Traditional Chinese Architectural Forms and Techniques

Author: Li He
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: Craft plays a crucial bridging role in the transmission of traditional architectural historical information. Craft is dynamic and intangible, belonging to the dimension of time, and is one of the important intangible cultural heritage components in the field of architecture. Craft exhibits characteristics of contemporaneity, regionalism, and ethnic identity, and sometimes even individualistic technical traits. However, within the overall scope of traditional Chinese architecture, there are considerable commonalities. Craft reflects the concentration of cultural and productive levels, serving as a witness to the development of science and technology. In today's highly developed visual technology, craft has found favorable means of dissemination, inheritance, and preservation, providing possibilities for protecting this heritage. This book offers a comprehensive discussion on traditional Chinese architectural craft. Combining the research of predecessors and the author's own findings, it introduces the main forms of ancient Chinese architecture, systematically elaborates on the development of traditional architectural craftsmanship in timberwork, earthwork, stonework, brick and tilework, and other major structural crafts, the utilization and processing of materials, construction processes, and focuses on the similarities and differences between traditional architectural crafts in the northern and southern regions. This book meets the current societal demand for understanding and mastering traditional architectural craft, facilitates the cultivation and inheritance of traditional architectural production skills, and also contributes to the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage in this field.