Traditional Chinese house architecture

As highlighted by the classic siheyuan style, this included an emphasis on extended family units in a single dwelling, distinct separation of various elements of the household, alignment with the cardinal directions, and wooden construction; all in line with Confucian hierarchy and Feng Shui.

[2] Throughout several millennia, architecture was influenced by the development of Chinese thought, narrowing the range of acceptable layouts closer to the mature siheyuan style.

[3] For instance, Yue homes in southern China were traditionally built on wooden piles due to the humid climate.

By the later imperial period, the structure of homes in China had coalesced into a form that reinforced Neo-Confucian ideals that emphasized a firm separation between social roles and classes.

Despite this, the popularity of wood remained very high, with varying grades of timber being used by the upper class as a means of showing their wealth.

[1] Notable exceptions to the ubiquitous use of wood include the Yaodong, the traditional homes of Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces which were cut into soft loess rocks into mountainsides,[9] Lingnan architecture, which is generally of green brick construction,[7] and the Tulou, traditional Hakka walled villages in Fujian and Guangdong which were built largely out of brick and earth.