CHIEN, AUO, SHIH:
EVOLUTION OF SPACE PERCEPTION AND SPACE MAKING
IN CHINA
by
Chih-Ta Lai
B.S. in Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University
Taipei, Taiwan
June, 1981
SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE AT THE
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
June, 1985
SChih-Ta
Lai 1985
The Author hereby grants to M.I.T. permission to reproduce
and to distribute publicly copies of this thesis document in
whole or in part.
Signature of author
Chih-Ta Lai
Department of Architecture
'May 10, 1985
Certified by
/
Gunter NitscFke
Lecturer
Thesis Supervisor
Accepted by
Ju4 Messervy
airperson
Depa tmental Committee on Gra uate Students
/
ARCHIVES
1
JUN 0 31985
CHIEN, AUO, SHIH:
EVOLUTION OF SPACE PERCEPTION AND SPACE MAKING IN CHINA
by Chih-Ta Lai
Submitted to the Department of Architecture on May 10, 1985
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Architecture.
ABSTRACT
The question of "what is the essence of Chinese
architecture" has been puzzling Westerners as well as
Chinese
since
the inception of
Traditional
Chinese
Architecture Studies five decades ago. This thesis attempts
to answer the question by exploring some spatial concepts
which have not been clearly documented before. Based on the
exploration of those spatial concepts, a new historical
perspective will be introduced to show succinctly how
Chinese architecture evolved in the last 30 centuries.
The theoretical assumptions guiding the.thesis are:
--- the emergence of spatial concepts is due to the fact of
man-always-having-to-perceive-spatial-phenomena,
--- the characteristics of spatial concepts are determined
by the relationship between man and phenomena,
--- the relationship between man and phenomena may evolve,
--- the evolution of spatial concepts makes up the history
of architecture.
Thesis Supervisor: Gunter Nitschke
Title: Lecturer
-- f~
CHIEN, AUO, SHIH:
EVOLUTION OF SPACE PERCEPTION AND SPACE MAKING
IN CHINA
Architecture
fullest
its
will be
realization
brought
the
when
deepest knowledge of human life as
total
is
event in the biological
available.
components
One of its
to
a
whole
important
is the ordering of man in
space, making space comprehensibly by
its
articulation.
architecture
The
root
lies in the mastery
of
of
the problem of space.
------
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
in
The New Vision.
(Source: Leonard, 1969)
CONTENTS
Illustrations 7
Preface 8
Acknowledgement 9
Chapter I: Statement of Objectives 10
Chapter II: Space and Spatial Concept 19
Sec. 2-1: The Concept of CHIEN 25
Sec. 2-2: The Concept of AUO 29
Sec. 2-3: The Concept of SHIH 32
Chapter III: The Perception of Space 37
Sec. 3-1: Perceptual Model 40
Sec. 3-2: The Perception of CHIEN 44
Sec. 3-3: The Perception of AUO 47
Sec. 3-4: The Perception of SHIH 51
Chapter IV: The Evolution of Spatial Concepts 56
Chapter V: The Application of Spatial Concepts 66
Sec. 5-1: Perception and Application 69
Sec. 5-2: The Style of CHIEN 73
Sec. 5-3: The Style of AUO 79
Sec. 5-4: The Style of SHIH 82
Chapter VI: Conclusions 88
Sec. 6-1: Historical Arguments 90
Sec. 6-2: The Meaning of History 98
Appendix A: Chronology 102
Appendix B: Chinese Characters for Proper Names and
Technical Terms 103
Appendix C: Selected Bibliography 105
ILLUSTRATIONS
Fig. 1-1
Typical Chinese Architecture 13
Fig. 1-2
Typical Timber Frame Structure of Chinese
Architecture 14
Fig. 1-3
The Tree of Architecture 15
Fig. 2-1
The Procedure of Generating A Spatial Concept 22
Fig. 2-2
Examining the SHIH of A Site 34
Fig. 3-1
Diagramatic Percetual Model 42
Fig. 3-2
The Emergence of the Concept of CHIEN 45
Fig. 3-3
The Emergence of the Concept of AUO 49
Fig. 5-1
The Procedure of Space Perception and
Space Making 70
Fig. 5-2
A Neolithic House 73
Fig. 5-3
A Shang House 75
Fig. 5-4
A Qin House 77
Fig. 5-5
A Han House 78
Fig. 5-6
A Typical Chinese Courtyard House 79
Fig. 5-7
Courtyard Houses of Larger Scale 81
Fig. 5-8a Lin Garden 83
Fig. 5-8b The Perspective of the Lin Garden 84
Fig. 5-9
A Courtyard With A Pavilion in the Lin Garden 85
Fig. 5-10 A Typical Soochou Classical Garden 87
Fig. 6-1
A Prehistorical Settlement 92
Fig. 6-2
Ming-Tang of the Han Dynasty 93
Fig. 6-3
A Zhou House 94
PREFACE
It would be a long story to talk about the history
of
Chinese architecture, which has existed for over 3000 years,
but every story can be abridged.
To abridge is not only
to
mention key points quoted from a lengthy description, but to
talk
from
a totally different angle to cover
the
complex
phenomena by a few succinct concepts.
My study in this thesis has lasted for two
first
draft of this thesis,
years.
which was written in Chinese,
has
been published in Chinese Architects (December,
The
major
"internal
task
logic"
of
the study has
embodied
architectural history.
mind
The
been
in the
However,
to
progress
find
of
1984).
out
an
Chinese
one should always keep
in
that the primary intention of this study is basically
architecture-oriented,
rather than history-oriented.
Chih-Ta Lai, Spring 1985
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I
would like to thank those MIT
architecture
faculty
who have inspired and helped me during my thesis study. They
are:
Professor Gunter Nitschke,
who inspired me in the very
beginning of this thesis two years ago.
Julie Messervy, who
helped me to establish a reasonable struture for the writing
of this thesis and patiently read my final draft.
John
Habraken and William Porter,
Professor
who have provided useful
comments during the thesis preparation period.
Mr.
Ming H.
Wang, who helped me especially in the theoretical criticism.
CHAPTER I
STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES
CHAPTER I
STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES
First of all,
pointing
out
the
I would like to explain my objectives by
meaning of this thesis to the
Chinese architecture studies.
essence
of
Westerners
Chinese
as
traditional
well
The question of "what is
architecture"
as
field
Chinese
has
since
been
the
of
the
puzzling
beginning
Chinese architecture studies five decades
of
ago.
In this thesis I attempt to answer the question by exploring
some spatial concepts which have not been clearly documented
before.
From the study of spatial concepts,
I also attempt
to establish an entirely new theory to open up a new view on
the
history
of Chinese architecture.
I am also
going
to
challenge some conventional theories in the field of Chinese
Architecture
studies
when the new view conflicts with
the
old one.
You
might
ask:
what is wrong with
the
conventional
theories? Well, it is difficult to answer directly with just
a
few
words.
However,
a brief
comparison
with
architecture might be helpful in this early stage.
Western
In Western history,
clearly
illustrated by different styles
Romanesque,
There
the development of architecture is
Gothic,
are
indeed
experience)
as
of
Greek,
Roman,
Renaissance...and Modern architecture.
essential
developments
(of
well as stylistic improvements
spatial
(of
visual
appearance). A package of terms has been invented to examine
buildings,
form,
such as scale,
function...,
proportion,
etc.
There
dimension, massing,
is indeed a discipline
of
architectural theory.
Influenced
architecture,
by
people
Chinese architecture,
the
the
theoretical
studies
of
used the same terminology to
by
scholars
that,
but
evident
timber-frame
system and raised platform of beaten
not changed much in the past 3000 years.
by
the
Chinese architecture,
with strong images of prominent thatched roof,
other words,
In
it is widely
compared with
development of Western architecture,
structure
examine
and found a "strange" phenomenon.
studies of Chinese architectural history,
recognized
Western
earth,
has
[Fig. 1-1, 1-2] In
Chinese architecture startles people not
only
its "different" appearances (from Western architecture),
by its "continuity" of
Some
scholars
"stagnation"
architectural
characteristics.
even considered the continuity as a kind
and concluded that there is no
discipline
of
of
architecture (compared with Western architecture) in ancient
China.
As a Chinese student of architecture,
I am very sad to
hear that. And it is natural to ask: why? Are they right? It
is true
that
there are differences
Western architecture,
us?
Is
between
and
but what do those differences mean to
it true what Banister Fletcher said
architecture
Chinese
that
is only a small branch on the Tree
Chinese
of
World
Architecture? [Fig. 1-3]
Fig. 1-1
Typical Chinese architecture: A building type,
with a prominent thatched roof, a building proper of timberframe structure and a raised platform of beaten earth, has
existed for more than 3000 years.
(Source: Steinhardt, 1984, p. 14)
13
Chinese
Typical Timber Frame Structure of
1-2
Fig.
The principles of laying out structural
Architecture:
columns have lasted over 3000 years old.
(Source: Steinhardt, 1984, P. 11)
14
BANISTER FLETCHER. INV.
The Tree of Architecture:Is it true that Chinese
Fig. 1-3
architecture is only a small branch on the tree of World
Architecture. (Source: Lee, 1982, p. 12)
All these are historical questions,
to
find
out the factors which influence
history.
for
and it is not easy
the
of
I have studied the history of Chinese architecture
seven years and concentrated on spatial
subject of this thesis,
found
progress
something
conventional
knowledge
for two years.
interesting,
which
concepts,
the
Fortunately, I have
might
change
the
views of Chinese architecture and broaden
about
architecture in terms of space
our
perception
and space making.
I
think,
Western
examining
architectural
confusions.
This
Chinese
theories
architecture
is the
is a big mistake,
by
cause
using
of
all
because Chinese use
a
totally different perceptual means to examine their dwelling
spaces.
Generally speaking,
intangible
Chinese are concerned with the
atmosphere created by physical elements,
than those tangible elements.
However,
rather
that is not to
say
that Chinese "preferred" intangible things to tangible,
but
that
they "happened" to perceive primarily the intangibles,
while Westerner happened to grasp the tangibles.
The
Western
make
visual as well as experiential difference
and Chinese architecture is obvious,
mistakes.
between
but we
still
The misuse of theories is due partly to the
advance of Western architectural theories and partly to
the
lack of systematic terminology which is suitable to describe
the Chinese sense of space.
With
I
realization,
this
pose
will try to
a
more
purpose
of
architectural research is to discover unknown properties
of
question.
fundamental
If
physical environment,
the
known
the
and FORM and FUNCTION are
can we find
of architecture,
properties
and
objective
well-
more?
Are
there other unknown properties?
It is my intention and interest to develop a package of
similar
terms,
to
from
and FUNCTION developed
FORM
the
for Chinese
architecture.
What I have found are three spatial concepts,
namely CHIEN,
studies of Western architecture,
and
AUO
Chinese
SHIH.
They
architecture,
experiential
reveal the
which,
think,
I
is
quality
what
of
Chinese
architecture can contribute to World architecture: the skill
of managing an intangible atmosphere.
