Chinese Vernacular Architecture

In his preservation work on the city of Suzhou, Professor Ruan sets out by providing a historic contextualization of the city, by examining its current economic, political, and social status, and the character of the city as determined by its historic and cultural significance in relation to its architectural heritage. In this case, the canal network, particularly the canals, bridges, walkways and residences are crucial.

The first significant step that Ruan took in his preservation effort was to divide the city into fifty-four neighborhoods roughly according to the physical location and administrative authority of the locality; he sets up a comprehensive computer database for them; he then studies each neighborhood and approaches them differently according to their specific character. His conservation plan includes everything from a guiding working principle, to a reconfiguration of the use of land, to strict guidelines for the height of new developments within the city, and improvement of such elements as infrastructure.

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The city of Suzhou has a history stretching back more than 2,500 years, serving as the capital city of the Wu Kingdom as early as the Spring and Autumn Period (722- 481 B.C.E.) in 514 B.C.E. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Lake Tai in the province of Jiangsu, China. The city has enjoyed an economic prosperity and social prominence, as evidenced by the popular Chinese saying that “In heaven, there is paradise. On earth, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou.”

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This series of posts are taken from a paper I wrote earlier this year about the practical aspect of historic preservation of Chinese vernacular architecture. It takes the city of Suzhou as a case study, and focuses specifically on Professor Ruan Yisan’s work on the city.

Ruan Yisan (b. 1934) is former Professor of Urban Planning & Design with the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University of Shanghai, and Director of the National Research Center for Historic Cities of China. He is renowned for his preservation work throughout China on ancient cities such as Pingyao, Suzhou, and historic water towns on the Yangtze River region, all of which mentioned here are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. For more information on Professor Ruan and his work, see online sources on conservation of historic and cultural cities of China at http://www.mingcheng.org/chinese/rys/index.html and The 2004 Almanac of China’s World Heritage Sites. Through examining Ruan’s approaches and methods, I try to formulate an applicable general principle for studies on Chinese vernacular architecture, from a historic preservation point of view as is characteristic of Professor Ruan’s work.

The city of Suzhou serves as a perfect example of studies on Chinese vernacular architecture for two reasons. First, it is a city famous for its architectural heritage. Second, the awareness of this heritage and its cultural, historic, social and economic value among the various levels of government, residents, scholars, and others interested in the conservation and regeneration of the ancient city in the face of China’s unprecedented “modernization” process is considerably high and their achievements thus far unparalleled elsewhere in China.