A Comparison On The Ancient Posthouse Of Grand Canal And The Nine Frontier Fortification System Of Ming Dynasty

In ancient time, the posthouse was the core of the post system, which first appeared in Spring-Autumn and Warring States period, matured and perfected in Ming Dynasty. It has a comprehensive function of social propaganda, transportation and reception and the architectural construction follows certain"pattern", therefore in terms of architecture, the posthouse should be classified as official building. All posthouses are charged by national post system and have no any direct relationship with local administration so each of them has its own characteristics. For different locations and social backgrounds, none of posthouses are totally same.With the reference consultation and on-the-spot reservation, the dissertation mainly talks about posthouses, built in Ming Dynasty, for the influence of functional requirements to its construction pattern. Firstly it reviews the development of the post system in ancient time and the function and the location of posthouses in Ming Dynasty. Secondly it analyses and compares the location choosing, construction pattern and space usage by taking examples of posthouses along the Grand Canal and in the Nine Frontier areas, which are the most important routes in the south and the north in Ming Dynasty. The water transportation business developed well along the Grand Canal, so posthouses along it is closely related to the economic development. In terms of location choosing, people considered about the water transportation convenience, set posthouses close to business centers, scenic and historic interest areas to be a window of the region. In terms of its construction, there was a tendency that the reception function was more obvious and independent. In the Nine Frontier areas, most posthouses supplied service for military, so for location choosing, people considered about military defense; the construction pattern was more standardized and unit.As national organ built and used by the government, posthouses follows the unified construction code, therefore there are great similarities for the main building pattern of posthouses along the Great Canal and the Nine Frontier areas.There is a great significance for cultural heritage protection to research the posthouses building in Ming Dynasty and to comb the historic cultural information.