The Chinese Curved Roof: Another Perspective

Abstract

Non-planar roofs were employed in numerous diverse locations, while the expressive force of the curvature of Chinese roofs is indeed unique. Architectural historiography has provided several different reasons to elucidate this phenomenon. Setting aside the widely accepted explanatory models, this paper aims to examine the possibilities beyond the existing scholarship. The perspective presented here introduces another, previously unconsidered factor that might have motivated Chinese carpenters to develop the remarkably eye with emphases on the roof contour. It questions the implication that the properties of specific building materials causing unpredictable changes in appearance. Based on this idea, the carpenters might look for a design method that enabled them to conceal an unintended irregularity while impossible to be entirely avoided, even with the most meticulous work.

非直屋面于世界各地均有广泛使用，而其中中国曲屋面的表现力独一无二。为了考察和阐释这一现象，建筑史学界已有对其不同成因的探讨。本研究并非质疑这些被广泛接受的解释模式，而是探讨这些论点之外的可能性。本文提出另一种尚未得到考察的、可能促使中国木匠发展出如此引人注目的屋面曲线的因素：特定建筑材料的材性容易导致建筑外观发生无法预先估算的变化，因此木匠们有可能试图寻求一种设计，以掩盖即便最细致的工作也无法避免的那些意料之外的不平整之处。