I. Classification of Layouts

　　To create order in space has to do with the artistic aspects of architecture, while the composition involved is determined by the layout of the buildings. The layout of vernacular dwellings in China manifests a high aesthetic sense of space, the variation of planes rich in connotation and displaying a mental adroitness on the part of the builder. The inherent beauty of the layout has many aspects: a masculine vigor, a dreamy ambiguousness, romantic independence and an innocence associated with a feeling for naturalness. The arousal of such different emotions in the onlooker is all the more surprising when one considers that the layout of vernacular dwellings has a simple and almost naive language all of its own, resulting from the dexterous combination of such simple forms as squares, circles, rectangles and rings. The way in which the language of architecture was used in the layout of vernacular dwellings to appeal to such a variety of emotions is surely unique.

　　1. The Lateral Rectangular Plan

　　The lateral rectangular plan is the basic form for small scale dwellings in China, courtyard dwelling being composed of individual lateral rectangular dwellings.

　　This type of layout was the most commonly used for vernacular dwellings. A building could have one to six or seven rooms depending on the scale of lateral extension. The form of layout followed the same pattern with the longer side facing south, and doors and windows installed in the south-facing wall in order to gain maximum sunshine and minimize as far as possible the effects of cold northern winds. In the case of small dwellings with a width of one or two bays, the location of doors and windows was more or less left free, but in larger houses with a width of three bays and over, the open bay was generally positioned in the center, and a symmetrical form adopted for the left and right sides. Taking a house with seven bays as an example, the names of bays from the center to the left and right are: the central bay (the section between the two central columns in the facade of the building) or tangwu (also called zhengfang, the main building on the principal axis of a mansion), the sub-central bay (one of the two sections between the central bay and the end ones of a building), shaojian (the bay between the sub-central bay and the end bay) and jinjian (one of the end rooms of a seven-bay building).

　　2. The Longitudinal Rectangular Plan

　　Longitudinal rectangular plans were popular for small-scale dwellings. Such forms of layout were narrow in width but generous in depth. Temporary small houses for supervising crops in the north and some vernacular dwellings of the pile-supported type in Yunnan belong to this class. Small shops and workshops along urban streets, with a narrow shop front, also have this longitudinal rectangular form, with the room on the street being the shop or workshop, the middle room, the sitting room and the wing room at the rear. In rural areas, especially in the south of the Yangtze River, vernacular dwellings are often of longitudinal rectangular layout. In spite of the fact that they have weaknesses as regards ventilation and light, they are rather compact and practical. However, such a layout is poorly suited to the life-style of the patriarchal clan society, so it is limited to small dwellings.

　　3. The L-shaped Plan

　　The L-shaped plan is also used for small dwellings. Evidence that the L-shaped plan was already in use at the end of Han Dynasty was found on an ancient pictorial stone in Ji'nan. There are two versions of the L-shaped plan: the closed and the non-closed, the former being enclosed all round. There are many variations on the same theme and these dwellings were free of the usual rules and regulations; an example of the phenomenon that the lower down the economic scale the user was the less influence the patriarchal clan system had.

　　4. The Circular Plan

　　Circular plans were also used for small dwellings, lending the whole an atmosphere of lightness and vitality. Circular plan layouts are mostly to be found in the southeast of Inner Mongolia, and no doubt originate, as far as the form is concerned, from the Mongolian yurt. The entrances generally face south and there are only one or two small windows in the wall. The layout and outer appearance are very similar to the yurt. The earth kang occupies almost half of the interior space. There is a small oven beside the kang for cooking and heating. Circular plan layouts, though rare, are concise and interesting, possessing their own highly individual features.

　　5. The Sanheyuan Plan

　　Courtyard dwellings were appealing on account of their diversity, the zigzagging and meandering of the paths and the rising and falling of the roofs.

　　The sanheyuan form of layout is very common in rural areas, size and type of dwelling depending on the owner's financial means. Sanheyuan was one of the basic plans for regular and symmetric dwellings. In western countries, the main building is often exposed, while in China the main building is often enclosed. In western countries, vernacular dwellings are mostly of concentrated layout, while in China, they are set out in multiple courtyards. The multiple courtyard has been used for various types of building in China, the courtyard as such having enjoyed a long history on account of its many advantages.

　　Though the sanheyuan form of layout is relatively simple in its standard arrangement, there are many variants: (1) the combination of a lateral and a longitudinal sanheyuan; (2) the combination of two sanheyuan arranged to form an "H"; (3) the superimposition of two sanheyuan, one wider and one narrower, to form a "O" shape; (4) the addition of auxiliary bulidings around the sanheyuan to form an asymmetric plan.

