This survey course on traditional Chinese architecture and planning will explore the basic concepts of planning and spatial theory (and practice) through insights into Chinese art and architectural hisotry, culture, and society, and will discuss the conception/perception of physical and symbolic space with the goal to better understand the complex phenomena of building in the Middle Kingdom from the pre-Qin period to the 20C. The thematic rather than chronological approach provides a bridge to the present and shows that architecture and urban planning even in the 21st century is still inextricably linked with the fascinating, 4000-year history of China.
The course is specifically tailored to the needs of non-Chinese speakers who wish to study Chinese architecture and planning outside of China.
This semester the course has the following topic:
*Traditional Chinese Architecture and Planning
We will discuss the following topics:
Class 1
Constructed thoughts—Architectural philosophy in ancient China (The Chinese Dream for a century?; historical-cultural values of emperor and subjects; three architectural principles based on Confucian thought: morality, convenience, welfare, and their expression in the built enviornment)
Class 2
Conception of space—Development and creation of (living) space (Buddhist emptiness and Taoist void; harmony of complementary forces / Yin-yang Theory and fengshui spatial relationships; Symbolism of square earth, round heaven; directional space but no vertical alignement?)
Class 3
Organisation of space—Harmony through hierarchy (managing an empire: political history, geography, vegetation; Confucian rites and social order: class and layer theories; modular building as an expression of the hierarchical society; family as the basic social component; X-child policy; National New-type Urbanization Plan 2014–2020)
Class 4
Urban, not rural—Traditional (imperial) city planning and development (a walled enclosure; with a center; aligned with the cardinal directions; with emphasis on the main axis; ‘square-ness’; imperial capital—urban area—countryside; auspicious siting; city planning as example for Sino-cultural adaptation; urban anthropology) in theory and pratice (round cities?)
Class 5
Monument protection—Preservation, renewal, and destruction of cultural and living space (China’s culture of creative copying)
Class 6
Ethnic diversity—Millennia of foreign religions, ethnic minorities, and human mobility (China a cultural melting pot)
The student has to be enrolled for at least one of the studies listed below