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College of Architecture
University of Santo Tomas

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3
1st Semester AY 2010-2011

Lecture Notes 3: ARCHITECTURE IN CHINA – Part 1

Names of China:
1. Cin
 first recorded use of the word "China" , dated 1555, derived from a Persian name for China,
popularized in Europe by Marco Polo.
2. Cīnā
 term for porcelain or ceramic ware originally made in China.
 derived from the Sanskrit word which refers to "yellow-colored" barbarian tribe from the
north (identified with Qin (778 B.C.-207B.C.), the westernmost of the Chinese kingdoms, or
may refer to an unknown group then inhabiting Tibet).
3. Sina (Sino), Sinae, Cathay, or Ceres

The official name of China changed with each dynasty.

4. Zhōngguó - “Central Nation" or as the “Middle Kingdom".

 used to refer to the late Zhou Dynasty, as they believed that they were the “Center of
Civilization"
 implied a claim of political legitimacy
 often used by states who saw themselves as the sole legitimate successor to previous
Chinese dynasties
 came to official use as an abbreviation for the Republic of China (Zhonghua Minguo) after
the government's establishment in 1912.

A. INFLUENCES:

I. Geographical and Topographical Influences:

 China is the largest country in Asia.
 Bordered by Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan,
India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, North and South Korea
 Three great river systems:
1. Yellow River (Huang He) - 2,109 mi (5,464 km) long;
2. Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) - the third-longest river in the world at 2,432 mi (6,300 km)
3. Pearl River (Zhu Jiang) - 848 mi (2,197 km) long.
 North China
- Dominated by the alluvial plain along the Yellow River (shown on the right).
- Mostly flat and the soil is well-suited to agriculture.
 South China
- Region drained by the Yangtze (Yangzi) River
- hillier than North China.
 Further west - such provinces as Guangxi are generally more mountainous, and have
navigable rivers.
 Tibetan Plateau in Southwest China
- Occupies about ¼ of the land area of the PRC.
- Mountains and massive highlands, averaging between 4,000 and 5,000 meters (13,000 to
15,000 feet) above the sea level.
 Mount Everest (known in Chinese as Mount Zhumulangma)
- Highest point along the Tibetan Plateau
- Highest mountain in the world.
- Located on the Sino-Nepalese border and rises 8,848 meters (29,028 feet) above sea
level.
 Outer China
- Huge area to the north and west of China Proper.
- Ranges from 1,000 to 5,000 meters above sea level.
- Zone includes part of Northeast China (also known as Manchuria), Xinjiang, Inner
Mongolia, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, part of the Loess Plateau, and a stretch of
mountains.

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II. Climatic Factors:

 Climate Extreme cold to almost tropical –latitude 450 to latitude 200 N of the Equator
 Cold strong winter winds from Mongolia of 50 - Mountain ranges in the north
 Warm with winter – South
 Northeast and southwesterly monsoons – summer and winter
 Influence:
 Chinese roof with its accentuated curved eaves
 Heating of buildings often provided by charcoal burners without flues or fire places
 Beds, raised on dais (kang) were heated underneath with burning coal.

III. Geological (Materials) Influences:

 Timber – principal material
- Bamboo
- Pine
- Persea nanmu – tallest and straightest of all trees in China
 Bricks
- Roofs were covered with clay tiles, colored and glazed with symbolic colors (black, red,
azure, white and yellow)
 Limestone and sandstone
- Fit for use in thresholds, stairs, balusters, engineering works

IV. Religious Influences:

 Buddhism and Taoism (founded by Lao Tzŭ offered a doctrine of universal love as solution to
social disorder – main religion
 Confucianism – new code of social conduct and philosophy of life founded by Lao Tzu.
 Produced concepts of the universe and beliefs about the future closely allied with superstition,
astrology and necromancy which have controlled the planning of society and cities as well as
design of buildings.
a. Indian Context – mandala
i. Symbol of Worship:
- Phallic lingam - (emblem) of Lord Shiva, pure Spirit
- Yoni - (womb; vagina) of Shakti Ma, the Great Goddess who is the material work-
circle
b. Chinese Context -
i. Feng Shui – pseudo science – based on the belief that forces exist in every locality
which act on all buildings, towns, and cities for good or ill and sites were chosen or
adapted accordingly.
ii. Yin-Yang
- Represents the ancient Chinese understanding of how things work.
- Opposing qualities in a phenomenon, bound together as parts of a mutual whole;
dynamic equilibrium
- Outer circle represents "everything", while the black and white shapes within the
circle represent the interaction of two energies, called "yin" (black) and "yang"
(white), which cause everything to happen.
o Yin – North, Winter, feminine principle embodied in earth, phoenix and
Empress
o Yang – South, Summer, masculine principle imaged in the sky (heaven),
dragon and Emperor
 Muslim minority contributed little to architecture.

