Editing Chinese art (section)

==Architecture==
{{Main|Chinese architecture}}
[[File:Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.jpg|thumb|left|The ''[[Giant Wild Goose Pagoda]]'' in southern [[Xi'an]] ([[Shaanxi]] province, China), built in 652 during the [[Tang dynasty]]]]
[[File:20090529 Great Wall 8185.jpg|thumb|left|The ''[[Great Wall of China]]'', near [[Jinshanling]]]]
Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. Especially Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Ryukyu. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details. Since the Tang dynasty, Chinese architecture has had a major influence on the architectural styles of Korea, Vietnam, and Japan.

From the [[Neolithic]] era [[Longshan culture]] and [[Bronze Age]] era [[Erlitou culture]], the earliest [[rammed earth]] fortifications exist, with evidence of [[timber framing|timber architecture]]. The subterranean ruins of the palace at [[Yinxu]] dates back to the Shang. In historic China, architectural emphasis was laid upon the horizontal axis, in particular the construction of a heavy platform and a large roof that floats over this base, with the vertical walls not as well emphasized. This contrasts Western architecture, which tends to grow in height and depth. Chinese architecture stresses the visual impact of the width of the buildings. The deviation from this standard is the tower architecture of the Chinese tradition, which began as a native tradition{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} and was eventually influenced by the Buddhist building for housing religious [[sutra]]s—the [[stupa]]—which came from Nepal. Ancient Chinese tomb model representations of multiple story residential towers and watchtowers date to the Han. However, the earliest extant Buddhist [[Chinese pagoda]] is the [[Songyue Pagoda]], a {{convert|40|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall circular-based brick tower built in Henan in the year 523 CE From the 6th century onwards, stone-based structures become more common, while the earliest are from stone and brick arches found in Han dynasty tombs. The [[Zhaozhou Bridge]] built from 595 to 605 CEis China's oldest extant stone bridge, as well as the world's oldest fully stone [[spandrel|open-spandrel]] segmental [[arch bridge]].

[[File:Gugong.jpg|thumb|Inside the ''[[Forbidden City]]'', an example of Chinese architecture from the 15th century]]
The vocational trade of architect, craftsman, and engineer was not as highly respected in premodern Chinese society as the [[scholar-bureaucrats]] who were drafted into the government by the [[Imperial examinations|civil service examination system]]. Much of the knowledge about early Chinese architecture was passed on from one tradesman to his son or associative apprentice. However, there were several early treatises on architecture in China, with encyclopedic information on architecture dating back to the Han dynasty. The height of the classical Chinese architectural tradition in writing and illustration can be found in the ''[[Yingzao Fashi]]'', a building manual written by 1100 and published by Li Jie (1065–1110) in 1103. In it there are numerous and meticulous illustrations and diagrams showing the assembly of halls and building components, as well as classifying structure types and building components.

There were certain architectural features that were reserved solely for buildings built for the Emperor of China. One example is the use of yellow roof tiles; yellow having been the Imperial color, yellow roof tiles still adorn most of the buildings within the [[Forbidden City]]. The [[Temple of Heaven]], however, uses blue roof tiles to symbolize the sky. The roofs are almost invariably supported by brackets, a feature shared only with the largest of religious buildings. The wooden columns of the buildings, as well as the surface of the walls, tend to be red in colour.

Many current Chinese architectural designs follow [[post-modern]] and [[Western world|western]] styles.

<gallery widths="170" heights="170">
File:Jiaxiang Wushi Muqun Shike 2015.08.14 09-54-12 (cropped).jpg|Relief from the [[Wu Family Shrines]] ([[Jiaxiang County]], Shandong) that shows Han dynasty architecture, 151 CE
File:独乐寺观音阁正面1.JPG|The Guanyian Pavilion of the [[Dule Temple|Dule Monastery]] ([[Ji County, Tianjin|Jixian]], China), 984
File:Pagoda of Songyue Temple, 2015-09-25 20.jpg|The [[Songyue Pagoda]], Henan, 523
File:Temple of Heaven 20160323 01.jpg|Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the main building of the [[Temple of Heaven]] (Beijing), 1703–1790
File:Zhengding Longxing Si 2013.08.31 15-50-10.jpg|The [[Longxing Temple]] in Hebei ([[Zhengding]], China), 1052
File:Yingxian Fogong Si Shijia Ta 2013.08.30 12-35-43.jpg|[[Pagoda of Fogong Temple]], Shanxi, 1056
File:Qufu Kong Miao 2015.08.15 14-18-32.jpg|The Dacheng Hall of the [[Temple of Confucius]] [[Qufu]], Shandong, 1499
</gallery>