Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Architecture: Heritage, Traditions and Innovations (AHTI 2021)

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The “Jian” Spatial Unit, as the Main Characteristic for Measuring Individual Structures and Architectural Complexes in China

Authors
Marianna Shevchenko1, *
1Scientific Research Institute of Theory and History of Architecture and Urban Planning, Branch of the Central Institute for Research and Design of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia
*Corresponding author. Email: china-arch@yandex.ru
Corresponding Author
Marianna Shevchenko
Available Online 25 November 2021.
DOI
10.2991/assehr.k.211125.149How to use a DOI?
Keywords
The jian spatial unit; Chinese architecture; Architectural complexes; Separate buildings; Wooden frame architecture
Abstract

This article examines the question of the interpretation of the term “jian”— a span, interval, or a measurement of space in between (points, columns, supports, or objects)—in traditional Chinese architecture. This term was used [as a spatial unit] in Chinese treatises, to describe the spatial dimensions of large architectural complexes for various purposes, as well as to measure the amount of damage from a potential fire and to describe the scale of destruction. The amount of jian, which an individual structure spanned also possessed a certain value, and varied in accordance with changes in the prevailing rituals of Chinese society. Over time, the number of spans the main façade of a building possessed, become an important characteristic and indicator of status. A comparison of the instructions in the “Yingzao Fashi” treatise, with various surviving architectural complexes, revealed that from the beginning of the 11th to the beginning of the 20th centuries, the instructions described in Yingzao Fashi, concerning the number of jian were implemented in the overwhelming majority of extant cases.

Copyright
© 2021 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.
Open Access
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Architecture: Heritage, Traditions and Innovations (AHTI 2021)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
25 November 2021
ISBN
10.2991/assehr.k.211125.149
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/assehr.k.211125.149How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2021 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.
Open Access
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Marianna Shevchenko
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/11/25
TI  - The “Jian” Spatial Unit, as the Main Characteristic for Measuring Individual Structures and Architectural Complexes in China
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Architecture: Heritage, Traditions and Innovations (AHTI 2021)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 36
EP  - 42
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.211125.149
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.211125.149
ID  - Shevchenko2021
ER  -