　　For single-storeyed sanheyuan, there are two basic plans: closed and open, and there is also a mixed version of these two plans. The layout of small sanheyuan is compact and usually open to facilitate domestic industry and the passage of heavy farming implements. Almost all the plans of two-, three- or more storeyed sanheyuan are closed. The buildings of some of them are all storeyed, but in some cases only north building is more than just single-storey. Such layouts are mostly to be seen in the south. Closed, the sanheyuan is dramatic, with a variety of corbel gables, other gables and parapets producing a lively and intricate roofscape in contrast to the simplicity of the rectangular structure below.

　　6. The Siheyuan Plan

　　The view that beauty was to be achieved by wealth was particularly prevalent in the patriarchal clan society of China, and the siheyuan form of layout expresses just this-combining wealth, rank, luxury and dignified living. With a history of over at least two thousand years, the siheyuan, in the main built by those of solid means, is distributed all over the country and boasts various layouts and facades according to the natural environment and local customs. In scale and content, the siheyuan ranks first among Chinese vernacular dwellings.

　　The dwellings are symmetrical in plan and have a closed outer appearance. Their form of layout can roughly be divided into two categories: buildings of the first category have their entrance door on the central axis. Such an arrangement is relatively natural and found mainly in areas south of Huai River and Northwest China. In the second category, entrance doors are located in the southeast, northeast or northeast corners. Such a configuration is spread throughout such provinces as Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, etc. and was influenced by Fengshui doctrine of the northern school, which maintained that dwellings should not, like palaces or temples, have their principal gate to the south on the central axis, but at the southeast or northwest corner of the building to the south of the road in order to conform with the xiantianbagua (the Eight Diagrams). The reason is that the northwest belongs to gen, which is related to mountains, the southeast to ze, which is related to water. The locating of gate according to such a system led to shan ze tong qi (mountains and water communicating). The northeast belongs to zhen, related to thunder. Such a location came second to the above, but the gate could be located here if necessary. However, the southwest belongs to shun which is related to the wind. This was considered an unlucky location and was to be avoided for the gate. Latrines were to be found there. In China, combined layouts are basically highly expressive, their visual effect attractive. Thought is given to how different lengths and widths can be combined, to the juxtaposition of tall and low buildings, to the interlacing and combination of courts and corridors and the location of doors and gates and their interrelation. Complete philosophies of scholarly thought formed the basis for such considerations.

　　7. The Mixed Sanheyuan and Siheyuan Layout

　　"How deep are the deep, deep parts", a line of an ancient poem makes us reflect upon the spatial effects created by a series of buildings arranged cascade-like within a given space. A mixed arrangement of sanheyuan and siheyuan was by far the best way of creating the illusion of much greater space and depth. This type of plan was used for large dwellings, and comprised various sanheyuan and siheyuan layouts. The garden, the ancestral hall and the library were drawn into the whole, often forming a zigzag pattern and varying in sequence. The beautiful visual effects of such spatial arrangements are immediately apparent.

　　8. The Ring-Type Plan

　　At first sight, such layouts have the appearance of a stadium, and they are indeed similar in plan to the ancient Roman arenas. Such ring-typed plans are to be found in southern and western Fujian. They chiefly come in two forms, the first being the unit-type plan. It generally has one ring encircling another. The layout is divided into sector units, one or two dozen in number. Between the rings is a small court. The second version has an interior through corridor, and is not divided into units, there being only individual rooms of the same size. The latter plan again has two variants: the building with a single ring has an open count at the center. There are also versions with the interior through corridor consisting of two or three concentric rings. The largest one has a hall at the center of what is thus a three-ring building. Ring-type layouts are among the most unusual and bizarre forms of building in China.

　　9. The Cavern Plan

　　Cavern dwellings are mainly to be found in the provinces of Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu. In these areas, there is little rainwater, timber is lacking and the loess stratum can be up to 300 meters thick. There are five forms of layout, namely the “王” form, the “H” form, the “L” form, the “十”form and the “一”form. In sunk caverns, there are even courts, and some even have the siheyuan form. It is a hermetic style of life the inhabitants of such dwellings lead, and the caverns resembling flowers in the gullies of vast plateaus.

　　Summing up, the individual vernacular dwelling in China is basically simple in layout. It is the combination of different buildings that is highly varied, producing many complicated forms of arrangement. Particularly the unique and bizarre ring-type layout evokes in the onlooker a sense of profound wonder.

　　出版：Springer Wien New York

　　ISBN-3-211-83008-1

　　2000年