Man And Nature: From Philosophy To Architecture

With a long history, the traditional Chinese architecture inherited the fine spirit of the traditional Chinese culture. As a complex of traditional philosophy and other cultural aspects, she reflects the aesthetic, ethnic spirits and care for the lives of human beings, who is comprehensively hidden in the high techniques in using woods as the basic material. The research on the traditional Chinese architecture tends to find out how Chinese culture developed physically and spiritually and how the culture affects Chinese architecture in city design, architectural design and building details. And as a reciprocal effect, the outer appearance also influenced the spirit of the nation in the process of evolution. In ancient times, Chinese people lived based on agricultural industry. As a result, Chinese people respected the nature a lot. Chinese people were aware that nature could bring good or bad effects to them and then they lived peacefully and calmly with the natural environment. The harmony between nature and human beings were widely accepted and became the soul of the traditional architecture.Based on the above analysis, the author puts forward the standpoint from the spiritual level and limits the scope of research on the philosophy "a harmony between nature and human beings" and its effects on the formation and development of the traditional architecture. By analyzing different architectural prototypes, the thesis makes a conclusion on the ways and means of architectural and city design.The dissertation consists of three parts:Firstly, on the basis of the analysis on Chinese geography, economic situations and social mechanisms, the author concludes the social system as patriarchal clan and autarchy system. It was the background that the traditional philosophy developed. And then the formation and change of the philosophy is under discussion.Secondly, the dissertation classifies the traditional architecture into different types and analyzes their relationships with the traditional philosophy from macro to micro degrees. The dissertation selects residential buildings, capitals and palaces, altars and temples, traditional gardens as examples to reach the final point that the traditional architecture and the traditional Chinese philosophy are closely related to each other.Thirdly, from the point of reality, the dissertation sums up and compares the different characters manifested on traditional Chinese and western architecture. The contrasts between the two architecture types are listed. And then, from the introduction of eco-architecture, the dissertation analyzes the phenomenon under the situation of globalization and common cultural and the demonstration of modern architecture. And then, with the viewpoint of sustainable development and in hope of maintenance on unique cultural differences, the dissertation tries to find out the pathway for the traditional culture and the related regionalism, multi-cultures and innovation as a trend of development.