Architecture And Cultural Studies Of Chinese Covered Bridges

Boasting a long history, Chinese covered bridges have varies names which fall into four categories. From the perspective of function, there are Fengyu (literally means Wind and Rain, whose function is to protect people from wind and rain) Bridge and Fengshui (literally means Wind and Water, which is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to use the laws of both Heaven (astronomy) and Earth (geography) to help one improve life by receiving positive qi.) Bridge; from the perspective of image, there are Corridor Bridge, House Bridge and Magpie's Nest Bridge; from the perspective of structure, there are Rainbow Bridge, Centipede Bridge; from the perspective of decoration, there is Flower Bridge. In the broad sense, Fengyu Bridges mean all bridges that are covered in a certain way. The cover can be a loft, a pavilion, and a corridor, hence named Loft Bridge, Pavilion Bridge, and Corridor Bridge. In the narrow sense, it only means bridges with pavilion in DongZhu (a minority) area. Covered Bridges in this paper are Fengyu Bridges in broad sense. There are various covered bridges all over China. They can by type into timber beam bridge, stone beam bridge, timber arch bridge, and stone arch bridge. And timber bridges can be further divided into flat beam bridge, simply supported beam bridge, "flying bridge" or "extended arm bridge", supported arch bridge or arch bridge. The author consults more than 700 bridges which are distributed in 15 provinces. With a few in Northern provinces, most of them are in Southern provinces especially in Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Southern Zhejiang and Northern Fujian.Chinese covered bridges, through ages of reconstruction, rehabilitation and maintenance, have experienced many vicissitudes, yet still are the essence of Chinese cultural heritage. They are both solid and lightweight in shape, simple and elegant in color, concise and scientific in structure, bold yet delicate in style. They reflected not only the excellent bridge construction skill but also the philosophical views, cultural values and aesthetic taste of Chinese ancestors, and also a witness of socio-economic and cultural development of ancient times.Covered bridges are architecture with rich cultural connotation and unique local features, which are combinations of rational thought and romantic ideas of our ancestors, of architecture skills and structure styles.Now, with the rapid pace of modern civilization, ancient villages and ancient paths are more and more deserted. However, ancient covered bridges, which are product of hard working and wisdom, are still important places for local life and are important symbols of local culture. They can not only meet the transportation needs of people, but also the need of environment beauty and artistic beauty. And the theme about covered bridges has been developed into all aspects of customs, which reflects the whole nation's cultural and spiritual awareness, and constitutes a rich cultural of covered bridges. Chinese bridge culture not only reflects the technology and art of its time, but also the nation's wisdom. It is a milestone in human civilization, and among which covered bridge culture is one of the most excellent chapter.The paper is divided into four parts. The first part discusses the significance, research basis, research subject, scope, method and framework. The second part consists of chapter two, three and four. They deal with the history, distribution, and construction of covered bridges physically. Based on literatures, the second chapter analyses the origin, development and decline of covered bridges from the perspective of origin of ancient Chinese bridges and style evolution. The third chapter summarizes the typical geographical features of different covered bridges through the survey and study of distribution and cultural features of nationwide covered bridges. In the fourth chapter, structure, shape, space closure and function are used to classify the covered bridges. Then construction of covered bridges, wooden arch bridge building process, "timber weaving" technology are discussed in detail. Part Three consists of chapter five and chapter six, which deal with the feature of covered bridges from culture and aesthetic perspective. Chapter five analyses cultural features of covered bridges such as Fengshui, worship, customs, literatures by using specific examples. Chapter six argues covered bridges'five aesthetic features, i.e, harmonious beauty, image beauty, technology beauty, function beauty and artistic beauty. While discussing the artistic beauty of Chinese covered bridges, comparison with American covered bridges in shape, space and decoration are made in order to emphasize the unique aesthetic and cultural values.Finally, Chapter seven argues the future protection and development trends of Chinese covered bridges. And suggestions are made for the sustainable development. There following six aspects are the main innovation of this paper:1. For the first time, a nationwide survey of the Chinese covered bridges is made, and 751 bridges are specified based on reliable data. Moreover, a map of covered bridge in different provinces has been drawn.2. For the first time, field trips are made to the covered bridges in Anhua, Hunan Province. And 20 covered bridges have been confirmed. A list about 11 features of the covered bridges is made, such as type, length and width. Distribution map is also made. Related papers are published. And, the covered bridges in nearby county, Xinhua County have also been studied.3. Besides introducing the classification method of using the feature of structure, the author proposes a new classification method of using the shape, property and capability of the closure.4. Five aesthetic characteristics of covered bridges, i.e harmonious beauty, context beauty, functional beauty, technical beauty and artistic beauty are systematically expounded, especially the artistic beauty.5. In order to better explain the unique art of Chinese covered bridges, American covered bridges are referred for comparison. The comparison of structure shape, architecture space and decoration helps to explain the difference between Chinese covered bridges and American covered bridges.6. The theory of the phenomenology of place by Norwegian architect, architectural historian and theorist Norberg-Schulz is used to interpret the functional beauty of covered bridges, which expands its connotation.