Using
Chinese
the concepts of CHIEN,
architecture,
architecture
in
I
have
AUO and SHIH to
examine
that
Chinese
also
found
has achieved a remarkable state of development
terms of the spatial organization of building
while
it has experienced less development in terms
clusters,
of
the
single building types.
Following this introduction, the thesis is divided into
five
chapters.
In Chapter II,
I will define the
subject:
space. I will also review some Chinese and Japanese views of
In Chapter III,
space or spatial concepts.
the
precise
attributes
of
those
spatial
I will explore
concepts
by
from
situation",
and,
conceptualized,
are,
in
some
the
Chapter
IV,
aspects,
original,
"spatial
V,
I will use my theory
try to
reveal
the
Chapter III and
The ideas
I
which
to
and
perceived
presented
feel
in the field of Chinese architecture
Chapter
historical
be
might
are the major task of this thesis.
breakthrough
In
in
space
sequence of spatial concepts.
evolutionary
IV
which
or
context"
"physical
the
reconstructing
examine
are
a
studies.
selected
material to check whether the theory can explain
reality
Some conclusions will
or
not.
my
studies
be
drawn
in
Chapter VI.
Through
architecture,
the
meaning
I
of spatial
concepts
in
Chinese
wish to achieve a better understanding
of spatial concepts in
relationship between
architecture
and
of
the
man and the physical environment, both
are unfortunately ignored by modern architects.
CHAPTER II
SPACE AND SPATIAL CONCEPTS
2-1 The Concept of CHIEN
2-2 The Concept of AUO
2-3 The Concept of SHIH
CHAPTER II
SPACE AND SPATIAL CONCEPTS
environment,
ground
voids.
such as
--- space.
and invisible voids
The
and "objectivity" of one physical environment
unshakable in today's scientific judgement.
visible
physical
is composed of visible solids,
which
and mountains,
"reality"
one
will agree that there is only
Everybody
solids,
Since
but
space
Man uses
can only "inhabit in" the
is the usable part
of
the
is
those
invisible
physical
environment, it becomes the major concern of all architects.
We know where and what space is; we know we can use it,
we can even build man-made space within natural space.
how
do we know there is space?
Yet,
And how do we know what
we
can do in space?
It
everybody
seems
stupid
to
can
answer
easily
"inherently".
space.
It
is
man's
ask
such
by
questions,
saying
man
that
inherent ability
because
to
knows
perceive
To perceive space. That is the key point. We know there
only
is space
perceive
we can
because
we
in space
because
properties
of space.
Laotzu had spoken:
"Moulding
the
with
familiar
are
something
do
can
it. We
in
we find the utility
clay into a vessel,
its hollowness;
doors
Cutting
utility
Therefore
and windows for a house,
we
the
find
in its empty space.
the non-
the being of things is profitable,
being of things is serviceable." [Chang, 1981, p.7 .]
"This
in relation to
statement
that which is likely to be overlooked,
that the immaterial,
is the
most
useful.
actually
negative,
conventionally
Void,
regarded
as
is more important because it is always
capable of being filled by solid." [Chang,
By
suggests
architecture
perceiving space,
p. 7.]
1981,
we accumulate experiences
about
space. And then we conceptualize our experiences about space
as spatial concepts,
knowledge.
This
including
perceiving
which is more valuable and
applicable
procedure of generating spatial
space
and
conceptualizing
concepts,
spatial
experiences, might be simplified diagramatically as shown in
Fig. 2-1.
21
It is this thesis' assumption that, whether consciously
or
unconsciously,
rooted
in the
"inevitable
there
human
must be spatial
mind.
interpretation" of
A spatial
space,
concepts
concept
because
space is man's "inevitable" mind activity.
deeply
is man's
perceiving
Now that we know
we can perceive space, and create a spatial concept, it will
be interesting to go a step further by asking:
IS THERE ONLY ONE WAY TO PERCEIVE SPACE?
MANY WAYS?
OR ARE THERE
IS THERE ONLY ONE SPATIAL CONCEPT? OR COULD
THERE BE MANY DIFFERENT SPATIAL CONCEPTS?
OF PERCEPTION)
OF CONCEPTION)
Fig. 2-1 The Procedure of Generating A Spatial Concept:
Perceiving
existing
space,
one
accumulates
spatial
experience; conceptualizing spatial experiences, one arrives
at spatial concepts.
Attractive questions, but no easy answer. We are now on
the road to our adventure of creating a theory.
In
They are CHIEN, AUO and SHIH. The closest
spatial concepts.
of
translation
English
PROFOUNDITY;
different
I will review three very
Chapter,
this
and
SHIH
CHIEN
is
is
TENDENCY.
translations are not adequate enough,
However,
is
AUO
IN-BETWEEN;
all
these
and in order to avoid
unnecessary misunderstanding, I will use the original terms,
readers
but
may keep the closest
English
in
translation
mind.
I will be reviewing following materials:
1. Nitschke, Gunter. "MA: The Japanese Sense of Place" in
Architectural Design, March 1966, pp. 117-156.
2. Isozaki, Arata. "MA: Japanese Time-Space" in The Japan
Architect, February 1979, pp. 69-80.
3.
Maki, Fumihiko. "Japanese City Spaces and the Concept
of OKU" in The Japan Architect, May 1979, pp. 50-62.
4.
Master of South Sea. Principles of Kan-Yu.
Taiwan: Gee-Wen Bookstore, 1980.
Two
points must be claimed and clarified before we
ahead.
First,
architecture,
achievements
rather
Taipei,
although
some
of
limited,
this
is
Japanese materials
Chinese
while
architecture
a
study
are
of
go
Chinese
included.
studies
are
Japanese architecture studies
The
still
have
some useful points of view which provide very valuable hints
for
this
thesis.
And because Japanese architecture
is
a
branch of Chinese architecture in terms of spatial concepts,
I
think
it will be reasonable and
acceptable
to
include
Japanese materials in this study. For example, MA, appearing
in Gunter and Arata's articles,
Chinese
is the Japanese version of
They are exactly the same when
CHIEN.
written
in
Chinese characters. And OKU, appearing in Maki's article, is
exactly
the
same with Chinese AUO when written in Chinese
characters. There might be some variations of pronounciation
and usage, but the essential meanings do not change much.
Second,
it
is understandable that Japanese
will deny the identities between MA and CHIEN,
and
scholars
between
OKU and AUO. Although it has a very close cultural bond with
China, Japanese scholars usually tend to ignore, consciously
or
unconsciously,
that
fact,
originality of Japanese culture.
am
and
always
However,
the
in this thesis I
not going to get involved in this kind of
embroilments,
claim
international
but make some assumptions and, based on that,
develop my own ideas.
The Concept of CHIEN
Sec. 2-1
It
Professor Gunter Nitschke's
is
article,
entitled
"MA: Japanese Sense of Place", which inspired me in the very
this study.
of
beginning
That was the first
I
time
had
realized that a simple word like MA could be a philosophical
found
that
physical
the
Japanese
in
New York introducing MA and its applications
in
Isozaki
had even held
of
exhibits
environment.
and
famous
had claimed that it is the concept
has shaped the unique character of
which
Paris
both
Kisho Kurakawa and Arata Isozaki,
Japanese architects,
MA
I have also
Besides Professor Nitschke's article,
concept.
architecture and everyday life.
No
matter
what MA is,
we realize that it is
important and powerful concept in some people's
what is MA?
a
very
eyes.
Yet,
What makes MA so attractive? Let us review some
of points made by its exponents.
Professor Nitschke's description of MA deserves mention
especially
when
he tries to explain the attributes
of
MA
from a Western viewpoint to Westerners. He says:
"Japanese
sense of MA is not something that is created
by compositional elements;
in
the
elements.
imagination
Therefore
of the
it is the thing that takes place
human
who
experiences
one could define MA as
place..."
25
these
'experiential'
"Japanese
sense
of place is MA,
of place,
consciousness
best described as
a
enclosed
not in the sense of...an
but rather as...places of central
three-dimensional entity,
activities."
three-
"So I speak of space in the traditional Western
sense,
dimensional
the
obverse of
substantial,
tangible
As a box viewed from the outside is an object,
objects.
the inside is space."
Nitschke's
difference
[Nitschke, 1966]
reveals
introduction
between
a
fundamental
very
Western and Japanese spatial
concepts.
The "experiential" space of Japanese culture represented
MA
so
by
is
still
Nitschke introduced MA from the Western point of
view.
interesting,
is
but
what
it really
means
unclear.
What
will
a Japanese say about MA?
Let me quote
some
of
Isozaki's sayings.
"Briefly
space
and
speaking,
MA is a conceptualization of
time and means,
in spatial terms,
the
both
natural
distance between two or more things existing in a continuity
or the space delineated by posts and screen (that is,
room)
or, in temporal terms, the natural pause or interval between
two or continuously." [Isozaki, 1979]
26
It
seems
to
me
that MA as a
understanding is rough,
reminded
me that the meaning of Japanese MA
In fact,
characters,
MA
Japanese
the
preliminary
attracted.
but we are deeply
similar to that of Chinese CHIEN.
Chinese
concerns
This
relations "between" two things.
abstract
also
concept
This
is very
when written in
is exactly the
same
as
Chinese CHIEN. It will be interesting to know what is CHIEN?
How
Is it also a kind
do a Chinese see CHIEN?
of
concept
concerning space?
CHIEN
is indeed a kind of spatial concept
architecture.
The
in Chinese
meaning of CHIEN is exactly the same
as
what Nitschke and Isozaki said about MA.
Not
language,
only
in Chinese
architecture,
Chinese speak of CHIEN a lot.
CHUNG-CHIEN (middle),
them:
(time),
CHEN-CHIEN
in everyday
To mention some of
(space),
SHI-CHIEN
WU-CHIEN (noon),
WAN-CHIEN
KON-CHIEN
(morning),
but
(night), YING-CHIEN (nether world), YANG-CHIEN (man' world),
JEN-CHIEN (man's world)...
All
these
words with a CHIEN in it concern a kind
specific domain or territory,
And
the
intervention
experience CHIEN.
either physical or
of the human body is the
of
abstract.
means
to
However,
CHIEN,
or
MA
is not the only
experiential
space. Besides them, we will be reviewing other experiential
spaces of different characteristics.
will
shift
our
attention to another
found in Japan as well as China.
Keep in minds that
interesting
we
concept
Sec. 2-2
The Concept of AUO
The second concept which attract me is also
by
The famous Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki's
Japanese.
"Japanese
article
introduced
City
Spaces and
the
Concept
of
OKU"
inspired me in this stage. The following are quotations from
his article:
"OKU
It
is a sense of penetrating the layers of an onion.
implies
something
extending far back,
original
people
point
who
invisible
which
profound,
innermost,
least accessible and deep.
