The origins of the formation and features of the manifestation of the Chinese Europeanized Architecture in mid-19th–second half of the 20th century

Abstract

This article will look at the main preexisting architectural influences lying behind the development of Sino-Western architecture, fine examples of which exist in the southern (diaolou and qilou), central (shikumen) and Manchurian provinces (Chinese baroque). The first group consists of European architecture, as seen in the construction of European settlements and possessions in China, as well as the European-influenced buildings of Southeast Asia. The second group is the traditional architecture of China itself, which is a variation of the main type of Chinese residential buildings-siheyuan. The manifestation of the European influence in urban planning, space-planning decisions and decorative design of facades will be analyzed. It will be pointed out that the smallest changes affected city-planning decisions, which practically did not change. Functional and planning schemes of traditional Chinese buildings continued to dominate in the space-planning structure until the late stages of development. In the decorative design, from the first stages of development, an active borrowing of foreign elements can be traced, while their transformation occurred due to attempts to adapt them to traditional architectural forms and the local builders’ ignorance of the canons of European architecture.