Comparative Analysis

China, Japan
and Korea
Architecture
DOMINGO, Milleña R.
BS Architecture 2
 China
China is an East
Asian country that is
known to be the third
or fourth largest
countries in the
world with 1.428
billion population
count in 2017.
Governed by
the  Communist Party
of China, the state
e x e r c i s e s
jurisdiction over
22 provinces,five aut
onomous regions,
f o u r  direct-
c o n t r o l l e d
municipalities (Beiji
ng, Tianjin, Shanghai
, and Chongqing), and
t h e  special
administrative
r e g i o n s  o f  H o n g
Kong and Macau.

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 Geographical
China being larger than than whole Europe is mostly consist of mountains However it has
four great rivers that was used for trading and commerce. Canals for irrigation were
also present in some provinces that became the routes then. One of these irrigations is
the "Grand Canal" that is 600 miles in length. It was said to have excellent harbors
that assisted their trades to India and Assyria. These Countries influenced the
architecture of China. The Chinese Pagoda was believed to be associated with Indian
Prototype or Pyramidal many-storied buildings in Chaldea.

Geological
China is one of the richest countries in the world because of the abundance of metals,
coal, salt, iron, and copper. Due to the influence of India, they used wood fo
buildings. It was possible because ancient China has vast forest of bamboo and pine.
However during 1260 A.D. earthquakes were eminent therefore the introduction of bricks
occurred. Stones were also used in building bridges, gateways and public works. Marble
were used for balustrading around tombs and important buildings.

Climate
Since china is geologically consist of mountains direct the sea winds moderates the
temperature. The northern part of China has a short Frosty winter and warm and rainy
summer. Considering this climate roofs were made with steep surfaces for the easy
discharge of water. Roofs were also turned up at the eaves to admit light without heat
of the sun.

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 Religion
There are two religions present in the ancient China which is Confucianism and
Buddhism. Confucianism is a code of moral doctrines and conduct which is almost not
called a religion. The absence of important religious structures is maybe the result
of no dominant priesthood. Temples and shrines erected to buddha and Confucius. Poor
households has altars while wealthy families has their ancestral hall of worship.

Social Political
Ancient China has a autocratic government where the Emperor is the head of church and
state.Provinces were ruled by Mandarins. Nobility is not hereditary and properties
were divide equally among children upon death. "Guilds were also present associated
with trades and crafts. China was also termed as "Literati" which means small
proprietors and merchants

Historical
The Chow Dynasty. Che-Hwang-te, first universal Emperor (B.C. 246-210), built the " Great Wall,"
B.C. 214, and constructed roads, canals. The Eastern Han Dynasty (A.D. 23-220). During the reign of
Ming Te, Buddhism was introduced from India.The Western Tsin Dynasty (A.D. 265-590). During the
reign of the Emperor Sze-Ma-Yen, the Emperor Theodosius sent ambassadors to China (A.D. 284).The
Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907). Tai-tsung (A.D. 618-649) purchased the alliance of the Turks as the
Emperor Justinian had-done in A.D. 558, and regained Eastern Persia up to the Caspian Sea. The
Emperor Woo-Tsung (A.D. 841-847) abolished Temples and Monasteries. The Emperor E-Tsung (A.D.
860-874) revived Buddhism. During the tenth century the Chinese Emperor invaded Chaldaea,
penetrating to the Mediterranean, and maintained a protectorate in Mesopotamia for more than sixty
years. The Mogul or Yuen Dynasty (A.D. 1259-1368). Under the Emperor Kublai (A.D. 1259-1294) China
reached her greatest extent The Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Nankin, the capital, afterwards
changed to Pekin. Japan invaded Korea in 1592.The Manchu Tartar Dynasty (A.D. 1644 to the present
day). The shaved head and pigtail are emblems of Tartar sovereignty. Kang-he(A.D.1661- 1721) added
Tibet to the Empire and published the Dictionary of the Chinese language. Keen-lung (A.D.
1735-1795) invaded Burma, Cochin-China, and Nepal, and crushed the Mohammedan rebellion. He
received Lord McCartney as first ambassador ofGeorge III. In 1840 war was declared by England
against China ; this marks the period of the influence of European intervention. In 1873 the
foreign ministers obtained the right of audience with the Emperor.

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 Architectural Style
Chinese Architecture was subject to little progress but exerted influence of others. Bright
colors plays an important part, applied in glazed tiles or majolica work. Wood is their main
building material.