OKU is the
(mental
touchstone) in the minds
observe or create it, and
center.
deny
center.
abstract,
the
becomes
the
It is a convenience devised by a
absolute
OKU
hence
of
objects or symbols as the
is nothing but the concept of
spirit
notion
of
convergence
to
zero."
"One notices further how abundant the Japanese language
is
in words modified by the adjectival OKU.
concepts,
one
OKU-GUCHI
(rear
Among
spatial
can begin with explicit expressions such
entrance),
OKU-YUKI
(depth),
as
OKU-YAMA
(recesses of a mountain), and OKU-ZASHIKI (inner parlor) and
continue
on to expressions that are the social affirmations
of such relationships: OKU-DEN (hidden mysteries of an art),
OKU-GI
(secret principles);
implicitly,
of
and
these are invisible but
OKU-NO-IN (inner temple),
an aristocrat or nobleman),
29
exist
OKU-GATA (wife
which suggest a hidden
but
powerful position in society." [Maki, 1979]
It
seems to me that OKU concerns the "inside world" of
things.
There
is
"directionality",
"hidden",
also
a
leading
to
very
strong
"back",
sense
"deep",
of
"inner",
in all expressions relating to OKU, which are not
found in the case of CHIEN (or MA),
which only expresses
a
sense of void between things.
It is also interesting to notice that,
Chinese
characters,
when written in
OKU is exactly the same as
AUO.
This
coincidence, like the situation in MA and CHIEN, leads me to
review Chinese thoughts regarding AUO.
relating
to AUO in Chinese everyday
There are some words
language.
To
mention
some of them: AUO-MI (mystery), AUO-MIAU (mystery), SHEN-AUO
(profoundity), TANG-AUO (deep reality).
Among
them,
TANG-AUO
Chinese architecture,
is
especially
noticeable.
both TANG and AUO signify rooms.
In
AUO
is the room behind TANG. When one enters a house, he will be
in TANG,
of
the main room, first. After entering TANG, members
the
family
outsiders
cannot
or close friends may go further
can only feel the space of AUO behind
enter it without permission.
The
into
TANG,
relation
AUO;
but
between
TANG and AUO indicates a sense of depth and mystery, similar
to the Japanese OKU.
Imagination
is the means to sense it. It is important
to note that the human body cannot possibly to get into
inside of solid things,
the
thus man has to use a different way
to sense the inside world of things.
Sec. 2-3
The Concept of SHIH
compared with Japanese
It is interesting to note that,
architects seldom talk about CHIEN and
Chinese
architects,
AUO, although those concepts are originally Chinese. It does
not
AUO,
mean that Chinese do not have the concepts of CHIEN
or
but on the contrary, that CHIEN and AUO had existed in
for
China
long time and
a
Roughly
speaking,
Chinese
have
since
eventually
they
century),
the Song Dynasty (11th
to
shifted their interest
away.
faded
concept,
another
namely SHIH.
Chinese
treat
AUO).
Chinese term,
(or
SHIH just like Japanese do OKU
in
Abundant words relating to SHIH can be
found in everyday language. To mention some of them:
When observing natural phenomena, Chinese tend not only
to
name
atmosphere"
those
of
phenomena,
those
but to describe
phenomena.
For
"general
the
example,
facing
a
mountain, Chinese do not just say that it is a mountain, but
tend
the
to describe the SHIH of the mountain.
"MOUNTAIN-SHIH"
is so and so,
We tend to
which might
be
say
great,
smooth, steep, complex, chaotic, etc. Mountain has MOUNTAINSHIH, of course ground has GROUND-SHIH, wind has
rain
has RAIN-SHIH,
SHIH ....
fire has FIRE-SHIH,
WIND-SHIH,
water has
WATER-
but in other
Not only in observing natural phenomena,
sorts
phenomena,
of
Chinese use SHIH a lot.
combat
In a
situation, we can observe the SHIH of offending or defending
BETTER-SHIH
DEFENSE-SHIH) and see who is in
(OFFENSE-SHIH,
and who is in WORSE-SHIH.
speaking,
Generally
understanding
seems
SHIH
of a changing situation,
an
imply
to
a growing force,
a
developing tendency. It is a "holistic view" of the external
This
phenomena.
holistic view is very different
the
from
stability of CHIEN and the directionality of AUO.
things by the Chinese.
describing
does
of
is no doubt that SHIH is a very popular way
There
it really mean?
What
But what is SHIH?
Unfortunately,
we know
very
little
about it from the point of view of architecture. However, we
can find some uses by geomancers.
The concept of SHIH is widely used in Chinese geomancy.
Let me quote some words from the Master of South Sea's book,
"Principles of Geomancy", to explain what SHIH is.
"The main concern of Chinese geomancy is FORM-SHIH.
To
build a settlement, no matter whether as large as a city, or
as small as a house, the first thing to do is to examine the
FORM-SHIH
is the
of the site.
Where the best FORM-SHIH is located
site.. So-called
distribution
FORM-SHIH is determined
of mountain and water.
Because the
by
the
relations
~L~4~JI~~
Fig. 2-2
Examining the SHIH of A Site:
mountains
between
and
water have
will
in turn
city,
a town,
for
a
important,
a
determine its adaptability as a site
or most
a house,
a village,
which
distributions,
"gathered"
are "dispersed" or
there
possibilities,
various
tomb." [Fig. 2-2]
What
namely
interests
me is the way FORM-SHIH is qualified,
"dispersed"
as
different,
but
or as
complementary
These
"gathered".
terms.
Without
are
two
"gathered",
there will be no "dispersed", and vice versa. The two form a
pair. There are many of this kind of pairs in geomancy, such
as "dark-bright", "dynamic-static", "along-against", "solidvoid",
"lasting-ephemeral",
"rigid-tensile", "quick-slow",
etc. All these contrasts are used to describe SHIH.
hints
It
tendency.
dynamic.It
rather
a
sense
of
and
growing
flowing,
It describes any phenomenon with force, energy
interacting.
and
at
Everything
as
is perceived
seems that SHIH concerns the
"alive"
and
rhythms,
changing
than the static characteristics of the universe.
It
reflects a holistic view of the universe.
city
"Chinese
fortunes
planners
were
well
aware
that
were
of a city could be assured only if its sites
breath,
adapted to the local currents of the cosmic
the
namely
ch'i. These local influences (FORM-SHIH), the dynamic powers
of the genius loci, were modified from place to place by the
morphology
of
terrain
from
and
35
hour
to
hour
by
the
dispositions
analysis
ch'i
and
conjunctions
of
heavenly
the morphological and spatial
of
in the surface features of the earth
pseudo-science
of
feng-shui,
the
art
of
bodies.
expressions
The
of
constituted
the
adjusting
the
features of the cultural landscape so as to minimize adverse
influences
and
derive
conjunctions of forms."
maximum
advantage
from
favorable
CHAPTER III
THE PERCEPTION OF SPACE
3-1 Perceptual Model
3-2 The Perception of CHIEN
3-3 The Perception of AUO
3-4 The Perception of SHIH
CHAPTER III
THE PERCEPTION OF SPACE
In
last
the
we
chapter,
three
reviewed
different
which were impressive by their simplicity
spatial concepts,
as well as complexity. They are simple because every concept
is represented
because
a single word.
by
single
that
word
intellectually exciting,
dis-satisfaction
compare
a
lot
also
complex
is
deeply
and
into ordinary people's everyday life.
integrated
own
means
They are
one
with
the
They
are
but yet not totally satisfying. My
emerged
other
especially
in terms
when
of
the
I
try
to
physical
environment.
not
Because
the definitions of these spatial concepts
precise
enough,
between
We
inevitable
contradictions
them when they are applied to historical
examples.
especially want to know:
WHERE
REALIZED?
US?
there are
are
ARE THESE SPATIAL CONCEPTS FROM?
WHAT
HOW ARE
THEY
DO THE DIFFERNECES BETWEEN CONCEPTS MEAN TO
In order to answer these questions,
explore the essential attributes
we have to further
of every spatial
concept.
We know that a spatial concept is man's subjective, abstract
interpretation
or
physical
characteristics
"context",
of CHIEN,
necessary.
becomes
physical
The reconstruction of the spatial
of space.
The
from
which
AUO and SHIH might
reason
for
spatial
the
be
derived,
the
reconstructing
context of a perceptual situation is based on
the
assumption that
THE EMERGENCE OF ANY ABSTRACT CONCEPT IN THE HUMAN MIND
WOULD
NOT BE POSSIBLE UNLESS THERE IS A "CONCRETE CONTEXT",
WHICH IS THE FUNDAMENTAL "MATERIAL BASE" OF HUMAN PERCEPTION
AND
WHICH
CONCEPT.
WILL DETERMINE THE ESSENTIAL ATTRIBUTES
OF
THE
Perceptual Model
Sec. 3-1
physical
The
of the universe.
phenomena
They
inseparably.
and
naturally
time,
environment,
are
man
and
fundamental
the
They are given.
"exist"
The
relations
between them can be simply stated as MAN EXISTS CONTINUOUSLY
IN
THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT. This simple fact has also been
explored by the Western philosopher Heidegger.
"Heidegger's
point of departure is his concept of
man
as Being-in-the-World. This implies on the one hand that man
cannot
and
understood in isolation from his
be
the other that our understanding of
on
always related to man."
'environment',
the
world
is
[Norberg-Schulz, 1979]
Realizing the integrative relations between man and the
environment,
physical
origin
of
that understanding is important.
understanding,
situations
the
only
Based on
this
and realizing that man is
we try to construct the theoretical physical
which
illustrate
the
emergence
of
spatial
concepts.
The physical situation is defined specifically in
thesis
between
as
man
the "positional" and
and
"perceptual"
the physical environment,
general term, the phenomena.
this
relationship
or in
a
more
Because space is the integral part of the universe, the
particular
method I will use for the reconstruction in this
is to
thesis
study
particularly
universe,
relation
the
man
between
and
the
perceives
concentrating on how man
the universe? From where? By what means?
the
is completely
believe that the way we create space
I
as the way we perceive
same
space.
relationship
The
creation and perception of space is that
between
"MAN
CONCEPTUALIZES
WHAT HE PERCEIVES
FROM
EXISTING
WHICH WILL IN
SPACES TO GENERATE A KIND OF SPATIAL CONCEPT,
TURN DOMINATE HIS CREATION OF SPACE.
For a meaningful perceptual model, there must be
1. a perceptual subject,
2. a perceptual object,
3. a percetual medium, and
4. a perceptual move.
Their
relations could be illustrated diagramatically as the
one shown in Figure 3-1. The perceptual subject is of course
man himself.
phenomena,
medium
like
The perceptual object is, in general, various
in particular,
the
universe.
The
refers to the senses of the human body,
the
tool of thinking.
actual way of perceiving.
The perceptual move
perceptual
which works
is man's
The task is to find one or several new positions to add.
to the common view of objects. [Lerup, 1977] There are three
possible positional relations between man and the
universe.
