中西建筑文化比较.doc

A Study on the Differences of Classical Architecture Styles between China and Europe for the Cultural DifferencesStudent:XXXClass:XXXABSTRACTToday, faced with the flood of west culture, many people choose to accept west culture and some even abandon some of our own culture, which can be obviously seen in architecture. By comparing the influences of cultural differences on classical architecture styles between China and Europe from four aspects, material, color, layout and sculpt, this paper tells that Chinese classical architecture is also good and that Chinese culture is worth passing on.Keywords: influences, cultural differences, classical architecture stylesPart The Connection of Architecture and CultureAs one of the four essential substantial conditions of life, architecture is connected with our life firmly. It is influenced by its surroundings and it directly reflects the feature of a people. As what the great architecture Sicheng Liang said, architecture not only benefits us for its substantial function, but also is good to our heart and soul. Many people look on architecture as concretionary music and substantial history. Architecture is alive. Its the reflection of a nations culture.Part Comparison of Culture between China and EuropeIn different areas, people have different life styles, social backgrounds and history development, so different peoples have different cultures. Chinese traditional culture is mainly developed from Confucius and someone like him. It emphasizes five elements, namely metal, wood, water, fire and Earth. Many frame of references in Chinese classical architecture are form these five elements. Also Chinese culture shows respect to nature, stresses the harmony between human and nature. For instance, the saying “round sky and square land” is applied to summerhouse. The round top stands for the sky and the square base stands for the land. European culture focuses more on conquering nature. Europeans always put themselves at the first place. There is a sentence in Bible saying that human is on the top of nature, human is in charge of the whole nature which is just to meet humans need. They want to change nature to promote the development of human. But European culture shows respect to the God. Part Comparison of Differences of Classical Architecture styles between China and Europe Having analysised the cultural differences, it is clearer for us to see the differences of classical architecture styles between China and Europe. The differences are mainly reflected in four aspects, namely material, color, layout and sculpt. 3.1 Differences in Material China usually uses wood. The typical representation is Summer Palace. Wood stands for some kind of simpleness, harmony and warmth which indicates the pursuit of peace. Its thought unlucky to build house with many stones. In addition, the tiles and bricks are made by burning the Earth rather than by using stones. So, in material, Chinese architecture involves in wood, fire and Earth, which have occupied three elements of Chinese culture.On the other hand, Europeans mainly choose bricks, stones and sand for buildings, such as Parthenon and Amphitheater. Square bricks and stones properly reflect Europeans pursuit of logic and objectivity as well as their desire of showing their personalities.3.2 Differences in ColorChinese classical architecture is mainly based on red for it means good luck and high position in Chinese tradition. Then other colors are used for a better view. There are mainly five colors which are related to the five elements in Chinese culture. Cyan stands for wood because of the sprout in spring. Red means fire because the land in hot summer is about to burn. Yellow means Earth. White means metal because of the cool autumn. Black means water because of the cold abyssal water in winter. In Europe, there isnt a stable color. They take colors as what they want. Because of their individual values and personalities, they often choose bright colors. In this aspect, Europeans focus more on themselves while Chinese pay more attention to tradition.3.3 Differences in LayoutWith many houses with only one floor, Chinese classical architecture takes up more lands because it makes little use of higher space except for some towers. And it is close, with many houses having courtyards which are designed to make the close room fresh and to help getting rid of boredom, Beijing Siheyuan, for example. In the whole, Chinese classical architecture strictly obeys the religious values and the comity system.European classical architecture is completely different. It makes full use of higher space. Many are very tall with many floors to stress the sublime of the God and express their respect to the God, Parthenon, for example. And its open, which implies their focus on their own characteristics. In total, “Chinese architecture surrounds room while European architecture is surrounded by room.” 3.4 Differences in SculptChinese classical architecture stands out for its beauty of line type, which is expressed in girder, pillar, eave and so on. At the same time, they are not just for beauty. For example, not only can the slightly curving eave drain the water, it can also let more sunshine in. In Europe, most people look for modal beauty. They stress symmetry and the rate between the whole and a part. Geometry is very helpful for them. They focus on geometric aesthetic and mathematical logic. Those simple geometrical lines are contrary to the soft lines of nature which reflects Europeans attitudes towards nature and emphasize on logic thinking and sound reasoning.Part ConclusionTotally speaking, “European architecture expresses something strong while Chinese architecture indicates something soft because of their different cultures”. They have different features.Today, many architects absorb west design values blindly, even thinking Chinese traditional architecture is out of date. Obviously, they are wrong. Jinmao Tower in Shanghai is the evidence. Its appearance is like Chinese traditional tower, and it uses modern material. Thus it is the mixture of west and Chinese a