V. Historical Influences (selected dynasties only will be discussed):

1. Dynasties of Ancient China
 Neolithic China (12,000 - 4,000 B.C.)
The Yangshao and Lungshan
- Defined by a spread of settled agricultural communities, but hunting and gathering
was still practiced.
- Largest concentration of agriculture was below the southern bend of the Yellow River
and millet was the main crop.
- Silk production, had already been invented before this time period began and began in
Northern China.
- Pottery was also present during this time period.
 Xia Dynasty
- Unclear because of lack of written records, and therefore the dynasty is poorly
understood.
- Period marked an evolutionary stage between the late neolithic cultures and the
typical Chinese urban civilization of the Shang dynasty.
 Shang Dynasty

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- Complicated, with scholars suggesting the Shang Dynasty as the early Zhou dynasty.
- Believed to have been founded by a rebel leader who overthrew the last Xia ruler.
- Settlement started along the Yellow river and its civilization was based on
agriculture, augmented by hunting and animal husbandry.
- King was the head of the ancestor and spirit-worship cult. Evidence from the royal
tombs indicates that royal personages were buried with articles of value, presumably
for use in the afterlife.
- Court rituals to propitiate spirits and honor to sacred ancestors were highly
developed.
 Zhou Dynasty (2000 - 256 BC)
- Emerged in the Huang He valley, overrunning the Shang.
- Under a semi-feudal system.
- The Hundred School of Thought blossomed with spiritual movements including
Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism and Mohism being formed.
- Doctrine of the "mandate of heaven" (tianming), the notion that the ruler “the son of
heaven” or governed by divine right but that his dethronement would prove that he
had lost the mandate.
2. Early Imperial China
 Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 B.C.)
- Emperor Qin Shi Huang - first Chinese empire
- United China in a legalist government seated in Xiangyang, however it only lasted for
12 year.
- Standardized the language and writing; and its currency as a circular copper coin
with a square hole in the middle.
- Public works projects were also undertaken.
o Great Wall was built in the north, to protect against invasions, later augmented
by the Ming Dynasty.
o Roads and irrigation canals were built throughout the country.
o Huge palace was built for Shi Huangdi
o Famous for the terra cotta army that was found at the burial site for Shi
Huangdi.
 Han Dynasty (207 – 220 B.C.)
- Liu Bang, a commoner overthrew the Qin emperor.
- Period of prosperity, with the country embracing Confucianism.
- The expansion of the empire led to the establishment of extensive trading links along
the Silk Road.
- Agriculture grew with the development of better tools. Iron tools were made of better
quality, and oxen drawn ploughs were commonly used.
- Silk weaving and copper work were also important activities.
- Irrigation systems were increased to help develop the areas of North China.
- Education became more important during this period, as a new class of gentry was
introduced.
- Introduced an examination system for potential government officials.
 Three Kingdoms (220 – 265/280 A.D.)
- End of the Han Dynasty was followed by a long period of disunity and civil war.
- Kingdoms that grew out of the three chief economic areas.
1. Buddhism Wei, in northern China,
2. Shu to the west,
3. Wu in the east
st
- Buddhism began to spread throughout China although it was introduced in the 1 c.
A.D. but did not really begin to spread until after the Han empire collapsed.
 Sui Dynasty (580-618 A.D.)
- Reunification of China after the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
- The Grand Canal (longest canal in the world to date) was extended north from
Hangzhou across the Yangzi to Yangzhou and then northwest to the region of
Louyang.
- Internal administration also improved during this time, which is evident by several
things:
o Building of granaries around the capitals,
o Fortification of the Great Wall along the northern borders,
o Reconstruction of the two capitals near the Yellow River,
o Building of another capital in Yangchow.
 Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D)
- Return to prosperity, but ended in Huang Chao (a warlord) capturing Guangzhou in
879 A.D. killing 200,000 inhabitants.
- Distinction of having had the only female empress. A concubine of the T’ai-tsung and
Kao-tsung, named Wu Chao reigned as emperor.
 Five Dynasties (907-960 A.D.)

