Research on the architectural decoration of traditional Chinese vernacular dwellings

ABSTRACT The Yangtze River and the Yellow River are located in the south and north of China respectively. They are considered the two sources of Chinese civilization. For thousands of years, the cultures of the two river basins have merged, thus forming the five thousand years of Chinese civilization. Despite this long integration, the two cultures have maintained their distinct personality. Vernacular dwellings are no exception. This paper researches the architectural decoration of traditional vernacular dwellings in these two basins. After field investigations, a total of 308 examples of traditional vernacular dwellings have been selected from the two regions. 186 examples are located in the Yangtze River basin and 122 examples in the Yellow River basin. The architectural decoration of these traditional vernacular dwellings is examined from the aspects of brick carvings, wood carvings, stone carvings, oil paintings and colour paintings. The focus of this study is the identification of decorative variances in the architectural decoration of these traditional vernacular dwellings due to regional influences. Attempts were made to ascertain the reasons for these differences, in terms of geography, climate, politics, technology and folk customs.