Pagoda Pailoo/Faifang Bridges

A pagoda is a tower receding in A Pailoo is a memorial arches in Bridges is one of the important
stories that has gaily colored memory if deceased persons, structures of the country because of the
curved roofs to which bells generals, philosophers, or of abundant rivers and canals.
were attached and adorned with vitorious widows. It could be
figures in high relief at the constructed with stones or
angles. frequently of wood. It can have
one or three openings formed by
posts supporting horizontal rails
In China, Temples are only bearing an inscription and
considered a high kinds of crowned with bold projecting
house with Altars. roofs covered with gaily colored
tiles.It came from the influence
of India architecture of Torana.
T h e  L o n g h u a Temple is
a  Buddhist temple dedicated to
the Maitreya This is an example of a three
Buddha  in  Shanghai. It is the
opening pailoo, the symbol of
largest, most authentic and
Shunfengshan Park.
complete ancient temple complex
in the city of Shanghai. It is
an octagonal wood and Brick
pagoda.

Ornamentation
China's ornaments
expresses national
character of oddness. All
eastern nations has
harmonizing colors and
Chinese are one of them.

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Japan
Japan is a n  i s l a n d
country  in  East Asia. It is
b o r d e r e d b y t h e  S e a o f
J a p a n  t o t h e w e s t a n d
the  Pacific Ocean  to the
east, and extends from
the  Sea of Okhotsk  in the
northeast to the  East China
Sea  and  Philippine Sea  in
the southwest. Part of the
Pacific  Ring of Fire, Japan
e n c o m p a s s e s
a n  a r c h i p e l a g o  o f  6 , 8 5 2
islands; the five main
islands, from north to
s o u t h ,
are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikok
u, Kyushu and Okinawa.

About three-fourths of  the

c o u n t r y ' s t e r r a i n  i s
mountainous. Japan is one of
t h e  most densely
p o p u l a t e d  a n d  u r b a n i z e d
countries in the world.Japan
i s t h e  e l e v e n t h m o s t
populous country in the
world  with a population of
126.2 million.

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 Geographical
Japan has many resemblance to the great Britain. Some of these are they are both at the head
of two great waterways, the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Due to this circumstance, Japan has
cool temperatures. It is also located near continents with likelihood trades.

Geological
Japan experience frequent earthquakes as a result they decide to favor the wood as their
mode of construction. Stones were also used but only in the lower part of the walls to
elevate the upper wood structure. Another reason why ancient Japan make use of wooden
construction is that they have vast bamboo forest which four times the area of the tilled
lands. Bamboo were largely used in house construction.

Climate
Japan has cool climate. Their houses faces the south as a protection from the severe
weather. They have deeply projecting eaves to protect them from from the summer sun and
high closing walls of courtyards against the winter wind. During the summer they have
movable casement windows and partitions forming the fronts of the houses, and offers little
resistance to heat, which can also be entirely open for breezes.

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 Religion
Japan has two prominent religion which are the taoism or Sintuism and Buddhism. Sintuism is
their national religion, however buddhism was also prevalent. In Japan the buddhist
religion has their mysterious and extravagant symbols that is associated with Japanese
nature. On the other hand, demons, monsters , and other usual representations were present
with birds and landscapes of the changing seasons.

Social Political
Tea drinking was famous in the ancient Japan. They held Tea drinking events to have
influence to industrial arts. During the fifteenth century, the formation of tea clubs were
eminent therefore the demand for domestic utensils and buildings with gardens were done.

Historical
The rein of Emperor Zinmu,B .C.660, was at the same time with Nebuchadnezzar. The
government of the country was undertaken by the Mikado, or spiritual Emperor, the Shogun,
or temporal Emperor, being Commander-in-Chief. Till A.D. 1543 Japanese history is purely
local, but in that year the Portuguese landed and commenced trading, and in 1549S. Francis
Xavier introduced Christianity. In 1638 Christianity was interdicted and isolation from
foreign countries was effected. In 1854, however, after an isolation of over 200 years,
treaties of commerce were made with foreign nations. This period marks the commencement of
the influence of European art on Japan. In 1868 the present Mikado, the i22nd of his line,
suppressed the Shogun and reigned as supreme constitutional Emperor.

Architectural Style
Japanese Architecture has a special character of narrowness. Architectural features,
carving, and decorations that contrasted with other nations. Japanese buildings have a
quality of refinement and delicacy, their wooden constructions is artistically made.
Chinese and Japanese architecture were notable because of their curved sloping roofs which
are supported on a succession of small brackets form a most striking feature, ornamented
with dragons and other fabulous animals. Temple Architecture of Japan has accessories,
such as gateways, belfries and front sheds, gardens with their summer houses and fish
ponds.

