ABSTRACT

In dynastic China, governments developed distinctive building codes and planning principles; consequently the relationship between building and planning was quite strong. The body of traditional Chinese codes was large, and has yet to be fully researched: a systematic study of the building codes has not been attempted, and the coding history has yet to be written. This chapter interprets the Chinese building codes in the context of design, with a focus on the relationships between architecture and planning within Beijing’s history. Various studies on Beijing have been published during the past twenty years across a range of disciplines, including architectural and urban history, town planning and urban geography (Whitehand and Gu, 2006). The city has been viewed as a monument, form, space and place. However, what has not been well understood is its planning practice from the perspective of codes. Perhaps even less known is the interactive relationship between coding and planning.