(1) The formation of primitive dwellings and architectural prototypes
As early as 500,000 years ago in the Paleolithic Age, primitive people in China already knew how to use natural caves as their shelter. Cliff caves inhabited by primitive people have been discovered in Beijing, Liaoning, Guizhou, Guangdong, Hubei and Zhejiang. In the Neolithic Age, clans and tribes in the middle reaches of the Yellow River used loess as the wall, built semi-caves with wooden frames and grass mud, and then developed into above-ground buildings, forming settlements. Because of the wet and rainy weather, the Yangtze River basin is often flooded and hurt by animals, so it has developed into a pole-column building. In this regard, there are many records in ancient literature that "building trees as nests to avoid group harm" and "the upper ones are nests and the lower ones are holes". According to archaeological excavations, about 6000 or 7000 years ago, it was known that ancient Chinese people used tenons and mortises to build wooden houses (such as Hemudu site in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province), and many primitive settlements (such as Xi 'an Banpo site and Lintong Jiangzhai site) were also found in the Yellow River basin. These settlements, such as residential areas, burial areas, pottery fields, etc., have clear zoning and good layout. The shape of wooden frame has appeared, and the plane form of the house also has round, square and land shape because of the different production and function. This is the primary stage of ancient architecture in China.
The establishment of Xia Dynasty in 2 1 century BC marked the end of primitive society. After Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, many cities were built in China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and rammed earth technology has been widely used to build city walls and platforms. For example, in Erlitou, Yanshi, Henan, there is a rammed earth platform with a length of 100 meter, on which there are eight-bay halls and cloisters around it. At this time, the wood structure technology has been greatly improved compared with the primitive society, and special tools for processing wood components such as axe, knife, saw, chisel, drill and shovel have appeared. Both wood frame and rammed earth technology have been formed, and some progress has been made. Fengjing, Haojing and Luoyang were built in the Western Zhou Dynasty. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the vassal states established their own capitals centering on palaces. These capitals are all built of rammed earth, surrounded by huge cities and tall gates. The palace is arranged in the city and built on a rammed earth platform. Wood structure has become the main structural form. Pottery tiles have been used on the roof, and the wooden frame is decorated with colorful paintings. This marks the formation of ancient architecture in China. Whether it is rammed earth technology, wood structure technology, facade modeling and plane layout of buildings, manufacturing and application of building materials, and application of color and decoration, it has reached the embryonic stage. This is the foundation of the development of ancient architecture in China.
(2) The first climax in the development history of ancient architecture in China.
In 22 1 BC, after Qin Shihuang annexed Korea, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi, he established a centralized empire and used the manpower and material resources of the whole country to build the capital, palaces and tombs in Xianyang. Today, from the Epang Palace site and the large terracotta warriors and horses on the east side of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum, we can imagine the grandeur of the building at that time. In addition, in order to prevent the Huns from going south, the equator leading to the whole country was built, and a lingqu was dug for water transportation. These huge projects easily use the resources of hundreds of thousands of people, and almost all of them go hand in hand. In the end, the Qin empire was extravagant and exhausted the people's strength, and it died the next year.
The ancient cities in China are the combination of "city" and "city". The so-called "city" is the city wall. Whether it is a national capital or a general city, it is surrounded by thick high walls, which completely separates the inside and outside of the city and forms a relatively closed space inside the city. However, the city did not lose contact with the outside world because of the barrier of the city wall, and the gate played an important role in it. At the beginning of planning a city in ancient times, the city gate was under design, and even in the primitive stage of the city-castle period, the city gate was indispensable. "The original plane of Pingliangtai in Huaiyang is about 185 meters square, with two gates in the north and south. There is a concierge built with adobe walls in the door, and a ceramic drainage pipe is laid underground in front of the door. " [1] 14 This primitive "gate" not only serves as a passage for the castle to enter and exit, but also begins to be garrisoned by people. It has the general functions of an ancient gate and can be said to be the embryonic form of the gate. After China entered the slave society and feudal society, it experienced many dynasties, but the system of city walls and gates did not change qualitatively with time. Therefore, in a sense, the setting of the city gate is to meet the needs of the ruler's rule and management. In the process of urban development, its facilities are gradually improved and its functions are enhanced. First, cities that develop the function of foreign exchange cannot survive in a closed environment, and people and materials flow between cities and between cities and villages all the time. The city gate was trapped by the city wall and became a bridge to communicate outside the city.