History Of Chinese Roofs

The kandyan roof style for example bears many similarities to the east asian hip and gable roof technique which has its origins in china.

History of chinese roofs.

Dūn shòu were statuettes placed along the ridge line of official buildings of the chinese empire. Cavemen covered their structures with sod roofs covered with earth and plants. The upturned eaves on roof corners are the most identifiable mark of chinese roof architecture. Zǒu shòu or crouching beasts 蹲獸 蹲兽.

The tou kung system is very flexible it balances the forces throughout the roof and this allowed chinese architecture to develop as a tradition throughout east asia. By the eighth century thatched roofs became the common form of most areas of western europe and wooden shingles in the eleventh. Only official buildings palaces government buildings and some temples were permitted to use such roof decorations. The evolution of roofing design can be traced far back as 3000 b c when the chinese used clay roof tiles.

It s flexible enough to be adapted to many materials and terrains. The use of clay roofing tiles first began in china as early as 10 000 bc. Chinese architecture remained remarkably constant throughout the history of the country. Throughout history roofshave been made from available resources.

The origin of the distinctive curve of the roof which first appeared in china about the 6th century ce is not fully understood although a number of theories have been put forward. We can note several things about chinese roofs that reflect china s ancient culture. The upturned roof design appeared during the han dynasty 206 bc 220 ad and were the standard type used until the song dynasty 960 1279. Roman and greek civilizations utilized slate and tile in the first century.

Wood was always preferred rather than stone and the roof material of choice was glazed ceramic tiles. 49 the chinese origin guardian lion is also found in front of buddhist temples buildings and some hindu temples in nepal across asia including japan korea thailand myanmar vietnam sri lanka nepal cambodia and laos. Yán shòu or walking beasts 走獸 走兽. These early shelters provided good insulation unfortunately they were not vermin or waterproof.

Traditional chinese architecture is not only as old as chinese civilization with 5 000 years of history but unique in the world particularly when the roof system is concerned both in terms of its multi layered dougong structure a set of interlocking wooden brackets that supports the massive roofs and its visual style in shape size and colour. These are a sturdy strong and durable option that gives us consistent quality throughout. Beginning in the yellow earth region the same types of materials and structure were employed for centuries.