After several weeks in China, it seems that - apart from minor regional variations - one temple looks much like another, even that the differences between a palace, a temple or a substantial private house are negligible, and that there is little sign of historical development. Nor does it take even this long to tire of the cheaply built and disappointingly Westernized appearance of the majority of China's cities. But this overall uniformity in no way reflects China's long architecural heritage; it is rather that several factors have conspired to limit its variety. For a start, little has survived from different periods to emphasize their individual characteristics: early wooden structures were vulnerable to natural disasters, war and revolutions, while new dynasties often demolished the work of the old to reinforce their takeover. And today, with a huge economic boom sweeping the country, a lust for "modernization" is seeing vast new cityscapes being built on the sites of the old.
Compounding these factors, a passion for precedent meant that certain basic rules governing building designs were followed from the earliest times, minimizing the variations which separate the works of different periods. This is not to say that it's impossible to tell a Tang pagoda from a Qing one, but it does mean that a certain
homogeneity
pervades traditional Chinese architecture, making it all the more exciting on the occasions when you do come across unusually distinctive temples, dwellings or even towns.
Feng shui and basic principles
Whatever the scale of a building project, the Chinese consider divination using
feng shui
an essential part of the initial preparations. Literally meaning "wind and water",
feng shui
is a form of
geomancy
,...
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Monumental architecture
Chinese monumental architecture is notable for constantly repeating
cosmological themes
, the most central of which can be traced right back to the Bronze Age - though the specific details of
feng shui
were only formulated during...
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Getting around a Chinese temple
Whether Buddhist or Taoist,
Chinese temples
share the same broad features. Like cities, they generally face south and are surrounded by walls. Gates are sealed by heavy doors, usually guarded by paintings or statues of warrior deities to chase...
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Domestic architecture
In general,
domestic architecture
shares many of the guiding principles of temple and palace design: curved rooflines are desirable, and larger groups of buildings might also be walled off and include spirit walls or
mirrors
, the...
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Modern architecture
China's
modern architecture
tends to reflect political and economic, rather than ethnic or climatic, considerations. From the mid-nineteenth century onwards, treaty ports were built up in the
European
colonial manner by the foreign...
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