed by
the engineering office of the university itself, generally
adopted column and tie construction and bamboo fence
walls. The classrooms, offices and laboratories of
National Southwestern Associated University of
Kunming, planned and designed by Liang Sicheng and
Lin Huiyin, also adopted earth walls and iron sheet roofs,
its dormitory adopted earth wall and grass roof (Lin and
Yang 1998).

Figure 1. Design drawing of the classroom, the expansion project of National Women’s Teachers College in Baisha, Chongqing.
Kwan, Chu, and Yang Architects & Engineers. 1941.
Sources: China second historical archives. Nanjing.

Figure 2. Exterior view of the classroom of the National Women’s Teachers College in Baisha, Chongqing.
Sources: the author.
714 H. LI AND D. JING
Figure 3. Design drawing of the dormitory in the Baixi Campus of the National Central University, Chongqing.
Sources: China second historical archives. Nanjing.
Figure 4. Exterior view of the reception office of Baixi Campus of National Central University, Chongqing.
Sources: the author.
In addition to the above-mentioned types of build-
ings, even military construction directly related to
national defense security could not adopt modern build-
ing modes unscrupulously. For example, the air force
commanding office of Chongqing Baishiyi Airport and
the barracks of the 14th U.S. Air Forces were both earth
walls and grass roofs, and the terminal of Chongqing
Shanhuba Airport was also made of bamboo with a grass
roof.
In addition to design, also the construction method of
“wartime architecture” mostly adopted the vernacular
building technology. The ground of Chengdu Xinjin air-
port was leveled and its runway was built by huge stone
rollers, and most of the other military airports used the
same method. Soldiers and workers also excavated and
transported earthworks with pickaxes, poles, and dustpans
(Allen Larsen and Dibble 2010). It can be seen that in
China’s rear area, the human-driven construction method,
manual operation, and production tools in the farming
days played an important role.
2.2. Characteristics of simple building technology
for “wartime architecture”
Comparing the above mentioned “wartime architecture”
with previous modern architecture in eastern coastal areas
of China, it is not hard to find that the former often adopted
local materials, structures, and other vernacular building
technology for reference. The key problem here is that
although these prototypes were widely used at the civilian
level for a long time, they had been unpresentable. To be
specific, the essence of “Chinese Intrinsic Style” architec-
ture, which was popular in the 1920s and 1930s, was defined
as the integration of the traditional style of official standar-
dized building in north China and modern building tech-
nology (Lin 1932; Lv 1929). It was not easy for designers to

abandon reinforced concrete, steel, and brick-concrete
structures and replace it with timber with earth walls. As
for the “International Style” architecture at that time, it was
less likely to adopt the vernacular building technology.
It can also be seen from the above review that
“wartime architecture” technology widely adopted the
buildability (which means the high availability of all
kinds of natural materials and rapid construction) of
traditional Chinese vernacular building technology for
reference. Western European countries mainly adopted
reinforced concrete, steel and masonry structure to
solve their housing shortage also caused by war, while
China had to rely on natural materials and simple
building technology. There were at least three reasons
for this, the first was materials. China’s steel and
cement industries in the 1930s were still weak (Li
2010), and they were more backward in central and
western regions. In sharp contrast, the new central fruit
and vegetable market in Paris in the 1850s was designed
to emphasize lightness and openness in the form of
a “steel umbrella,” which was later recognized as
a “classic of modernism” (Harvey 2010).
The second reason was transportation. The shortage
of modern building materials could have been reme-
died by the import of external resources, but the trans-
portation facilities in China in the 1940s fell far behind
with those of today, since earthquakes, landslides, deb-
ris flows, and other natural disasters occurred fre-
quently in the mountainous environment. At that
time, it was therefore highly unlikely that the shortage
of modern building materials could be remedied by
importing external resources.
The third reason was economy. “Militarily centered
and carrying out planned economy” for wartime econ-
omy was put forward clearly in the “Program on Anti-
Japanese War and Founding a State” in April 1938
(Chen 2007). The importance of civil engineering was
obviously not the same as that of the military. As such,
it was natural that construction activities should be
carried out in light of local conditions and with what-
ever was available.
There is a question about whether “wartime architec-
ture” could only be achieved by using traditional Chinese
vernacular building technology, and if its method was
limited to buildability; if so, what is the importance of
professional design by architects and engineers? Due to
the poor durability of “wartime architecture” using tradi-
tional technology, it is hard to find unambiguous evidence
of those constructions from about 80 years ago.
Fortunately, through literature, archives, and field inves-
tigation, the author found two cases with documented
and physical evidence, both of which are located in
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE 715
Chongqing—the expansion project of the National
Women’s Teachers College and the newly built Baixi
Campus of the National Central University. Further com-
ments and analysis are provided below.
3. Case study: analysis of structural designs of
two school buildings
3.1. Design overview of two school buildings
3.1.1. Expansion project of the national women’s
teachers college
The breakout of the war undermined Chinese educa-
tion in an unprecedented way. To ease the serious
shortage of teachers, the National Ministry of
Education, in 1938, established a system of national
normal colleges, setting up this kind of institute from
region to region to improve the resources of teachers
for secondary schools. Against this backdrop, the
National Women’s Teachers College was established
as the one and only teachers school for women (Peng
2011). The Ministry of Education started to prepare for
building the school from May 1940. Xie Xunchu and
Tao Xuanand Qi Guoliang were appointed as members
of the arrangement committee (Shaohuai 1941). After
the site selection in Qijiang and Jiangjin near
Chongqing, it was decided to set up the school in
Baisha Town, Jiangjin County. Subsequent to the
execution of a land contract on August 1, 1940, KCY
was entrusted with the design on site of the school with
simple building technology. Chunxiangtai Building
Company won the bid for constructing the phase-I
project for the lowest price of 120,000 yuan in the bid
invitation and bid tendering for construction.
