Architecture of China-Middle (Han - Yuan Dynasties)

More than fifteen hundred years separate the beginning of the Han dynasty (206 bce to 220 ce) from the fall of the Yuan dynasty (1267–1368). Milestones in the formation of traditional building culture were seen during the Han dynasty and the divided period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589); construction technology was still in an experimental phase and new cultural imports from Central Asia like Buddhism and influences from the politically separated but economically more advanced South stimulated the process of artistic exchange. New structural principles were imbued with philosophical meaning and connected to social status, once formulated in the Tang dynasty (618–907), were continued and perfectioned over the next centuries. It is an irony of history that the Liao (907–1125), a nomadic people who took over the rule of North China, preserved the iconic features of Tang architecture even better than the contemporary indigenous Northern Song (960–1279), which sheds light on the historical perception of Han-Chinese building culture and the culturally sensible process of Sinification. Design practice was rooted in China’s culture of institutionalization and normalization, and imperially commissioned technical standards for government sponsored construction have survived in the form of several almost intact manuscripts, namely through copies of the original text (Yingzao fashi 1103, 1145), that tell us about the superior level of craftsmanship at the Song court. But official, dynastic style and regional building styles developed next to each other under mutual influence, which is also evident in the architecture of the succeeding Jin (1126–1234) and Yuan dynasties. Magnificent palaces and temples with towering pagodas and multi-storied halls were built in great numbers in wood but due to the events of history, not a single pre-Tang timber building has survived even in the remote areas of Shanxi province. For the one thousand years between the establishment of the Han dynasty and the erection of the timber-framed main hall at Nanchansi (南禅寺, dedicated 782), the study of traditional Chinese architecture has relied on textual records, archeological evidence, and artistic representations on paintings and in relief. Architecture, and Chinese architecture is no exception, refers to both the process and the product of spatial design and in the material form of buildings. It is art, cultural heritage, and applied science, answering the needs of everyday life by providing physical and symbolic shelter. Thus, literature on Chinese architecture is multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary, reflecting a variety of methodologies and a diversity of authors and readers.