First, man is "in" the universe; second, man is "out of" the
universe; and third, man and the universe are "integrated as
a
whole".
positions
This
implies
man
can
Theoretically,
different
that there
take
to
are
perceive
three
different
the
universe.
perceiving from different positions will get
views of the universe,
and this is the cause
of
different spatial concepts.
OBJECT
-------- (MEDIUM)--------
SUBJECT
(MOVEMENT)
Fig. 3-1
Diagramatic percetual model:Subject refering to
object
refering to any phenomenon (external or
man;
internal); medium refering to the senses of human body;
movement refering the perceptual direction.
42
It
but,
is understandable that man is "in" the
how can man be "out of" the universe?
universe,
And how can man
be "integrated with" the universe? These positions obviously
violate our common sense. What are those situations?
Well,
precisely,
I think,
a
three different
of
it is a problem of perception, or more
problem of perceptual skill.
relations between man and the universe, man
ancient China had developed three
skills,
which
To perceive the
different
in a very fundamental sense
essential attributes of spatial concepts.
43
perceptual
determine
the
Sec. 3-2
The Perception of CHIEN
Simply speaking,
CHIEN is the concept arrived at
when
man experiencing "external" phenomena. The perceptual medium
is
the physical BODY.
inside
The perceptual move is "from
out". According to the perceptual model mentioned above, its
various parameters may be listed as follows:
1. Perceptual subject: man;
2. Perceptual object: external phenomena;
3. Perceptual mediem: the body; and
4. Perceptual move: from inside out.
this
Obviously,
statement.
is
a
very
rough
and
It is not arrived at deductively.
subjective
Rather, it is
my hypothesis.
Facing
huge firmament and enormous
the
stars,
I believe
would you grasp the greatness of the universe?
that
many of us must have had the experience of
the starry sky by
the
how
perceiving
extending the "boundary" of our body into
sky in a cloudless night.
precisely
"how"
We may not be able to
many stars there are,
but we
can
count
use
our
senses to grasp the existence of the universe. [Fig. 3-2]
Experiencing by the body, we feel the sky as an upsidedown bowl;
and man is covered "inside".
Is this a sense of
being inside, or in more general terms, being "in-between"?
Here,
very simple definition for CHIEN:
CHIEN is a
always
countless
man,
encircling
phenomena
are
there
enclosed;
being
of
sense
a
from phenomena as large as
the
man always feels
the
to that as small as a tree,
universe
existence
of external phenomena by being "inside"
between"
those
existence
of
simultaniously
phenomena,
The
himself.
situation
or
"inthe
feeling
"man-being-in-
of
between-phenomena" is the material base for the emergence of
the concept of CHIEN.
Lb
b
44.
6·
4
·
f
4
L
L
AA
S
i.
I
..
--sl
1
L
-
!
~-Y·
-
Fig. 3-2 The emergence of the concept of CHIEN: Man being
enclosed by external phenomena; man is the center, the
origin, of everything; divergent perception.
we also can say that CHIEN is the concept
Furthermore,
of
experiencing external phenomena by the
concrete,
grasps all objective,
existing
in the phenomena.
external
phenomena
would
tend
phenomena.
And because man
from himself,
views
body;
observes
the
that
man
it is natural
of
all
external
of phenomena are therefore from
center out, which we can simply call "divergent".
46
it
absolute, static relations
to see himself as the center
All
human
the
Sec. 3-3
The Perception of AUO
speaking,
Simply
at
AUO is the concept arrived
when
man experiencing "internal" phenomena. The perceptual medium
SPIRIT.
is the
According
The
perceptual
is
move
"outside
to the perceptual model mentioned above,
we
in".
may
isolate the following parameters:
1. Perceptual subject: man;
2. Perceptual object: internal phenomena;
3. Perceptual medium: the spirit;
4. Perceptual move: from outside in.
In
and
external
external
man
phenomena
phenomena
we
the relationship between man
is one of man
and developing a
namely BODY PERCEPTION.
skill,
AUO,
the concept of CHIEN,
Now,
enclosed
being
perceptual
divergent
for the emergence
try to think in a totally different way,
escaping from the enclosure of external
by
of
that is,
phenomena
and
trying to observe internal phenomena from the outside. [Fig.
3-3] Undoubtedly, this is a totally new view, even though we
still do not know what it is? How to grasp it?
The famous poet Li Pai of the Tang Dynasty has
written
this well-known poem:
"I don't know the real appearances of Lu
just feel being in the Mountain."
Mountain,
I
This poem expressed man's situation of losing himself in the
of external phenomena and also man's desire to see
"inside"
the
"whole
external
appearance" of
is
which
phenomena,
obviously impossible when being inside.
the only way to do it is to
whole appearance of a mountain,
If what one
the mountain and look back from outside.
leave
the
see
It seems obvious that if one really wants to
universe,
wants to see is not just a mountain but the whole
The problem is simply how can
the
situation becomes tough.
man
escape from the universe?
I think,
that is purely
a
technical problem of perceiving.
It is true that the physical body of man can not escape
from
the
spirit
man.
The
kind
spirit is a
man can manipulate his own
abstract
of
into
mind
the
spiritual status to get rid of the constraints of
physical
body
outside
the
place
in order to travel spiritually to any
out of the reach of the physical body
is
which
case
of
status";
"spiritual
that
but can
the earth (not to mention from the universe),
of the universe -- and
then
our
-- in
the
whole
appearance of the universe becomes graspable. We tentatively
call this way of seeing things as SPIRIT PERCEPTION-.
If
things,
to
do
SPIRIT PERCEPTION can help us to get a new view
then,
SPIRIT
meditation.
By
of
how to get into such a spiritual status? How
meditating,
speaking,
through
can get into an
formless
Simply
PERCEPTION?
one
48
world
we
only can see a void;
we
PERCEPTION
of everything is void.
inside
When we
are familiar with in everyday life.
are facing an object or the
we
existence
physical
concrete,
in contrast with
non-
kind' of
It is a
experiencing something from outside in ,
what
formless
It should be noted that a
mean inexistence.
not
does
existence
which
is void.
that
world,
whether
no matter
universe,
by
SPIRIT
say,
that is to
are
Although it is void,
the
it is
also profound. When we want to see the inside of things from
outside,
that
we will find that we are always on the outside, or
there are always "insides" in front of us,
Is this a sense
are endless layers in the inside of things.
of
profoundity?
(Or in Japanese
terms,
that there
in Chinese
OKU;
terms, AUO.)
. .
1
-
.
7
-\\
4
P7 .\A/\
4;"
4
4eI
A
The emergence of the concept of AUO: A search of
Fig. 3-3
internal world; man's thinking is converging to a formless
center without a specific origin, a situation completely
different from, but complement to, that of CHIEN.
49
One
of
may say that it is also possible to see the inside
things,
expose
the
exposed,
it
looking
for
an orange,
say
inside.
by cutting part of it off
But the point
is that,
is no longer the inside.
is the
inside
which
can
not
being
after
The inside
be
to
we
are
exposed
materialistically.
Generally
conceptualized
speaking,
AUO
is a sense
of
profoundity
when one tries to grasp the inside world
things through SPIRIT PERCEPTION.
of
Sec. 3-4
The Perception of SHIH
Briefly speaking,
when
SHIH is the concept arrived at
man experiencing external as well as internal phenomena. The
perceptual
is the BREATH.
medium
move
The perceptual
is
the reciprocal flow between inside and outside. According to
the perceptual model mentioned above, its various parameters
may be listed as follows:
1. Perceptual subject: man;
2. Perceptual objcet: external and internal phenomena;
3. Perceptual medium: the breath;
4. Perceptual move: the reciprocal flow.
Up
to
phenomena,
Next
we
now
we
namely,
have seen
two
ways
of
experiencing
"from inside out" and "from ouside in".
will go further to see what kind of
situation
is
available for the emergence of SHIH.
Through
BODY
and
SPIRIT
PERCEPTIONS,
we
have
travelled from inside out and from outside in, and invented
the concept of CHIEN and AUO,
respectively.
It seems
since we have already covered all possibilities;
can
we go?
that
where else
What kind of relation between man and phenomena
is still available to support the emergence of
SHIH?
There
is still one relationship between man and phenomena which is
totally
different
relationship
from
the
previous
two;
in
that
AND
MEN
ARE- NO
PHENOMENA
BUT
SUBJECTS,
DISTINCTION
IS
THERE
"INTEGRATED ENTITY";
AN
INDEPENDENT
TWO
LONGER
AS INSIDE
BETWEEN MAN AND PHENOMENA,
NO
AND
OUTSIDE, RESPECTIVELY.
This is an assumption also logically acceptable, and it
is the only one we can find for SHIH.
phenomena
aside the question of "why" man and
Leaving
should be integrated, we just want to ask: "how" can man and
phenomena
be integrated?
distinction between man and phenomena,
fact.
that
ignore
What
we can not deny the
Objectively,
and we also can
we can do is
to
integrate
not
them
Of course we understand that it is impossible
subjectively.
to change objective facts by subjective thinking, but we can
give
thinking.
So,
what
by
different "meanings"
facts
objective
we
are going to do is to
subjective
create
the
"meaning of integration", rather than to create the facts of
between
integration,
emergence
rid
Just like in
the
man can subjectively
get
man and phenomena.
of the concept of AUO,
of the constraints of his physical body in a
state,
spiritual
but can not change the fact of the existence of
the
physical body.
I
purely
think
a
integrating
that
technical
man
integrating man and phenomena
problem
of
also
The
key
to
finding
out
an
perceiving.
and phenomena is that of
is
appropriate perceptual medium and "inventing" an appropriate
52
perceptual skill.
I think, ch'i (or BREATH) used by Chinese
geomancers is the key to solve this problem.
We
have
mentioned
in Section 2-4 that
is an
ch'i
"abstract material" which is the basic compositional element
of
all
natural phenomena including man.
may
it as an equivalent of configurational
imagine
try
to
energy
in
Now, if ch'i is the basic compositional element of
physics.
then
everything,
ch'i?
One
man and phenomena be
can
Theoretically,
integrated
by
it seems a reasonable assumption. Let
us go further.
the means of inventing SPIRIT PERCEPTION
Following
the
previous
section,
PERCEPTION
or
simplest
fact
BREATH PERCEPTION.
that
inventing
let us think about
Let us
start
CH'I
from
the
"everyone-can-and-must-breathe".
includes two complementary steps,
Breathing
namely
breath
flowing from inside of the body out and from outside of
body
in. If
breathing
we
can
in and out,
in
consciously
sense
the
the
feeling
of
then we will control one more way to
experience phenomena.