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- Are the officially recognized dynasties of the north, while the south had 10 kingdoms.
The north was continually ravaged by warfare during this time as they were attacked
by the Khitans and the Turks.
- Important development was in the field of printing
- The practice of binding women's feet also began during this time.
 Northern and Southern Song Dynasties (960 – 1279 A.D)
- Great advances were made in the areas of technological invention, material
production, political philosophy, government, and elite culture.
 used gunpowder as a weapon in warfare,
 foreign trade expanded greatly, and the Chinese had the best ships in the
world.
- Education, and the examination system became central to the upper class.
- Neo-Confucianism was developed during this time, especially during the Southern
Song dynasty.
3. Latter Imperial China
 Yuan Dynasty (1206 – 1368 A.D.)
- First of only two times that the entire area of China was ruled by foreigners - the
Mongols.
- Established by Kublai Khan, he had his grandfather Genghis Khan placed on the
official record as the founder of the dynasty
 Ming Dynasty
- One of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history,
was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Hans
- The Yongle Emperor’s reign was the most flourishing time.
- Revival and expansion of the Chinese culture.
 Restoration of the Grand Canal
 Repair and completed the Great Wall of China.
 Establishment of the Forbidden City in Beijing during the first quarter of the
15th c.
 Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911)
nd
- 2 time when the whole of China was ruled by foreigners, the Manchu.
- Instituted changes in the dress of the Chinese
 Ordered all Chinese men to have their pigtail hairstyle with the front of their
heads shaved.
- Forbid writing against the government.
- Ordered the most complete dictionary of Chinese characters.
- Two Opium (Anglo-Chinese) wars erupted and lasted from 1839 to 1842 and 1856 to
1860, the climax of a trade dispute between the British Empire.
 British smuggling of opium from British India into China in defiance of China's
drug laws erupted into open warfare.
- Boxer Rebellion was a violent anti-foreign, anti-Christian movement by the "Righteous
]
Fists of Harmony,” or Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists in China

VI. Social, Economical Influences:

 Ancient Chinese fished, farmed, and irrigated the land.
 Traded goods with other culture. Used metal coins in community bartering.
 Silk was traded for other goods or services as they traveled the "Silk Route."
 Emperors - (Chinese rulers) based their government on the Confucian model.
 Contribuitions:
- Ancient Chinese used characters and symbols as their written language.
- Invented many things which we still use today - kites, silk cloth, fireworks, compass, and
bronze.
- The Great Wall of China built by Shi Huangdi. He united China and built a strong,
centralized, authoritarian government.
 In the past China was an agricultural society, but it has had large cities from early times.

References:

Books:

De la Croix, Horst and Richard Tansey. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages. Ancient, Medieval and Non-
th
European Art. 7 ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. USA. 1976.
Goepper, Roger. Landmarks of the World’s Art. The Oriental World. Mc. Graw-Hill Book Company, New
Yorkl – Toronto. 1967.
Harris, Cyril M. Historic Architecture Sourcebook. Mac Graw Hil, Inc. USA.1977.

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th
Palmes, J.C. Sir Banister Fletcher’s A History of Architecture. 18 ed.The Athlone Press, University of
London. London
Qingxi Lou. Translated bySu Guang. Traditional Architectural Culture of China. China Travel and
Tourism Press, China. 2007
Stevenson, Neil. Architecture Explained. DK Publishing, New York. 1997, 2007.
Shun, Lu, planner and Ji Yang, Editor in Chief. The Eternal Forbidden City, World Heritage Site of
China. China Nationality Art Photograph Publishing House., China. 2004.
Westwell, Ian. Timeless China. Chartwell Books, Inc., New Jersey, USA. 2007

Other Sources:
Pictures and data from Internet Sources
Secrets of China, DVD

Prepared by:

Archt. Clarissa L. Avendaño

July 2010