The Beauty of Traditional Chinese Courtyard Houses in Yandu Ancient City

📍 Chiang Mai · 👁 3255 reads · ❤️ 17 likes

The exterior architectural style of Yandu Ancient City's Phase II courtyard homes is that of the Ming and Qing dynasties. When we talk about architectural styles, leaving aside modern ones, purely classical Chinese architectural styles are inevitably dominated by a few flourishing eras. One is the Qin-Han period. The Tang Dynasty continued it (Chang’an of Tang inherited the Sui's Daxing City), so it’s often called the Han-Tang style. The architecture of the Song Dynasty followed the Tang style but lacked grandeur and gained delicacy, so it's also grouped under Han-Tang. By the Ming Dynasty, a distinct style emerged (the Yuan Dynasty's Dadu laid the foundation for Beijing, and in the fourth year of Yongle, the Forbidden City was built), establishing the Ming-Qing style. So the Ming-Qing style is actually the Ming style, with the Qing Dynasty inheriting and continuing it (of course, this is my personal view, not academic). The Republican style belongs to the modern era and is excluded here. Thus, Chinese classical architecture divides into two major categories: the Han-Tang style and the Ming-Qing style. All modern Chinese architecture falls into these two categories; even with local variations, they are extensions, and their spiritual core cannot depart from these two architectural forms.

Han-Tang style architecture

In buildings we commonly see, those with larger volumes suit the Tang style. The straight lines of the exterior easily create a grand and majestic visual impression, but the interior space, constrained by the structure, is difficult to subdivide into individual rooms and is mostly used for large organizational spaces. Smaller buildings, however, are more accommodating of the intricate carvings and refined details of the Ming-Qing style. Ming-Qing architecture is suitable for both large and small scales and allows easy subdivision of space. So when we look across the country, most classical Chinese residences are predominantly in the Ming-Qing style, albeit simplified in craftsmanship and forms, such as painted decorations, brick carvings, vermilion lacquer, dougong brackets, roof ridge beasts, and hanging flower gates mentioned earlier.

Alright, all of the above is to help you better understand what the Ming-Qing architectural style is. Yandu Ancient City adheres to ancient conventions, faithfully recreating the external appearance of Ming-Qing architecture. Now let me take you on a tour to appreciate the beauty of these courtyard homes in the ancient city.

Phase II courtyard homes of Yandu Ancient City