You are the april day of the world

Chapter 30 "Regulations of Qing-style Construction" Introduction (3)
As for the many decorations on the roof, they also have their functions in structure, or have had functions in the past.Honestly decorating a structural part, rather than reluctantly concealing a structural hinge or joint, is the longest feature of Chinese architecture; this principle is still applicable to roof tile decoration.The ridge tile is an important protector at the joint of the two slopes, and deserves considerable attention, so it has the application of the vertical ridge and other parts.And because of its important position, its size is slightly different, so the main ridge is slightly larger than the vertical ridge.The kisses on the main ridge and the beasts on the vertical ridge, etc., were undoubtedly part of the structure.Although we have no evidence, it is not too fanciful if we assume that the orthodox was originally a general key governing the wooden frame of the ridge and the outer tiles of the ridge; After the Liangtai disaster, alchemists said that "there is a fish in the South China Sea with a tail like an owl, and it rains in the surf", so it was made into an elephant with an owl tail to dislike fire and auspiciousness.The animal fairy on the lower half of the vertical ridge, or the deformed nail head on the inclined ridge after decoration.There is still a nail cap on the front of each row of tiles, and the nail heads are used to prevent the tiles from slipping down.The decorations on the vertical ridges were originally not as complicated as the Qing style. Two "orbs" are often used in Dunhuang murals, apparently like wooden nails with slightly carved upper parts.The hanging beast is at the end of the upper section of the slanted ridge, and it is dividing the sections of the lower frame from the girders to the corner beams, which adds another meaning to the structure of the ornament on the tile ridge, which is not purely accidental.

Taiji is also a particularly developed part of Chinese architecture and has a long history. In "Historical Records", "Yao ruled the world, and the hall was three feet high."In the Han Dynasty, there was a system of three steps, which were flat on the left and right; the third step was the abutment, that is, the tread of the steps, and the level was the imperial road.This base part, like the base of Greek architecture, is part of the building itself and cannot be separated.In ordinary buildings, the base is already a part of itself, but it is especially important in palaces and temples.Such as the three halls of the Imperial Palace in Beiping, there are three levels of white stone Chongtai below, which serve as the base for the three halls, just like the three steps of the Han Dynasty.This is enough to show that Chinese architecture has always spent a lot of effort on the layout, using the stretched base to set off the majestic and majestic palace.In this regard, Japan only knows how to imitate the upper part of Chinese buildings, instead of using the stretched base at the bottom, so that its buildings often appear to be heavy at the top and light at the bottom.In recent times, new buildings often only focus on imitating the old roof and abandon the base below.Therefore, many of the so-called imitation palace-style Chonglou Huayu are blunt and straight out of the mud, which makes people feel uncomfortable.

Regarding the evolution of Taiji, I will not go into details here, but only propose one most noteworthy point for reference when reading "Qing Shi Ze Li".There are two kinds of platform bases: one is flat and square; the other is mixed up and down, which is called Xumizuo platform in Qing style.The base of Xumizuo is the platform base with carvings, which existed in the Tang Dynasty and can be seen in mural paintings, and the Song style can be seen in real objects, and are detailed in "Zao Fa Shi".However, there is a big difference between the base of the Xumizuo in the Qing Dynasty and that of the Tang and Song Dynasties; The main part - it can be said to be the main body of the entire platform.Therefore, the Xumizuo base in Tang and Song Dynasties can be seen at a glance as a platform with carved decorations on the upper and lower sides, while the upper and lower owls and the girdle in the Qing style do not distinguish between the guest and the host, so that the platform loses its main body and is purely like carvings, which greatly reduces its appearance. Its original strength.At this point, we can see that the Qing style increased the magnificence of the carvings, but lost the main spirit. This is an undeniable fact.

Color The position occupied by color in Chinese architecture is much more important than that in other styles of architecture, so it has become one of the main features of Chinese architecture.The purpose of painting paint on wood is to avoid the erosion of wind, rain and snow; because of the proper distribution of colors, it also has both practical and aesthetic advantages, and it cannot be expressed in a strange and complicated way with colors alone.The distribution of colors in Chinese architecture is very cautious.In the shaded part under the eaves, the main colors are mostly "cool colors", such as blue and green, with a little gold dots.The main color of the pillars and walls is red, which is the opposite of the cool-colored paintings under the eaves.Sometimes the colonnade of the temple is mainly black, which contrasts with the white of the steps.This kind of color manipulation can be described as appropriate and very subtle.Since our buildings are made of colors, if these colors are abused for the whole building to make the top and bottom dazzling, it will be vulgar and coquettish, even barbaric, and there is no such thing as beauty, harmony or solemnity.Liuli was introduced into China from Kubin in the Han Dynasty; its use on roofs began in the Northern Wei Dynasty and was widely used in the Ming and Qing dynasties. This precious building material from foreign countries has made Chinese architecture even more brilliant.Originally, the outline of the building was extremely beautiful, and then the magnificent color of the glass was added, and the crown of the building was almost flawless.But the distribution of tiles and colors is also due to proper manipulation; respecting the solemnity of pure colors and avoiding the wretchedness of variegated colors is the only way to be so successful.Glazed tiles are occasionally used in multiple colors, but they are limited to the small buildings in the garden, and the colors are not excessive, and the patterns can be simple but not extravagant.It is a point of pride in our architecture that we can use color and be frugal.

