History Of Chinese Roofs

Dūn shòu were statuettes placed along the ridge line of official buildings of the chinese empire.

History of chinese roofs.

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. By the eighth century thatched roofs became the common form of most areas of western europe and wooden shingles in the eleventh. The use of clay roofing tiles first began in china as early as 10 000 bc. We can note several things about chinese roofs that reflect china s ancient culture.

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. The upturned eaves on roof corners are the most identifiable mark of chinese roof architecture. Cavemen covered their structures with sod roofs covered with earth and plants. Research has shown the first known glazed clayroof tilewas used in china 5 000 years ago.

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. Chinese architecture remained remarkably constant throughout the history of the country. Beginning in the yellow earth region the same types of materials and structure were employed for centuries.

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. Yán shòu or walking beasts 走獸 走兽. 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. Zǒu shòu or crouching beasts 蹲獸 蹲兽.

Many of us might be familiar with roofs made of interlocking tiles made of that cooling material. Throughout history roofshave been made from available resources. Chinese imperial roof decorations or roof charms or roof figures 檐獸 檐兽. The kandyan roof style for example bears many similarities to the east asian hip and gable roof technique which has its origins in china.

These early shelters provided good insulation unfortunately they were not vermin or waterproof. 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.