We
breath
know
means
Similarly,
that breath is the
strong
life;
no
symbol
breath
of
life.
means
if man subjectively imagines a flow
no
of
Strong
life.
breath
into a phenomena, that phenomena will become "alive"; on the
contrary,
a phenomenon without breath is dead,
it exists objectively.
even though
Thinking
"phenomena"
about
these
and "alive",
words,
"man",
a little bit more,
"breath",
we may assume
that: when man consciously and subjectively controls his own
conducts it flowing
and
breath
phenomenon
will
in terms of life,
could
be
that
phenomenon,
man and the
of
in terms
life
phenomenon
breath.
by
of
them
the phenomenon will integrate
that is to say,
integrated
a
and the communication
become "alive",
between man and
breath
into
This
integration will be possible only through the flow of breath
between man and phenomena; therefore we will name this skill
as BREATH PERCEPTION.
The
BREATH
PERCEPTION?
answer
this
breathing
characteristics
of
What kind of "view" can it give us?
To
problem is what are the
next
question,
more
we must understand the
precisely.
Besides
pertaining
breathing also can influence the way we think.
breathing
in and
thinking;
breath
stopped,
so
after
could be
the
base
is flowing continuously,
"flowing"
characteristics
"static";
out
which
feeling
a
sense
of
life,
For example,
of
a
two-way
but it could be
and "stopping" is another
give
to
of
pair
"dynamic"
of
and
Breathing could be stopped after breathing in or
breathing out,
in the former case our body is filled
with breath which gives a sense of "gathered", in the latter
our
body
breathing
"shallow",
is empty which gives
a
sense
could be "quick" and "slow",
could
be "long" and
of
"dispersed";
could be "deep" and
"short",
etc.
All
these
contrasts and their combinations can influence our way of
thinking very much.
Payint
features,
attention
such
to
as
breathing,
one will
"Dynamic-static",
find
more
"rigid-tensile",
"gathered-dispersed", "acting-reacting", "separated-united",
"floating-sinking",
"void-solid",
"along-against",
"lasting-ephemeral",
"strong-weak", "quick-slow",
"dim-bright",
"forward-backward"....
The
general
YING-YANG,
all
Chinese term to include all of
represents
is
which is well-known in Western culture. However,
characteristics
represented
these
again
a
view
included
by
by a single word,
of
the
universe
YING-YANG
that
which
contradictions and paradoxes of the world.
could
is SHIH.
embraces
be
SHIH
all
CHAPTER IV
THE EVOLUTION OF SPATIAL CONCEPTS
CHAPTER IV
THE EVOLUTION OF SPATIAL CONCEPTS
The
situations
studies of the physical
previous
and
perceptual skills for the emergence of spatial concepts give
us
the
We
phenomenon.
different
however,
subject and
perceptual
have
found
object,
that
could
positional relations between man and
we
man
namely,
there
The
relationship
model we used was to re-construct the physical
between
SHIH.
AUO and
physical definitions of CHIEN,
be
and
three
phenomenon,
these
have not noticed "why and how man knows
three possibilities". The question is:
Did
different
man
already
possibilities
inherently
in the
know
very
those
three
beginning
and
freely make his own choice of perceiving phenomena in a
particular
way?
understanding
"gradually"
of
and
Or,
following
phenomena
and
"sequentially"
the
increasing
himself,
realize
the
possible relations between man and phenomena?
57
did
man
various
we believe that the emergence of
Intuitively,
of trial-and-error. That
concepts is a process of learning,
that
means
However,
we
to
tend
spatial
the
accept
latter
possibility.
we must go deeper into
to answer these questions,
the relations between the three concepts.
Because
different spatial concepts are the
different
from
phenomena
perceiving
perceptual media,
result
positions,
different
of
with
by different perceptual moves,
it might be helpful to question "how they differ from
each
other?"
The idea coming up in my mind is caused by an intuitive
feeling that it seems that CHIEN, AUO and SHIH are not three
different, independent spatial concepts, but represent three
consecutive
other
stages
words,
it
of the same
seems
that
perceptual
there
tradition.
is an
In
evolutionary
relationship between CHIEN, AUO and SHIH.
Following the previous question, if all concepts do not
appear at the same time,
then which one would appear first?
Which would be second? And which one the third?
I
suspect that CHIEN is the first spatial concept that
appeared in Chinese history;
the third.
conventional
AUO is the second and SHIH
If this suspicion was true,
theories
of
Chinese
is
it would change all
architecture.
In
the
following paragraphs I will try to find the "internal logic"
58
behind the evolution of spatial concepts.
the
we still have to go back
explore this problem,
To
basic relation between man and phenomena,
to
all
because
problems originate from the inevitable fact:
these
MAN HAS TO PERCEIVE SPACE.
I
think,
This
outside.
phenomena.
choice.
In
man did not have the
is because man is objectively
This is a natural fact,
very
the
the
from
perceive the universe
only
time,
that
at
inside;
can
man
beginning,
actually has no
man
of
an
enclosed
by
idea
rather than a situation
This just like a new-born
who
can
only perceive the existence of the external world,
but
has
no
subjectively by man.
chosen
idea
about
himself.
The
man's
for
situation
perception of phenomena is theoretically the same.
Perceiving from the inside out without any idea of
outside is the primitive stage of perception,
the beginning of man's perceptual history.
last
chapter's studies,
ever
been
from
which is also
According to the
the first perceptual skill
invented should be BODY PERCEPTION.
experiencing
phenomenon
to
distance.
BODY
automatically,
unconsciously
the
perceiving it consciously,
PERCEPTION
did
not
the
Of
having
course,
existence
of
there
is great
appear
suddenly
but was developed gradually by man.
a
and
It was
man's subjective invention. The result of BODY PERCEPTION is
the emergence of the concept of CHIEN.
philosophical
level must be able to explain all
phenomena.
but our
Today we can easily fing the shortcomings of CHIEN,
Even
have been so able.
not
might
ancestors
the
at
and perfect concept
mature
a
Theoretically,
they
after
realized the shortcomings of CHIEN, they found it impossible
to
complement the old one.
and
to
It
invent.
knowledge,
or
replace
of
To break through the limitation
man has to observe,
BODY PERCEPTION,
to
concept
new
a
develop
immediately
to imagine, to think,
time for the
takes
man's
of
growth
man
However,
for the coming of a breakthrough.
will ultimately improve on every unsatisfactory situation.
concept
the
Following
of
CHIEN,
it was also invented by man,
course,
from nowhere.
appeared.
AUO
Of
rather than appearing
I think it was in the concept of CHIEN,
that
man found the embryo of AUO.
When we stare into
We may imagine it in this way.
the
sky for a long time, we might eventually concentrate on some
stars.
We
(Note:
projecting
tendency
might
of
divergent.) And,
idea
of
think:
man's
BODY
does anybody live on
own
image
which
PERCEPTION,
more interesting,
"looking-back"
from
out
a
naturally in the concept of CHIEN.
that
is the
is
star?
natural
essentially
how do they see us? The
distant
point
emerged
This idea, or desire, on
the one hand, exposed the limitation of CHIEN, on the other,
provided a departure point for the emergence of AUO.
divergent BODY PERCEPTION,
To
looking-back is totally
impossible. But man realized the necessity for a "new view",
this
is then the basis for
realization
perceptual
skills.
"revising"
the
thorough
only
man
is, however,
This
perceptual
skill.
change of his perceptual
not as
was
Obviously,
limitation,
this
the
only
way
was
the
overcome
To
BODY
abandon
to
a
that
constraint prohibiting man from looking back was
could not escape from the earth to space.
as
simple
What man needed
skills.
of
evolution
the
PERCEPTION, by changing the perceptual medium, and trying to
develop
another perceptual skill.
kind
of perceptual medium was necessary,
from
the constraints of the physical body.
another
this,
In doing
which
free
was
We do know what
the actual process of searching ended up being; we know that
man at last mastered the skill of SPIRIT PERCEPTION, and was
able to look back. A new view
of phenomena was available to
man, which was the basis for the new concept, AUO.
The
spatial
emergence
perception,
of
AUO is an
essential
evolution
but could AUO completely
replace
of
the
function of CHIEN? It seemed it could, but actually it could
not.
It is true that CHIEN had certain limitations,
so had
AUO.
The divergence of CHIEN and the convergence of AUO
obviously
covering
two very different views of
was
phenomena,
AUO
Being a new concept,
respectively.
and internal,
external
AUO
because
CHIEN,
replace
completely
it could
not
complemented
the
but
have prevailed for a while,
might
shortcomings of CHIEN; it did not have the basic function of
two
be
must
CHIEN
and
AUO
CHIEN.
and
coexistent
complementary concepts.
think
us
let
Now
and
progressing
certainly
with
dissatisfaction
that
believe
We
civilization.
civilization
human
along
developing
reality and his curiosity
his
about
the
curious
progress
there would be no development,
about the unknown,
is
with
not
If we were satisfied by reality and
unknown.
human
of
development
the
about
and evolution.
coexistent and complementary concepts could explore all
two
and
external
be
would
internal phenomena
anymore.
have SHIH?
progress.
then why do
to
we
with
then what is wrong
the
of human concepts must progress along side
the
of
There
and AUO?
CHIEN
must
I
believe
Without problems, there would be
have been
very
basic
existing in the combination of CHIEN and AUO,
man
perceptual
that
combination
need for solving problems.
no
any
If this is the case,
If it is not the case,
development
need
things
then
thoroughly,
and man would not
perfect
improvement
the
if these
go back to thinking about CHIEN and AUO,
To
abandon the existing concepts and
completely new concept, SHIH.
62
which
develop
problems
pushed
another
What is wrong with the combination of CHIEN and AUO? By
and SPIRIT PERCEPTION, man can travel
BODY
through out the
inside and out-side of phenomena. Yet the universe is so huge
and dispite the time it takes to comprehend the universe, we
we
our perceptual
do have the necessary traveling vehicle,
skills. Unfortunately, we still have a problem. This problem
does not exist until the emergence of AUO.
The new
problem
emerging from this new concept is:
THEN
A PHENOMENON HAS AN INSIDE AS WELL AS AN OUTSIDE,
WHERE IS THE INTERFACE BETWEEN INSIDE AND OUTSIDE?
is a tough problem.
This
It starts when man tries
to
combine CHIEN and AUO. When using BODY and SPIRIT PERCEPTION
to
enter
exit a phenomenon,
and
man
has
inevitably
to
confront the problem of identifying its boundary. Obviously,
in an
unlimited
unable
to
phenomenon,
phenomenon,
man's limited
find it. If we cannot find the
it
means
that
our
concepts
boundary
understanding
of
are
of
a
the
phenomenon is totally wrong. The search for the boundary has
failed,
because
there is no such thing.
The phenomenon is
unlimited. It is so huge that there is no outside. (A saying
of ancient China: "huge without outside".)
HUGE WITHOUT OUTSIDE. This is a new idea.
man
grasp
it?