Plane There is one last very important discussion about Chinese architecture: that is its plane layout.However, this issue is vast and complex, which is beyond the scope of this introduction and cannot be dealt with now.However, there is one point that those who study Qing style rules and regulations must not know, which should be briefly mentioned here.The layout of a single building is in accordance with the provisions of the "Ministry of Industry Engineering Practices" of the Qing Dynasty. Although there seem to be many types, they are summarized into extremely rigid and simple regulations.All of them are based on the principle of four columns constraining one room, so the distribution of columns in each building is extremely regular.But as far as we know about the plan of the single-seat relics of the Song Dynasty, its layout is very flexible, which is much more free than the Qing-style single-seat plan.Although most of the relics of the Song Dynasty are temples, the places where the Buddha sits in the temples and the places where the Arhats are placed on both sides of the temples are different from each other.In the same hall, there are several types of pillars of different sizes, and the number and position of the pillars in the main room and the small space are also different (see the report on the relics of the Liao and Song Dynasties in the "Hui Kan" of the China Architecture Society).

Therefore, the Song style is not only an organic structure such as Dou Xiang, but its plane is also a flexible and functional layout.Modern buildings require extreme flexibility in plane changes. Architects who experiment with adopting old Chinese buildings and transforming them into modern ones must know a little about the planes of single buildings other than Qing style for reference.

Engineering now talks about the old Chinese engineering, which is of no benefit to modern architects and has no research value.It's just that there are several weaknesses, which may be cited for readers' attention.

([-]) Craftsmen in the Qing Dynasty used too much wood, especially beams.This has been discussed above.They obviously don't understand that the strength of the beam load is only proportional to the height of the beam, and has little relationship with the width of the beam.Therefore, the width of the beam, from the perspective of modern engineering, is often too much.At the same time, the craftsman had no way to calculate the wood force for the size of the beam, so he had to enlarge it as much as possible and use a very high safety rate to avoid danger.The result is not only a waste of wood, but also the weight of the beam itself is too heavy, which affects the strength of the lower part.

([-]) Chinese craftsmen never use triangles.Although they knew that the triangle is the only geometric shape that does not change, they had little application of this principle.In the Qing-style frame, the upper part has both heavy beams and no triangular-supported columns. Therefore, buildings in the Qing Dynasty are in danger of tilting after a short period of time.There are such inclined houses supported by brick piers or wooden pillars everywhere on Beiping Street.

([-]) Too shallow foundation is a serious problem of Chinese architecture.Ordinary regulations stipulate that it is half of the height of Taiming, with a few steps of dust underneath.This approach is not thorough, especially in the north, if the foundation is not planed below the ice line, there will be problems in terms of building safety.

Fortunately, these shortcomings are not a problem at all in the hands of the new architect.We are afraid that we do not understand it. After understanding it, it is very easy to avoid or correct it.

As mentioned above, art has various periods of growth, sluggishness, and decline. As far as Chinese architecture is concerned, the Song Dynasty was already a period of regulations and rules, and the book "Zao Fa Shi" was left behind; The Qing Dynasty's "Engineering Practice Rules" is very complete.

So as far as we know with certainty the rules have had a foundation of nearly a thousand years.Over the past 900 years, the boldness of the building and the straightforwardness of the structure have not been as good as the previous generation, but I think it is still in the period of plagiarism; most of the original spirit is still preserved, and it cannot be said to be degenerate.Coincidentally, at this time, new materials and new methods were produced in Europe and the United States, and their basic principles were the same as those of China's structural system for thousands of years.In modern factories, schools, hospitals, and other buildings that require light and air, the configuration of walls, doors and windows, and the structure of iron-reinforced concrete and steel frames are basically the same as those inherent in China except for the different materials.

This is the period when old Chinese buildings are born with new life.During this period, the new Chinese architect should have a full understanding of the inheritance left by his ancestors.Therefore, Sicheng sorted out the more detailed Qing style rules and regulations he already knew, for the reference of architects and architecture students.He asked me to make an introduction, state the history of Chinese architecture, and briefly discuss its advantages and disadvantages. I have little knowledge of the history of Chinese architecture, and I dare not comment on the advantages and disadvantages.Gucao wrote thousands of words, and mixed them into this article, I am afraid that it will not benefit the readers of "Qing Shi Ze Li" but will hear them indiscriminately.However, I dare to remind readers that the rules are only the guidance of craftsmen. Although creative architects and architecture students need to understand the traditional rules of the past, they should not blindly follow the rules and restrict their creativity.We must remember a common proverb: "It is better to have no books than to believe in books."

(End of this chapter)