Medieval Architecture in China through Modern Technology: Region, Style, and Patterns of Change

Tracy Miller will give a talk on architecture at the University of Pennsylvania

Tracy Miller, Vanderbilt

Today an open China that embraces foreign tourism and study has allowed for an unprecedented awareness of and access to the monumental timber-frame buildings of traditional China. Dozens of buildings dated between the years 900-1200 CE are extant, and a vast array of difference in architectural detail and building technique has increasing come to light--differences which demand our attention. Using GIS technology to document Chinese temple architecture from this period, I have worked to map architectural features of more than 100 buildings across the PRC to examine the distribution of these elements geographically.

As a form of public art, the decision to retain local stylistic traditions or respond to trans-local trends reveals self-conscious choice. This paper examines the ways in local styles were retained even when confronted with new architectures expressing trans-local tendencies in building practice and explores reasons why these choices may have been made during a dynamic period of divided rule in China.