Environmental Features of Chinese Architectural Heritage: The Standardization of Form in the Pursuit of Equilibrium with Nature
Abstract
:1. Introduction
形而上者谓之道,形而下者谓之器。“What is above form is called Dào, what is beneath form is called object.”
2. Cosmic Order and Harmony between Man and Nature
2.1. Bāguà Diagram as a Representation of Space-Time
易有太极,是生两仪,两仪生四象,四象生八卦。“There is in the Changes the Great Primal Beginning. This generates the two primary forces. The two primary forces generate the four images. The four images generate the eight trigrams.”
2.2. The Relationship between Man and Nature. The Concept of Center
道生一,一生二,二生三,三生万物。“The course generates the one, the one generates the two, the two generates the three, the three generates all beings”.[22] (p. 113)
天下,万物生于有,有生于无。“Beneath heaven, all beings emerge from being, though being emerges from nothingness”.[22] (p. 109)
2.3. Parallelism between Heavenly Order and Earthly Order. Xiāntiān Bāguà and Hòutiān Bāguà
古者包犧氏之王天下也,仰則觀象於天,俯則觀法於地。“In ancient times, when Bāoxī shì came to rule everything beneath the heaven, he looked up and contemplated the forms displayed in the heavens (the constellations), and looked down to contemplate the processes that were taking place on Earth.”
在天成象,在地成形,变化见矣。“In the heavens phenomena take form, on Earth forms are configured. Thus change and transformation are manifested.”
3. Cosmological Conceptions and the Bùjú Composition System
3.1. The Structure of the Cosmos. Relationship between the Whole and the Parts
3.2. Bùjú Duality as an Instrument for Standardization
4. The Generation of Architectural and Urban Patterns. From the Capital to the Whole City
4.1. The Dǒugǒng and its Relation to the Space Dimension
4.2. The Concept of Architectural Space. From Jiān in China to Ma in Japan
- 古池や
- 蛙飛びこむ
- 水の音
- An old pond
- A frog jumps
- Water undulates
- 夏草や
- 兵どもが
- 夢のあと
- The summer grass leaves
- Ruins of the dream
- Of ancient warriors
“My new hut has three bays, and five columns, with stone steps and wooden pillars made of katsura tree. I put a door on the north side to let in cool breezes and to fend off oppressive heat, made the southern rafters high to admit the sunlight in case there should be severe cold. The beams were trimmed but left unpainted, the walls plastered but not given a final coat of white. I have used slabs of stone for paving and stairs, sheets of paper to cover the windows; and the bamboo blinds and hemp curtains are of a similar makeshift nature. Added four wooden benches and two screen partitions. A serene brook traverses my piece of land but it rarely splashes out. Next spring, I will thatch the side room to the east, fit it with paper panels and reed blinds for my poems of Meng Guang.”
4.3. The Composition of Halls or Tīng. The Jiānjià System
4.4. The Solid-void Duality as a Configurator of Dwellings or Fángzi
“Functionally, a void without a solid would imply returning to a wild nebula. Visually, a solid without a void would imply the loss of the visible form. Neither of them could exist without the complement of the other”.[25] (p. 56)
埏埴以为器,当其无,有器之用。凿户牖以为室,当其无,有室之用。故有之以为利,无之以为用。“Mud is worked out to make vessels, but in its nothingness, lies the usefulness of the vessel. We cut windows and doors to make a chamber, but in its nothingness lies the usefulness of the chamber.Being is practical, nothingness is useful”.[22] (p. 51)
天下之至柔, 驰骋天下之至坚。无有入无间,吾是以知无为之有益。“The softest beneath heaven, dominates the hardest beneath heaven. What does not have being penetrates what does not have interstices, that is why I know the advantage of non-action”.[22] (p. 115)
4.5. The Nonary Scheme of the City or Chéngshì and its Relationship with the Jǐngtián System
匠人营国,方九里,旁三门,国中九经九纬,经涂九轨。“The artificers (literally carpenters) demarcated the capital as a square with sides of 9 li, each side having 3 gateways. Within the capital there were 9 longitudinal and 9 latitudinal avenues, each of the former being 9 chariot-tracks in width.”
5. Environmental Analysis of the Traditional Chinese Urban Layout. The Paradigmatic Experience of Beijing
5.1. Beijing Climatic Conditions
5.2. Exploratory Solar Access Analysis
有钱不住东南房,冬不暖来夏不凉。“If I had money I would not live in eastern or southern chambers, they are not warm in winter nor cool in summer.”
5.3. Microclimate at Street Level
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Simulation Date | 06/21 | 12/21 |
---|---|---|
Beginning of the simulation | 06:00 h | 06:00 h |
Air temperature (°C) | 18.4 | −4 |
Relative humidity (%) | 88 | 71 |
Wind speed at 10 m to the ground (m/s) | 2.5 | 3.5 |
Wind direction | SE | N |
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Almodovar-Melendo, J.-M.; Cabeza-Lainez, J.-M. Environmental Features of Chinese Architectural Heritage: The Standardization of Form in the Pursuit of Equilibrium with Nature. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2443. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072443
Almodovar-Melendo J-M, Cabeza-Lainez J-M. Environmental Features of Chinese Architectural Heritage: The Standardization of Form in the Pursuit of Equilibrium with Nature. Sustainability. 2018; 10(7):2443. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072443
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlmodovar-Melendo, Jose-Manuel, and Joseph-Maria Cabeza-Lainez. 2018. "Environmental Features of Chinese Architectural Heritage: The Standardization of Form in the Pursuit of Equilibrium with Nature" Sustainability 10, no. 7: 2443. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072443