History of Chinese Architecture

Author: Liang Sicheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Chinese architecture, with a continuation of two thousand years of engineering technology, has already formed an art system. Many buildings are expressions of our culture and a major heritage of art. Architects with scientific and technological knowledge have enriched their knowledge and interests in the subject; their creative power naturally grows unconsciously. This is the great significance of studying Chinese architecture. Liang Sicheng, who served as the Director of the Committee for the Compilation of Architectural Historical Materials at the Central Museum from 1939, began writing the history of Chinese architecture in 1942 and completed it two years later. This is the first comprehensive and systematic history of Chinese architecture written by Chinese people. Its completion also fulfilled Liang’s long-standing wish, established during his studies in the United States in the 1920s—"The History of Chinese Architecture must be written by Chinese people." At that time, Liang Sicheng, while studying architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, observed that "European countries had systematically organized and studied their ancient architecture and written their own architectural histories. Only in China, this ancient Eastern nation, did we lack our own architectural history." Meanwhile, many renowned scholars in Japanese academia had also begun researching the history of Chinese architecture and had achieved certain results. The book "History of Chinese Architecture" was completed against this historical backdrop and was undoubtedly a product of the movement for national independence and liberation at that time. Both national arrogance and self-deprecation stem from ignorance of one’s own history and culture. Ignorance inevitably leads to blindness, and blindness, in turn, closes people’s eyes to their own history, further breeding ignorance. Therefore, only by gaining a profound understanding of one’s own past can one stand on a relatively objective footing, fostering deep national self-esteem and self-reliance. As a record and witness of history and culture, architecture faithfully reflects the political, economic, ideological, and cultural aspects of society. Studying the history of architectural development allows one to unmistakably touch the pulse of national history. "History of Chinese Architecture" achieves this through objective and in-depth analysis and exposition, enabling the Chinese people to understand their own history and culture, thereby avoiding blind self-deprecation or unwarranted arrogance and cultivating a solid and profound national self-esteem. Objective analysis and exposition stem from scientific research methods and guiding principles. Liang Sicheng truly deserves the title of "a scholar who used modern scientific methods to study ancient Chinese architecture." He had a unique and profound understanding of Chinese architecture. Vividly, he referred to architectural components, decorations, and individual buildings as the "vocabulary" of architecture, while the relationships between components, the processing and treatment of components, and the interactions between individual buildings were called the "grammar" of architecture. To master this "vocabulary" and "grammar" system, Liang Sicheng learned from experienced craftsmen who had worked in the Qing imperial palaces, used the Qing Ministry of Works' "Rules for Engineering Practices" as a textbook, and took the Forbidden City in Beijing as a research specimen. He also compared a large number of existing artifacts, first mastering the construction methods and rules of Qing architecture. On this foundation, he compared the Song Dynasty's "Treatise on the Construction of Buildings" with the Qing Ministry of Works' "Rules for Engineering Practices," further verifying his findings through field measurements of Song, Liao, and Jin Dynasty artifacts. Based on this, he studied ancient architecture before the Song Dynasty, moving from the recent to the distant past. The overall structure of "History of Chinese Architecture" reflects Liang’s scientific research methods and guiding principles: the introduction first summarizes the characteristics of Chinese architecture, allowing readers to "grasp the big picture and understand, avoiding confusion about the merits and flaws of different architectural systems and not being misled by the similarities and differences between architecture of other times and other ethnic groups." It then proposes a chronological division of architectural history for instructional purposes, followed by a focus on the two "grammar textbooks"—the Song Dynasty's "Treatise on the Construction of Buildings" and the Qing Ministry of Works' "Rules for Engineering Practices." Here, Liang provides a brief analysis and introduction to these two works, affirming their significance in the study of Chinese architectural history and stating that "all terms and comparative standards in the following chapters will be based on these two works." Starting from Chapter 2, he explains the historical evolution and development of the "vocabulary" and "grammar" of ancient Chinese architecture according to the chronological division in the introduction, presenting a historical "masterpiece" of ancient architectural art to the readers. "History of Chinese Architecture" fully reflects Liang’s research method that integrates Eastern and Western cultures. For each specific historical period, he first describes the architectural activities of that stage in the literature, briefly interweaving the relevant political, economic, and cultural background. This approach not only helps readers grasp the overall picture but also provides a basic framework for future scholars. Next, he conducts a detailed analysis of existing artifacts from that period, with vivid descriptions and concise language. In the case studies, he makes numerous comparisons, both horizontally within the same period to highlight common architectural features and vertically across different historical stages to demonstrate the evolution of architectural "vocabulary" and "grammar." After the case studies, he naturally summarizes the characteristics of architecture during that period and its inheritance relationships with other periods. Liang Sicheng and his generation of architects, in the turbulent times, devoted their passion and talent to the struggle for national liberation, exploring the path of Chinese architectural culture. Understanding their nation’s history and creating a distinctive architectural culture with a modern touch has always been a historical question that haunted them. Thanks to the efforts of Baihua Literature and Art Press, "History of Chinese Architecture" has been reborn at the turn of the century. At the same time, the publication of this book also poses the same question to the new generation of architects. At this special moment, how will we answer this questionnaire?