The Background and Main Stages in the Formation of Eclectic Architectural Styles in the Province of Guangdong (Mid 19th — First Half of the 20th Century)

Abstract

The article explores the appearance and development of eclectic directions in Chinese architecture, formed in the junction of Eastern and Western cultures in the later nineteenth and earlier twentieth centuries. The aim of this study is the revelation of prerequisites for the development of eclectic styles in the Guangdong province, reflecting social-cultural alterations under the influence of the colonial process. The research considers the main historical processes and social-cultural alterations taking place in the background, and also the improvement of material and technical bases that resulted in the development of the eclectic architecture of the region, represented in such formsd as qilou, tonglau, diaolou, lu, and weilou. Three prototypes of Sino-Western architecture emerged: traditional dwellings of the Hakka and Punti people, Western colonial architecture, presented in the estuary of Pearl River, and eclectic constructions in Southeast Asia. Five basic periods of Sino-Western styles developed in Guangdong province. The first stage (beginning and middle of the nineteenth century) is characterized by the initial application of Western elements into traditional architecture; the second (the 1880s) was the beginning of basic Sino-Western styles of development; the third (1890–1911) was the process of mass development of eclectic architecture; the fourth (1911–1930) was the transformation of plan structure and building materials and constructions; and the fifth (1930–1949) involved the refusal to apply surplus decoration. The results of this study provide some directions for explorations of eclectic architecture in the Guangdong province and other regions of China.