Construction began after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
School buildings were completed and put into use on
November 11, with the foundation of the college and
completion ceremony being held on December 25
(Shaohuai 1941). As the phase-I project could not
meet demands brought by an increasing number of
students, the College began to expand already in 1941.
So far, traceable design documents have been the “
Document and Drawing of the Construction and
Acceptance of the National Women’s Teachers College,”
which contained a set of design drawings by KCY dated
from June to July 1941 for the expansion of the College.
There were seven pieces in the set that was used as con-
struction drawings. The design drawings contained infor-
mation about the library, classrooms, reading rooms,
classrooms of the affiliated primary school, students’ dor-
mitories, auditorium, and also dining hall, medical rooms,
storage rooms, teaching and administrative staff’s
716 H. LI AND D. JING
bathrooms and toilets, etc. (KCY 1941). As most buildings
were constructed with simple building technology, only
one block of classrooms has survived. The drawings were
posted with highly professional labels with the names of
the design agency (in both Chinese and English), con-
struction unit, project names, and serial and drawing
numbers, names of designers, drawing producers and
modifiers, dates of drawing and modification, and the
like. A comprehensive analysis of the estimation bill for
students’ dormitories prepared by Chunxiangtai Building
Company on June 20, 1941, the construction project
contract of August 25, 1942, and previous data relating
to the phase-I project revealed that the College expansion
was handled by the same company.
3.1.2. Newly built Baixi campus of the National
Central University
Established in Nanjing in 1927, the National Central
University was one of the most important and powerful
universities in China at that time. After the outbreak of
the war, leaders of the University decided to move the
site with the approval of the National Ministry of
Education. The construction of the new buildings
took only 42 days to complete. The campus could
accommodate over 1,000 people, and opened its doors
on November 22, 1937 (Liu and Zhao 2017). Using
simple building technology, all buildings were one-
story structures with a combination of tile and grass
roofs (Jiang 2012). By the summer of 1938, due to
a growing number of students, Shapingba Campus
reached full capacity. The University leaders therefore
determined to build Baixi Campus, exclusively for the
freshmen, 12.5 km from Shapingba and alongside
Jialing River (EO 1940). To this end, an engineering
office was set up in September 1938 to design, prepare
materials and construct the school. The initial comple-
tion of Baixi Campus took place at the beginning of
February 1939 (EO 1940).
The design documents of the “Architectural Map of
the National Central University of Baixi,” which
includes 17 graphs and the “Explanation of Building
Expenses Estimation of the National Central University
of Baixi Campus” are still available today. They were
dated during February and October 1939. Having
tracked the source, it was known that as Baixi
Campus would come to full completion in 1939, rele-
vant departments made up technical documents to
report to the National Ministry of Education for filing
and going through the processes. Evidence showed that
the set of drawings were as-built drawings submitted to
support the calculation of expenses (EO 1940). The in-
depth work was equivalent to the design proposal. The
content included general layout plan as the layout of
classrooms, labs, offices, reading rooms, health rooms,
dormitories of teachers, students and employees, dining
halls, kitchens, shops, hot water room, bathrooms, bar-
ber shop, partnership society, and university-owned
factories. All buildings were built with simple building
technology. Currently, only a block of the Reception
Office still exists (Figure 4).
Such design drawings were labeled with indication of
the project name, proportional scale and date of the
drawings. In addition, they were affixed with signatures
of the designers and drawing producers, namely, Zhang
Erzhao, Huang Dengying, and Shi Fengxin. However,
no name of a design agency could be found (EO 1940).
According to the Introduction of the Expenses
Estimation, drawings show that the design unit is the
Engineering Office set up by the National Central
University itself.
Both of the two schools were designed and built in
the Chongqing area during the War. Being national
institutes of higher education, the two schools’
expenses were covered by the Central Government
(the National Ministry of Education). In order to
rapidly complete the construction, both schools were
built with simple building technology and
a construction cycle of three months. For instance, the
project contract of the National Women’s Teachers
College and Chunxiangtai Building Company was
effective on August 25, 1942. The agreed construction
period was only 35 days (including rainy days) (CBC
1942) for the construction of the classrooms and stu-
dents’ dormitories of the branches of the affiliated
middle school. That demonstrates a short working
duration. Led by this design philosophy, it was a wise
move to employ the local traditional column and tie
construction, which was prefabricated and assembled
on the building site (Figure 5).
From the historical pictures and the remaining
tangible object, it appears that the National Women’s
Teacher College (Figures 1 and 2) used traditional
column and tie construction and the plastered bam-
boo-fence wall of Sichuan locality. The Baixi campus
of the National Central University was built in
a similar way (Figures 3 and 4). However, through
a careful reading of initial design documents,
researchers dissected roof truss, particularly analyzing
the mechanical properties, spatial compatibility and
buildability. They noted that these examples of “war-
time architecture” did not adopt column and tie con-
structions directly but adjusted them in a better way
for certain purposes. The structural designs were
found to be integrated with western roof trusses,
which could be seen more easily from the design
works of KCY.

Figure 5. On-site prefabrication “assembled framework” process of the traditional column and tie construction in southwest China:
a single-girder skeleton (a, b), erection of single-girder skeletons (c), and the final assembled framework (d). Guizhou, 2016.
Sources: the author.
