Reassessing the Proportional System of Joseon Era Wooden Architecture: The Bracket Arm Length and Width as a Standard Modular Method

Abstract

Previous research has agreed that standard modular methods in Song Yingzao Fashi and Qing Gongcheng Zuofa were not applied to Korean wooden architecture. This study notes the size of bracket arms as a standard modular method by investigating the proportion systems of Sungnyemun, Paldalmun, and Heunginjimun Gates, the official government buildings of the Joseon Dynasty. The purlin direction bracket arms in the intercolumnar bracket sets apply a proportional system in the ratio of a regular integer relationship to the front and side facades and building height. Challenging current assumptions, the application of the bracket arm width as a modular rule is divided into more subdivided values than the measurement units. A particularly important finding is that, unlike the height of the bracket arms, the width and length of the brackets are standard members that determine the height of the side facades. This is very similar to the official government building styles in the Song and Qing Dynasties, premodern China. Therefore, this study is meaningful in reassessing wooden frame structures of the Joseon era, deriving parametric measuring rules universally applied in East Asia to provide basic data useful for heritage conservation.