Greco-Roman vs. Han Chinese Extant Architecture

Dams:

I added pictures of and a comment on the Roman Proserpine Dam, a dam which still provides water for the neighbouring villages - 1900 years after its construction by Roman engineers!

A good site on Roman engineering with lots of quality articles:
http://traianus.rediris.es/

More on Roman dams in Spain:
http://traianus.rediris.es/textos/presas_in.htm

Ah yes, San Gimignano. Werent the towers built by rivaling families? Or am I thinkin if something else.

Do you prefer this one? 

Ait Benhaddou, in the Atlas of Morocco, at the doors of the Sahara:

http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/29953/ait_benhaddou_6_flickr_trek.jpg

 

http://www.alovelyworld.com/webmaroc/gimage/mar22.jpg

 

http://users.telenet.be/scip1/PhotosMarocco/Marokko%20-%20Ait%20Benhaddou%20-%20Ksar.jpg

 

http://www.patrimoine-maghreb.info/maroc/IMG/jpg/Ait_Benhaddou.jpg

 

http://www.chinabright.com.cn/gotone/g09/images_sub/img_geo03.jpg

Certainly,

Europe looks like a third world country compared to modern China today. I've often wondered why European Countries have failed to produce these "modern marvels" considering  the lead they had against China for the last 50 years.


http://tinypic.com/aemzko.jpg

http://tinypic.com/aen02b.jpg

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=193251&page=3

Originally posted by JuMong Certainly, Europe looks like a third world country compared to modern China today. I've often wondered why European Countries have failed to produce these "modern marvels" considering  the lead they had against China for the last 50 years. http://tinypic.com/aemzko.jpg http://tinypic.com/aen02b.jpg http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=193251&page=3

Edited by Decebal - 27-Mar-2007 at 11:54

Originally posted by Gun Powder Ma Originally posted by Preobrazhenskoe  It is well known, however, that poor/commoner Chinese in the city lived in multistory apartments...   Which I find curious since traditional Chinese architecture made no use of arches or vaults. And bricks walls, if there were any, had no static supporting role, but simply a separating function. Which means that the skeleton of Chinese multi-story houses must have been almost completely out of wood. But how high and strong can you build a normal house out of wood...? Are there any Han and Tang houses extant? Perhaps you can post some pics from Ming houses to get a better idea of Chinese urban dwellings.     Originally posted by Preobrazhenskoe Someone on here once said that architecture was much more celebrated in the West than in the East, ...   I think architecture is not simply another form of art, it is a highly utilitarian thing which really can facilitate life. It is no question of art whether you live in a house with walls of fired bricks, blazed roof tiles, running water in the basement, central heating and double glazed windows - or not. It is a question of living standards.     Originally posted by Preobrazhenskoe However, all dynasties after the ancient Han Dynasty pretty much used the inherent skills of architecture from that era to build their own planned cities, city walls, towers, and gates, provincial and local city palaces based on the design of the Imperial Palace, mausoleums, monasteries, Buddhist pagoda towers, grottoes, private, royal, and public gardens, government offices, folk public buildings, one level and multistory pavilions, residential houses, bridges, etc....   Read just yesterday a renowned travel guide on China and they said exactly the opposite. Ancient Chinese cities never developed the kind of complex infrastructure without which Western or Islamic cities are unthinkable.   The duality of Emperor and citizen - with nothing in between - was also reflected in the meek infrastructure of Chinese cities. No citizens and no concept of citizenship or self-government meant in terms of urban architecture lesser public buildings, less crystallisation points for urban living. Add to that the perishability of traditional wood based East Asian architecture and we know why Chinese cities - as far as architecture is concerned, not people! - do not have the same aura as Indian, Muslim or Western cities.

First off, stone structures are less utilitarian than wood in China because of earthquakes. All the other factors you brought up doesn't show utilitarianism at all. Why are baked brick walls more efficient than wood? So the big bad wolf wouldn't be able to burn it down? Yet when earthquake starts, you'll die instantly from internal collapse. Alot of people today live in wooden houses. Some even choose to live in them over brick structures, including millionaires. Do they have a poorer living standard? No. Its not as simple as you want it to be.                                                                         Secondly, only the fairly wealthy in China use wooden material for building, the poorer ones use mudbricks and straw. So in fact, it is more a matter of taste than practicality.                      Thirdly, wooden architectures aren't any easier to built than stone. I major in engineering and I can tell you that for a fact. Its true that stones are heavier to work with, but thats not a matter of more sophisticated skill, just more work. And the Chinese more than made up for that work with its intricate internal decoration and carvings, as well as the size of their buildings. The Wei Yang palace of the Han and the A Fan palace of the Qin are tens of times larger in area than any Greco-Roman palace. The city of Chang An also has a square area of 30 miles, by far the largest on earth.          Finally, living standard in the cities is a result of food production, money circulation, and even city planning, not to architecture. We have good grounds from records to suppose that Chinese living standards, especially in cities were higher at this time than anyother place. According to Du Yu, during the Kai Yuan period(713-741)  who described that rice in Chang An and Luo Yang to cost only 10 wen per Dou.(which is comparable to the cost in present day urban cities of China!) Du Yu further states that from then on that there were no expensive things in the empire. The cities were filled with grainaries, and rest stops for merchants, for thousands of Li, one does not have to bring weapons, and at night, they do not have to close the doors of their house.

Edited by greattang - 16-Jul-2007 at 14:26

Men... personnaly i prefer the greco-roman architecture.

Edited by raygun - 06-Aug-2008 at 17:42

Welcome to AE Aurorum! Hope you find yourself comfortable.

Originally posted by flyingzone Medieval "skyscrapers" of San Gimignano, Italy.   http://www.sangimignano.com/sghomei.htm

Now imagine that the town featured originally several dozens of such towers in the Middle Ages. I have been there, still an amazing place.