3.2. Hybrid strategy: analysis of structural design
based on mechanical performance
3.2.1. Hybrid framework at the level of single-girder
skeleton
According to the drawings, records and field investiga-
tion (Table 1), there are three levels of hybrid structural
design of the above two universities. First, the skeleton
itself, i.e., the internal single-girder skeleton, was made
in a hybrid fashion (Figure 6). The main space used
a western-style triangular truss, while the open veranda
used a “step” of the Chinese timber (Figure 6a).
A composite truss was formed by a horizontal joint
member (“tie”) and a joint between the wooden col-
umns on the outer wall for supporting the triangular
truss. The external addition of the library of the
National Women’s Teachers College is an example.
The triangular roof truss was favorable for reducing
vertical landing rods. As such, advantages could be
taken of space, avoiding inevitable problems brought
about by direct coverage of open veranda with truss
(Figure 6b). However, further difficulties in construc-
tion would be brought about by penetration of the
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE 717
external plastered bamboo-fence wall by the top
chord, bottom chord or web of the triangular roof
truss. Nonetheless, once the veranda was set alone,
the above parts would be less connected to the external
wall. That would help improve the buildability.
More importantly, lateral stiffness of the composite
skeleton is far superior to that of the simple western
roof truss which directly covers the veranda. Under the
same constraint of column ends, lateral stiffness of both
structures is proportional to EI/H3. The lateral stiffness
of the column is equal to ηEI/H3, in which E means
elasticity modulus, I represents inertia moment of the
column cross-section, (for a circular cross-section col-
umn, I = πd4/64 with d being the diameter of a cylin-
der), H stands for height, and η’s value relates to
constraint conditions of the column. Therefore, the
lateral stiffness of the single-girder skeleton is positively
correlated to the total lateral stiffness of all columns,
∑EiIi/Hi3 (i = 1, 2, 3…n, n means the number of
columns). It can be said for the single-girder skeleton
that the more columns there are, the bigger their cross-
section is, but the smaller their height, the larger lateral
 718

Table 1. Comparison of the technical data between the buildings of the two universities.
Single- Dual-
Special layer layer
Types of Bamboo- Bamboo-
Design Types of Timber Area (square Bay Lateral Timber fence fence Grass Tile Bamboo
Project Title Designer Time Structure Span (foot) foot) (foot) Cross Bridging Bridging Structure Louvers Wall Wall Roof Roof Ceiling
Additionally Built LibraryKCY 1941.06.02 Hybrid in a Girder: Truss 16 +CTC 20X72 12 Unclear illegible ? N Unclear ? Y N Y Y
of NWTC Truss above Main 4 illegible
H. LI AND D. JING

Space + CTC in
Corridor Hybrid with
Girders: Compound
Timber Structure in
the Middle + CTC in
Gable
Additionally Built 1941.07.10 Hybrid in a Girder: Truss 20 + 24X54 12 Ø 4ʹ, symmetry in N Y Used on External
Classroom of NWTC Truss above Main Cantilever 4 14 2 positions Wall
Space + Horn Support
in Corridor Hybrid
with Girders:
Compound Timber
Structure in the
Middle + CTC in Gable
No. 18 Classroom of NCU ED 1939.1 Hybrid with Girders: 4\32\4 ∑40 40X54 13.5 Y N Bottom of walls: NF
Normal College Office 1939 Truss in the Middle + 16\6\16 ∑38 38X94 13 There may be, but NF N Y laid with black
and Psychology Column and Tie 16 not labeled bricks; Middle part:
Laboratory of NCU Construction in Gable dual-layer bamboo
No.4 Student Domitory, 1939 38X143 13.5 N fence wall; top
Chemistry & Geology section: single-layer
Laboratory of NCU bamboo-fence wall,
both sides being
plastered
Additionally Built Student KCY 1941.06.24 CTC 6\9\6\4 ∑25 25X60 15 Ø 4ʹ, Symmetry in N Y Y N Y
Dorm & Storage Room 2 positions
of NWTC
Additionally Built Unclear 18 18X36 9 Ø 4ʹ, on the Y Y N
Treatment Room & illegible Symmetry axis
Storage Room of
NWTC
Additionally Built Staff 1941.06.26 12 12X24 12 Y Used on ? Y N N
Bathroom & Toilet of External
NWTC Wall
Chinese Painting ED 1939 8.5\10\8.5 ∑27 27X39 13 NF N Bottom of walls: N Y NF
Classroom of NCU laid with black
No. 1 Faculty Dorm of 1939 10\6\10 ∑26 26X72 9 bricks; Middle part:
NCU dual-layer bamboo
No. 2 Faculty Dorm of 1939 6\6\7\6\6 ∑31 26X70 9 fence wall; top
NCU section: single-layer
No. 1, 2, 3 Boys’ 1939 8\8\6\8\8 ∑38 38X143 13.5 bamboo-fence wall,
Dormand Girls’ Dorm 38X94.5 both sides being
of NCU plastered
(Continued )
Table 1. (Continued).
