Frozen Melody: A Comparative Study of Chinese and Western Architectural Arts -- A Series of Comparative Studies on Chinese and Western Arts

Author: Liu Tianhua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Architecture is one of the most extensive and prominent members in the world of art. It not only has practical value, serving as essential living facilities that protect people from wind, rain, heat, and cold, but also possesses strong social and cultural value. Various architectural relics and ancient buildings preserved around the world provide a realistic record of the development of human civilization. In recent years, with the growth of international tourism and frequent cultural exchanges, people have increasingly discovered significant differences between Chinese and Western architecture in terms of both imagery and artistic temperament. For example, most traditional Chinese architecture primarily uses wood as its structural framework. It does not emphasize individual buildings but rather combines courtyards, walls, and structures to achieve a harmonious effect through the interplay of solid and void. In contrast, Western architecture typically employs stone or brick as load-bearing components. Although their forms are highly diverse due to regional, ethnic, or religious differences, they generally revolve around tightly composed individual buildings and often expand and emphasize vertically, using soaring domes, bell towers, and spires to highlight their artistic characteristics.
As for why Chinese and Western architecture exhibit such distinct styles, many scholars have sought reasons in objective material conditions and environmental factors, believing that architectural forms are closely related to local geographical, climatic conditions, and material resources. Wherever people live on Earth, they build houses, and the most commonly used materials are undoubtedly the locally abundant ones. The forms of roofs, walls, and other architectural elements, as well as the sizes of doors and windows, are often determined by local climate conditions to better meet practical needs. However, if we focus on the artistic masterpieces that occupy substantial space in the history of world architecture—such as palaces and government buildings serving state power, as well as temples and churches serving faith—the aforementioned explanations may not fully convince us.
For instance, China produces excellent building stones in various regions, and in ancient times, it constructed technologically advanced and beautifully designed stone arch bridges like the Zhaozhou Anji Bridge. Yet, stone was rarely used to build palaces, government offices, or temples; at most, it was used to pave roads or foundations. Another example is that Western ancient architecture is often grand and towering, reaching toward the sky, while Chinese architecture, with the exception of pagodas, generally consists of only one or two stories but spreads out widely in all directions. Clearly, in addition to material resources and environmental factors, there are deeper-rooted reasons contributing to the differences between Chinese and Western architecture, such as national character, values, collective mentality, ethical thought, moral standards, religious sentiments, and aesthetic tastes. These fundamental elements that constitute the essence of traditional national culture play a significant role in shaping the artistic characteristics of architecture.
This book introduces famous classical buildings from Chinese and Western art history and elaborates on their historical backgrounds, aiming to discuss the individuality and differences exhibited by Western and Chinese architecture in the main types of architectural art. It also attempts to explore some of the underlying reasons by starting from traditional culture. Regarding the definition of "Western architecture," this book differs slightly from general architectural history books. According to some Western architectural historians' classification, East Asian architecture (mainly including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam), South Asian architecture (referring to the Indian subcontinent), and West Asian architecture (primarily referring to Arab Islamic countries) are categorized as the three types of Eastern architecture, while ancient Greek, Roman, and Gothic architecture are classified as the three major types of Western ancient architecture. This is a geographically European-based division. "East" and "West" are inherently relative concepts. This book takes architectural visual characteristics as the basis, grouping ancient Greek, Roman, and architectural styles from North Africa and West Asia under "Western architecture," sometimes including famous ancient Indian architecture as well. In reality, pre-Christian North African and West Asian architecture were part of a larger system, with three branches—ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine architecture. The Islamic architecture that emerged in the 6th century AD was directly influenced by Byzantine architecture under the Eastern Roman Empire and had a significant impact on Spain and other European Mediterranean coastal countries for a long time. Indian architecture also belongs to the masonry system. Due to its proximity to West Asia, it was gradually conquered by Islam starting in the 11th century and became part of Islamic countries, with many classical buildings inheriting styles from West Asia.
As a result, the Western architecture introduced in this book covers a broader geographical scope, with rich and diverse local styles. To give readers a basic understanding of the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western architectural cultures before diving into the main text, it is necessary to briefly explain two important distinctions: the transformation and stability of architectural culture, as well as different pursuits of architectural value.