Gene of Design: Analogy of the Dimensional Design for the Wood Structure of Two Early Stages in Gaoping County

Zhao Shoutang, Xu Yang, to be published in 2019

Abstract: Erlang Temple of Wangbao Village and Guzhong Temple of Xiatai Village both locate in Gaoping County, Shanxi Province, with a linear distance of eight kilometers. Based on the data from manual and 3D laser scanning measurements, comparative study was done on the dimensional design of greater carpentry of the two theater stages in the paper. Furthermore, the paper endeavors to reveal the inheritance of carpentry tradition with a perspective of time and space. The study indicates that within a similar appearance, the two theater stages share the same layout of columns, modulus of design, inclination of descending cantilevers (Xia’ang) and Shuatou, and similar construction ruler, leaning to the stability of the inheritance of the greater carpentry system in the particular view of time and space; on the other hand, the differences  in the design of truss, inclination of descending cantilevers (Xia’ang), module setting and details of eave bracket sets (dougong), present different carpentry origins. These phenomena are probably due to the different carpentry genes of different workshops, or the variation of the same carpentry gene over time.

Keywords: Erlang Temple of Wangbao Village, Guzhong Temple of Xiatai Village, theater stage, dimensional design of greater carpentry, carpentry genes…