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 Hōryū-ji is
a  Buddhist  temple that
was once one of the
powerful  Seven Great
T e m p l e s ,
i n  I k a r u g a ,  N a r a
Prefecture,  Japan. Its
f u l l n a m e i s  H ō r y ū
Gakumonji or Learning
Temple of the
Dragon
Flourishing Law, the Ornaments on
complex serving as
both a seminary and the roofs
Hōryū-ji monastery.

The kondō, located side-by-side to the Pagoda in Sai-in,

is another one of the oldest wood buildings extant in
the world. he hall has two stories, with roofs curved in
the corners. Only the first story has a double roof.
This was added later in the Nara period with extra posts
to hold up the original first roof because it extended
more than four meters past the building.

"Yumedono" for
roof decoration

Kondō

Onigawara They
are generally
roof tiles or
statues
depicting a
Bronze Japanese ogre
(oni) or a
Lantern fearsome beast.
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 Korea
During the first half of the
1st millennium, Korea was
divided between the three
competing states
of  Goguryeo,  Baekje, and  Silla,
together known as the "Three
Kingdoms of Korea".In the
second half of the 1st
millennium, Silla defeated and
conquered Baekje and Goguryeo,
leading to the "Unified Silla"
p e r i o d .
Meanwhile,  Balhae  formed in the
north, superseding former
Goguryeo. Unified Silla
eventually collapsed into three
separate states due to  civil
w a r , u s h e r i n g i n t h e  L a t e r
Three Kingdoms. Toward the end
of the 1st
m i l l e n n i u m ,  G o g u r y e o  w a s
resurrected as  , which defeated
the two other states and
unified the  Korean Peninsula  as
a single sovereign state.

In 1945, Korean Peninsula

separated in two distinct
sovereign states: North Korea
which is officially known as
the Democratic people's
Republic of Korea and South
Korea which is known as
Republic of Korea.
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North Korea South Korea
Geographical

North Korea is larger in area than south Korea. Although South Korea is smaller in area, It has
Most of North Korea is a series of medium-sized more habitable lands than North Korea.South Korea
to large-sized mountain ranges and large hills, is mostly surrounded by water and has 2,413
separated by deep, narrow valleys.The kilometers of coast line along three seas; to the
c o a s t a l  p l a i n s  a r e w i d e i n t h e w e s t a n d west is the Yellow Sea (West Sea), to the south is
discontinuous in the east.When Europeans visited the  South Sea, and to the east is the  East
Korea they remarked that the country resembled "a Sea  (known as "Sea of Japan" in Japan, though
sea in a heavy gale" because of the many politically disputed). 
successive  mountain ranges  that crisscross the
peninsula. 

Geological
The Land of North Korea is mostly consist of South Korea  has rocks dating to the  Archean  and two
mountains. Rocks that can be found there are large massifs of  metamorphic rock  as the  crystalline
Precambrian origin, but some of Paleozoic, Mesozoic, basement, overlain by thick sedimentary sequences,
and  Cenozoic  rock can also be found in remote areas. younger metamorphic rocks and volcanic deposits.
There are no active volcanoes on the peninsula. Traditional Korean homes have timber Frames Especially
However,  Baekdu Mountain  in the north have  crater on Jeju Island where volcanic rock and strong winds are
lakes, indicating that they were active not volcanos abundant, homes traditionally consisted of a double
d u r i n g a n c i e n t t i m e s . F u r t h e r m o r e ,  h o t wall system with an exterior wall of volcanic rock
springs indicative of low-level volcanic activity are surrounding an interior wall, creating a protected
widespread throughout the peninsula.Natural resources corridor around the house. This in turn, protected the
include coal, petroleum, lead, tungsten, zinc,graphit interior walls from wind and rain and improved the
e,magnesite,iron ,ore, copper, gold, salt, and more. thermal performance of the home. Also because of the
strong winds, thatched roofs were generally secured by
a net of straw ropes.

Climate
The northern regions experience a colder and to some The southern regions experience a relatively warm and
extent more inland climate, in common wet climate similar to that of Japan, affected by warm
with Manchuria.  ocean waters including the East Korea Warm Current.

