Tectonic Traditions in Ancient Chinese Architecture, and Their Development

Archaeological discoveries have enriched our understanding of the tectonic traditions that underlie the evolution of ancient building technologies. In ancient China, the natural environment, in particular local climate and abundant building materials, along with the development of agricultural tools, shaped the unique local architectural types referred to as Jinggan, earth constructions that originated in the north of China, and Ganlan and Chuandou that originated in the south. This paper discusses the origin and evolution of each building type, as well as the process of merging the wood-based frames developed in the south of China with the earth-and-wood frames developed in the north. This new integration enabled an advanced jointing technology connecting wood columns and beams, and resulted in the wooden structural Tailiang method for the synthesis of framed and piled-up structures. We therefore argue that, on the basis of examples of such fusion in China as well as in other east Asian countries, integration was established via a strong vernacular foundation building on architectural tectonic recognition that helps us understand ancient Asian architecture.