Research on the yingzao chi restoration of palace buildings sans dougong in Ming and Qing Dynasties: a case study of Chongqing

As a unit of measurement for Chinese ancient construction, the yingzao chi (yingzaochi 营造尺) is of great significance to study long-term transformation of culture, construction skills, and the scale design rule of Chinese regional architectural heritage. But few scholars study the restoration method of the yingzao chi of palace buildings sans dougong (斗拱) in Chinese Ming and Qing Dynasties. Based on the yingzao chi theory, this paper studies and improves a theoretical method to help restore the yingzao chi of palace buildings sans dougong in Ming and Qing Dynasties. This method is not limited by the lack of reference of vernacular chi (xiangchi 乡尺) and can restore the yingzao chi of a single building through surveying data, and there is a smaller error in the calculation process. Three typical palace buildings without dougong in Ming and Qing Dynasties in Chongqing are selected as examples. The results show that the restored yingzao chi of these three buildings is highly similar, most likely 320.7–323.6 mm, which can verify the reliability of this method. This study can help to improve the research of yingzao chi and provide theoretical support for the protection of this kind of architectural heritage. Besides, the restoration of the yingzao chi provides a potential opportunity to explore how the technological and cultural of palace architecture spread, develop and blend.