9/7/2018 Dougong

Chinese Architecture Dictionary ...................... Illustrated Architecture Dictionary

Dougong

Network that joined pillars and columns to the frame of the roof in traditional Chinese architecture.

Excerpts from
Wikipedia
(online Dec. 2013)

Dougong is part of the network of wooden supports essential to the timber frame
structure of traditional Chinese building because the walls in these structures are not
load-bearing (curtain walls), sometimes made of latticework, mud or other delicate
material. Walls functioned to delineate spaces in the structure rather than to support
weight.

The function of dougong is to provide increased support for the weight of the
horizontal beams that span the vertical columns or pillars by transferring the weight
on horizontal beams over a larger area to the vertical columns.

Multiple interlocking bracket sets are formed by placing a large wooden block (dou)
on a column to provide a solid base for the bow-shaped brackets (gong) that support
the beam or another gong above it.

The pieces are fitted together by joinery alone without glue or fasteners.

Brackets could be hung under eaves, giving the appearance of graceful baskets of
flowers while also supporting the roof.

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Excerpts from
Chinese traditional architectural craftsmanship for timber framed
structures
(online Dec. 2013)

Generally speaking, the Chinese method of house-building did not call for crossbeams
(aka transverse beams) to link the individual pillar-and-beam modules together, though
this was not a hard and fast rule. In general, the roof served this linking function.

Moreover, the roof was not attached directly to the beams but was instead attached
directly to so-called brackets (dougong) which in turn were attached to the beams,
some brackets being situated directly above each pillar-and-beam joint, with others
being spaced along the length of each beam – in the extreme, brackets could be placed
almost contiguously along the entire length of the beam.

A typical dougong consisted of a flat block of wood (dou), on top of which was fixed
an interlocking (by means of clever, mortise-and-tenon joinery only, i.e., without the aid
of nails, glue, etc.) set of curved wooden slats, or bows (gong) with each upward-curved
bow longer than the bow below it.

Because the dougong extended laterally beyond the outer edge of the beam (which earns
it the English language moniker "bracket"), it provided a slightly broader platform on
which to rest the roof, which was invariably wider than the supporting frame below (in
addition, the roof's eaves generally extended far beyond the outer framework of the
building), and because the dougong consisted of a series of increasingly longer bows
stacked one atop the other that could flex yet resisted continued bouncing (the
increasingly shorter bows, viewed from top to bottom, had a dampening effect on
shocks to the frame), the Chinese building could flex with the movement of storms
and earthquakes, yet without reverberating uncontrollably.

In some cases – especially in the case of a single-storey building – the duogong sat
directly atop the pillars, with the superstructure, or roof, attached to only these
pillar-and-dougong modules...

The first dougong appeared during the latter part of the Western Zhou (BCE 1027-771)
Dynasty, and were in widespread use by the time of the first half, or Spring and Autumn
(BCE 770-476) Period, of the Eastern Zhou (BCE 770-221) Dynasty...

Examples:

Illustration above: Old Town Yuyuan Bazaar, Shanghai, China

Forbidden City, Beijing, China

Summer Palace, Beijing, China

Temple of Heaven, Beijing, China

Photos and their arrangement © 2013 Chuck LaChiusa

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