But how
can
Just
like
the struggles modern
limited by scientific achievements,
scientists
confront,
we can guess but cannot
grasp a world of more than three dimensions. The only way to
the
change
the problem of identifying the boundary is to
solve
skill once again.
perceptual
SPIRIT
are developed by man through
PERCEPTION
BODY
both
Because
and
perceiving
phenomena to break through the limits of perceptual
skills,
the key is still with man himself.
the idea of a phenomenon having an inside and
I think,
an
is very similar to,
outside
and might
be
a
natural
reflection of the fact of man's body having an inside and an
outside.
having
If
an
we
want to abandon the idea of
inside and an outside,
a
phenomenon
we must also change
realization of our body having an inside and an outside.
our
We
have to imagine
A
SITUATION OF
NO-DISTINCTION-BETWEEN-THE-INSIDE-AND-
THE-OUTSIDE-OF-THE-BODY
WITHOUT
VIOLATING THE
FACT
THAT
THE-BODY-DOES-HAVE-AN-INSIDE-AND-AN-OUTSIDE.
Facing this contradiction, we gradually understand that
a
perfect combination of two essentially different
the body and the spirit,
is simply impossible.
things,
They may be
put together, but cannot be really integrated.
Obviously,
exist
in the
what we need is another medium,
inside and outside of the
human
which
body,
can
to
and
into
flowing
inside
and
BREATH
of the human body
out
of
is
the
Through
integration
the
of
there is no distinction between inside
and outside;
the search for a boundary
thus
and outside of the phenomenon
completely
PERCEPTION
PERCEPTION,
breath.
man really feels
breath,
outside;
inside
The only thing which can flow
the body and spirit.
replace
becomes
BODY
replaces
between
the
unnecessary.
and
SPIRIT
and the concept of SHIH replaces the concept of
CHIEN and AUO.
Through the above arguments, still rough, intuitive and
at
least
subjective,
we
relationship
between CHIEN,
have
a
new
idea
AUO and SHIH.
about
the
Now we can say:
CHIEN, AUO and SHIH are neither three independent, nor three
interdependent concepts, but the three consecutive stages in
the
evolution
realization
of
will
the
be
same
perceptual
helpful to us
in
tradition.
understanding
development of the history of Chinese architecture.
This
the
CHAPTER V
THE APPLICATION OF SPATIAL CONCEPTS
5-1 Perception and Application
5-2 The Style of CHIEN
5-3 The Style of AUO
5-4 The Style of SHIH
CHAPTER V
THE APPLICATION OF SPATIAL CONCEPTS
In the previous chapters, starting with the collections
of some dispersed and unrelated clues (Chapter II),
through
we have gradually
a reasoning process (Chapter III and IV),
established a "perceptual model" as a tool for investigating
the
eventually
attributes
and
formation
have
developed
of
concepts,
spatial
theory
an evolutionary
and
a
for
perceptual tradition represented by those spatial concepts.
The perceptual tradition is essentially "experiential",
which
concentrates on the relationship "between" things and
is different
from
spatial concepts,
other
words,
intangible
the Western
experiential
relations
or phenomena,
of
existential
which concentrates "on" things proper. In
spatial
between
tangible volume of things.
man
tradition
concepts
things,
rather
concern
than
the
the
So we have not talked much about
on the contrary,
we have focused on the
mutual relations between man and phenomena.
However,
the essential attributes and the evolutionary
theory
of Chinese experiential spatial concepts arrived
above
are
must
obviously,
history
this
CHIEN,
to
theoretical
purely
be
investigations,
demonstrated by actual
make the theory convincing and
chapter,
at
which,
examples
in
meaningful.
In
we will see how the evolutionary
rhythm
of
AUO and SHIH matches with the historical development
of Chinese architecture.
Sec. 5-1
Perception and Application
Before
we
get into history,
I would like to
talk
a
bit more about the relationship between spatial concepts and
the
man-made
physical
environment,
namely
between
"perception" and "application".
As
duty
an architecture student,
I realize that the
basic
of an architect is to "create space" in the natural or
existing man-made space for the needs of
mankind.
Creating
space is something which can not be isolated from perceiving
space;
the
the
way people create space will be identical
with
way people perceive space in terms of the activities of
the mind; in other words, people use an identical mehtod for
perceiving
because
and
creating space.
They should
be
identical
the relation between perceiving and creating
knowing-doing
relation;
is a
the ability of doing is basically
dominated by the achievement of knowing.
Consequently,
dominated
ability
to
create
by his ability to perceive space.
inseparability
perceiving
man's
between
space
man and the
is
Because of the
physical
is essentially a "basic
space
and
environment,
continuous"
mind activity. There is absolutely no way to stop perceiving
space.
And creating space, based on the ability to perceive
space, is man's response to the physical environment. We may
have a simple assumption for this study:
69
"CREATING SPACE IS DOMINATED BY SPATIAL
THE BASE OF HIS THINKING
MAN HAS TO PERCEIVE
That
THINKING,
IS THE EXISTING SPACE,
AND
WHICH
WITHOUT CHOICE."
is why we always emphasize the necessity of connecting
spatial
concepts
phenomena.
material
bases,
namely,
man
and
Only based on that, can we really understand the
characteristics
concepts.
with
and
the
meanings
of
The diagram shown below [Fig.
those
subjective
5-1] explains
the
relations between these terms.
ýCT OF PERCEPTION)
(ACT OF APPLICATION
ACT OF CONCEPTION)
Fig. 5-1
Making:
The
Procedure
of Space
Perception
and
Space
between
concept arrived at by the relationship
A
A view of the
and phenomena is also a view of the universe.
universe
can
influence
and
characteristics of a culture.
culture
and
inevitably
is
dominate
man
thoroughly
the
Architecture is one aspect of
dominated by
a
of
view
the
universe. We will see how it works.
Roughly speaking,
of
CHIEN prevailed in China;
of AUO emerged,
concept
during the Han
the
Dynasty,
and prevailed through the Tang and
after the Song Dynasty, the concept of SHIH
Song Dynasties;
and prevailed through the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
emerged,
Influenced by these spatial concepts,
style
the concept
before the Han Dynasty,
of
CHIEN,
respectively.
we can recognize
the style of AUO and the style
We
of
the
SHIH,
will examine them in the following three
sections. Please keep in mind that this is the first time in
the
field
historical
of
Chinese
transformation
architectural
studies
of architecture
that
the
is divided
by
spatial concepts, rather than political dynasties, which, in
this thesis, are only mentioned for reference.
However,
basic
chronological exactness, which is usually the
requirement in historical studies,
concern
attention
history,
at
this
particular moment.
We
is not our
rather
pay
major
more
to the relative developmental sequence throughout
partly because we are still not able to figure out
the exact evolutionary progress in any specific year, partly
because we have adopted a macro-view of history in this
study.
Detailed
scruting.
events
are
therefore
not
part
of
our
Sec.
5-2
The Style of CHIEN
Figures 5-2,
5-3,
the
5-4 are buildings selected from the
Neolithic
Age,
Shang Dynasty and the Qin
represent
the primitive style,
Dynasty
the standard style and
to
the
mature style of CHIEN, respectively.
We have mentioned before that CHIEN is a sense of being
enclosed.
It was developed when man,
as the center of all
phenomena, tried to perceive external phenomena by his body.
The experience of being in the center and being enclosed are
conceptualized as CHIEN.
The reflection of this concept
in
physical terms is that man enclosed himself by four columns.
[Fig. 5-2]
Fig. 5-2
A Neolithic house: representing
style of CHIEN. (Source: Lee, 1982, p. 202.)
the
primitive
tries to construct something in his surroundings to
the experiential effect of the
liken
to
columns
We
the
[Fig. 3-2] (Note: It is not true that man can create
stars.
a
enclose
just like being enclosed by external phenomena.
himself
may
Man
that the center of the space is man himself.
Note
CHIEN immediately after having the concept of CHIEN.
The
reflection of an abstract concept onto visual arts is not
a
It takes a long time to achieve that, although
easy matter.
we don't know how long it actually takes.)
in Chinese,
A space defined by four columns is a room,
a CHIEN. We can see that the Neolithic house is just a room,
Here CHIEN is not only a concept, but a kind of
or a CHIEN.
unit
of measurements.
[Fig.
can
we
5-3],
Look at the plan of the Shang
see four CHIENS.
with
Compared
house
the
Neolithic house, we may say that, spatially, the Shang house
is an "expansion" outward of the Neolithic house without any
typological change in terms of spatial characteristics.
can
expansion
only be interpreted as a
kind
of
The
physical
growth, but not an essential evolution.
5-3 with Fig. 1-1, we can see that this
Comparing Fig.
particular
without
Therefore
style
much
of
CHIEN has been used over
change in terms
scholars
consider
of
it
architectural
to
"orthodox" style of Chinese architecture,
there is no essential evolution at all.
will argue that later in Sec. 6-1.
be
the
3000
years
elements.
standard,
and conclude that
I do not agree, and
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A* r
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I
.
*,
S
..
...
"ag.
o0
. -
.
,
.
.
.
*,,
.
,
.
.
.
.
-
.
.,.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
10 M
r···
·
=YI.~
·
~···· ·. · ·
Jr0·Cq ···~~·1 zr-~lr -·~
i·r .··r·r··
·'I··· r··C·"·'
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'r··s·r~~~
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Ilil
Fig. 5-3 A Shang house: representing the standard style of
CHIEN. (Source: Lee, 1982, p. 204)
concept of CHIEN is very simple
The
and
but,
rigid,
when a large number of CHIEN are put together, the condition
for evolution emerges.
a
The Qin house shown in Figure 5-4 is
Although it retains the characteristics of
good example.
the potential for change emerges.
CHIEN,
It will be easier
shown
to understand this by comparing it with the Han house
in Figure 5-5,
which represents the primitive style of AUO
and also the transitional style from CHIEN to AUO.
difference between the Qin and the Han
The
revealed by the way they expand.
of
the
Han
houses
is
The "push-out" of two ends
house reveal a slightly different
concept
of
space from that of the Qin house. My interpretation for this
phenomenon is that a "pushed-out" house is a "projection" of
Remember that,
a main building.
of AUO had its origin in the concept of
concept
mentioned
star.
when we talk about how the
CHIEN,
the projection of man's own image onto a
[Sec.
we
distant
3-2] The push-out in the Han house has similar
meaning.
A
main
pushed-out
building
phenomena
of
the
which
are
house also limits the expansion
and defines an
internal
space,
which never occurred in the style of CHIEN.
it happened, history moved on to a new style.
When
Have
a brief summary of the main spatial
features
of
the style of CHIEN:
1.
It is basically a single building acting as a solid
monolith.
2. It expands from inside out without limitation.
I'B
-.
--
•6 · . -·.
..5-
1ih
...
..
c
d
i·I
...
.
..
.
-
Fig. 5-4
A Qin house: representing the mature style
CHIEN; large amount of rooms are put together in a way
expanding
outwardly without limitation,
reflecting
"inside-out" thinking. (Source: Lee, 1982, p. 37.)
77
of
of
an
;4-·i:
1··
I_
i·-~
·
Fig. 5-5
A Han house: representing the primitive style of
AUO, also the transitional style from CHIEN to AUO;
two
smaller buildings are "pushed out" deliberately to project
an image of the main building in a distance, and also limit
the
expansion of the main
building.