Single- Dual-
Special layer layer
Types of Bamboo- Bamboo-
Design Types of Timber Area (square Bay Lateral Timber fence fence Grass Tile Bamboo
Project Title Designer Time Structure Span (foot) foot) (foot) Cross Bridging Bridging Structure Louvers Wall Wall Roof Roof Ceiling
Additionally Built KCY 1941.06.27 Combination of 40 40X84 12 Diameter not Labeled Y ? ? ? Y N N
Auditorium and Dining Timber Structure symmetry at 3 ~ 4 positions
Room of NWTC including Different
Trusses
Dining Room of NCU ED 1939 Combined Triangular 10\18\10∑38 38X67 + 38X85 15 NF N Bottom of walls: N Y NF
Library of NCU 1939 Truss 38X90 15 laid with black
Iron Factory and Casting 1939 Howe Truss 38 38X65 38X72 12 N bricks; Middle part:
Factory of NCU dual-layer bamboo
fence wall; top
section: single-layer
bamboo-fence wall,
both sides being
plastered
Classroom and Dorm of KCY 1941.07.16 Combination of 18 18X122 ? Diameter not Labeled Y Y Y ? Y N Y
Elementary School of Timber Structure symmetry at 3 ~ 4 positions
NWTC including CTC and
Triangular Truss
Western Painting ED 1939 Combined Triangular 5\14\5 ∑24 24 × 52 13 NF N Bottom of walls: N Y NF
Classroom of NCU Truss laid with black
No. 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 Classroom 1939 24 24 × 52 13 bricks; Middle part:
of NCU 24 × 60 12 dual-layer bamboo
24 × 82 fence wall; top
No. 1, 2, 6, 7 Classroom 1939 28 28 × 60 13 section: single-layer
of NCU 28 × 73 bamboo-fence wall,
both sides being
plastered
Notes. NCU = Newly Built Baixi Campus of the National Central University in Chongqing NWTC = Expansion project of the National Women’s Teachers College in Chongqing KCY = KWAN,CHU and YANG Architects &
Engineers ED = Engineering Department of the National Central University CTC = Column and Tie Construction Y = Yes N = No NF = Not Found
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE
719
720 H. LI AND D. JING
Figure 6. Hybrid framework at the level of single-girder skeleton: comparison and analysis of composite skeleton (a) and pure
western triangle roof truss (b).
Sources: the author.
Figure 7. Comparison and analysis of lateral stiffness of composite skeleton and pure western triangle roof truss.
Sources: the author.
stiffness will be. Obviously, such a composite skeleton
has three advantages: operable space, reasonable struc-
ture and easy construction.
In this regard, as the following figure shows, the com-
posite skeleton (drawn with a grey line) is the reference
model (Figure 7). The column height of the 2nd and 3rd
axis is h, the column height of the 1st axis is 0.8 h. The
elasticity modulus E and the inertia moment of column
section I of all the wood columns are considered to have
the same values, e and I, respectively. The composite
skeleton’s total lateral stiffness will then be:
ΣEi Ii =Hi 3 ¼E1 I1 =H1 3 þE2 I2 =H2 3 þE3 I3 =H3 3 ¼ ei=ð0:8hÞ3
þei=h3 þei=h3 ¼ 1:95ei=h3 þ2ei=h3 ¼ 3:95ei=h3 :
As to the pure western triangle roof truss which
directly covers the veranda, three conditions about the
space height are likely to exist. First, when indoor space
height under the roof truss is equal to that under the
composite skeleton (Figure 7a), the rear peripheral
column of the former is as high as the one of the latter,
the total lateral stiffness of all columns for the roof truss
∑ EiIi/Hi3 = E1I1/H13 + E3I3/H33 = ei/h3 + ei/h3 = 2ei/h3.
By comparison, it can be noted that the lateral stiffness
of the composite skeleton is around 1.98 times the
western roof truss.
Second, when the ridge height of the roof truss is the
same as that of the composite skeleton (Figure 7b), i.e., the
column of the western roof truss is as high as roughly 0.9 h,
and the indoor space height is reduced by 10%, the total
lateral stiffness of all columns ∑ EiIi/Hi3 = E1I1/H13 + E3I3
/H33 = ei/(0.9h)3 + ei/(0.9h)3 = 2.74ei/h3. That shows the
lateral stiffness of the composite skeleton is approximately
1.44 times the roof truss.
Lastly, when the front peripheral column of the roof
truss is as high as the one of the composite skeleton (Figure
7c), i.e., the column height of the former is 0.8 hr and the
indoor space height decreases by 20%, total lateral stiffness
of all columns ∑ EiIi/Hi3 = E1I1/H13 + E3I3/H33 = ei/(0.8h)-
3
+ ei/(0.8h)3 = 3.91ei/h3. That demonstrates that the lateral
stiffness of the composite skeleton is 1.01 times that of the
roof truss. In this case, the composite skeleton is still a bit
superior to the roof truss. However, cutting the clear height
of indoor space to 80% of that of the basic model means the
indoor space is only as high as 2.64 m, which points to
a space so limited that nobody will accept it.
Now it is obvious that if the roof truss is used with clear
height being the same as that of basic model, lateral stiff-
ness will account for only about half of the composite roof
truss proving that the composite truss has a significant
benefit in lateral stiffness. There may be doubt that the
composite skeleton consumes more materials since it

Figure 8. A hybrid system of individual building (c): hybrid of traditional column and tie construction (a) with composite skeleton (b)
and cross bridging.
Sources: the author.
contains the column marked with Axis 2, an extra one
when compared with the roof truss, causing the total
materials reaching 2.8 hr. But as a matter of fact, assuming
the roof truss is adopted with clear height being equal to the
composite skeleton, now that the position of the bamboo-
fence wall of the veranda is located at the 2nd axis,
a constructional column must be added that does not
necessarily support the roof truss. However, both the ori-
ginal design drawings of KCY and the estimation bill of
Chunxiangtai Building Company show thin cedars, with
a diameter of 5 in., roughly 127 mm, were used to bolster
the ends of the composite skeleton. Seeing that materials of
the western roof truss’s constructional column are slightly
fewer or equal to those of the composite skeleton’s cedars,
total material consumption of two structural columns and
the constructional one gets to be approximately 3.0 hr,
exceeding consumption of the composite skeleton. Since
the column marked as the 2nd axis for the composite
skeleton concurrently functions as a structural column
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE 721
and a constructional one, there is no need to arrange
a special constructional column for the wall of the veranda,
which explains why the hybrid strategy is advantageous.
