Chinese Bridges

Li Xiaojie

Shanghai Literature amp; Art Publishing House

October 2022

49.00 （CNY）

This book introduces the technical achievements and time-honored culture of bridges in ancient China. It explains the shapes， structures， functions， aesthetics， history， culture， and national characteristics of bridges in simple language.

The Harmony Between Strength and Beauty -- The Secrets of Construction

When people learned to build bridges thousands of years ago， they tried to make bridges more beautiful. However， they hadn’t yet obtained the knowledge of systematic theory， so these simple aesthetic ideas cannot be regarded as scientific. Moreover， the term aesthetics was first extracted by Baumgartem， a German philosopher， in 1750. The term “bridge aesthetics” was gradually accepted by the bridge circles after the Second World War. In 1976， Leonhardt， a bridge expert from West Germany， called on all states to establish bridge aesthetics branches under the bridge society at the 10th World Bridge and Structure Conference， and many states responded. It was the people’s voice that bridges should be made beautiful and show their aesthetic value and function winthin a landscape.

From a historical point of view， bridge aesthetics date back to the practice of bridge architectural art more than 2，000 years ago. This chapter appreciates the ubiquitous bridge aesthetics in several main aspects.

Harmony and Symmetry

The harmony of the environment

The Wannian Bridge， situated in Nancheng county， Fuzhou city， Jiangxi province， is the longest ancient stone arch bridge in Jiangxi. It spans the Xujiang River and backs the foothills of Wugang Mountain. It is built simple and delicate， with the characteristics of ancient stone arch bridges in the south.

The construction of this bridge started in the seventh year of the Chongzhen Period in the Ming Dynasty （1634） and was completed in the fourth year of the Shunzhi Period in the Qing Dynasty （1647）. It was a stone arch bridge with 24 piers and 23 arches. The bridge is 411 meters long， 6.3 meters wide， and 10 meters high. Each arch spans 14 meters. The bridge body is a bluestone structure， and the tops of the arches are built in a trim type. According to the bridge history： A bridge built with this method will not get wet but dry. The soil can support the stones， the limestone can cement the soil， and the pebbles are framed by the limestone. This method is very subtle.

The Xujiang River is deep and rapid， and the hydrogeology on the riverbed is very complex. At that time， artisans adopted the following construction method：

1. Making a weir， that is， using bamboo chips to make bamboo cages and filling them with sand to form the first waterproof wall;

2. Clearing the pier base within the weir， making a two-layer cage frame with wood， and filling the frame with sand to form the second waterproof wall.

After the water in the second weir was emptied， the pier feet were made in the weir. When the pier feet came out of the water， the frame was built， and arches were erected. The water diversion in front of the pier is pointed upward and high， and the rear piers are lower， looking like a “golden steel swallow with wings.”

This magnificent ancient stone bridge echoes with the peaks， inverted reflection， and lofty pagodas around Wudang Mountain. The mountains， waters， and bridges form a beautiful landscape commonly seen in China. Our ancient architects also had certain aesthetic consciousness. They knew a bridge was fixed somewhere， creating a landscape with the surrounding natural scenery and artificial buildings in people’s living spaces. When people cross the bridge， they often hope that the bridge will adapt to the environment and form a harmonious whole.

Therefore， when the architect was designing the bridge construction， he saw the local environment and adopted the concept of “borrowing scenery，” highlighted by China’s garden art. In the viewing field， the limited garden could include the scenery that did not belong to this unit. That is the case with the Wannian Bridge of Nancheng， which formed a harmonious and beautiful landscape on the background of high mountains， rivers， and pagodas.

Subordination and symmetry

In the west of Jianshui county， Honghe Hani and Yi autonomous prefecture， Yunnan province， there is a 17-arch large stone arch bridge over the river at the intersection of Lujiang River and Tachong River. As the two rivers look like double curving dragons， the bridge is named “Double-Dragon Bridge.” Three arches were built during the Qianlong Period of the Qing Dynasty （1736--1795）. Afterward， the Tachong River diverted， and the riverbed gradually widened. The three-arch bridge could not cross the banks. In the 19th year of Daoguang （1839）， the residents added 14 arches linking to the original bridge. Thus， the bridge was also called “the 17-arch Bridge.”

The Double-Dragon Bridge is built with tens of thousands of huge bluestones. Its total length is 148 meters， and its width is 3--5 meters. The bridge is wide and flat. There were three delicate pavilions on the bridge. Among them， the big one in the middle was a square main pavilion with three layers of eaves. It was nearly 29 meters high， and each side was 16 meters long. The eaves were overlapped and crossed. When people climbed the stairs， they could look far into the distance and see specious fields and thousands of households. The southern pavilion had a pyramidal roof with eaves of six corners， which were warped upwards beautifully. During the Xianfeng Period （1851--1862）， all the pavilions were destroyed in the war. In the 24th year of the Guangxu Period （1898）， three pavilions with upturned eaves were rebuilt， which were more magnificent than the original ones. The Double-Dragon Bridge is the largest stone bridge in Yunnan province. It inherits the traditional style of multi-arch bridges in China and is a masterpiece of ancient Chinese bridges.

The Double-Dragon Bridge is unique in structure. With the pavilions as the center， the bridge has a big arch in the lower part and eight small arches on each side， which is symmetrically distributed. This represents the concept of “subordination and symmetry” in bridge aesthetics. As for the bridge shape， the architect highlighted the central part as the “master.” The two sides are arranged symmetrically with the central axis. The symmetrical arches are pleasing to the eye and provide a solemn， balanced， and stable view.

In ancient China， many bridges followed the traditional layout of odd-numbered arches， which adapted to the natural state of rivers. Generally， the middle of the river is mainstream， where water flows deeply and rapidly， and the main arch is laid. The water flows more slowly on the two sides， where smaller arches are laid. In addition， the main arch is designed to strengthen the supporting function of the central axis. Thereby， a stable， harmonious， and beautiful view is formed.

Li Xiaojie

Li Xiaojie is a professor at the Institute of Chinese Historical Geography， Fudan University， a doctoral supervisor and director of the Political Geography Research Office.