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Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism The making of the Chinese urban landscape

the formation of the built landscape in China. A central architectural design and urban planning. For instance,
concern across all classical Chinese philosophical schools the courtyard house represents one of the most ancient
is the origins of the world and the harmonious relationship residential typologies, manifesting in distinct variations
between tian (天, heaven or universe), di (地, earth), across different climatic regions and cultural contexts
and ren (人, people or society). A cosmological view is globally, including China (Edwards et al., 2005, Rapoport,
applied to the origins of the universe and the interactions 2007). Representative structures of such significance
between natural environments and human activities in the range from individual buildings to the entire urban area.
formation and subsequent transformations of the world. At a micro-level, when decoding the configuration of the
This philosophy echoes the balance of nature concept by courtyard house layout, basic units known as jin (进) and
asserting that the universe is in harmony as a result of the jian (间) are evident in traditional courtyards and were
balance between opposing but interdependent forces. used to place compound units in terms of depth and width.

The correlative point of view from the Chinese The notion of jin and jian is not directly linked to the
tradition emphasizes how urban constructions fit into the detailed measurements of dimensions but rather provide
surrounding natural landscape and fulfill the philosophical a description of the spatial layout and arrangement of the
and cultural values of the time. Together, the distinctive house compound.
material forms created by the long urban history offer a At the meso-level, the modular approach was transferred
direct reference in complementing the structural analysis in the form of the lifang (里坊) system to control the urban
and mapping of the morphological zones. Conversely, structure of residential blocks in the city. The ideal fang
urban landscape characterization and morphological system is composed of four to six blocks, each 100 paces
regionalization contribute to visualizing the cultural square (about 60 m × 60 m), consisting of a group of
and philosophical impacts on the physical form. The courtyard dwellings divided by the city’s minor planned
correlative dynamics between natural elements and the streets. In addition to the walls enclosing each dwelling, a
city have profoundly influenced the urban history of surrounding ward wall with gates was closed and guarded
China. For instance, the idea of fengshui (风水), geomantic at night, providing controlled access. While this residential
principles in China, can be regarded as the Chinese ward pattern was an effective model for urban governance
conception of the ideal relationship between nature and from a crime-management perspective, it limited
the built environment, and it is widely applied in urban commercial activities and economic growth. At the macro-
construction and planning (Lip, 1995; Rossbach, 1983). level of cities, the ideal city form was created according
Generative thinking has also played an important role to the same principle, strongly reflecting hierarchical
in the creation of the Chinese urban form. The generative social and political systems. This approach resulted in the
view of urban form in China considers philosophical and significant physical characteristics of traditional Chinese
cultural influences from the local knowledge system on the cities, namely, walled enclosures, axiality, a north-south
physical urban form. The Confucian idea of hierarchical orientation, and a symmetrical layout (Dong, 2004; Gu,
social order was translated into the ancient urban system. 2001; Wu, 1993).
A unified set of modules, rules, and regulations for urban The geometric symmetry of many Chinese cities
planning and architectural design was adopted as a code reflected Confucian ideals and reinforced class boundaries
of practice by both government agencies and builders. and social groupings (Keswick, 1978). The size of the city
Introducing rules for building and block dimensions, or town, and even the dimensions of the streets themselves,
street hierarchies, and the location of and relationships was commensurate with each structure’s position in the
between landmarks and city walls provided a standardized administrative hierarchical system. As a result, compared
format for assembling the structure of the city, with a with many historical cities in European countries with a
detailed description of construction dimensions and the long history, the Chinese walled city presents a relatively
physical appearance of the city and its important public uniform and stable appearance, maintaining the fixation
buildings. These regulations ensured that the main spatial line of its wall structure (Chang, 1970).
structure of the city could generally be maintained, The holistic view is perhaps the most eminent among
especially for cities that were completely razed and then landscape ideas in China. Despite Confucianism and
rebuilt following wars. It also provides a theoretical basis Daoism having seemingly opposite views on society, both
from which contemporary researchers can reconstruct the philosophies delight in shanshui and believe in harmony
spatial patterns of the lost cities over history. between humans and nature as the underpinning principle
The Chinese traditionally adopted a modular design of life. The ideas of unity, interplay, and harmony were
approach embodying humanism and technology in both central to classical Chinese philosophy, with harmonious

Volume 6 Issue 3 (2024) 5 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.261