Making Modern Knowledge of Traditional Carpentry in China and Japan: Myth, Reality and Transmission

Carpentry skills were among the most important elements of building practice in premodern China and Japan, and traditional carpentry skills continue in use in both countries to the present day. Although their importance has been greatly marginalised in building practice, in both countries some master carpenters have gained public recognition. This paper compares the modernisation of traditional building knowledge in China and Japan, and the fate of carpentry knowledge as the building industry and the formal discipline of architecture evolved. It distinguishes three phases in this historical trajectory: the period during the introduction of Western architecture as a discipline, when traditional knowledge was rejected or used selectively in the construction of national histories of building; the period when modern technology took over the main building industry and traditional craftsmen had to confront the realities of new technologies of production; and the period, still unfolding today, where heritage movements are promoting the recuperation and development of traditional craft knowledge. For each country, the paper traces how the nation’s history of building was selectively fashioned into an orthodox narrative; explores the content of key early technical works (for China, the official handbook Yingzao fashi [Building standards] and the craftsman’s manual Lu Ban jing [Carpenters’ Canon], and for Japan kikujutsu [literally, “compass and ruler techniques”] books); and shows how a talented master carpenter succeeded in creating a niche for himself within the contemporary heritage culture. It concludes that differences in the cultural respect accorded to carpentry knowledge in the two countries are rooted in the contrasting status of craftsmen in the premodern era.

Building Materials of Chinese Architecture

This bibliography is a summation of our present knowledge of building materials used in China from prehistoric (c. 3000 bce) to premodern times (18th century). Earth, timber, stone, bricks, and tiles are the major materials developed with construction purposes. Earth and wood rendered as tu-mu are a synonym for construction work used throughout the history. In the case of earth, for example, it was used to build not only architecture but also infrastructure (such as city walls) with different techniques (e.g., direct molding and cob, rammed earth with framework and adobe [mud bricks]). China is well known for its long tradition of historical documentation; however building materials in early imperial times were only occasionally mentioned in literature, and their manufacture details were recorded in a few documents. The oldest written source in existence is the Yingzao Fashi (1103). A large number of historic buildings survived from the Ming-Qing times are timber-framed. Therefore, timber architecture has been studied more intensely than the others. And, scholarly attention has put more on the later period of Chinese architecture. Critical study of Chinese architecture did not begin until the 20th century. In the field of building materials, the academic work was scarce. Obviously, the study overlaps with a number of fields: construction, technology, architecture, and archaeology. Within the topic, this bibliography is organized in five categories: timber, stone and earth, bricks and tiles, mortars, coating and painting. Timber includes various prefabricated elements and units, such as columns, beams and block-bracket sets (dou-gong). Over time, Chinese timber architecture developed into a modular design and building standard as a system. Wooden buildings require coatings for weather proofing, which led to application of decorative coatings and paints. Drainage and waterproofing had been major issues for buildings and structures, which resulted in the development from adobe to bricks and tiles. Each section reviews main issues and lists recent scholarly contributions, as well as important database sources.

Jørn Utzon's synthesis of Chinese and Japanese architecture in the design for Bagsværd Church

In his essay of 1983, ‘Towards a Critical Regionalism’, Kenneth Frampton referred to the Bagsværd Church as a primary exemplar, briefly citing the architect's representation of ‘the Chinese pagoda roof’ in this project, to emphasise the importance of crosscultural inspiration in the creation of ‘critical regionalism’. Peter Myers followed Frampton in his 1993 ‘Une histoire inachevée’, arguing for the significant role that Chinese architecture played as a source for Utzon's Bagsværd Church design and further variations on the theme of Chinese and Japanese exemplars on Utzon's work follows. Françoise Fromonot established the importance of the 1925 edition of the Yingzao-fashi (State Building Standard, first published in 1103 ad) and Johannes Prip-Møller's 1937 Chinese Buddhist Monasteries for Utzon; Philip Drew pointed out the significance of the work of Chinese writer Lin Yutang (1895–1976) and historian Osvald Sirén (1879–1966) as important channels through which Utzon perceived East Asian art and architecture; while in 2002, Richard Weston suggested Das Japanische Wohnhaus (1935), written by Japanese architect Tetsuro Yoshida (1894–1956), as a formational influence in Utzon's early perception of Japanese building culture. However, none of these works attempt to clarify the precise role that Chinese and Japanese precedents play in Utzon's architectural career. Two more recent studies, by Philip Goad and Michael Asgaard Andersen, have confirmed the role of Chinese architecture in Utzon's church design and have introduced new evidence and details, but there are still unanswered questions about the exact nature of these influences. This article attempts to address the detailed process of Utzon's cross-cultural practices for his design of the Bagsværd Church in order to reveal how Utzon interpreted specific ideas, ideals, and artefacts from East Asian building culture.