3.2.2. Hybrid structural systems at the level of the
individual building
At the level of the individual building, a hybrid way of
structural system was carried out; this can be seen between
the different single-girder skeletons. Traditional column
and tie constructions were used for internal partition
walls and gables (Figure 8a), while comparatively large
indoor spaces without a partition wall adopted the roof
truss-based composite skeleton (Figure 8b), and every
room was provided with cross bridging (Figure 8c). This
can be seen from the library and classroom in the expansion
project of the National Women’s Teachers College, as well
as No. 18 classroom, office for teachers college and psychol-
ogy lab, No. 4 students’ dormitory, chemistry, and geologic
lab of the Baixi Campus of the National Central University.
722 H. LI AND D. JING
Figure 9. A hybrid system of individual building (b): hybrid of traditional column and tie construction (a) with cross bridging.
Sources: the author.
Such a structure offers a lot of advantages. It is favorable to
arrange space because column and tie construction has
many columns landing, leading to no relatively large col-
umn-free indoor space. The composite skeleton, however,
bypasses the disadvantage because of fewer vertical mem-
bers. Besides, it helps to improve buildability. Since the
triangle roof truss has no vertical landing members, if
internal partition walls and gables adopt it in
a combination of plastered bamboo-fence wall, an addi-
tional framing must be provided. But traditional column
and tie construction evades this defect. Moreover, it inten-
sifies the whole structural rigidity. As analyzed above, for
the single-girder skeleton, owing to more than one landing
column, traditional column and tie construction is signifi-
cantly superior to the roof truss which offers two columns
to support ends, and is also better than the roof truss-based
composite skeleton with three landing columns. This
means that if an individual building is inserted longitudin-
ally with composite skeletons, column and tie constructions
and cross bridgings, the lateral stiffness where both the
aforesaid framework and truss lie will be bigger than that
of a pure truss, improving the whole structural rigidity.
Furthermore, another hybrid way of structural sys-
tems can be traced further from the individual building
(Figure 9). If there is no requirement for solely large
individual space or coexistence of big and small spaces,
traditional column and tie construction may be used as
the single-girder skeleton with a cross bridging stand-
ing between each one of them. This was the case for the
student dormitory storage room, medical room, and
staff toilet bathroom for the expansion project of the
National Women’s Teachers College. Such a type of
structure is different from the one that uses only col-
umn and tie construction without any cross bridgings,

of which the system’s longitudinal lateral stiffness
becomes visibly better.
3.2.3. Hybrid configuration at the level of location
plan
At the level of the location plan, different types of indi-
vidual buildings are integrated with different skeletons
in different combination modes. If a column-free space
or a spce with fewer columns is desired, the use of more
roof trusses is suggested. This is the case for the auditor-
ium and the dining hall of the National Women’s
Teachers College in the additionally built project, as
well as the library, and classrooms 1–9, dining hall, and
foundry and ironworks of Baixi Campus of the National
Central University. Otherwise, if there is no concern
about having many columns or small spaces, it is agree-
able to use more traditional column and tie construc-
tions, for example: students’ dormitory and storage
room, medical room, and teaching and administrative
staff’s bathroom and toilet of National Women’s
Teachers College in the additionally built project, as
well as students’ dormitory, and teaching and adminis-
trative staff’s dormitory. Moreover, if big and small
spaces are concurrently required in a building, the
above hybrid frameworks can be used in different com-
bination modes, as displayed in the classroom of the
National Women’s Teachers College in the expansion
project, as well as No. 4 students’ dormitory, chemistry
and geologic lab of Baixi Campus of National Central
University.
The advantage here is that all designs of individual
buildings can be coordinated as to the selection of
structures in a global picture, in order to meet require-
ments of different directions, maximizing overall bene-
fits (operable space, reasonable structure and easy
construction). However, even though the western roof
truss was employed with top priority, it was likely to be
integrated with rural bamboo, node tying, and other
vernacular building technology. This can be noted in
the auditorium and in the dining hall, and affiliated
primary school’s classroom of the National Women’s
Teachers College in the additionally built project. To
sum up, hybrid technology is common in the architec-
tural design.
3.2.4. Hybrid usage at the level of material selection
and building construction design
Seeing that hybrid strategy of building technology is
a normality in “wartime architecture,” the mixture can be
surely discovered outside the structural design. In the wall
construction of the National Women’s Teachers College,
earthen walls and single-layer bamboo-fence walls were
mainly used for the external walls, and dual-layer bamboo-
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE 723
fence walls for the internal ones. This can be interpreted as
the designers’ consideration that thermal performance
design was less important than acoustic insulation. In the
case of the Baixi Campus of the National Central
University, documents say “All vertical wood columns
should be underpinned by square piers which allowed
the same height of all directions of the house, preventing
unexpected collapse. The bottoms of walls were laid with
black bricks for less humidity. The middle part adopted
dual-layer bamboo fence walls for thermal and acoustic
insulation. And the top part used single-layer bamboo-
fence wall with both sides being plastered” (EO 1940).
In terms of material selection, the use and scale of the
project reasonably matched the use of tile roof and grass
in accordance with the importance of the building. The
residential and teaching buildings used tile roofs, while
the toilets, bathrooms and other logistic living rooms
used grass roofs. Bamboo trusses, grass roofs, and soil
floor were even taken as components in the auditorium,
the dining hall, and the affiliated primary school’s class-
room of National Women’s Teachers College, as well as
No. 13 and 15 classrooms of Shapingba Campus of
National Central University which was constructed dur-
ing the same period as the Baixi Campus (KCY1941).