(Source:
Top:
Steinhardt, 1984, p. 93; Bottom: Lee, 1982, p. 98.)
78
The Style of AUO
Sec. 5-3
development of the Han house [Fig.
The
5-5] with
two
pushed-out extensions ushered in a new spatial style, which,
by definition, is AUO. Compared it with the spatial features
of the style of CHIEN,
we can easily find out that the
new
features of AUO are exactly the opposite of CHIEN.
1. A building complex with three freestanding buildings
and an internal space is seen as a whole.
2. The opportunity of looking back from the
pushed-out
extensions reflects an outside-in thinking.
The Han house,
style
of
history.
AUO,
Based
however,
which,
on
of
represents only the primitive
course,
is not the end
the achievements of the Han
of
house
it
and
other houses of the same style, the ancient Chinese
Fig. 5-6: A typical Chinese courtyard house: representing
the standard style of AUO; a courtyard with buildings in
three or four sides, which is the basic unit of AUO
architecture. (Source: Steinhardt, 1984, p.28.)
a
developed
courtyard
Chinese
of
buildings
several
type
of
5-6] Here, the tie
[Fig.
is stronger,
basic
most
the
the
of
the enclosure
it becomes
is tighter;
space
internal
well-known
house --- the most
traditional Chinese architecture.
so-called
the
AUO,
of
stable style
highly
compositional unit of all AUO architecture.
In a highly developed house of AUO style,
lot
organized
are
courtyards
by
"central" couryard "outwardly".
CHIEN's expansion.
be
a
main
The characteristics of
the
of
Recall that space defined by four posts,
annexed to each other.
All rooms are organized
from a main "central"
interesting
concordance means that,
room
in
which
And there are also a lot of rooms
"expanding"
AUO,
from
All
is the basic compositional unit of layout
CHIEN,
CHIEN style house.
can
"expanding"
5-7]
of a courtyard house are very similar to that
expansion
named
[Fig.
courtyards annexed to each other.
of
we may see a
"outwardly".
by
This
in the early stages of
CHIEN just disappeared; but in later stage of AUO, the
characteristics
expanding.
concept
This
of CHIEN re-appear in terms of the
tendency
of CHIEN and AUO.
implies
a
combination
People seek a profound
way
of
of
the
internal
world (a courtyard) as well as an expansion to biger world.
Fig. 5-7: Courtyard houses of larger scale: representing the
mature style of AUO; The expansion of AUO has a similar
characteristics with that of CHIEN. A basic AUO unit, a
courtyard, may expand outwardly by repeating the similar
unit again and again. (Source: Steinhardt, 1984, p. 28.)
81
Sec.
5-4
The Style of SHIH
SHIH
is a completely new stage in the development
spatial
concepts.
It
synthesizes all
characteristics
of
of
CHIEN and AUO, and appears with much more powerful features.
It
is the "chemical synthesis" of CHIEN and AUO and
essential breakthrough.
[Sec.
2-3,
is an
3-4] This implies that
the style of SHIH might have its embryo in the style of AUO.
I
choose
example
a
courtyard in the Lin Garden in Taiwan
to explain the emergence
as
an
and the main features
of
this new style.
The Lin Garden shown in Figure 5-8
style
of
SHIH,
reveals the typical
which has not been found before
the
Song
Dynasty. Examining carefully the mutual relationship between
buildings,
building
at
the
it
difficult to
discover
that
every
is both a perceptual origin and a perceptual focus
same
buildings,
reflects
is not
time.
like
This
mutual
communication
between
a reciprocal flow running back and
the main characteristics of SHIH,
forth,
which have been
mentioned in Sec. 3-4.
In the lower right corner of the Lin Garden, there is a
small
courtyard
Strictly speaking,
with a small pavilion in
5-9]
it is not a "standard" courtyard because
of the emergence of the pavilion.
is a
it. [Fig.
From my point of view, it
transitional style from AUO to
SHIH.
Recalling
features of BREATH PERCEPTION, we have a pair of
82
the
0
10
20
.ak
4^
Fig.
5-8a
Lin Garden:
A Chinese
representing the style of SHIH.
(Source: Hsia, 1981, p.114.)
classical
garden
Fig. 5-8b The Perspective of the Lin Garden.
(Source: Hsia, 1981, .p. 124.)
84
)MOR"Aw~i~
A Courtyard With A Pavilion in the Lin Garden:
Fig. 5-9
representing the transitional style from AUO to SHIH. Notice
the interaction between the main building and the pavilion.
(Source: Hsia, 1981, p. 92.)
"acting-reacting".
development
of
"standard",
We
apply
a courtyard.
which
means
experiencing a void.
void,
-may
this
feature
on
are
facing
Imagine if we
"empty",
courtyard,
the
we
a
are
But if we
are "concentrating" on that
it might become visible,
because we know that if we
are consciously acting on something,
reaction.
A
reaction
then there should be a
from a void might become a
tangible
solid. This kind of interaction could be seen in Fig. 5-9.
Not
only
the
relations
between
buildings
become
flexible, but the way of experiencing the space is also more
dynamic.
The
courtyard
facing
best
quietness
of
is sitting down on the edge of the courtyard
the courtyard,
the courtyard.
by
way to experience the
layer",
a
and
rather than staying in the center of
One can "penetrate" a courtyard house "layer
every
layer is in some sense
an
independent,
small world.
In a
experience
classical
the
garden,
however,
the
best
space is of meandering around
the
way
garden.
Unlike
the penetration into a courtyard,
which has a
strong
sense of
2-2],
around
a garden is an experience of "back and
and out",
man
shown
and
"directionality"
[Sec.
to
very
meandering
forth",
"in
"enclosing and being enclosed". An integration of
the physical environment is then
in Fig.
5-10
is a
very
good
reached.
example,
Garden
which
personally think is the best classical garden in China.
86
I
·
r-'
I
)·
I
LLr
Lr
Fig. 5-10 A Typical Soochou Classical Garden:
(Source: Lee, 1982, p. 314.)
87
CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSIONS
6-1 Historical Arguments
6-2 The Meaning of History
88
CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSIONS
In
studies
the
(Chapter
spatial concepts (Chapter II,
of
demonstrations
historical
purely
from
chapters,
previous
V),
we
in
terms of
theoretical
III and
real
have reconstructed a direct
IV)
to
architecture
tie
between
spatial concepts and architecture in terms of physical form.
The
study is certainly still very rough,
internal
but the
logic embodied in the process of reasoning is clear
Because this thesis,
reasoning,
is
architectural
a
enough.
with some original ideas in the way of
pioneer
studies,
work
in the
especially
of
field
of
Chinese
spatial
Chinese
concepts, I have not tried too hard to push this thesis to a
perfect
or unshakeable position at this particular
moment.
What I really want to do is to point out a new approach
So,
the
study of Chinese architecture.
for
further study will have to suffice at
moment.
89
for
a usable framework
this
particular
Historical Arguments
Sec. 6-1
rigidity of the courtyard house influenced by
The
contrast
the
by
influenced
concept
of SHIH
a
show
in terms of spatial structure and
layout.
[Fig.
history
by
5-7
strong
very
principles
5-8] If we had not approached
and
examining
architecture,
of
garden
of AUO and the flexibility of the classical
concept
the
spatial
concepts
the
embodied
of
the
in
we might have considered them as the products
two different architectural traditions or
two
parallel
branches of the same tradition. In fact, all scholars in the
of
field
argument
courtyard
Chinese
without doubts.
house
studies
architectural
spatial
classical
is influenced
by
Confucianism
two
an
and
house
and
are two different types originating
different systems of thoughts,
the
This implies that
organization of the courtyard
garden
such
The typical statement is that the
classical garden is influenced by Taoism.
the
accept
which
are
the
from
independent
from one another.
From the viewpoint of this thesis,
this is obviously a
mistake which should be amended as soon as possible. Because
of
the
Chinese
the
incorrect interpretation of
Chinese
architecture,
students of architecture have been disappointed
"stagnation"
of
Chinese
architecture
and
interest in the study of architecture of their own
have
by
no
culture.
An existing theory,
even if it has a lot of problems. So,
can prevail for good,
the
theory
new
replace the old one.
to
necessary
a
of
introduction
if not challenged by a new theory,
absolutely
be
will
this
challenge
I will
theory of the courtyard house being the orthodox
well-known
representative of Chinese architectural tradition.
architecture,
orthodox
of
view
can
the
courtyard house has been considered
the
found in almost
be
This point
every
on
book
Chinese
No one doubted it. Scholars of architectural
believe
believing
in it similar to Christians
the words of the Bible.
the
Chinese
of
studies
building type of Chinese architecture.
architecture.
history
were
there
time
the
From
Even worse,
in
scholars tend to trace
prehistoric
development of the courtyard house back to
times in order to reinforce the orthodox status of courtyard
house.
which
is
the backbone of the main stream of Chinese architecture,
is
The
orthodox status of the courtyard house,
widely accepted.
of
the
classical gardens,
architecture
the
which is also part
of
Chinese
and which has a very different appearance from
the courtyard house.
that
style
But this theory can not explain the
different
More theories thus
style
of the
appeared,
classical
arguing
gardens
was
developed because of the taste of the literati, the richness
of
Southern China,
orthodox
Confusian
the love of nature,
thoughts,
etc.
All
a
deviation
these
from
arguments,
trying
exogent
endogent
to explain the new,
just
factors,
"deviated" style by
reveal
an
secondary,
of
ignorance
primary,
I can not accept the orthodox status
factors.
of
the courtyard house. Neccessary amendments should be made.
I
think,
the
mistake originated from
interpretation of "enclosure".
put
all
buildings
to
an
external
For
example,
or building clusters with
the enclosure of the courtyard house and a
settlement [Fig.
incorrect
It is a formalistic view
boundary into the same category of enclosure.
put
the
prehistoric
6-1] or Ming-Tang of the Han Dynasty [Fig.
6-2] into the same category.
:00
Fig. 6-1 A Prehistorical Settlement:
(Source: Lee, 1982, p. 140.)
A
!
--
,.L
l8F
P.4,
p. 71.): rL
One more exciting item to scholars was the discovery of
a
Zhou
[Fig.
house with the spatial feature
6-3]
of
the
This discovery seems to reinforce the
status of courtyard.
However,
courtyard.
orthodox
I have to disagree with this
interpretation.
Fig. 6-3 A Zhou House:
(Source: Steinhardt, 1984, p. 61.)
I
think,
the Zhou house,
of
their
difference
is
of
the
discontinuity
to
middle
characteristics
of the enclosure,
of
boundary
external
which
continuous,
which
The buildings
CHIEN.
external
The
boundary.
