CHINESE ARCHITECTURES

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. 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.

What's unique in Chinese architectures?
CHINESE ARCHITECTURE CONSTRUCTIONS

The basic characteristics of this system, which is still used, consist of a raised platform, forming the base for a structure with a timber post- and-lintel skeleton, which in turn supports a pitched roof with overhanging eaves. This osseous construction permits complete freedom in walling and fenestration and, by the simple adjustment of the proportion between walls and openings, renders a house practical and comfortable in any climate from that of tropical Indochina to that of subarctic Man-churia. Due to its extreme flexibility and adaptability, this method of construction could be employed wherever Chinese civilization spread and would effectively shelter occupants from the elements, however diverse they might be. Perhaps nothing analogous is found in Western architecture, with the limited exception of the Elizabethan half-timber structure in England, until the invention of reinforced concrete and the steel framing systems of the twentieth century.

Architecture Evolution

Beams of the Sung dynasty generally have a ratio of 3 : 2 between their depth and width.
Beams are either straight or slightly arched; the latter is called yueh-liang, or "crescent-moon beam".
In the Sung dynasty, the height of the columns will increase toward the corners of the building.
In the Ch'ing rules the ratio is changed to 5 : 4 or 6 : 5, betraying an obvious ignorance of mechanics and of the strength of materials.
All beams are straight; the "crescent-moon beam" has no place in official Ch'ing architecture.
The columns, though slightly tapered, are straight with no entasis. The slight in ward incline, however, is still the rule.
Sung Dynasty
Ch'ing Dynasty
Sketches of a Chinese order

The Chinese Order

A set of tou-kung, or brackets, is an assemblage of a number of tou (blocks) and kung (arms). The function of the set is to transfer the load from the horizontal member above to the vertical member below. A set may be placed either on the column, or on the architrave between two columns, or on the corner column. Accordingly, a set of tou-kung may be called a "column set". "intermediate set" or "corner set" depending on the position it occupies. The members that make up a set may be divided into three main categories: tou, kung, and ang.