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• Chinese architectures were treated as craftsmen in ancient times involved in designing and constructing buildings. They were often not considered as "artists" (or literati) and thus their status were not as great as any famous Chinese painters/calligrapher, who were treated as scholar/literati in ancient times.

   

  For this reason, there were no significant records of "any great Chinese architects" in Chinese history. The Ming Architecture Masterpiece such as Forbidden City was commissioned by Ming Emperor Yongle, but little do we know who was the team involved in designing and constructing the buildings.

   

  

   

  Philosophy of Space:

  
  Various aspects of Chinese architecture, such as the relationship between Fengshui (wind and water) and nature, structure, material and sequence of space, all reflect a worldly view of humans and the world.
   

  Chinese classifications for architecture include:

  • 樓 （楼） lou (Multistory buildings)
  • 台 tai (terraces)
  • 亭 ting (pavilions )
  • 閣 （阁） ge (Two-story pavilions)
  • 塔 ta (Chinese Pagodas )
  • 軒 （轩） xuan (Verandas with windows)
  • 榭 xie (Pavilions or houses on terraces)
  • 屋 wu (Rooms along roofed corridors)

  And Chinese architecture also are classified as

   

  1. Imperial architecture:

   

  There were certain architectural features that were reserved solely for buildings built for the emperor of China, such as the Forbidden City, the Heaven Temple. They all use yellow roof tiles, yellow were the imperial color.

  
  2. Commoner architecture

   

  As for the commoners, be they bureaucrats, merchants or farmers, their houses tended to follow a set pattern: the center of the building would be a shrine for the deities and the ancestors, which would also be used during festivities. On its two sides were bedrooms for the elders; the two wings of the building (known as "guardian dragons" by the Chinese were for the junior members of the family, as well as the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen, although sometimes the living room could be very close to the center.
  
  Sometimes the extended families became so large that one or even two extra pairs of "wings" had to be built. This resulted in a U-shaped building, with a courtyard suitable for farm work; merchants and bureaucrats, however, preferred to close off the front with an imposing front gate. All buildings were legally regulated, and the law held that the number of storeys, the length of the building and the colors used depended on the owner's class.

  
  

  3. Religious architecture

   

  Generally speaking, Buddhist architecture follow the imperial style. A large Buddhist monastery normally has a front hall, housing the statue of a  Bodhisattva, followed by a great hall, housing the statues of the Insertformulaheree  Buddha. Accommodations for the monks and the nuns are located at the two sides. Buddhist monasteries sometimes also have pagodas, which may house the relics of the Gautama Buddha; older pagodas tend to be four-sided, while later pagodas usually have eight-sides.  

   

  Daoist architecture, on the other hand, usually follow the commoners' style. The main entrance is, however, usually at the side, out of superstition about demons which might try to enter the premise. (See Fengshui) In contrast to the Buddhists, in a Daoist temple the main deity is located at the main hall at the front, the lesser deities at the back hall and at the sides.

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