This paper explores fangmugou （＂imitating the mode of building with wood＂）, a comprehensive and longstanding architectural leitmotif reflective of the socio-cultural environment of China. Whether carved in stone, ...This paper explores fangmugou （＂imitating the mode of building with wood＂）, a comprehensive and longstanding architectural leitmotif reflective of the socio-cultural environment of China. Whether carved in stone, molded in clay, or cast in metal fangmugou continuously serves to visually confn＇m and ratify the significance of wood as the primary building material in Chinese architectural history. By peeling offthe successive layers of distortion between model and replica, this paper uncovers the traces of wood embedded infangmugou, and deciphers the visual and symbolic language that evolved out of the physical properties of wood, even as the final product transcends materiality by adapting to new media.展开更多
文摘This paper explores fangmugou （＂imitating the mode of building with wood＂）, a comprehensive and longstanding architectural leitmotif reflective of the socio-cultural environment of China. Whether carved in stone, molded in clay, or cast in metal fangmugou continuously serves to visually confn＇m and ratify the significance of wood as the primary building material in Chinese architectural history. By peeling offthe successive layers of distortion between model and replica, this paper uncovers the traces of wood embedded infangmugou, and deciphers the visual and symbolic language that evolved out of the physical properties of wood, even as the final product transcends materiality by adapting to new media.
