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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Chinese_architecture
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1992-09-03
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The style of building in China. Traditionally
of timber construction there are few existing
buildings predating the Ming dynasty
(1368-1644) but records such as the Ying Tsao
Fa Shih/Method of Architecture (1103) show
that Chinese architecture has changed little
throughout the ages. Curved roofs are a
characteristic feature; typical also is the
pagoda with a number of tiled roofs one above
the other. The Chinese are renowned for their
wallbuilding. The Great Wall of China was
built about 228-210 BC as a northern frontier
defence, and Beijing's fine city walls date
from the Ming period. Chinese buildings
usually face south, a convention which can be
traced back to the `Hall of Brightness', a
building from the Zhou dynasty (1050-221 BC),
and is still retained in the functionally
Western-style Chinese architecture of the
present day. Although some sections of
Beijing have been destroyed by modernization
it still contains fine examples of buildings
from the Ming dynasty, such as the Altar of
Heaven, the ancestral temple of the Ming
tombs, and the Five Pagoda Temple. The
introduction of Buddhism from India is
believed to have exerted considerable
influence on Chinese architecture.