Dimensional Hierarchies in Traditional Chinese Architecture from Cosmic Order to Human Experience

Abstract

The dimensional system of traditional Chinese architecture is a complex integration of technical specifications and cultural concepts, profoundly reflecting the philosophical thoughts and institutional ethics of traditional Chinese society. This paper aims to systematically reveal the hierarchical dimensional control methods from overall planning to interior details and their inherent logic, constructing a "macro-meso-micro" analytical framework through interdisciplinary research methods of architectural history, archaeological discoveries, Literature review, philosophy, and anthropology. At the overall planning level, traditional Chinese architecture adopts a modular grid system, whose dimensional settings are governed by the triple influences of ritual hierarchy, feng shui geomancy, and the “unity of man and nature” cosmology. In individual buildings, traditional Chinese architecture takes the “Cai Fen system” or “Dou Kou system” as the core modulus, achieving standardized production of components while realizing artistic interpretation through the hierarchy of “Cai Fen” and the combination of “Chu Tiao” (bracket extensions). In interior spaces, dimensions are based on human activity needs, achieving the unity of functionality and artistic conception through means such as decreasing bay widths and height variations. This theoretical framework of three “dimensional levels” reveals the unique wisdom of ancient China in transforming abstract cosmological views into specific built environments, providing a historical reference for contemporary architectural design in terms of regional expression and inheritance of humanistic values.