Cultural Symbols in Chinese Architecture

  • Donia Zhang City Institute, York University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24294/adr.v1i1.211

Abstract

Culture has been recognized as the fourth pillar of sustainable development, and culture is often viewed as a system of symbols that arises from human interpretations of the world. The cultural codes of symbols and symbolism are imperative to be reexamined for any reinterpretation of a traditional culture. This article explores the origin and meaning of the Yin Yang symbol in Chinese culture, and its subsequent numerological and color applications in classical Chinese architecture, such as Sanqing (Three Pure Ones), Wuxing (Five Natural Elements), Bagua (Eight Trigrams) in courtyard house design, and Jiugongtu (Nine Constellations Magic Square Matrix) and Jingtianzhi (Nine Squares land ownership system) in imperial Chinese city planning. The examples cited are Beijing siheyuan (courtyard houses), the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and Ningbo’s Tianyi Ge library. The paper aims to inspire younger generations to continue Chinese architectural heritage, and respect traditional principles when planning and designing architectural projects. It finally proposes the Yin Yang Yuan symbol to expand traditional Yin Yang symbol, to solve the dilemma of binary thinking and to avoid extremities.

Author Biography

Donia Zhang, City Institute, York University
Dr Donia Zhang is the Director of the Neoland School of Chinese Culture, and an Associate at the City Institute at York University, Canada. She has over 20 years of research experience in interdisciplinary studies of architectural humanities and social sciences, particularly the interrelations of housing, health, happiness, and cultural sustainability.

Dr Zhang has authored four scholarly books: Courtyard Houses of Beijing: Past, Present, and Future (2009/2010/2011), Schoolyard Gardening as Multinaturalism: Theory, Practice, and Product (2009), Courtyard Housing and Cultural Sustainability: Theory, Practice, and Product (Ashgate/Routledge, 2013/2016), and Courtyard Housing for Health and Happiness: Architectural Multiculturalism in North America (Ashgate/Routledge, 2015/2017).

Moreover, she contributed two chapters to the eBook, “Dialogues of Sustainable Urbanisation: Social Science Research and Transitions to Urban Contexts” (University of Western Sydney, 2015), and a dozen articles in academic journals, such as URBAN DESIGN International (Oxford Brookes University), International Journal of Architectural Research (MIT), Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review (University of California, Berkeley), and Journal of Architectural Research and Development (University of Sydney), among others. She is also a contributor of three entries and translated the Chinese lexicon for the Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World (Bloomsbury, 2018) (2nd ed), hosted at Oxford Brookes University.

Dr Zhang is a graduate of Oxford Brookes University (BArch, MA, PhD) in the UK and Brock University (MEd) in Canada.
Published
2021-01-09
Issue
Vol. 3 No. 1 (2021)
Section
Articles

Copyright (c) 2021 Donia Zhang

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