Records of the Baixi Campus of the National Central
University tell that “Dormitories and most of labs were
featured with floor boards and lofts, classroom floors
were equipped with bricks, but for library, dining hall,
drawing room, hot water room, bathroom, washing
room and some labs, used stone floors” (EO 1940). As
to the interior space, roof trusses were generally covered
by bamboo ceilings, but some were totally exposed.
Although dormitories mainly used traditional column
and tie constructions, louvers were also arranged in
gables to guarantee better ventilation within the ceilings.
Considerate designs like this are beyond calculation.
All of these imply that the designers at that time had
pushed hybrid strategy to the extreme. Under the pre-
mise of ensuring quick construction, less material con-
sumption, and less manpower and costs, they applied
any measures that allowed comprehensive balance in
operable space, reasonable structure and buildability,
and cozy physical indoor environment, without regard
to whether the visual forms were pure or not.
4. Discussion
The results of the case analysis of the above two uni-
versities are different from the previous understanding
on the rationality of engineering science of Chinese
traditional timber architecture. For example, according
to Prof. Liang Sicheng, “as far as ‘engineering’ is con-
cerned, from the perspective of engineering today, it is
724 H. LI AND D. JING

very naive and cannot contribute to the future” (Liang
1981). Although this study is not intended to criticize
predecessors, the actual conditions are not exactly the
same: Liang came to this conclusion in January 1934,
when the Society for the Study of Chinese Architecture
was busy investigating the official standardized building
in north China, and the large-scale field investigation
and research on the southern vernacular building were
far from being unfolded. However, in southwest China,
residential buildings extensively used column and tie
construction, which was quite different from post and
lintel construction that was generally used in the official
standardized building in north China. The spacing of
a single-girder skeleton of timber columns was mostly
0.8 ~ 1.5 m, and the lateral stiffness of column is
proportional to EI/H3, i.e., inversely proportional to
the height of the column. Due to the considerable use
of horizontal component “piercing” in inter-column
connection, the calculation height of columns was actu-
ally reduced, which is conducive to improving the
lateral stiffness of columns. The lateral stiffness of
a single-girder skeleton was proportional to the sum
of the lateral stiffness of each column ∑EiIi/Hi3 (i = 1, 2,
3…n, n is the number of column); the greater the
number of columns, the stronger was the lateral stiff-
ness of the skeleton. As a result, the single-girder ske-
leton of column and tie construction not only has
strong lateral stiffness due to the large number of
horizontal component “tie,” but also has the advantage
of lateral stiffness due to the landing of multiple
columns.
But in the bay (longitudinal) direction, the skeleton
spacing of column and tie construction was generally
3–4 m, making“Π” type structure by two adjacent tim-
ber skeletons. However, tenon-mortise connections
were commonly used in Chinese timbers. Tenon-
mortise connections are neither ideal hinge nor ideal
rigid joints, but semi-rigid connections in between
(Chen, Zhu, and Pan 2012), so that a“Π” type structure
system was not unstable. This means that the long-
itudinal lateral stiffness is more important than the
lateral stiffness. If cross bridging between skeletons

Figure 10. Lack of non-orthogonal components in column and tie construction, making timber tend to deform in the longitudinal (a)
and lateral (b) directions, even lead to instability and structural damage (Guizhou 2007).
Sources: the author.

Figure 11. The roof truss of Château de Digoine was built in France around 1233 (a), utilizing stability principle of triangle to set up
truss and angle bridging. However, in early 2014, in the column and tie construction in residential buildings in Dali (b), Yunnan,
China Only used cross bridging as the temporary bracing member for construction.
Sources: the author.

are added, they can form a stable triangle structure
system with ridge purlins, and the relationship of ske-
letons is no longer a “Π” type structure, effectively
strengthening its integrity, and greatly enhancing the
longitudinal lateral stiffness. On the other hand, the
western roof truss lacked the vertical landing members,
the lateral stiffness of a single roof truss was weak,
although it has the advantage of strong longitudinal
lateral stiffness of the structural system due to the use
of cross bridging between the roof trusses. The com-
mon feature of structural design of the two universities
above was to combine the advantages of both: partial or
total use of the column and tie construction to
strengthen the lateral stiffness of the structural system,
and the general use of cross bridgings to strengthen the
longitudinal lateral stiffness of the structural system. In
this way, it went beyond the pure Chinese column and
tie construction and the pure western roof truss struc-
tural system. The composite skeleton structural system
was unprecedented in both China and the West, thus it
was an interesting structural design innovation.
With regard to the weakness of the Chinese mechan-
ical framework, which lacks non-orthogonal components
and makes taking advantage of the mechanical principles
of triangular stability difficult, at that time, Chinese archi-
tects had a general understanding that Chinese craftsman
usually did not use triangles (Liang 1981), so that the
timbers tended to be deformed into parallelograms,
which lead to instability and structural damage (Figure
10). This was in direct contrast with western roof trusses,
widely using the stability principle of a triangle (Figure
11). Therefore, no matter what kind of structural system
was used in each project of the National Women’s
Teachers College, it was equipped with cross bridging or
diagonal support to strengthen the overall lateral stiffness
and improve the integrity of the structure. This improve-
ment with typical technical progress was mainly attributed
to the fact that the first generation of Chinese architects
Figure 12. The case of plastered bamboo-fence wall surviving to this day: reception office of Baixi Campus of National Central
University (a) and residential buildings as a comparison in Ciqikou, Chongqing, 2016 (b).
Sources: the author.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE 725
generally accepted professional modern architectural edu-
cation, and were able to apply the knowledge of structural
science in design practice (Xu 2010): from the 1920s to
the 1930s, due to the extensive use of various kinds of
trusses, including reinforced concrete, steel, steel and
wood combination, and wooden trusses, “Chinese
Intrinsic Style” architecture naturally used cross bridging
and lateral bridging; in the “National Public/Private
Building Pattern,” a bit later than the two schools, cross
bridgings were also applied in various types of adjacent
trusses (MDA 1946), sufficient to show that enough
attention had been paid to the problem.
