Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book introduces the Chinese correlative view and compares it with the Baconian-Cartesian view of the Greco-European tradition. It then focuses on how correlativism has informed historic Chinese built environments, and human experiences within them, under the headings of fluidity, fixity, porosity, and horizontality. The book compares "houses for Plato and Confucius". It explains why Plato's houses—that is, architecture of the Greco-European tradition—tend to constantly change in visual attributes, while the Confucian "house", as expressed in the imperial system, remained largely the same in physical attributes for centuries, until the modern era. The book then connects the aesthetics of Chinese built environments with Chinese philosophy. It addresses the present in Chinese architecture, a period spanning from 1840 to the present day, and also the power of digital technology to alter design thinking and process globally.