The entire peninsula, however, is affected by similar climactic patterns, including the  East Asian monsoon  in
midsummer and frequent typhoons in autumn. The majority of rainfall takes place during the summer months, with nearly
half during the monsoon alone. Winters are cold, with January temperatures typically below freezing outside of  Jeju
Island. Winter precipitation is minimal, with little snow accumulation outside of mountainous areas.

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 Religion
There are no official religion in north T h e o l d e s t i n d i g e n o u s r e l i g i o n o f  K o r e a  i s
Korea. They are Officially known as an the Korean folk religion, which has been passed down
from prehistory to the present.  Buddhism  was
atheist Country however there are two eminent introduced to Korea from China during the  Three
religions in this part of Korea which is the Kingdoms  era in the 4th century, and the religion
  Korean shamanism  and  Chondoism. Korean flourished until t h e  J o s e o n  D y n a s t y ,
shamanism is also known as "Muism" Jung Young when  Confucianism  became the state religion. Since
the  division of Korea  into two sovereign states in
Lee describes Muism as a form of Sinism – 1945—North Korea  and  South Korea—religious life in
t h e  s h a m a n i c  t r a d i t i o n w i t h i n t h e the two countries has diverged, shaped by different
religion.  Other names for the religion are political structures.  Religion in South Korea  has
"Sindo" ("Way of the Gods") or "Sindoism" been characterized by a rise of Christianity and a
revival of Buddhism, though the majority of South
"religion of the Way of the Gods") while
Koreans have no religious affiliation or follow folk
Chondoism or Cheondoism is a religion with religions.
roots in Confucianised indigenous shamanism.

Social Political
North Korea's political system is built upon the The  politics of the  Republic of Korea  takes in place in
principle of  centralization. While the  North Korean t h e f r a m e w o r k o f a  p r e s i d e n t i a l  r e p r e s e n t a t i v e
constitution  formally guarantees protection of  human democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of
rights, in practice there are severe limits state, and of a  multi-party system. The government
o n  freedom of expression, a n d  the exercises Executive power and Legislative power is vested
government  closely  supervises  the lives of North in both the  government  and the  National Assembly.
Korean citizens. The constitution defines North Korea The  Judiciary  is independent of the executive and the
as "a  dictatorship of people's democracy"  under the legislature and comprises a  Supreme Court, appellate
leadership of the  Workers' Party of Korea  (WPK), c o u r t s a n d a  C o n s t i t u t i o n a l C o u r t . S i n c e 1 9 4 8 ,
which is given  legal supremacy  over other political the constitution has undergone five major revisions, each
parties. This is the present politics in North Korea s i g n i f y i n g a n e w r e p u b l i c . T h e c u r r e n t  S i x t h
when the Korean Peninsula separated in 1945. Republic  began with the last major constitutional
revision in 1987.

Historical
By 4000 BC there were stone age farmers living in Korea. By 1000 BC they had learned to use
bronze. By about 300 BC they had learned to use iron to make tools and weapons. At first, Korea
was divided into tribes but eventually organized kingdoms emerged. There were 3 of them, Goguryeo
in the north and Silla and Baekje in the south. According to legend Silla was founded in 57 BC by
Bak Hyeokgeose, Jumong founded Goguryeo in 37 BC and Onjo founded Baekje in 18 BC. In reality, the
3 kingdoms emerged later between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD. These 3 kingdoms were heavily
influenced by Chinese civilization. By the 4th century they were highly civilized.

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 Architectural Style
Korean Architecture is mostly influenced by Chinese Architecture however there are few influences that came
from Siberia and Manchuria due to people migrating during those ancient times. Korean architecture is
North
characterized by naturalistic tendencies, simplicity, economy of shape, and the avoidance of extremes.
and South Korean Architecture does not have significant differences because before
1900s the Korean Peninsula is under one government therefore almost all traditional
architecture is identical.

Mireuksa  was the

largest  Buddhist
t e m p l e  i n t h e
ancient kingdom
o f  B a e k j e  i n
t h e  Korean
Peninsula. It is
the oldest Korean
Pagoda which now
located in South
Korea.Mireuksa has Mireukjeon or Maitreya Hall
been partially of  Geumsansa Temple, a rare three-
restored and now tiered structure. A Buddhist temple.
includes a
museum.

End tile southern gate

Detail used of the late
as 18th-century
ornamentation H w a s e o n g
Korean Fortress, with
Architecture a 2-story
w o o d e n
13 pavilion.
References

History Of Architecture
by Banister fletcher

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_architecture

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140520001208

https://www.ancient.eu/Korean_Architecture/

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