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Ancient Architecture

Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in Asia over many centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details. Since the Tang Dynasty, Chinese architecture has had a major influence on the architectural styles of Korea, Vietnam and Japan.

The architecture of China is as old as Chinese civilization. From every source of information - literary, graphic, exemplary - there is strong evidence testifying to the fact that the Chinese have always employed an indigenous system of construction that has retained its principal characteristics from prehistoric times to the present day. Over the vast area from Chinese Turkistan to Japan, from Manchuria to the northern half of French Indochina, the same system of construction is prevalent; and this was the area of Chinese cultural influence. That this system of construction could perpetuate itself for more than four thousand years over such a vast territory and still remain a living architecture, retaining its principal characteristics in spite of repeated foreign invasions - military, intellectual, and spiritual - is a phenomenon comparable only to the continuity of the civilization of which it is an integral part.

  • Screen Walls

    Foreign visitors may have noticed the isolated wall either outside or just inside the gate of a traditional Chinese house to shield the rooms from outsider's view.

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  • Scenic Openings

    Jingdong or the 'scenic opening' is the general term for fancy gates and windows, another feature of the national art of Chinese architecture. Usually found in parks and private gardens...

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  • Roof Crowns

    One of the structural members of traditional Chinese architecture, the baoding (literally, 'treasure top') stands at the center on top of certain types of pavilions, pagodas and towers which have no horizontal main ridges...

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  • House of Retreat

    Certain types of Chinese buildings or rooms that provide or promise a quiet retreat for specific purposes are usually called Zhai. This is originally a word with religious implication ...

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  • Quadrangle Dwellings

    Traditionally most urban Chinese used to live in quadrangles called siheyuan or 'four-side enclosed courtyards'. These courts, as the name implies, are formed by inward-facing houses on four sides, closed in by enclosure walls.

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  • Pavilions

    The Chinese pavilion(Ting) is built normally of wood, stone, bamboo in several shapes or patterns: square, triangle, hexagon, octagon, a five-petal flower, a fan and so...

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  • Pavilion Bridge

    A component part of the art or landscape gardening, the pavilion bridge is often built over the surface of a quiet lake, forming a small scenic area and providing sightseers with a place for a rest, shel

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  • Patterned Footpath

    One often finds oneself walking on pebble-paved footpaths in well-designed pattern - a feature of Chinese garden or park.

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