Characteristics and development of ancient Chinese architecture

Chinese Architecture

Ancient Chinese Architecture

Modern Chinese Architecture

Ancient Chinese architecture is considered to be an important part of the world architectural system along with architecture in Europe and Arabian architecture. Over centuries, the construction and architecture of China has developed in to a style of its own and is often characterized by the heavy timberwork that combines with stone carving and rammed earth construction and bucket arch buildings and other techniques that make it unique (Guo, 2005).

The Great Wall, Forbidden City and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor are some of the examples of ancient Chinese architectural miracles that were created by the laboring people of the country.

The rampant use of timber framework was the primary and significant characteristic of ancient Chinese architecture. In order to make the buildings more beautiful and attractive the ancient Chinese architects used paintings and carvings that were put up into the architectural work. The Shang Dynasty dates between 16th century BC and 771 BC is perhaps the first recorded evidence of Chinese architecture. Hence the history is very long.

The Chinese architecture has distinct principles of structure and particular layouts that are not seen in other ancient architecture in other parts of the world. The industrious and clever laboring people of the country have created a very many wonders during the long history and the development process of Chinese architecture (Lou & Chen, 2002).

The Great Wall, White Horse Temple, Mogao Caves and the Summer Palace and Forbidden City are some of the super structures that were built in the ancient China and are among those ancient architectures that are considered to be miracles of the ancient world.

Wooden posts, beams, lintels and joists -- all part of the main timberwork in ancient China, comprised of the main framework of the buildings. The walls that served as room separators did not bear any weight of the building which is a unique characteristic of ancient Chinese buildings.

However with the advent of modern culture the Chinese architecture also adopted the modern ways of building construction. The modern Chinese architecture is no different from the rest of the modern buildings in the rest of the world. However even many of the modern buildings still have the ornamental elements of ancient Chinese architecture.

Modern Chinese Architecture

While the period of ancient architecture has a very long period of emergence, development and perfection, the modern architecture in China is not that long. Experts in architecture and history agree that the modern era of architecture began in China around the middle of the 1800s. During this period however three emerged a wide variety of styles in architecture. The modern Chinese architecture is a complex blend that contain the traditional elements and the contemporary methods along with the cutting edge technology of modern architecture.

During the 1840s after the beginning of the Opium wars and the contact of china with the West started the period where traditional Chinese architecture met with modern architectural styles along with the western architectural characteristics. These gave rise to the blended styles of architecture (Lu, 2007).

Even during this period, the characteristics of the architecture of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty remained prominent. Many of the important buildings constructed during this period still had the traditional characteristics of sweeping roofs with open courtyards, screens and intricately crafted wooden columns. At the same time, some other buildings like the restaurants, hotels and stores started to incorporate some of the western architectural elements.

This was accentuated when the Chinese imperial family commissioned the construction of Yuanming Yuan which is the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, this building had a lot of elements of Western architecture and was viewed the world over as a prime example of a perfect blend between traditional Chinese architecture and Western architecture.

The western architecture was also introduced in Chinese cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao and Harbin among other cities by the buildings that housed foreign consulates, local banks, elite clubs and corporate buildings. This happened during the trasitional period of 189th and the 20th century.

Chinese architecture underwent another change with the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 under a communist regime. The buildings during these initial years of this period saw buildings getting simpler and architectural styles were toned down and many buildings took a sparse look. Most of the structures of this period had composed of grey colors and simple designs while the larger government buildings managed to create a style of their own.

The period came to an end with the construction of what is known as the ten monumental buildings that were constructed in 1959 to end the communism impact on Chinese architecture. These buildings are characterized as buildings that belong to the New Communist Buildings. The ten colossal buildings were constructed to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. These buildings wore a combination of traditional Chinese architecture, modern western architectural characteristics and Stalinist architecture (Yu, 2013).

During the 1980, when the country opened up its doors to the foreign countries and its economy underwent the dramatic transformation that has made it the second largest economy of the world today, there developed new styles in architecture that kept part of the traditional styles and invented new elements (Xiaodong, 2003).

The epitome of this period of construction was reached during the run up to the 20008 Beijing Olympic games and the shanghai expo of 2010. During the more recent years, china has constructed some of the most iconic buildings in the world that include the Jin Mao Building, Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai along with the National Grand Theater and the National Stadium in Beijing.

Many of the modern buildings of China are representative of the dare and eh visual stunningness of the Chinese architects and their achievements. For example the Beijing International Airport which housed the largest terminal in the world was also the largest man made structure ever made at that time. The World Financial Center at Shanghai has the highest enclosed viewing platform at a height of 474 meters. Another marvel of modern architecture in China is the National Aquatics Center which is popularly known as the Water Cube which houses a restaurant and bar along with other facilities like spa, shopping mall and a water park for the entire family.

The National Center for the Performing Arts is another wonder of modern architecture in China. This building which was completed in 2007, has a titanium and glass dome and houses Beijing's National Center for the Performing Arts. This building attracts tourists to t heir thousands during tourist seasons.