 Algorithmic Architecture in Twelfth-Century China: The Yingzao FashiAndrew I-kang Li () Chapter Chapter 27 in Architecture and Mathematics from Antiquity to the Future, 2015, pp 389-397 from Springer Abstract: Abstract The Yingzao fashi (Building standards) is a Chinese building manual published in 1103, written by architect Li Jie (d. 1110). Li’s approach was rule-based, reflecting a tradition in which knowledge was transmitted orally in the form of easily-remembered procedures. For instance, the method of determining the characteristic curved roof section, called juzhe, is a two-step process; Li’s first rule was to use modular units, the absolute values of which varied according to the rank of the building. This has led to the Yingzao fashi being called a “grammar book of Chinese architecture.” The use of a formal tool, shape grammar, makes it possible, for example, to understand juzhe as a recursive algorithm and, indeed, to propose a completely generative definition of the Song architectural style. The work can be extended to comparative formal studies of extant Chinese buildings and a second “grammar book,” the Gongcheng zuofa zeli (Structural regulations), published in 1733. Keywords: Yingzao Fashi; Shape Grammars; Roof Section; Chinese Architecture; Grammar Books (search for similar items in EconPapers) There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-319-00137-1_27 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-00137-1_27 Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Springer Books from Springer |
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