The origins of Chinese traditional architecture

An attempt has been made to identify the origins of certain key characteristics of Chinese traditional architecture by tracing the evolution of " grand" architecture during the pre-traditional period starting from neolithic times. The study focuses upon the Three Dynasties because their architecture was of great symbolic importance and already contained many characteristics of traditional form and planning. In order to explore the evolution of an architectural form, it is necessary not only to expose its changing plans and constructions, but also to understand its purpose at different times. Reconstructions have therefore been undertaken using socio-cultural, historical, religious and etymological evidence together with detailed evidence from archaeological sites. The thesis starts with a description of the main features of the architecture of the traditional period followed by a brief critical review of previous attempts to explain their origins. Those characteristics which might reasonably be hoped to be explicable on the basis of available archaeological evidence are then identified. The second chapter defines the approach to socio-spatial analysis which has been adopted throughout in interpreting the architecture of pre-traditional times and ends with a summary of the structure of the main body of the thesis. The idea of " the Centre" as a dominant place of power or control runs as a thread through the thesis in exploring the relations between changes in architectural and settlement form and socio-cultural evolution. It enables a coherent history over a long period of time to be constructed out of a study of critical stages by concentrating upon the changes in the form and significance of the symbolic Centre: from a neolithic circular open space to a square walled open space, then to a walled compound (as a Centre or sub-Centre), and finally to the walled compound of the king, a lord and every family (called ssu-ho-yuan generally) and even to a walled city. It was the idea of the symbolic Centre that allowed the form and plan of the " grand" architecture which evolved during the Three Dynasties to become a model which was later embedded in almost every type of building in traditional China. Reconstructions of ancient societies inevitably contain a high degree of speculation. The thesis ends with a discussion of particular needs for further investigations of the relationship between the culture and social structure of the pre-traditional Chinese and the spatial structure of their settlement and territories. Whether these would support or contradict the architectural story told in this thesis remains to be seen, but they would certainly lead to a deeper understanding of early Chinese society