In conclusion, the goal of hybrid strategy of structural
design of the “wartime architecture” was not to get a pure
new structure technology in form. In other words, atten-
tion was paid to whether or not it was reasonable to
consider the mechanics characteristics of structure only
and ignore the spatial compatibility and buildability. It
aimed to seek the comprehensive balance of operable
space, reasonable structure, and buildability, which was
typical architectural design thinking. Compared with the
previous “Chinese Intrinsic Style” architecture from the
1920s to the 1930s, which was satisfied with representing
the traditional style of the official standardized building in
north China with modern building materials (steel and
reinforced concrete) and structure (western roof truss)
that had nothing to do with their traditions, and aban-
donment of functional rationality, structural rationality
and economic rationality at all costs (Li 2004), it was not
only the progress of structural technology, but also the
progress of design concept.
There is, of course, a predisposing factor that needs to be
made clear: the “wartime architecture” must be constructed
as much as possible in combination with plastered bam-
boo-fence walls and less with bricks. The technical logic
was due to the shortage of sintered bricks in Chongqing
and in the whole central and western regions at that time,
especially the Hoffmann kiln. The kiln was used for a large
726 H. LI AND D. JING
Figure 13. Case of combination of truss and plastered bamboo-
fence wall shall set up separately construction column and wall
keel: residential buildings in Ciqikou, Chongqing, 2016.
Sources: the author.
production of machine-made clay bricks and was far from
common in this area. However, the cost could be effectively
reduced by adopting plastered bamboo-fence walls instead
of masonry walls of bricks (Figure 12). For this reason, only
bathrooms of the Baixi Campus of the National Central
University used brick walls, and the rest all used plastered
bamboo-fence walls. However, the plastered bamboo-fence
wall was originally developed as a simple technical measure
for column and tie construction, so it was not convenient
to combine it with the western roof frame, especially the
truss supported at both ends. As there were few or even no
vertical landing bars, if the plastered bamboo-fence wall
was to be used, the construction column and wall keel had
to be set up separately (Figure 13), which increased the
workload of design and construction, and hindered the
reduction of labor and material costs. The advantage of
the column and tie construction was that the center dis-
tance between the columns of the naturally formed wooden
grid was generally 0.8–1.5 m, which can be combined with
the plastered bamboo-fence wall, and was also a common
practice of local craftsmen. Therefore, such a reasonable
logic based on the concept of hybrid design was formed. In
partition walls, gable column and tie construction was used
in order to strengthen the buildability; the roof truss was
used in the upper part of the larger space to reduce or even
cancel the need for columns and provide high spatial
compatibility.
5. Conclusion
Based on a literature review, archives and field investi-
gation, this study focuses for the first time on the
design practice of “wartime architecture”and its simple
building technology in China’s rear area during World
War II. Studying materials, structures, and construction
technology commonly used in“wartime architecture.”,
made it clear that the special measures of wartime
architecture were characterized by the use of the build-
ability of traditional Chinese vernacular building tech-
nology. For reference, the focus was on the structural
design of two university buildings in Chongqing. The
relationship between mechanical properties, spatial
compatibility and buildability of the system were com-
pared and analyzed. The results show that:
First of all, the traditional Chinese timber is not com-
pletely flawless in terms of mechanics. The lateral stiffness
of a single-girder skeleton is strong, but the overall long-
itudinal lateral stiffness is weak; however, the common
western roof truss, especially the triangular truss struc-
tural system supported at both ends, is not perfect in
mechanics. The lateral stiffness of a single-girder skeleton
of roof truss is weak, but its overall longitudinal lateral
stiffness is stronger due to cross bridging. On the other
hand, the traditional Chinese timber is easily combined
with plastered bamboo-fence walls, although it is hard to
build large spaces. Although the triangular truss structure
supported at both ends is good for building large spaces, it
is difficult to combine it with plastered bamboo-fence
walls. Therefore, when comparing traditional Chinese
timber with western timber, both of them have their
own advantages in mechanical properties, spatial compat-
ibility and buildability, and may complement each other.
Second, the structural design of “wartime architec-
ture” represented by the above mentioned two univer-
sity cases is characterized by taking advantage of the
common characteristics of both systems: Partial or total
use of column and tie construction and composite
skeleton to strengthen the lateral stiffness of the

structural system, and the general use of cross bridging
to strengthen the longitudinal lateral stiffness of the
structural system. The hybrid structural system formed
in this way had not appeared in either China or the
West before, which can be directly referenced and
quoted. It is a kind of structural design innovation.
Moreover, hybrid strategy of “wartime architecture” is
not only limited to structural design. The material selection
and construction also adopt the hybrid approach.
Combining convenience of construction and space utiliza-
tion, overall it shows that it does not directly copy the
Chinese wooden frame nor does it ignore the structural
rationality and spatial compatibility. It does not directly use
the advantage of spatial compatibility of western roof truss
nor does it ignore structural rationality and buildability. It
aims to seek a comprehensive balance between the
demands of spatial compatibility, structural rationality,
and buildability, which is a kind of building technology
progress based on the typical design thinking.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Nancy Lea Eik-Nes, Zhao
Chen, Guo Xuan, Long Hao, Wangxin, and Wu Lin, as well
as the other people involved in this study for their contribu-
tion to the field survey, data collection, discussion,d and
proofreading.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Social Science
Foundation of China (Grant No. 15BZS089).