/
the main building is therefore
should be viewed as a whole;
in the
continuity
the
examine
external
identifying
The key to
of the Zhou house is obviously
boundary
in the
with a solid object
is of the style of CHIEN.
middle,
a
is of the style of AUO, while the
void space in the middle,
enclosure
with
the enclosure of a courtyard house,
are
the
typical
form
which
the
of any courtyard house is discontinuous
[Fig. 5-7], which are usually seen as the "arms" of the main
and tend to enclose a void space, which obviously
building,
is the characteristics of AUO.
looks
a
like
courtyard
So,
house,
although the Zhou house
it is actually
not
a
courtyard.
In
of the enclosures,
both
there is a
center of the courtyard house is "intangible",
It
is the
perception
focus
of perception,
(theoretically,
and the
center.
"invisible".
origin
there should be no
The
of
origin)
its
is
scattered in the surroundings, forming a convergent cluster.
The
"visible".
of
center of the Zhou house is obviously
It is the origin of perception,
perception
is scattered in the
forming a divergent cluster.
"tangible",
while the focus
surrounding
buildings,
In addition to the attributes of center,
to
identify
the
the
identify
style
location
of a cluster of
of
the
another
is to
buildings
The
building.
main
clue
most
important building in the style of AUO is always on one side
while in the style of CHIEN,
of
the surrounding buildings,
it
is always in the middle of the
cluster
Examining
enclosure.
a
the difference between styles becomes
in this way,
recognizable.
It
Influenced by
without looking into spatial characteristics.
Western
the
we have misjudged
formalistic theories,
thought
planning
is impossible to grasp the real
real
value of Chinese architecture for a long long time.
I conclude that the courtyard house is not the orthodox
building
type of Chinese architectural tradition.
actually
no
so-called orthodox building
type
There is
in Chinese
architectural tradition, which has been lasted for more than
3000
years.
building
The
The
courtyard
house is merely
a
particular
type developed in a particular historical
classical
appearance
"different"
garden,
though
it has
from the courtyard house,
architectural
styles
developed
in two
tradition
is not always the same,
of
the
same
consecutive
very
different
is not a style
tradition.
different
a
period.
They
are
architectural
historical
of
actually
tradition
periods.
for there is
a
indeed
The
a
great evolution in the history of architectural development.
96
this
strengthen
To
"nature"
the
discuss
of
tradition
like
I would
point of view,
and
to
development
of
as
the
tradition a bit more.
style
identify a particular
to
tend
People
orthodox or representative style of a tradition, and tend to
for
a very long time.
lasts
and may
that a tradition is usually "stable",
think
They therefore tend to ask "what
is
our never-changing tradition?"
In
concept,
tradition
fact,
which, by definition, includes every thing, rather
than any specific thing or rule.
and
abstract
general,
a
is merely
part of a tradition,
be
must
Any specific phenomenon is
of
and none
can
them
represent the tradition. There is no distinction between the
and
traditional
Although
nonsense.
non-traditional.
So,
all
an orthodox style of a tradition
with
dealing
the
arguments
are
simply
one
I do not agree that there is only
orthodox style, I do agree with the position that there is a
"conventional" style,
which may last for a very long
time,
but is absolutely not unchangeable.
The
leads
misunderstanding of the meaning of tradition
people to a misunderstanding of history.
Because
also
of
the blind beliefs regarding timeless traditions, people tend
to
search
development
for
of
the
continuity,-
rather
the Chinese architectural
than
for
the
tradition.
This
tendency is totally wrong. I will discuss this next.
Sec. 6-2
The Meaning of History
History
only becomes meaningful if it represents "new"
concretizations
Schulz,
of the
existential
dimensions.
[Norberg-
1979a] In other words, history will be meaningless,
if there is no development.
The
represented by CHIEN,
In
history
evolutionary
of
architecture
Chinese
criterion.
AUO and SHIH do meet this
order to have a clearer understanding of the basic ideas
we try
on the evolutionary theory of architectural history,
to summarize previous studies into two points:
1.
The
development
spatial
of perceptual skills and
concepts progresses due to the need to solve problems.
BODY
PERCEPTION appeared first because of the unavoidable need to
perceives
external phenomena.
PERCEPTION
SPIRIT
appeared
second to complement the limitations of BODY PERCEPTION, the
inability to perceive internal phenomena.
was
BREATH PERCEPTION
developed third to solve the resulting contradiction of
inherent in combining BODY and SPIRIT PERCEPTION.
Development happens only when there is a problem, which
might be a need or a desire of man. Without a problem, there
will be no development. The characteristics of a problem and
the
time
in which it emerges follow
certain
to describe exactly
the
we
are
able
problem,
are
we able to develop new skills to
when
98
rules.
nature
solve
Only
of
a
that
problem.
So,
one must try to understand the process of the
development
of
perceptual problems before one can
explore
the process of the development of their solutions.
2.
Every change in the evolution of perceptual
skills
and spatial concepts is not simply a matter of replacing one
idea
by
another.
Every part of the material base
conceptualization must be changed,
relationship
between
perceptual subject
media and perceptual move.
media
not
found through
emerging from the previous
the
including the positional
perceptual
are
of
and
The
object,
new
"occasional"
and
perceptual
thinking,
but
perceptual practice by following
a certain rhythm.
For
example,
when
practicing
BODY
PERCEPTION,
eventually notices the problem of looking-back,
man
to
concentrate
concentration
PERCEPTION.
is
on one
an
point
in
the
which leads
distance.
important characteristic
Very similarly,
man
of
And
SPIRIT
confused by the contradictions
caused by an attempt to combine BODY and SPIRIT
PERCEPTION,
man can discover the problem of inside and outside. And only
by
BODY
as
"concentrate"
well as SPIRIT PERCEPTION
and
together,
grasp the "solidness"
and
can
man
behavior
of
breathing and develop a new perceptual skill.
To
end
Norberg-Schulz
this
thesis,
I
would like
and Kurakawa's words.
to
About the
quote
again
subjective
interpretation of space and its application in architecture,
99
"It is not what you want,
it is what you sense in the
In the
order of things which tells you what to design.
space is the spirit and will to exist in a
of
nature
certain way." [Norberg-Schulz, 1979]
About
main
"difference" between cultures and the
the
idea of Chinese/Japanese spatial concepts:
"In every culture there are states or
atmospheres
or
concepts which cannot be logically explained, and their
very
ineffability makes them vulnerable to extinction.
whose byword
In our modern civilization in particular,
is rationalism,
are
these elusive words and concepts
usually casualties of the historical process. If modern
Western culture has become dehumanized,
possible
reason lies in the gradual elimination of the
hetergeneous
exist
"All
or logically inexplicable elements
on the fringes of Western
attempt
spiritual
one
I believe
to express a
culture."
condition,
quality rather than a material
quality." [Kurokawa, 1979]
100
which
atmosphere
or
or
concrete
APPENDIX
A. Chronology
B. Chinese Characters for Proper Names and Technical Terms
C. Selected Bibliography
101
APPENDIX A
CHRONOLOGY
Shang Dynasty
c. 1600-c. 1100 B.C.
Zhou Dynasty
c. 1100-256 B.C.
Qin Dynasty
221 B.C.-207 B.C.
Han Dynasty
206 B.C.-A.D. 220
Three Kingdoms ---
220-265
Jin Dynasty
265-420
Northern & Southern Dynasties ----
420-589
Sui Dynasty
581-618
Tang Dynasty ---------------------
618-907
Five Dynasties
907-960
Song Dynasty
960-1279
Yuan Dynasty ---
1279-1368
Ming Dynasty
1368-1644
Qing Dynasty
1644-1911
102
APPENDIX B
CHINESE CHARACTERS FOR PROPER NAMES AND TECHNICAL TERMS
along-against
l{i
AUO
AUO-MI
AUO-MIAU
SHEN-AUO
TANG-AUO
BREATH
bright-dark A
ch'i
•
Q
CHIEN
CHEN-CHIEN
1
CHUNG-CHIEN
O
JEN-CHI EN KOO
KON-CHIEN
SHI-CHIEN
34
WAN-CHIEN P'if
WU-CHIEN
I
YANG-CHIEN
5
YIN-CHIEN
classical garden IcT
dynamic-static
feng-shui )J
LL
Gathered-dispersed
Kan-Yu
lasting-ephemeral
.
103
MA r E
Master of South Sea
:
OKU
OKU-DEN
OKU-GATA
OKU-GI
OKU-GUCHI
-13
OKU-NO-IN A
0)
n k
OKU-YAMA
OKU-YUKI
OKU-ZASHIKI
quick-slow 'IlkA
rigid-tensile
Iij4
SHIH
BAD-SHIH
BETTER-SHIH
DEFFENSE-SHIH
FIRE-SHIH Lk
GROUND-SHIH
MOUNTAIN-SHIH
OFFENSE-SHIH
RAIN-SHIH
\
WATER-SHIH 7
WIND-SHIHI
SPIRIT
4$
void-solid
104
APPENDIX C
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Those published in English:
Boyd, Andrew. 1962.
Chinese Architecture and Town Planning,
Chicago Press.
Chang, Amos Ih Tiao. 1981.
The Tao of Architecture.
University Press.
Princeton,
Goldfinger, Erno. 1941.
"The Sensation of Space" in Architectural
1941, pp. 129-131.
The University
N.J.:
of
Princeton
Review,
November
Isozaki, Arata. 1979.
"MA: Japanese Time-Space" in The Japan Architect,
1979, pp. 69-80.
February
Kurokawa, Kisho. 1979.
"A Culture of Grays" in The Japan Architect,
9-21.
Jun 1979,
Leonard, Michael. 1969.
"Humanizing Space" in Progressive Architecture,
PP.
Lerup, Lars. 1977.
Building the Unfinished:
London: Sage Publications.
Architecture and
pp.
April 1969,
Human
Maki, Fumihiko. 1979.
"Japanese City Spaces and the Concept of OKU" in The
Architect, May 1979, pp. 50-62.
Nitschke, Gunter. 1966.
"MA: The Japanese Sense of Place" in Architectural
March 1966, pp. 117-156.
Action.
Japan
Design,
Norberg-Schulz, Christian. 1965.
Intentions in Architecture. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
. 1971.
Existence, Space and Architecture. London: Studio Vista.
a 1979.
Genius Loci. New York: Rizzoli.
105
Norberg-Schulz, Christian. 1979a.
"Kahn, Heidegger and the Language of
Opposition, no. 18, Fall 1979, pp. 29-47.
Architecture"
in
Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree. 1972.
Anapanasati Yoga (The Yoga of
"Meditation Techniques:
Incoming and Outgoing Breath Awareness)". From the "Atma
Pooja [Worship of the Self] Upanishad" discourses, July 3,
1972, Bombay, India.
Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. 1984
Chinese Traditional Architecture.
in America.
New York: China Institute
Those published in Chinese:
Hsia, C. J.. 1981.
Lin Garden. Taipei, Taiwan: National Taiwan University.
Lee, 1982.
Design
Idea:
Cathay's
Architecture. Hong Kong:
Theory
of
Chinese
Classical
Master of South Sea. 1980.
Principles of Kan-Yu. Taipei, Taiwan: Gee-Wen Bookstore.
106