ORCID
Haiqing Li http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5350-0939
Denghu Jing http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4330-7550
References
Allen Larsen, H., and W. L. Dibble. 2010. China in the eyes of
flying tigers 1944–1945. Shanghai: Shanghai Literature and
Art Publishing House.
Chen, L. 2007. Study on the wartime economic system of the
national government. PhD diss., Hebei Normal University.
Chen, Z.-Y., E.-C. Zhu, and J.-L. Pan. 2012. A review on
structural mechanics of Chinese ancient wood Structures.
Advances in Mechanics 42 (5):644–54.
China Academy of Building Research of Ministry of Works.
1962. Vol. 2 of brief history of Chinese architecture: A brief
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE 727
history of modern Chinese architecture. Beijing: China
Industry Press.
Chunxiangtai Building Company. 1942. The construction con-
tract of the school buildings of national women’s teachers
college. China Second Historical Archives. Nanjing.
Reference No.: V-5399:2.
ChunQ., W. Lv, J.-G. Wang, and J.-W. Pan . 2015. Mechanical
properties of typical mortise-tenon joints of post and lintel
construction and column and tie construction of timer build-
ings in Jiangsu province and Zhejiang province. Journal of
Southeast University (Science Edition) 45 (1):151–58.
Engineering office. 1940. Construction cost estimates and
construction drawings for school building of Baixi
Campus of National Central University. China Second
Historical Archives. Nanjing. Reference No.: V-5289 (2).
Guo, X.-L. 2013. History of the architecture development
during wartime in Chongqing. Master diss., Chongqing
University.
Harvey, D., (writer) Huang Yu-wen (translator). 2010. Paris, the
capitol of modernity. Guilin: Guangxi Normal University Press.
He, W.-M. 2006. Research of Yan-an Red Bace Area
Architecture from 1930s to 1940s. Master diss., Xi ‘an
University of Architecture and Technology.
Institute of architecture, Nanjing Institute of Technology.
1983. Collection of architectural design works of Yang
Ting-bao. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press.
Jiang, B.-L. 2012. Migration and reconstruction of National
Central University during the Anti-Japanese War. Studies
the Anti-Japanese War (3):122–31.
Kataoka, Y., H. Itoh, and S. Inoue 2000. Investigation of
fuzzily arranged “Hanegi” in traditional wooden build-
ing. 6thWorld Conference on Timber Engineering,
Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.
Kwan, Chu and Yang Architects & Engineers. 1941.
Documents and drawings for acceptance of buildings in
National Women’s Teachers College. China Second
Historical Archives. Nanjing. Reference No.: V-5399 (2).
Li, H. 2010. Research on the development of China’s steel
industry in modern times (1840⋍1927). PhD diss., Suzhou
University. 187.
Li, H.-Q. 2004. The modern transformation of Chinese archi-
tecture. Nanjing: Southeast University Press.
Li, Y., W.-L. Qu, and B.-H. Li. 2008. Residual service life
evaluation of ancient timber members based on accumu-
lated damage. Journal of Wuhan University of Technology
30 (8):173–77.
Liang, S.-C. 1981. Structural regulations in the qing dynasty.
Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press.
Lin, H.-Y. 1932. On the characteristics of Chinese
architecture. Bulletin of the Institute for Research in
Chinese Architecture 3 (1):163–79.
Lin, Z. 1996. Architect Liang Si-cheng. Tianjin: Tianjin science
and technology press.
Lin Li-sheng, L.-D. Yang. 1998. Expenditure, schoolhouse
and device. In Vol. 6 of Historical records of the national
southwestern associated university. Kunming: Yunnan
Education Press.
Liu, Y., and Z. Zhao. 2017. National Central University
moved westwards to Shapingba during the Anti-Japanese
War, Chongqing. Archives and Memory 1:19–22.
Lv, Y.-Z. 1929. Draft outline of urban planning of metropo-
litan area in the capital. Capital Construction 1:25–27.
728 H. LI AND D. JING
Maeda, T. 2008. Column rocking behavior of traditional
wooden buildings in Japan. 10th World Conference on
Timber Engineering, Miyazaki,
Ministry of domestic affairs, Construction department. 1946.
National standard project design of public and private
buildings. China Second Historical Archives. Nanjing.
Reference No.: XII-2770-2780.
Peng, Y.-F. 2011. Study on the National Women’s Teachers
College in Jiangjin, Sichuan during the Anti-Japanese War.
Cangsang 2:21–22.
Shaohuai. 1941. National Women’s Teachers College dur-
ing the Anti-Japanese War. Public Opinions Weekly
172:10–12.
Shiratori, T., K. Komatsu, and A. Leijten. 2008. Modified
traditional Japanese timber joint system with retrofitting
abilities. Structural Control and Health Monitoring 15
(7):1036–56. doi:10.1002/stc.v15:7.
Sun, M.-J., and J.-S. Sun. 2010. Xikang: The vanished pro-
vince- Chinese photographer Sun Mingjing’s remarkable
record of 1939 and 1944. Guilin: Guangxi Normal
University Press.
Tanahashi, H., and Y. Suzuki 2010. Static and dynamic
loading tests of traditional wooden frames. 11th World
Conference on Timber Engineering, Riva del Garda
Wang, J.-P., and G.-C. Guo. 2013. Analysis of the empirical
rationality of traditional Chinese architecture. Studies in
Philosophy of Science and Technology 30 (2):94–99.
Xu, S.-B. 2010. The birth of modern Chinese architecture.
Tianjin: Tianjin University Press.
Yang, B.-D. 1993. Chinese modern city and Architecture.
Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press.
Yang, S.-L., F.-H. Zhang, M. Shin, and N. Inoue. 1993.
Overview of modern Chinese architecture on chongqing.
Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press, pp. 19.